Youth Services

The Department of Youth Services is committed to a balanced approach to Juvenile Justice. This balance involves four essential elements:

• Public Safety: DYS is responsible to the community by providing an appropriate response to behavior that endangers others or their property
• Accountability: DYS is committed to holding youth accountable for their actions to their victims and to the community, we help youth to understand and develop better ways of thinking.
• Skill Building: DYS has many programs that strive to incorporate skill building activities that tie youth back into the community promoting a sense of value, belonging, and achievement.
• Reduce Recidivism: DYS’s goal is to reduce the rates of re-offenders among the youth we serve by helping them understand the importance of public safety, accountability and skill building.