Mayor's Proclamation Reflects Community-Wide Support for Youth Justice Initiative of West Des Moines

With West Des Moines Mayor Steve Gaer, the issue of how to deal with young offenders who find themselves in the criminal justice system is simple: There’s no need to brand a kid with a felony conviction, especially when intervention saves taxpayers money.

The proclamation he signed Monday at the regular city council meeting establishes next week, Nov. 18-24, as "Great Cookie Walk Week for YJI.” The annual fundraiser, now in its ninth year, raises money for the Youth Justice Program, a model restorative justice program that has buy-in from stakeholders across the community.

Last year, 365 volunteers – which averages to one volunteer a day – baked and sold more than 265 varieties of cookies – all told, more than 21,600 or 1,800 dozen of them. The 2011 Cookie Walk raised $9,300 for YJI, bringing to $43,000 the amount of money the annual event has raised over the past eight years.

The 9th Annual Great Cookie Walk will be held from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Nov. 24, at the West Des Moines Christian Church.

Today’s pick event is a celebrity bake-off featured good-natured, rolicking competition between the city’s fire department, police department, school district, city and chamber of commerce. The teams obtain sponsors, aren’t above bribing people for votes and turn over their cash booty to the YJI. It takes place from 8:30-11 a.m. in the church kitchen.

The cost to incarcerate a prisoner for a year is $30,000 a year, according to Iowa Department of Management records. In contrast YJI’s costs are about $2,000 per referral, according to Ron Townsend, one of the Cookie Walk organizers.

YJI not only saves taxpayers money, it’s more effective than jail in turning kids around, Gaer said. A low recidivism rate – 89 percent successfully complete the program and 88 percent do not re-offend within the next year – has earned the program praise from groups like the Commission on Accreditation of Law Enforcement Agencies, which gave it an exemplary project award.

The Iowa Community Education Association also cited the program for its broad based community involvement.

Buy-in from groups like the police department, the school district, the judicial system and businesses – many of whom are victims in a community whose strong retail sector is vulnerable to crimes such as shoplifting, often committed by youthful offenders – is one of the reason YJI works, Gaer said.

“As sensitive as people are in the hiring process, this is just a lot more positive way of working it out,” he said. “It lets everyone acknowledge what has occurred and how to rectify it.”

Giving young offenders who get crosswise with the law a second chance is a strongly held community value, the mayor said.

“People in this community love the proactive, positive way of dealing with negative situations,” he said. “It causes better outcomes.”

Gaer praised the leadership of Townsend and other members of his Y.E.S. (Young Energetic Seniors) Sunday school class at the West Des Moines Christian Church with elevating the status of the YJI with the cookie walk.

“It wouldn’t be what it is if not for this group,” he said.

Other support for the YJI comes from West Des Moines Community Schools, United Way of Central Iowa, the city of West Des Moines and Friends of YJI. Administrative support is provided by the West Des Moines Police Department.

With this year’s cookie walk, Townsend’s group hopes to surpass the $50,000 mark in sales over the nine years of the event.