The Intensive Surveillance Officer (ISO) Program is a component of the City of Atlanta's Weed and Seed Program, managed by the Office of the Mayor in collaboration with Fulton County Juvenile Court and The State of Georgia's Children and Youth Coordinating Council, providing intensive intervention services to children who are adjudicated delinquent reducing the likelihood that they will return to court. The program is funded by The State of Georgia Juvenile Accountability Incentive Block Grant.

This collaboration employs four (4) Intensive Surveillance Officers, and an office manager to monitor and refer supportive services for the families. Through this initiative, the probationers receive a holistic approach to addressing their needs and in turn this keeps them out of the court system in the future. This partnership has forged new beginnings and opportunities for youth facing quality of life challenges in Atlanta.

To avoid further penetration into the juvenile and/or criminal court systems, ISO's provide intensive intervention services to children who are deemed delinquent also referred to as probationers. Constant up-close and personal contact between ISO's and their probationers is one of the keys to the success of the program. Continual visits to their schools and homes, getting to know their families and friends, as well as accompanying them to court, are all factors in the dynamic of building trust and changing young lives.

The Main goals of the program are to:

• Lower probationer's recidivism rates

• Reduce probationer's school absenteeism

• Involve probationers in meaningful activities when they are not in school

Coordination is the essence of the Weed and Seed strategy. Due to the success of the collaboration of the above named agencies, Atlanta's ISO Program has been nationally recognized for the exemplary work they do on numerous occasions. Most recently Atlanta's ISO Program was honored by the Department of Justice Executive Office for Weed and Seed with The 2002 Law Enforcement Honor Coordination Award. This award recognizes Weed and Seed sites that work effectively in any element of the Weed and Seed strategy pertaining to community policing, prevention-intervention- treatment or neighborhood restoration.