ASHLAND — A program aimed at reducing recurring traffic violations among teens is growing in Ashland County since its reboot this year.
The Ashland County OSU Extension office reported having 30 teens participate in CARTEENS since its relaunch a few months ago.
Amy Nalley, a part-time 4-H program assistant for the agency, said Thursday there have been two sessions of CARTEENS since Ashland County commissioners allocated additional funds to cover it and a financial literacy program.
CARTEENS is a traffic safety program conducted by 4-H teen leaders and their program partners for juvenile traffic offenders. Each participant — a first-time offender of a traffic infraction — is judge-assigned.
More about CARTEENS
The program has been around since 1987, when an OSU Extension 4-H educator launched it in Brown County. Since then, the program has spread to multiple counties across Ohio and several other states. CAR stands for Caution and Responsibility. TEENS refers to the teenagers for which the program caters.
Sessions are held every other month at the Farmers State Bank site along U.S. Route 250. Nalley said the first session saw nine participants and two volunteers.
“It was an excellent little learning thing,” Nalley said of the first session.
The second session, held in March, brought 21 teens and five volunteers.
Nalley said she is optimistic for the program’s effectiveness at reducing repeat offenders. Each participant in Ashland County fills out a survey at the conclusion of a CARTEENS session.
It’s difficult to track the program’s effectiveness. The state does not track such data and only around half of the state’s counties facilitate a CARTEENS program. But Nalley said 29 out of 30 have reported strongly agreeing with this statement: “Other than my first traffic violation, I will obey all traffic laws.”
Another 26 out of 30 said they would think more about their behavior as a driver.
The next session will be held June 21.
Participants of the program usually are referred because of speeding, stop sign violations, reckless operation or driving under the influence.
A reboot
Jackie Wasilewski, 4-H educator with the Ashland County OSU extension office, said the juvenile court stopped sending kids to the CARTEENS program in 2018. Office staff, highway patrol officers and juvenile court judges expressed interest in restarting the program after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nalley spent time in 2024 researching CARTEENS in other counties to develop the program for Ashland.
Commissioners approved an increase to the OSU Extension office’s budget first in 2024, when it increased to $115,000. The allocation reflected a 44% increase from the 2023 allocation of $80,000.
In February, commissioners approved another increase to the office’s budget. Records show the extension office’s budget went from $115,000 to $130,000. The increase allowed the office to increase Nalley’s part-time hours to an additional 10 hours per week.
Wasilewski said the money also led to the implementation of CARTEENS and another financial literacy program that Nalley led at two area schools this spring.
Wasilewski and Nalley hope to expand the financial literacy program — dubbed Real World, Real Money — to additional schools next year.