An effort to address a need for more services to help children, young adults, and their families in Warren County has resulted in six new programs created by a public-private partnership of organizations and individuals.
The Warren County Y-ReConnects Community of Practice Team, a consortium of local organizations and people with “lived experience” dedicated to working to provide better outcomes for at-risk youth and adults, used a $100,000 grant through Cornell University and New York State Developmental Disabilities Council to fund a variety of impactful new programs, beginning in 2021.
“We wanted to improve outcomes for justice-involved youth, and for a small amount of money, we made a big difference,” explained Robert Iusi, Warren County Director of Probation. “We are very thankful to the groups that stepped forward to work with us on new programs that will continue to have an impact.”
The Warren County Y-ReConnects (Youth Reentering the Community through Opportunity, Networking, Navigation, Education, Collaboration and Transition Supports) Community of Practice team created new programs that include:
- Career mentoring for youth.
- Creation of an online community asset map.
- Establishment of a Parent Ambassador Coalition to assist parents, which included events to distribute backpacks and school supplies to students.
- Use of Restorative Justice Practices through Mediation Matters or students in Glens Falls and Warrensburg school districts as well as the WAIT House Homeless Youth Services.
- Creation of a program to assist justice-involved individuals as they re-enter society.
- Mentoring of students in Glens Falls School District.
Amy Secor, the Warren County Probation Supervisor who spearheaded the effort, said that each program would not have been developed if not for the vision and expertise of the individuals and agencies that collaborated to create them. Specifically, the implementation of restorative practices in a community, whether it is a school or an agency, requires all the stakeholders, community partners, youth, staff and caregivers to be engaged and participatory.
Secor said: “It took a lot of courage, dedication, and determination for leaders to take on this type of endeavor. Mediation Matters, WAIT house, Glens Falls City School District and Warrensburg Central School showed they were ready for challenge. I think the best part about what was done with this grant is that it mostly served youth and families who are at risk but that have had no involvement with probation. By developing and expanding these programs we were able to give them services that prevent them from having encounters with social services or law enforcement.”
On Tuesday, April 23, 2024, the Warren County Probation Department and Warren County Board of Supervisors Criminal Justice/Public Safety Committee brought the partners together to thank them for bringing the programs to fruition.
Organizations that provided their assistance for the Y-ReConnects programs included Cornell Cooperative Extension of Warren County; WAIT House; Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Southern Adirondacks; Mediation Matters; Washington County Youth Bureau; Warren County Department of Social Services, Warren County Department of Workforce Development, Warren County Probation Department and Warren County Public Defender’s Office; Office of Community Services for Warren & Washington Counties, Glens Falls and Warrensburg school districts and Baywood Center.
It appears that the majority of the programs will be financially viable for years to come, Secor noted.
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Photo attached: Representatives that helped with Warren County’s Y-ReConnects program gathered for a photo at Warren County Municipal Center after they were recognized by Warren County Board of Supervisors