Eyeball to eyeball, the judge looked at the youngster standing before him in juvenile court in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The kid had done wrong, and the normal procedure would be to send him to a juvenile detention facility. Instead, the judge took a chance. He called a marine biologist friend and asked him to take the kid out on his research boat and put him to work. A month later, the friend called back asking for eight more kids. From that simple beginning in 1968, Associated Marine Institutes began.
Success stories
The Georgetown County program began in 1989, moved to its current location in 1991, and has successfully worked with hundreds of youth in the past 17 years.
Many folks around Georgetown County have seen the young men, aged 11 to 16, as they have participated in various community activities, performed service work or gone to church.
The campus — deliberately operated without bars — is located about eight miles outside the City of Georgetown. It’s quiet, surrounded by trees and wetlands, yet is within sight of the Santee Cooper power plant. Officials are planning an expansion of the campus. See story below.
Alternative program
“All of our kids come here directly through the Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ). We have been in partnership with them since the beginning,” Michael Wright said. He’s been director of the Georgetown Marine Institute (GMI) for four years.
A judge makes the decision to place a kid in an alternative community program, such as the Georgetown Marine Institute. All of the kids are low to moderate offenders, Wright said.
Offenses include such things as truancy, probation violations, school violations or perhaps petty larceny. The wilderness camps get the more serious offenders.
Kids at GMI come from all over the state.
While some kids are from Georgetown County or nearby areas, staff tries not to get too many kids locally, Wright said.
The kids are in the program for six months.
In his time as director, Wright and his staff have earned four banners recognizing their successful termination rate for their students. That means they have all completed the program.
“We have a waiting list that we coordinate with community placement coordinators at DJJ,” Wright said. “If we have three to graduate, we may have three more coming in that same day.”
Wright said the staff works in four shifts.
The academic shift covers “school hours.” There are two vocational shifts and a night shift. “We have 24-hour supervision for the kids,” Wright said.
Structured process
When a kid enters the juvenile justice system, he is pre-tested to see where he is academically. “A lot of times, kids are so low academically” that they are well below their grade level for their age.
“The kids start there, wherever they are. We have all certified teachers,” Wright said. When they leave the Georgetown Marine Institute, all their work goes with them.
The work is geared on an A-plus system, geared toward the kid and his academic level.
“A lot of times, we are able to increase a kid’s grade level by two letter grades,” Wright said.
While at the Georgetown facility, students are able to have visitation from their families. They are also allowed to make phone calls and write letters.
“Providing they do well academically and depending on how well they are behaving in the program, they are able to go home for visits,” he said. “If they are not performing well, I just don’t allow them to do stuff.”
Programs work
Associated Marine Institutes (AMI) has 56 programs, including seven South Carolina locations.
All the programs are based on a unified program, Wright said, that includes treatment, education and behavior modification.
Locally, the kids do a lot of community service with such groups as Habitat for Humanity, Service Over Self, Hospice, Chamber of Commerce and numerous other organizations in the Georgetown area. They help at a lot of churches, and the students may attend Sunday services in the community.
Typical day
Structure is important in kids’ lives, and those at GMI have a set routine, seven days a week.
They get up at 7 a.m., and have 30 minutes to be ready for locker inspection. During that time they tend to their personal needs and make sure the dorm is clean.
Then, they have 30 minutes of morning exercises and a group counseling session in the meeting room.
They have an opportunity to do morning prayer, say the Pledge of Allegiance, and the kids may or may not read scripture. Included in that time is discussion on the word of the day, at least one current event and a safety tip.
Breakfast lasts 30 minutes.
Academic classes run from about 8 or 8:30 a.m. until lunch at noon.
After that 30-minute break, the kids return to class until 3:30 p.m.
They have a chance to review their point cards, to get an idea of how they’ve done for the day.
Then, the vocational team comes aboard, Wright said. They have a vocational class for 90 minutes.
Topics can include such things as CPR (cardio-pulmonary resuscitation), first aid, photography and interventions to crime, among others.
There’s an hour of recreational time and RPT (Rehabilitative Psychosocial Therapy).
Then, there’s a 30-minute block of time to eat supper. They get to take their daily shower, followed by RILS (Restorative Independent Living Skills).
A lot of the kids don’t know how to make a bed, clean up their room or other routine skills. The RILS help them learn how to do these necessary activities.
After their showers and RILS, they have an hour of quiet time. They can do homework, write letters home to family and friends, and then they have an hour of free time.
They can watch TV, write letters, or play educational games.
After the free time, the guys have 15 minutes to put up their games and other things, go to the restroom, and by 9:15 p.m. everybody is off the floor. They have a final 15 minutes when someone is asked to do a prayer, by their choice. At 9:30 p.m., their day has ended.
They do all of these activities every day, Wright said. “There is no down time. Even on the weekend, there is always structured activity going on.”
Nice kids
With all of the youngsters coming through the Department of Juvenile Justice, the sterotypical thought is that they might behave badly.
When people see them around Georgetown County helping out, doing their service projects, they are gentlemen, people tell Wright.
“That comes through the unified program,” he said. “A lot of our kids are kicked out of school. But, once the kids are in our home, you see a big adjustment.
“We treat them, we address behavior problems. We give the kids within six months as much education as they can handle.”
“Our company believes in bonding with the kids,” Wright said. “Once you bond with them, you can get kids to do what you want. We believe in this from our CEO (O.B. Stander) to the night counselor.”
Stander plans to be in Georgetown this weekend for the golf tournament and to visit the Georgetown Marine Institute.
All of the South Carolina programs and indeed all of the AMI programs use the same philosophy of putting the kid first.
Parental feedback
After the excitement of graduation day for a kid who’s completed the six-month program, Wright often gets a call or a letter from a parent.
One mom recently called Wright.
“She said she just can’t believe the work we have done with her kid. It’s almost like night and day,” she told Wright.
Another mother is proud of the success her son achieved at Georgetown Marine Institute, though there’s an aspect of sadness and loss, too.
About five years ago, the son made it through the GMI program and was doing well.
“Unfortunately, the dad was drinking.”
Wright said the mother told him the boy who had completed the GMI program and a brother were in the car with the dad. Because he had been drinking, he let one of the boys drive, and they were killed in a head-on collision with another car.
The mother still writes, though, relating how well her son did in the time he had at home after staying at the Georgetown Marine Institute.
Day program
Wright and his staff have set up a preventive program at GMI. They allow other kids to come out to the campus for a day to see how the program operates.
“As a matter of fact, we work with plenty of families right here in Georgetown,” Wright said.
Keep in contact
The residents can call their family members.
And, the public is always welcome to come visit the program, Wright said.
The kids are available to churches and other groups to do service projects.
“Just give us a call and we can set it up,” Wright said.
In fact, some of the kids are helping now with the Swamp Fox Players production, “Among Friends.” Several work as stage hands, moving furniture around between scenes of the play.
Often, some of the kids help at the Farmers Market on Saturdays, carrying produce to customers’ cars.
For more information on Associated Marine Institutes, visit its website: www.amikids.org.
The Georgetown Marine Institute contact information is: PO Box 638, Highway 17 South - East CCC Road, Georgetown, S.C. 29440. The phone number is (843) 546-5478.
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