Young people involved in George Junior Republic in Indiana on a fossil hiking trip. The organization, which offers programs to help young people and their families, recently received a grant for more than $2 million to help implement a program providing a structured pathway for youth showing early signs of behavioral distress. Provided photo
The negative behaviors start small.
But research has shown time and time again that young people engaging in truancy, persistent and defiant behavior, and early substance use suffer from major problems later in life.
The sooner professionals can intervene, the better. With the help of a $2 million grant, one agency working in Johnson County hopes to do just that.
George Junior Republic in Indiana, a group offering programs to help young people and their families, was awarded a $2,293,531 grant from the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute. Those funds are going toward launching a new program aimed at reducing chronic absenteeism, oppositional behavior and early substance use in foster youth.
The Pre-Adjudicated and Truancy Help (PATH) program will provide a structured pathway for youth showing early signs of behavioral distress to access therapy, mentoring, and family support in their own homes and schools.
“By intervening early, PATH not only helps improve youth behavioral and mental health and strengthen family functioning but also reduces the likelihood of adjudication and out-of-home placement, allowing youth to remain in school and thrive within their communities,” said Shannon D. Smith, clinical director and PATH program director for George Junior Republic in Indiana.
Through the PATH program, George Junior Republic will be able to help 200 young people and families in Johnson, Bartholomew, Brown, Posey and Vanderburgh counties to minimize disruptions to their daily lives.
“For George Junior Republic in Indiana, the PATH Program is both a natural extension of our mission and a significant step forward in how we serve Indiana’s children, youth, and families,” Smith said.
The grant for the PATH program comes through the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute’s 2025 Juvenile Behavioral Health Competitive Grant Program. The program is a state juvenile justice initiative that supports jurisdictions in evaluating a child’s behavioral health needs and diverting the child from formal court involvement and out-of-home placement into community- or school-based mental health treatment.
That mission aligns perfectly with what George Junior Republic strives to do.
The organization offers community-based and residential offerings ranging from vocational educational programs, leisure and recreation activities, and a broad continuum of medical care and mental health treatment.
Though centered in Pennsylvania, George Junior Republic has operated in Indiana for more than 30 years. The organization opened a community-based, eight-bed group home in Columbus in 1993 and continues to be based in the city.
Services include psychological and neuropsychological evaluations for children and adolescents whose families are involved with the Department of Child Services, family preservation services and addiction programming. In June, they host a graduation for young people who have received their diplomas from high school or college. Every Christmas, the group hosts a massive Christmas celebration.
Since 1992, George Junior Republic in Indiana has partnered with the Department of Child Services and county probation offices to provide community-based services. The PATH Program grew out of concerns raised by probation officers across Bartholomew, Brown, Johnson, Posey, and Vanderburgh counties, who were seeing more youth with escalating behavioral and emotional challenges that didn’t qualify for formal adjudication or DCS involvement.
“In Johnson County alone, more than 340 such referrals were identified in 2024, with many dismissed simply because no appropriate services existed,” Smith said.
Through the PATH program, low-risk children and youth ages 8 to 18 with unmet behavioral health needs will receive services.
The aim is to address young people who fall beneath the statutory thresholds for adjudication with a judge or formal involvement with child welfare as a ward of the state.
Still, those youth often display underlying mental or behavioral health concerns linked to family instability, trauma exposure and unmet psychological needs that place them at higher risk of escalation without timely support, Smith said.
“PATH will deliver evidence-based interventions to address chronic absenteeism, oppositional behavior, and early substance use, helping youth and families minimize disruptions to their daily lives,” Smith said. “Service will target the mental health and environmental causes of these behavioral issues and prevent escalation into formal system involvement.”
Referrals to the PATH program will come directly from local probation offices, who mediate between families, schools, and other sources of pre-adjudicated and truancy referrals.
Referral status and intervention impact will be measured by George Junior Republic in Indiana and communicated regularly to probation offices as well as the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute, Smith said.
“By addressing these needs early, PATH reduces the chances of behavioral escalation into system entry and allows probation officers to redirect time and resources toward higher-risk cases,” she said.
The PATH program went into effect Oct. 1. This is the first grant George Junior Republic in Indiana has received from the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute, marking an important new collaboration between state legislation and community-based action, Smith said.
“This partnership reflects the state’s confidence in GJR’s long-standing commitment to delivering trauma-informed, evidence-based care that helps divert low-risk youth from adjudication and out-of-home placement into community-based behavioral health treatment …” she said.
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