Rockdale County's Juvenile Court is looking to continue a unique Girl Scout program for girls who are first time offenders in the court system by funding a program facilitator.

The On Point program had been run by volunteers, but lately, the volunteers have not been available, said Mary Hogan of Rockdale Juvenile Court at Tuesday's Board of Commissioners work session.

"I think the main reason for that is so many people don’t have the ability to volunteer their time. It costs so much to drive to and from," especially with gas prices rising, she said.

"We’re hurting with getting mentors for our mentoring program," as well, she said.

To continue the Girl Scouts On Point program, Rockdale Juvenile Court will fund a facilitator at $12 an hour, one hour a week, up to $1000 for the year using funds already set aside for educational purposes, said Hogan.

The program has been operating in Rockdale since 2005, after the Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta approached Rockdale about the program in 2004.

The curriculum of the 12-week program, which meets one hour a week, is designed to "help girls develop a greater sense of self worth and trust and respect for adults."

"We know there are a lot of girls that need support or structure. Their parents can’t bring them that kind of thing. They were reaching out to the courts to determine what they could do," said Hogan.

In the court's mentoring program, typically, about 10-15 juveniles are assigned mentors by the Juvenile Court judge.

But more children could be mentored if there were more mentors available.

Mentoring takes about an hour a week and simply involves talking to or spending time with the juvenile, explained Hogan. No special training is needed but volunteers will be required to go through a background check.

Anyone interested in volunteering for mentoring is asked to call 770-278-7777.