Youth & Shelter Services (YSS) asked the Story County Board of Supervisors on Jan. 2 to serve as fiscal agent for a juvenile diversion grant that would pilot restorative‑justice interventions in schools across Story, Boone and Marshall counties.

"The idea is to go in and use a restorative‑justice approach with kids who are caught violating substance‑use policies in Story County, Marshall County, and Boone County Schools," the YSS associate director said, describing a pilot that would keep students in school, provide short interventions and, for repeat incidents, an eight‑hour prevention program or referral to substance‑use counseling.

YSS told supervisors the pilot would initially cost an estimated $30,000 to $60,000 and that the grant is due Jan. 14. The funds would primarily cover the lead prevention coordinator's salary and travel, plus administrative and operational costs. YSS said the grant period is expected to be two years, but the organization did not confirm the exact duration at the meeting.

Supervisors asked whether other local governments or school districts had been asked to serve as fiscal agent. YSS said it had not yet asked the city of Ames or county auditors in Boone or Marshall, and that Story County had been the organization's first choice because of an existing working relationship.

Supervisor questions focused on capacity and administrative burden for the county auditor's office. One supervisor said Story County has "a reputation of being able to manage a lot of things," but added that the auditor's office already handles multiple grants and that prior grant reporting had sometimes missed deadlines or arrived in formats the auditor found difficult to process. "I would feel more comfortable seeing an improvement in the requirements that already exist for the grants that Story County is already managing, before approving another one," a supervisor said. No motion to approve the county as fiscal agent was made.

YSS said it will continue working with county staff to try to simplify claims and reporting and will seek other potential fiscal agents, including Marshall County supervisors. The organization invited the board to reconsider if administrative issues are resolved.

No formal action was taken at the meeting on the request.