Jill Schramm/MDN Emily Yanish, program manager for Youthworks in Minot, speaks to the Ward County Commission Tuesday.

The agency providing youth shelter services in Ward County is seeking new space to comply with changes in North Dakota law regarding the delivery of those services.

Emily Yanish, program manager for Youthworks in Minot, met with the Ward County Commission Tuesday to talk about how best to come into compliance.

Youthworks works with law enforcement and the human service zone in providing short-term emergency shelter and attendant care for youth in need of services. Legislative changes last year brought new certification standards for facilities that Ward County is unable to meet in its current small facility. Specifically, a facility must create a separation between delinquent youth and children in need of protection.

Yanish explained the desire is to separate children showing a level of criminal behavior to avoid exposing children who may have experienced abuse and neglect to negative behaviors and influences.

“That said, delinquent is a very broad term to use and includes things like shoplifting or pulling a fire alarm as a joke or any number of things. So I think there may be some advocacy for adjustment to that terminology in the next session,” she said. “But that’s not where it’s at this point.”

The state has startup funding for grants up to $150,000 that can be used toward acquiring a building, renovating space, staffing or training.

The commission decided to let Youthworks take the lead in applying for the state grant and in pursuing a new location to lease because of its knowledge regarding the programs and compliance.

Commissioner John Fjeldahl voiced frustration over the lack of information the county has had throughout the process of the law changes.

“It seems like we’re getting the information here about six months to a year behind. Then all of a sudden we are under the gun. We’ve got to make a move here,” he said. He added the county no longer has authority over social services, yet it is the county being asked to fund the youth facility.

“And we don’t even know the programs for sure,” he said. “I don’t like using taxpayers’ funds, no matter where we access them in the name of the county, when we have really no idea how this is going to play out.

“If I do not support this, whether it’s today or further down the road, it’s because I would like to know our full mission here. It’s more than just the building,” he added.

The motion to give Youthworks authority to pursue a grant and a building passed unanimously.

Yanish said $150,000 should be adequate to lease space and make renovations. However, Commissioner John Pietsch questioned whether the money would be adequate and whether Youthworks still would need county financial help.

“What it might not allow for is we had hoped to build some on-call staffing into that,” Yanish said. “If you have two potential populations to supervise, you need to have two staff available at any given time. So I’d have to work the numbers, but Youthworks is not opposed to being an applicant and seeking our own space.”

Commissioner Shelly Weppler said the county also has federal pandemic recovery dollars that could be used toward the project, which must be in place by August.

Funding for programs for delinquent youth would continue to come from the Attendant Care Program serving delinquent youth while fees for other youth services now are set by the Department of Human Services.

The commission also eliminated for now its existing $50 charge to area counties on top of the Youthworks daily fee for their youth held in the Ward County facility. The decision was necessary because the new fee structure doesn’t allow Youthworks to collect the $50 for the county.