ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, January 3, 1996 TAG: 9601030045
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: PULASKI
SOURCE: NEW RIVER VALLEY BUREAU
A has been chosen from more than 30 applicants as the county's new Office on Youth director.
Anthony D. Akers is taking over the post at a time when the county Office on Youth is seeing changes in staffing and services.
He graduated from Pulaski County High School in 1988 and Elon (N.C.) College in 1992. He was on the basketball team in both places.
The selection by the Youth Citizens Services Board followed a series of interviews by a committee of county staff members and citizen volunteers. The Services Board is appointed by the county Board of Supervisors to provide citizen input on youth programs.
Akers will be the only employee in the Office on Youth, which at one time had three employees. It will mainly provide services for juveniles under court supervision.
Such services will include a mentoring program similar to Big Brothers/Big Sisters, sentences including work on public projects such as reopening the Draper Mountain Overlook on U.S. 11, and in-home detention to avoid costly placement at the New River Juvenile Detention Home in Christiansburg.
For the past 15 years, the Office on Youth has provided such programs as the Halloween Treat Trail and Earth Day celebrations. Many of those are now being handled by other agencies. The new focus reflects the current state emphasis on youth eligible for court services rather than juvenile delinquency prevention.
The shift is because of state funding, which makes mandatory the kinds of services such offices provide. Three-fourths of the office's funding comes from the state. The county share stems largely from office space and administrative oversight.
The state funding is gradually being eliminated and is expected to be gone in three years. But other funding to help youth and at-risk families, from the state Department of Youth and Family Services and Department of Social Services, is expected to increase.
During the funding phaseout, localities are expected to establish activities to reduce delinquent behavior and promote community-based services. Akers will work closely with court and human service agencies.
Volunteers will be important to the success of programs being offered. Citizens interested in volunteering should contact Akers through the county administrator's office.
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