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Dunn County expands youth justice voice with $14,000 grant for Youth Leadership Team
Summary
Family and Children Services managers told the Dunn County Health and Human Services Board that a recent $14,000 state grant allowed the county to increase Youth Leadership Team participation to 11 youth in early 2025, add larger stipends and plan training and community projects to build youth skills and leadership.
Carrie Nearing, a Family and Children Services manager at Dunn County Human Services, told the Health and Human Services Board on Feb. 27 that the county won a state grant to expand its Youth Leadership Team (YLT).
The grant—awarded by the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families to counties that applied—provided $14,000 for the county to boost participation, Nearing said. The money allowed the county to offer youth a $100 gift card in addition to a continuing $25 state stipend and provide food and transportation. In the first 2025 meeting supported by the grant, 11 youths attended, the managers reported.
Nearing and Laurie Radcliffe, also a Family and Children Services manager, described YLT as a state-created effort that invites young people with current or prior youth-justice involvement (14–21 years old) to advise on training and system changes. “We don’t like to be called juveniles,” Nearing said, quoting feedback youth gave the state when participants pushed to change the system’s language and focus. That input helped transform “juvenile justice” into the state’s current “youth justice” framing, she said.
Board members heard how the county’s workers expanded recruitment by contacting current caseload youth and former clients who now live or study nearby, including students at UW–Stout. Radcliffe described plans to split participants into smaller discussion groups so youth feel safer sharing, and to build in skill-building activities—public speaking, “adulting” classes (banking, cooking), and outings—so participants gain confidence before speaking in larger forums.
The managers said staff are also pursuing community partnerships: they met with the UW Extension office about creating a community garden the youth would help run and will use a program aide plus five youth-justice staff to coordinate activities. Nearing emphasized that staff made extra outreach efforts—sometimes picking youth up after school and staying late—to remove transportation or scheduling barriers.
Board members asked operational questions: Supervisor Lam clarified that eligibility requires a delinquency order at some point, and Supervisor Kagan asked whether consent was a barrier for participants 18 and older; managers said transportation was the most common obstacle, and staff support and stipends reduced that barrier.
The presentation included an individual success story from a youth identified in the discussion as “Mike” (name changed for privacy). Staff described a placement at Rawhide that lasted several months, followed by skill-building and steady contact from both county workers and two Rawhide staff. The youth returned home, began to advocate for his needs and later attended YLT as a leader, staff said.
Board members praised the work and suggested the model could inform other county youth engagement efforts. Nearing and Radcliffe said the grant-funded expansion is intended to increase the county’s voice at state-level YLT meetings and to help participating youths develop long-term skills and supports.
Nearing and Radcliffe asked the board to note the program’s continued staffing needs and the county’s reliance on outreach work by existing youth-justice staff.
The board offered thanks and no formal action was required of the board on the presentation.
