The Westchester County Youth Bureau is situated within the Office of the County Executive, George Latimer. Grounded in the Positive Youth Development (PYD) framework, the Youth Bureau is the County’s resource for children, youth, and families. According to New York State statute, “A youth bureau is an agency created by Counties and Cities, or a Town or Village with a total population of 20,000 or more, for the purpose of planning, coordinating and supplementing the activities of public, private, and religious agencies devoted to the welfare and protection of youth.”
The Youth Bureau deploys financial, technical, and relevant resources that promote the social, emotional, physical, psychological, and educational well-being of young people throughout Westchester County. Using evidenced based strategies and evaluative tools, the Youth Bureau is responsible for increasing youth access to programs and initiatives that respond to the needs and problems of children and youth from birth to twenty one, and their families. By partnering with local Youth Bureaus, educational institutions, nonprofits, units of government, faith based organizations, and business, the Youth Bureau ensures that there is a cross-system approach to improving outcomes amongst young people, and in particular, special populations of youth who may be runaway or homeless, LGBTQIA, economically disadvantaged, at risk of placement, or in foster care.
With the allocation of resources through the New York State Office of Children and Family Services, the Westchester County Tax Levy, and the Department of Social Services, the Youth Bureau funds close to 200 programs annually that are offered through nonprofit organizations, municipalities, and government agencies. The Youth Bureau leverages its relationships between community stakeholders and staff to afford training on a wide range of topics including best practices concerning emergent youth matters, program evaluation, staff development, grant writing, and PYD.
— Ernest McFadden