Our Founder

Martine Wehr, JD, has been working with and teaching youth, adults and parents for over 30 years. The spectrum of her experience includes teaching elementary school, incarcerated youth, at risk adolescents, developmentally disabled children, college students, probationers and parolees. Ms. Wehr has developed and implemented community events for parents of at risk teens, legal awareness programs for first time juvenile offenders, and an advocacy program for developmentally disabled individuals who come into contact with the criminal justice system. She has worked with juvenile offenders with drug and alcohol issues and contributed as a writer to a guide for juvenile court judges on special education and juvenile delinquency.

Ms. Wehr is a faculty member in the Human Services department at Saddleback College, teaching classes on Adolescent Substance Abuse and Treatment, Juvenile Violence and Gangs, Criminology and Cultural Diversity.

She is the founder and director of Juvenile Consulting Services, LLC, an organization providing programs for at risk youth, parents and organizations servicing those populations. Her signature program, Youth and the Law, a juvenile diversion program, provides legal awareness education and decision making skills to youth along with parenting education focused on parenting the challenging adolescent.

She is a Certified Anger Management Professional for adolescents and adults and Director of Parent Education with the AJ Novick Group. She is the co-author, with Ari Novick, PhD of the parenting program, "Parenting in the Twenty-first Century: 10 Tools for Better Parenting”.

While working with the Community Courts Foundation, she provided employment and independent life skills workshops programs and support services to the juvenile and adult drug courts of Orange County.

Collaborating with a wide variety of community partners has led her to create a unique event geared specifically to help parents of teens find and learn about resources in their community. Side by Side: A Partnership in Parenting is a free conference that brings together elected officials, judicial officers, law enforcement agencies, local school districts, social services and health care, community and faith based and non-profit organizations to provide parents of teenagers with the support resources to support them as they raise their teenagers. This event, the first if its kind in scope and quality, stemmed from her and her husband’s  own personal challenges seeking community  resources for their teenage daughter.

In addition, Ms. Wehr has made presentations focused on issues related to youth to a variety of organizations. Topics include: Motivating Students for Life, Addressing Substance Abuse in Teens, Juvenile Violence, Bullying, Law Enforcement Partnership with Community Resources to Help Youth and Parents, Lessons Learned from Children Behind Bars, Diversion Programs for At Risk Youth and The History of Law. Organizations served include Saddleback College, Irvine Valley College, California Crime Prevention Officers Association, YMCA, Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), Boys and Girls Club Annual Conference, Whittier Law School Center for Children’s Rights, Capistrano Unified School District and San Mateo County Juvenile Hall.

She has served as a volunteer with CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) and been a volunteer with the Orange County Probation department since 2003, being nominated for volunteer of the year in 2006. She has provided incarcerated youth with inspirational guest speakers, educational and cultural field trips and opera performances. Ms. Wehr is a mentor for the wards at Theo Lacy. In addition, she has created and provided a street law program to several alternative high schools, teaching at risk youth the juvenile justice system, history of law and the consequences of criminal activity.

Ms. Wehr earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and Social Behavior, Cum Laud, from the University of California, Irvine with an emphasis in Child Development. She received her Juris Doctor from Whittier Law School as a fellow at the Center for Children’s Rights. As part of her legal education, she was an intern with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department Juvenile Services Bureau and three Orange County Superior Court juvenile court judges. She is a contributing author to the Orange County Juvenile Court Judges Special Education Resource Book and has written Affluence as a Risk Factor for Juvenile Delinquency. During her law school experience she developed symposia at Whittier Law School focusing on juvenile delinquency and local intervention programs. She has developed the Children’s Book Drive for Whittier Law School and the Laguna Niguel Chamber of Commerce, providing books to children who appear in juvenile court.

Ms. Wehr’s passion for helping youth and families has been an integral part of her life. Her belief that children are always worth our best efforts are reflected in her tireless efforts to support youth and families in our community. Her dedication to youth and the adults in their lives is reflected in not only her work experience, but her volunteer work, educational achievements and personal values.

She enjoys life with her husband, Dana, in Laguna Niguel. Their adult daughter, Hannah, teaches English in juvenile hall.