New juvenile court program helps troubled kids

Chad Chronister is not only the sheriff of Hillsborough County, but he’s also a dad who has seen the joys and heartbreak of a parent.

"I stand here as a father to a 24-year-old who suffers from mental health illness and addiction that is in state prison because he didn’t have a resource like this available to him," explained Chronister.

His son George Chronister is now serving a nearly two-year prison sentence for stabbing and slashing the face of a rival local rapper. The event was captured on cell phone video and the victim, Phillip Manzi, told a judge George Chronister attacked him.

George Chronister

Now, Sheriff Chronister, Hillsborough Public Defender Julie Holt, State Attorney Andrew Warren and Hillsborough County Chief Judge Ron Ficarrotta are teaming up for a new program to help juveniles with mental health issues before it’s too late.

"If we want to prevent these individuals from committing further crimes we need to address the underlying problem,” Warren explained.

First, a mental health expert evaluates the young offender and offers a recommendation. Then the team looks at every facet of the child’s life, from home life to school life.

Holt said having a partnership with the school system is one of the best ways to tackle the problems a child is facing.

“They cannot only be here and tell us what our children are doing in schools, but we can tell them the needs of the children as they return to school,” Holt explained.

The Juvenile Mental Health Court launch last year and more than 60 kids are currently a part of it. All of the juveniles go before Ficarrotta.

“Some come in broken, but they don’t stay that way," Ficarrotta explained. “These are children we're dealing with and some of them are very fragile and some of them had never had that attention and encouragement and I think it just goes a long way.”

The program was launched in January of 2019 and the team is confident the numbers will show the kids they are treating are staying out of trouble.