'Better Together'
Wittenbach wins design contest for Kinsey Youth Center's new flag
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The Robert J. Kinsey Youth Center has served the community for 31 years, but in that time, it hasn’t had logo or image that captures the spirit and intent of the center. It is much more than a secure detention facility. And now it has a flag that captures what Kinsey is all about.
Thanks to the efforts of Connie Burton, assistant chief probation officer, and an artistic young lady from Western Middle School, “Better Together” is the message the Kinsey Center will send to the community.
“We’ve had a third flagpole out there forever that didn’t have a flag on it, and I always thought we needed a Kinsey flag,” said Burton. “So, I had extra money from a grant from the Juvenile Detention Alternative Initiative (JDAI). They agreed I could transfer money to have a flag design contest. They paid for the design and a $100 gift card for first place, $75 for second, and $50 for third.”
Burton sent flyers to the local schools to let them know about the contest, and the entries started rolling in. A total of 24 entries were submitted, and members of JDAI and the Kinsey staff served as judges. Elise Wittenbach, an 8th grader at Western Middle School, was selected as the winner.
Wittenbach and her mother visited the Kinsey Center last week to receive her first-place award, and she explained the meaning behind her design.
“I believe that my flag means love, friendship, and kindness,” said Wittenbach. “When I look at the flag, I see helping those who are in need. I believe that everyone just needs a little bit of help, and to know that people care and love them, which is what my flag represents.
“Everyone needs someone just to be there with them through tough times. Everyone needs a friend. My flag shows kindness toward others and those in need because I believe that through tough times, everyone is better together!”
The flag will be on display beginning on July 25, but there is a problem. The long-standing flagpole doesn’t work. Burton went back to JDAI, and it provided part of the money for a new pole. The Kinsey Center and the Howard County Board of Commissioners put money toward the purchase of a new pole as well, and the new pole should arrive soon. The existing pole has been adjusted to hold the flag for the time being.
What is JDAI?
The Juvenile Detention Alternative Initiative began in Howard County in 2011, and the numbers show it works, according to Kinsey Center director Jeff Lipinski.
“It is designed to put the right kid in the right place at the right time,” said Lipinski. “We meet quarterly to discuss incidents, and we try to make the system work better. A state steering committee also meets quarterly.
“If you look at our numbers since JDAI came online, Howard County used to average more than 10 kids a day in secure detention. Ten years later, we average just six kids a day. You can say that it’s working. We do more electronic home monitoring and alternatives that mean we aren’t locking a kid up in detention.”
Burton disclosed that in 2011, Kinsey housed 254 Howard County youths in secure detention and 17 at the Indiana Department of Corrections (IDOC). By 2020, those numbers were reduced to 109 in secure detention and four at IDOC.
Kinsey Youth Center is a regional detention center, so surrounding counties send their youth to the facility. Fewer Howard County youths in detention means more available beds for the other counties. And that means money. Counties pay Kinsey $137 a day to hold their youth. And that money is returned to the Howard County general fund.
“We have returned as little as $750,000 a year when the facility first opened,” said Lipinski. “Four years ago, we returned $1.9 million. Typically, we return between $1.2 million and $1.3 million.”
JDAI is comprised of representatives from the Kinsey Center, local schools, the Kokomo Police Department, the Howard County Sheriff’s Department, local counseling providers, the Howard Circuit Court and its juvenile referee, the Howard County Prosecutor’s Office, and the Howard County Public Defender’s Office.