Iowa States students are needed to volunteer for No Fear, a new volunteer mentoring program developed by Story County Juvenile Court Services.

The juvenile court and the Department of Human Services want to create a proactive Juvenile Delinquent Program in hopes of keeping kids out of correctional institutions, according to a SCJCS press release.

“We’ve been working with Ames High School and Middle School counselors and the Y[MCA] to see what they are doing. They have similar programs,” said Steve Ward, SCJCS client services coordinator.

No Fear is designed to help at-risk kids, ages 8-16, develop into responsible adults through a yearlong commitment with an older mentor, according to the release.

“Most of these kids are court involved,” Ward said. “These are kids that really, apart from positive involvement from adults, would have a difficult transition into adulthood,” he said.

Ward said people need to put energy into the prevention program to make it successful. “Every dollar invested in programs like this equals about seven times that in savings when you figure that it costs approximately $30,000 to keep a young person in a detention center for a year,” Ward said.

“That’s a person not contributing to society, and someone else has to pay for it,” he added.

Cathy Smelser, executive director of the YMCA, where the Y-pal mentoring program has been going strong for 30 years, is in support of No Fear.

“These programs are an invaluable service to families and mentors,” she said.

Children involved in such programs are 46 percent less likely to do drugs, 52 percent less likely to skip school, and 33 percent less likely to use violent behavior after the experience, according to Smelser’s statistics.

Iowa State students who “have a desire to help others and are good listeners” are encouraged to apply for a mentoring position, Ward said. “If they have had experience with at-risk kids at camps or other places, that is a plus,” he added.

A yearlong commitment of one hour a week is required for No Fear mentors, according to the SCJCS release.

“You really need to make a year commitment. These kids are used to the revolving door. They need some continuity. Trust is fragile even in a good setting,” Ward said.

No Fear coordinators strongly suggest doing out-of-home activities that let the juveniles know they are important. “Watching TV for an hour is questionable,” Ward said. “Anything face to face — that is the important thing,” he added.

Ward said the hardest thing about the process of becoming a mentor is the paperwork.

“Because of the type of program, a background check is done on all applicants. There is about a five week turn around period from the time you apply to the time you are assigned,” he said.

Within the five week period, prospective mentors are required to participate in an extensive orientation program, which covers background information on the juvenile court, juvenile code and the functions of the Juvenile Court Office, according to the No Fear guidelines.

A general interest survey is used to pair youths with mentors. “People will be paired on a basis of similar interest,” Ward said.

Ward, who used to be a mentor, said his time spent as a mentor was well worth it.

“It got to the point of real friendship,” he said. “It got so we could really sit down and talk about things. He was kind of like my little brother.”

Anyone interested in the No Fear mentoring program can contact the Story County Juvenile Court Services at the Ames Sub-District Office, 315 Sixth St., or call (515) 233-3346.