Community Outreach

The attorneys and staff of the County Attorney’s office are constantly engaged in community service outside their normal duties of the office. We actively participate in fund-raising efforts like Race For The Cure, Domestic Violence Prevention, and high school and college intern programs.

PROGRAMS CONDUCTED IN 2006, 2007, AND THOSE WHICH ARE ONGOING:

CROSS CULTURAL MEDIATION SEMINAR:
On March 31, 2007, Dr. John Stempel, Senior Professor of the University of Kentucky's Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce, conducted a three-hour seminar to an invited audience of mediators, attorneys and educators.

INTERNATIONAL CULTURAL INITIATIVES:
On February 8 – 9, 2007, our Director of Prosecution, Lee Turpin, who has an extensive background in the prosecution of domestic violence cases, hosted a meeting with a delegation from Tanjikistan to educate them on how we approach issues of domestic violence. This group consisted of twelve personnel from their militia (police), social workers, prosecutors, and other government officials. It was necessary to use interpreters due to the majority of the visitors speaking Russian. The meeting was arranged through Dr. Robin Haar from Eastern Kentucky University, and it represented an amazing step in advancing women’s rights in a Muslim environment. We are continuing to work on sending a delegation to Tanjikistan to help implement the programs and ideology that were discussed in February. Photo: Delegation from Tanjikistan with Lee Turpin, front row, far right.

DOWNTOWN CLEAN UP PROJECT:
Working with the Downtown Lexington Corporation, our office, through our Diversion Program, provides daily help to merchants by picking up litter and cigarettes on the sidewalks and store fronts.

TRUANCY PREVENTION:
Working closely with Fayette County Schools, our prosecutors are assigned to elementary schools throughout Lexington to help parents understand the importance of their children attending school. We know that trying to stop truancy habits in families with young students will result in a reduction of high school drop outs, and will have a significant impact on the majority of juvenile crimes. This program, known throughout the community as “TIP,” reaches out to families which have problems that can be serviced through a wide variety of agencies. In just one year, the schools' records have shown a major decline in absenteeism and tardies among the families that have participated in the program.

JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT:
Working closely with Fayette County School Superintendent, Stu Silberman, Junior Achievement of Lexington coordinated many professional business and municipal leaders throughout Lexington to host in the annual “Shadow Program” for over a hundred students from Fayette County for an entire day in March, 2008. Our office gladly participated, and were pleased to host four eighth grade middle school students. Hailey Durham, Madison Gilinsky, Rhett Constantine and Haley Wright experienced, first hand, the daily activities and responsibilities of prosecutors in our office.

E.B.C.E.:
Fayette County Schools has a tremendously successful program of providing off site intern experiences for seniors through Experience Based Career Education. This is an effort to allow students to observe, first hand, the day-to-day operation of many different professions. Through participation with our office, students meet daily with prosecutors, domestic violence counselors and court staff while observing all aspects of the proceedings in the Fayette District Court. They are exposed to the process of filing criminal complaints, observing plea bargaining, meeting police officers, judges, and defense attorneys and watching felony preliminary hearings and jury trials.

LOCAL TASK FORCE COMMITMENTS:
Child Sexual Abuse
Division of Youth Services
Dog Task Force
Domestic Violence
Domestic Violence Prevention Board
Elder Abuse
Fatality Review Team
Juvenile Drug Court
Partners for Youth
Project Safe Neighborhood
Safe Child
Smoking Advisory Board
Truancy Reduction Initiative