Community Youth Services Foster Care

We envision every child growing up in a supportive home and community and achieving their full potential for personal growth.

WHY?

We believe in strengthening our communities by empowering youth and families to create their own success.

OUR HISTORY

Community Youth Services was founded in 1970 as the Thurston Youth Services Society by a group of civic-minded citizens who had observed increasing numbers of youth who were becoming involved in the criminal justice system. The late 1960s had ushered in a youthful revolution that had turned conventional values upside down. Adolescent rebellion had manifested itself in drug use and a distrust of traditional institutions and authority. As these new patterns crept into Olympia and Thurston County, citizens became concerned, and local leaders set out to establish a youth-friendly organization that would appeal to vulnerable and marginalized youth. These visionary founders included Carl Reder, Bob Macleod, Paul Zach, Jody Veatch, and the late Rev. Howard Perry.

The agency’s first director was Betty Hasard, and its first program was a teen drop-in center named The Third Eye. It was staffed primarily by volunteers, and it targeted youth who need a safe place to go after school. Housed in a residential structure on Union Street, the Third Eye remained a vital program for three years. At that time, the agency had a staff of four.

By the late seventies, the State of Washington had overhauled its juvenile justice system, and the Juvenile Justice Act of 1977 had de-criminalized many of the offenses that were committed by youth. These included truancy, alcohol consumption, to***co use, and running away. Now there was a new mandate for community-based services, such as counseling and juvenile diversion, to be delivered to first-time juvenile offenders through non-profit agencies. Runaway youth could no longer be locked up; rather, they were to be offered intensive family crisis counseling. This, it was hoped, would help to keep teens from penetrating the juvenile justice system.

Betty Hasard was succeeded by three other directors — Jane Bogle, Bob Foster, and Roger Kurt — before Charles Shelan became the agency’s executive director in 1979. The following year, the agency moved from its original location to newly remodeled quarters in downtown Olympia. It quickly expanded by launching an innovative, federally supported employment and training program for youth, referred to as the CETA program.

1973 – Developed one of the state’s first Juvenile Diversion programs.

1976 – Became a United Way Partner Agency.

1978 – Washington State overhauled its juvenile justice system. The Juvenile Justice Act of 1977, de-criminalized status offenses, and mandated formal diversion for first time and minor juvenile offenders. Runaways no longer could be locked up; rather they were to be offered intensive family crisis counseling. The new Act spawned a new emphasis on community based services delivered through non-profit agencies such as CYS.

1979 – Charles Shelan became the executive director.

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1989 – The agency changed its name to Community Youth Services (CYS) and purchased a newer building near downtown Olympia. The agency also purchased and remodeled a newer home for Haven House.

1989 – Developed a treatment-based Foster Care Program for teens, which now serves over 45 youth each year.

1991 – Received the Department of Labor’s Presidential Award for excellence in job training.

In the early to mid-1990s, CYS initiated several new programs and expanded existing services. Notable additions included Readiness to Learn, AmeriCorps and Transitional Housing.

1995 – Established a dedicated Endowment Fund for CYS.

1996 – Worked with other agencies and businesses to host a county-wide Youth Summit.

1997 – Established a Family Preservation Program.

1998 – Established a Transitional Housing Program for youth, 18-21.

1998 – Received two major federal grants to work with homeless and runaway youth.

1998 – Received a contract to establish Washington Reading Corps in a multi-county area.

By 2000, CYS had over fifty staff, and an operating budget of $4.5 million. It also had become nationally accredited through the Council on Accreditation for Services for Families and Children. But the agency’s expanding programs had outgrown its office space capacity. CYS was faced with a decision: Where can we go that will accommodate future growth?

2000 – Met all requirements for accreditation through the Council on Accreditation for Children and Family Services.

2001 – Launched a successful $2.5 million capital campaign to purchase and remodel a new service center in order to acquire more space for growing CYS programs and services. The campaign attracted support from over 250 individual, corporate, government, and foundation donors, and was successfully completed in 2001.

2002 – Relocated to its new location, a 20,000 square foot, multi-service center at 711 State Ave. NE, Olympia. The new building was also large enough to accommodate other related, non-profit services such as Garden Raised Bounty, The Refugee and Immigrant Services Center, the Choice for Change School, and the Thurston County Literacy Network.

2003 – Partnered with North Thurston School District and South Puget Sound Community College to open a new educational program, Choice for Change, to help students earn GEDs, improve study skills, and enter college.

2004 – Rosie’s Place Drop-In Center was open to provide services for Street Affected youth. CYS collaborated with numerous community partners to open Rosie’s Place, an on-site, daytime drop-in and resource center. In its first year, Rosie’s Place provided meals, counseling, case management, and medical and mental health services to more than 900 young people.

2006 – Charles Shelan received the Distinguished Leader Award from LEAD Thurston County and CYS received the Organization of the Year Award from LEAD Thurston County, a leadership division of the Greater Olympia Chamber of Commerce.

2007 – CYS was recognized by the South Sound Business Examiner as the Top Non Profit Workplace within its five-county readership area.

2009 – CYS applied and received a 3 year federal grant for YouthBuild employment and training program and partnered with New Market Skills Center and Habitat for Humanity to carry out the project.

2010 – Executive Director, Charles Shelan, was awarded the 2010 Nonprofit Leader of the Year award by the University of Washington’s Tacoma Milgard School of Business.

2011- CYS was selected as the Thurston County Economic Development Council’s Nonprofit of the Year.

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Today, Community Youth Services is the largest child welfare agency serving southwest Washington. CYS has over 155 staff, 80 volunteers, and an operating budget of $10.8 million. A fifteen-member Board of Directors oversees policy for the agency. Twenty two interrelated programs serve more than 7,000 children, youth and families throughout Thurston, Mason, Lewis and Grays Harbor counties. The original programs — Juvenile Diversion, Haven House, and Therapeutic Foster Care — continue to be effective, vital components of the agency. Other current programs include Independent Living Skills, Street Outreach, Family Preservation, and integrated counseling. The agency also provides 80 AmeriCorps slots for public and non-profit agencies throughout six southwest Washington counties. The agency is supported through contracts and grants with the federal, state and local governments, as well as United Way of Thurston, Mason, Grays Harbor and Lewis Counties and private donations.

Community Youth Services is a member of the National Network of Youth, the Washington State Children’s Alliance, the Northwest Network for Youth, and the Washington State Coalition of Children’s Residential Services. CYS is largely supported through contracts and grants with the federal, state and local governments. Individual donations, private and corporate grants, and United Way chapters in Thurston, Mason, Lewis, and Grays Harbor counties also support CYS programs.