Teenagers are constantly presented with difficult decisions to make throughout their high school career. They are academically and socially preparing for adulthood and the best decisions aren’t always the easiest ones to make. Should I go to the party tonight? Should I drink? Should I drive home? What if the answer to all of those questions is yes, and even more disturbing, what if someone is hurt or killed because of those poor decisions? Is there something that can be done to help prevent these tragedies from occurring?

About 3 months ago the ExpertBail Team began conversations with the Orange County Superintendant of Schools and the Orange County Sheriffs’ Department to develop a unique high school education pilot program. This program, code named, “Student Bail Out” was designed to educate students on the importance of staying out of trouble and making good decisions. As we all know, far too often, young adults make one poor decision that ends up having the potential to negatively impact the rest of their life. At the same time, the program is designed to also educate students on the important role that bail and the bail bond agents play in the criminal justice system.

Last month, we identified and worked with a prominent Orange County High School and conducted a pilot program to gauge the potential of the concept. This particular high school has a very good media/journalism department and a very enthusiastic student base. The plan was to have the students stage a mock arrest on campus and film the ensuing family drama which included a guest appearance by ExpertBail Agent, Jason Meyerson, who played the bail agent.

What many people don’t realize is that bail agents deal with this type of scenario on a weekly, if not daily basis. A young person in their senior year in high school makes a poor decision and gets caught with drugs, drunk driving, etc. The parents contact a bail agent, like Jason, to help them not only get their child out of jail, but more importantly, explain to them the process and what this means for their family. Many bail agents take the time to educate the family and the student about one of the most important situations that they may ever face. They can continue to go down a path of foolishness and poor decisions or they can become aware of the risks that these actions can potentially have on the rest of their life. In this way, bail agents, like Jason, find themselves serving as unlikely mentors to these young individuals.

In our “Student Bail Out” pilot program the students created a YouTube video of the bail agent/student/parent discussion to show us all how that sometimes uncomfortable conversation can go. Additionally the students wrote an article about the experience for their school paper. To read the article and see the video, click on the links below.

www.baronbanner.com/2011/06/17/the-jail-experiment/
www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvdupIj7Uis&feature=channel_video_title

ExpertBail is planning on taking this “Student Bail Out” program across the country to other high schools interested in participating. Working in conjunction with local sheriffs and school administrators, ExpertBail is committed to educating and informing young adults and their parents about the bail bond process and the importance of understanding the potential consequences that may surface as a result of poor choices and actions. Stay tuned for more on this developing program in the coming months.

If you would like to learn more about ExpertBail’s Student Bail Out program, please contact our team at [email protected] or call us at 800.935.2245.