Volusia County Marine Institute is a program which functions by not only putting together education and supervision but behavior modification counseling as well for those troubled teenagers who have crossed the law and are required to attend.
Circuit Judge Jack Watson takes care of juvenile cases in East Volusia and views the program as the last option before requiring a teen offender to enter a residential program. "I consider it a lifeline for many kids," he said.

"I couldn't be more pleased or speak more highly of a program than Volusia County Marine Institute. It's a wonderful program because the people who work in that program are people who really want to invest in lives. They really have their hearts in what they're doing," said Watson.

The Volusia County Marine Institute opened as a program in April 2006 in Daytona Beach. At present, it holds 42 East Volusia students who are between 13 to 19 years old. Many of these students are in the program for an average of 4 to 6 months before they go back to their traditional school or proceed to earn a high school equivalency diploma.
Based on the number enrolled and the community donations, the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice and Volusia County Schools both fund the project. The projected budget for school year 2007-2008 is $243,174.
A Tampa-based nonprofit organization, Associated Marine Institutes, runs the program. In 8 states, Associated Marine Institutes has 61 programs for teenage offenders. It all began with a program in 1969 which was assigned by a Broward County judge to troubled boys. In order to learn responsibility, they were required to assist scientists with research projects at a Boca Raton oceanographic institute.

Dan Toffoli, executive director of the Daytona Beach program, said "The biggest thing we teach is thinking before acting."

Kevin, a student who has spent 10 months at Volusia County Marine Institute since being charged with assault and battery on a student at Atlantic High School, said "I used to have anger problems." Kevin said he cut classes as well and smoked pot.
Describing the staff at Volusia County Marine Institute, Kevin said "You can talk to them about the problems you have." He now handles his anger by simply walking away from a situation or playing basketball. "There's a better way to handle problems than to fight," he said.