Photo: Gabby Seratti/KHTS

Action Family Foundation officials hosted Wednesday Keep Me Informed, a panel and discussion on issues facing Santa Clarita Valley teens.

“There was a group of about a hundred people, mostly parents but some younger people, who were very interested in the discussion,” said Bob Wachsmuth, an investigator for the  J-Team. “Everyone was very interested.”

The Sheriff’s Juvenile Intervention Team, also known as the  J-Team, works to understand teenage trends, hangouts and other social activities.

“The Keep Me Informed panel was the second in an ongoing series Action has created to allow parents, teens, educators, and couselors to have a better understanding of what our teens are exposed to on a daily basis in Santa Clarita,” said Cary Quashen, founder of Action Family Foundation.

Parents and their teens learned about hangouts, drugs, trends, curfew, juvenile records and underage drinking and driving from the Sheriff’s J-Team.

Here are some tips and information from the Sheriff’s Department for teens and their families:

Anyone under the age of 21 with any alcohol percentage while driving will get their license suspended.

Juvenile records are not necessarily sealed.

Curfew of anyone under the age of 18 is 10 p.m. through 6 a.m and if caught, is a $400 fine.

Don’t eat something if you do not know what it is or where it came from.

Don’t set your drink down at a party.

“It’s a part of the J-Team’s duty to get information to the residents of Santa Clarita, particularly the parents to help them deal with their children’s exposure to drugs including marijuana,” Wachsmuth said.

Call Crime Stoppers if you see anything that should be reported.  You can call anonymously.

“It’s our goal to never lose another teen to drugs or alcohol. Enough is enough,” Quashen said.

– Jessica Boyer

About ACTION

The ACTION Parent & Teen Support Program is a gathering of concerned parents who meet to offer each other support and practical solutions to problems. A parent who has been trained as an ACTION group facilitator, who has experienced just how tough it is to raise a teenager in this day and age, leads each group. And best of all ACTION attendance is free of charge.