Tyler

From Staff Reports

The Tyler Municipal Court's Partners for Youth Program is a finalist in the National League of Cities' 2008 Awards for Municipal Excellence.

The award recognizes cities that have programs that improve the quality of life for their communities. Nominated programs are judged on several criteria, including successful public/private partnerships; productive resident and city collaborations; effective management of municipal resources; innovative government policies; project application with real results; and the ability to replicate the project in other cities.

Partners for Life is one of 57 finalists for the award, and it will be featured in Nation’s Cities Weekly magazine along with the other finalists. The finalists will also be featured on the NLC Web site, www.nlc.org.

In November, the organization will announce the winners of the 2008 Awards for Municipal Excellence at its annual Congress of Cities. The winning cities will be recognized at the Congress and will receive monetary donations to the nonprofit of their choice.

"Tyler has demonstrated its ability to offer outstanding programs for its citizens in order to transform the community," said Donald J. Borut, NLC's executive director. "The Awards for Municipal Excellence recognize the spirit in which cities excel and face the future."

Tyler's Partners for Youth Program launched in October 2006. It is designed to offer counseling, education and punishment to juvenile offenders to keep them from making further offenses in the future. During the first year of the program, 2,233 children were assigned to classes offered by Partners for Youth. The program saw a 69 percent completion rate, with 1,542 children finishing the classes and other requirements.

"We are honored that this outstanding program is being nationally recognized," said Mayor Barbara Bass. "The Municipal Court created this unique program as a proactive step to decreasing recidivism. It is an investment in the youth of our community."