More than three hundred young adults have gone through the Crossroads Program and the vast majority of those students have stayed out of trouble.
 

As successful as the Crossroads Program has been, parents are still reaching out, voicing that there is still work that needs to be done with our youth. The common response from parents evaluating the Crossroads Program; request an overnight stay at a correctional facility to further get the message across. As a result, the program appropriately titled R.E.A.D.Y., has been implemented for students (ages twelve to sixteen) to have an overnight stay inside of a jail cell located at 1701 Main Street in Columbia. 

R.E.A.D.Y. was implemented in order to reduce delinquent behavior concerning our youth as well as giving them a reality check on how life will be if they continue down the wrong path. Participating youth will be monitored the entire evening by Richland County Deputies. At the conclusion, the Richland County Sheriff's Department Gang  Unit will talk with the students about their experience and what they need to do in the future to avoid a real trip to the facility. 

The process for signing a student up the READY Program are as follows: 

• Parents MUST contact the Gang Unit to receive an application (Investigator G. Walls at 518-4127) and pay an administrative fee of $10.00 (which covers cost of jail jumper, snack and breakfast) * Any questions or concerns that a parent may have, will be answered at this time.
   

• Parents will bring the student to Richland County Sheriff's Department Headquarters located at 5623 Two Notch Road on that Friday evening at 4:30 PM and retrieve their child the next day (Saturday morning) promptly at 7:00 AM from the same location.

Scheduled Dates:

Males - September 10, 2010
 

Females - August 27, 2010, September 24, 2010
 

Participation in R.E.A.D.Y is first come, first serve basis and there will only be eleven students allowed to sign up at a time.