CAMBRIDGE, Md. - Monday night the Cambridge Mayor and council discussed the juvenile curfew.
The temporary curfew that was in place Feb. 1 until June 30 expired and after the Cambridge Police Chief's presentation on July 10 the commissioners voted 4-1 to re-instate it for a 12-month period.
Monday night, July 24 the commissioners had the newly drafted 12-month curfew ordinance's first reading. But, under that reading was Mayor Steve Rideout's curfew ordinance proposal.
Mayor Rideout is proposing that a new ordinance is drafted to incorporate a local care team. He describes it in his Memo, "Local Care Team” means a collaborative group of the local child and family serving agencies that are led by the Local Management Board and include the following local agencies: Dorchester County Public Schools, Dorchester Department of Social Services, Dorchester Health Department including substance abuse and mental health services, and the Department of Juvenile Services. Upon the agreement of a majority of the Local Care Team, it may include, on a case-by-case basis, other service organizations or individuals as determined by the regular members of the Local Care Team to have relevant information regarding a child or family."
Rideout says the change will be a more proactive approach. He says, "They will be able to identify what the challenges are for that family and help mom and dad and kids find solutions to those problems. It may be a parenting problem, it may be a problem of a mom or dad that are working two or three jobs, and they have to do that to make a living."
If a child is caught out past curfew twice, that local care team would be notified.
The Local Care Team Coordinator and Management Board Director Nancy Shockley says while the team is nothing new, it will provide support for parents in a voluntary sense rather than forcing them to come.
Shockley says, "It's just the opportunity to engage with families differently. It's always intimidating to go into any agency because your child is acting out or got in trouble with the law. So you have to go to juvenile services. With social services it can be a whole host of reasons.
Mayor Rideout says this proposal would eliminate the financial penalties that parents would face with the original curfew. And not only would it help families establish a relationship with these services but it will be a proactive approach.
Mayor Rideout added that mental health groups, a church pastor, or even a non-profit group could provide more information and work with the child and family to figure out ways to keep them on the right track.