Ginny Newman, director of the Central Shenandoah Valley Office on Youth, told Staunton City Council on Feb. 13 that the regional office has persisted since 1978 and now serves Staunton, Waynesboro and Augusta County following a 2022 reauthorization by the Virginia General Assembly. "Our vision is simple: a community where all youth reach their greatest potential," Newman said, describing a suite of programs that include family support classes, Safe Routes to School bicycle and pedestrian safety, Check and Connect mentorship and juvenile diversion under the Virginia Juvenile Community Crime Control Act.

Newman told council that the office relies on a mix of local support and state grants and that fewer local offices remain in the state after funding reductions: "Currently, we're only about one of three of the offices that are left in the state," she said. The office has seven full-time staff, four regular part-time staff and additional outreach facilitators.

The FY2024 report highlighted program outputs. Newman said the VJCCCA detention-alternative program served 53 juveniles in house-arrest or electronic monitoring and the office's parenting programs reached 353 parents with an 87 percent completion rate. The Check and Connect truancy-prevention program served 108 students across the three school districts; Newman said she could not yet provide a final consolidated attendance and grade-change figure but reported "an increase in grades and attendance across the board" where data were available. The office provided bicycle safety instruction to 210 third- and fifth-graders at McSwain Elementary and plans to expand to two additional Staunton elementary schools this year.

Councilors asked how truancy cases are handled; Newman clarified that school systems initiate most truancy referrals and that parents can be charged in separate proceedings in some cases. "If it's elementary school, it's more than likely going to be the parents," she said, adding that Check and Connect currently serves middle- and high-school students because of staffing limits.

Newman described emerging trends staff see in the community: post-COVID truancy, widespread youth vaping — including THC vaping and edibles — and increasing mental-health needs among teens. She said the office is expanding prevention curricula (including vaping content from the American Lung Association's CATCH program), a fatherhood initiative tied to Department of Social Services funding, and a mobile outreach program called Community in Motion that brings sign-ups and services directly to neighborhoods.

Council members praised the office's reach and encouraged continued local support. Newman said staff are revising a 2022–24 strategic plan into a new 2025–28 plan that emphasizes evidence-based programming, data collection, marketing and community partnerships. She said the office will continue grant-seeking and regional cooperation to sustain services.

The director provided contact information and offered to return with additional detail if council requested more data on specific program outcomes.