BATAVIA, Ohio — Clermont County’s Juvenile Community Resource Center is offering a free weekly networking group for parents of children with autism, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and other forms of neurodivergence, the center said in a Facebook post.
The group meets every Tuesday from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the resource center, 2339 Clermont Center Drive in Batavia. The center said the sessions are open to the entire community and that a child does not need to be involved with the juvenile court or probation system for a parent to attend.
The Clermont County Juvenile Community Resource Center was created with a state grant secured by Judge James A. Shriver of the Clermont County Probate and Juvenile Courts, according to the county’s website. Its stated mission is to connect youth and families with community resources on a voluntary, front-end basis, with the goal of keeping young people out of the juvenile justice system. All of the center’s programs, including the parent networking group, are voluntary and are never court-ordered, the county said.
Paige Olson, who has worked with Clermont County Juvenile Court for 32 years, serves as the resource center’s director and coordinator, according to the county.
The parent networking group is facilitated by Greg Handleton, a licensed counselor with the center. Parents, teachers and caregivers can attend in person, where seating is limited, or virtually through Microsoft Teams, according to the county’s website. Those who are not required by a court order to attend are free to come and go within the meeting window.
The center asks parents to RSVP by noon each Tuesday for that evening’s session. Handleton can be reached at 513-732-7699 or 513-427-2269, or by email at [email protected]. Childcare is not currently available at the meetings, the center said.
More information, including the group’s curriculum and any cancellation dates, is available at clermontcountyohio.gov.
The information contained in this story was obtained from the Clermont County Juvenile Community Resource Center.