LISBON – The Maine Juvenile Justice Advisory Group has awarded the Police Department a grant totaling $14,040 a year for two years for the department’s Lisbon Education/Employment & Delinquency Program.

The program, a collaboration of the Lisbon police and school departments and the Maine Department of Corrections, provides an opportunity for training, education and job placement for at-risk youths ages 16 to 19 from the Lisbon School Department who are low-risk offenders or who may become involved with the criminal justice system.

The program is a Lisbon-only pilot program, police Chief David Brooks said. It is the Department of Corrections’ plan that the program will be expanded across the state in the years ahead, he added.

The grant will allow the Lisbon Police Department to continue providing remedial services that the LEAD Program offers to youth and young adults who are not going to receive a high school diploma and who are involved in the criminal justice system or on the verge, Brooks said.

The students and young adults who successfully complete the program are less likely to become offenders or need further actions, either probation or incarceration, with the Maine Department of Corrections, he said.

Helping the youths and young adults to receive a GED and possible help with job placement helps them from making bad decisions and wrong choices in life, that in turn will save the Department of Corrections future expenses.

Current LEAD business participants include Aubuchon Hardware, Maine Recycling, Lisbon Community FCU, Graziano’s Restaurant, The Dingley Press Inc., town of Lisbon, and Sam’s Italian Sandwich Shop.

This is the same program that was initially funded by the U.S. Department of Justice Weed and Seed grant from 2006-08.

The Town Council accepted the grant and approved a contract agreement between the Department of Corrections and the Police Department.

A state juvenile justice specialist has made a site visit to the department and met with the chief, Det. Bernard Mcllister and JoAnne Campbell, LEAD program coordinator.

For more information, contact Campbell at 353-3000, ext. 261.