Funding to aid Bucks youths with sexual behavior issues

BUCKS COUNTY

Funding to aid youths with sexual behavior issues

JAMISON The Network of Victim Assistance (NOVA) has been awarded a $300,000 grant by the federal Office of Juvenile and Delinquency Prevention to develop and provide intervention programs for youths with sexual behavior problems, NOVA announced.

NOVA offers support and counseling to both victims of sexual assault and youngsters with sexual behavior problems.

"Bucks County has a fragmented system for providing services in [such] cases," Kathy Bennett, associate director for NOVA, said in a statement.

The new programs are to target children ages 10 through 14, and the funding comes a year after a preliminary group was created to test the approach.

Bennett said the funding is to provide treatment services in at least 30 cases and train 80 other professionals in the field.

She said NOVA is one of only two programs to receive funding from the federal office; the other is in Fort Worth, Texas. - Khalil Williams