What is the Youth Bureau?

The mission of the Madison County Youth Bureau is to promote and encourage the development of a comprehensive system of services to meet the needs of Madison County's young people.

The Madison County Youth Bureau is the department of County Government that administers New York State Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) funds within Madison County, and assists with the coordination and development of programs and services for children and youth under the age of 21. Strengths of the Youth Bureau system:

·        Services for all youth

·        Local decision making and design

·        Local Needs Assessment

·        Flexibility (No cookie cutter prescriptions or mandates from the state)

·        Equity (due to population based funding)

·        Youth Participation in Decision Making

·        Community Engagement

·        Administers population-based funding provided by NYS Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS)

The Madison County Youth Board helps guide the work of the Youth Bureau. This citizens advisory group is comprised of community, agency and youth representatives. Appointments to the Youth Board are made by the Madison County Board of Supervisors. The Youth Board meets monthly to set priorities, review funding applications, and offer guidance to the Youth Bureau. This important community involvement enhances the Youth Bureau's ability to identify and help meet the on-going needs of the children and youth living in Madison County.

Key Functions of the Youth Bureau 

Planning and Coordination

A major goal of the Youth Bureau is to help plan and coordinate services to meet the needs of children and youth in Madison County. The Youth Bureau assesses the needs of young people in Madison County to identify problems and determine funding priorities. It develops local strategies to meet the identified needs of young people and promotes partnerships with local service providers to help coordinate and develop a comprehensive array of services and opportunities for children and youth.

Long range planning and coordinated strategies to address these problems are outlined in the three-year Child & Family Services Plan. The Youth Bureau prepares this plan in collaboration with the Dept. of Social Services. The Child & Family Services Plan represents the first local effort to combine the planning processes of two county departments into one document.

The Youth Bureau Director is also the OCFS designated Runaway & Homeless Youth (RHY) Coordinator for Madison County. As RHY Coordinator, she is responsible for assessing the needs of runaway & homeless youth in Madison County and developing and coordinating appropriate services to help meet those needs. She is also responsible for insuring that 24-hour services are available to respond to inquiries concerning RHY services in Madison County and for monitoring and evaluating the existing RHY services.

Funding

The Youth Bureau administers Youth Development & Delinquency Prevention (YDDP), Special Delinquency Prevention Program (SDPP) and Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (RHYA) funds made available by the New York State Office of Children & Family Services. Annually, these funds are allocated to municipalities and nonprofit agencies to provide youth services and recreation programs that promote positive youth development and delinquency prevention and that address the problems outlined in the three-year Child & Family Services Plan. 

Monitoring and Evaluation

Determining the effectiveness of contracted services through monitoring and evaluation is a key responsibility of the Youth Bureau. All programs receiving Office of Children & Family Services funds are monitored and evaluated on a regular basis to ensure that quality services are being provided.

Networking and Advocacy

Securing broad community support for a better quality of life for our children and youth is of vital importance. The Youth Bureau advocates at the state and local levels for the adoption of strong legislation, policies and services that will foster the healthy growth and development of our young people.