Macon County Sheriff's Office
Juvenile Crime Prevention Council

The Macon County JCPC is formed under general statute 143B-543. This statute states that it is the intent of the General Assembly to develop community based alternatives to youth development centers and to provide community based delinquency and substance abuse prevention strategies and programs.

The statute also says that the General Assembly intends to provide non-institutional disposition alternatives that will protect the community and juveniles. These programs and services are to be planned at the local level by local Juvenile Crime Prevention Councils (JCPCs) in partnership with the state.

Each JCPC must contain certain members of the community. Macon County’s JCPC includes members from:

• The Office of the District Attorney
• The Business Community
• The Department of Social Service
• The Department of Juvenile Justice
• The Faith Community
• The Macon County: Public School System, Sheriff’s Office, Public Health Center, Recreation Department, and Macon County Board of Commissioners

JCPC Funded Programs

Hawthorn Heights - Under the umbrella of Mountain Youth Resources, Hawthorn Heights is short-term, co-ed emergency shelter located in Bryson City, NC. Serving Macon, Swain, Clay, Graham, Cherokee, Jackson and Haywood Counties, Hawthorn Heights houses up to eight youth at any given time.

Residents at Hawthorn Heights are referred by the Department of Juvenile Justice, Departments of Social Services, Law Enforcement Personnel, or individual families. A child may stay in placement at Hawthorn Heights for 90 days, but often their time is much shorter. During their placement at Hawthorn Heights, children receive training in the areas of problem solving, conflict resolution and communication skills along with individual and family counseling based upon their individual needs.
Project Challenge

Project Challenge is a restitution and community service program that serves court-involved youth in Macon, Swain, Jackson, Haywood, Clay, Graham and Cherokee Counties. Participants in the Project Challenge program participate in structured community service activities. These activities include Adopt-A-Highway, Greenway clean-up and maintenance, Neighbors-In-Need, Habitat for Humanity, the Humane Society and others. If a child is ordered to pay restitution to a victim in his/her crime, Project Challenge pays for certain activities and that money is sent to the victim.

In addition to their own community service activities, Project Challenge works collaboratively with the other funded programs so that children are given credit for all the community service hours they earn.
Western Carolina Pacesetters

Pacesetters is an adventure based learning program. Here in Macon County participants in the Pacesetters program meet weekly at the Macon County Recreation Park. In those weekly meetings, youth receive mentoring, structured after-school activities, life skills instruction, community service opportunities, art therapy, cognitive retraining, and problem solving instruction. In addition to their weekly meetings, participants in the Pacesetters program attend monthly adventure activities such as spelunking, rafting, rock climbing, high and low ropes courses and alpine tower excursions.

Macon County Youth Endowment

The Macon County Youth Endowment is a fund established by the Juvenile Crime Prevention Council to provide a means for the community to give to our youth. The Youth Endowment is administered by the North Carolina Community Foundation and currently has a balance of over $10,000.

The JCPC distributes 5% of the funds average balance to non-profit agencies serving Macon County youth. Such agencies include, but are not limited to, schools and youth groups, structured day programs, temporary shelter services, guided growth programs, adventure programs, restorative justice programs and Departments of Social Services.

The fund distributions are earmarked for Juvenile Crime Prevention programs and are specifically used to provide services to youth. They may not be used for capital improvement projects or staff salaries.

Contributions can include gifts of cash or property. Checks can be made payable to the Macon County JCPC. Contributions of publicly traded stock, real property, testamentary transfers, charitable remainder trusts, charitable lead trusts, charitable gift annuities, and life insurance policies are welcome and may be coordinated through the NC Community Foundation at: 7 Colonial Square, Suite 200 Sylva, NC 28779 (828) 586-4616.