Youth Zone asks Carbondale for $15,000 to support local youth services

Youth Zone presented an overview of its services and operations to the Board of Trustees on Oct. 28, asking Carbondale to consider a $15,000 annual allocation in the 2026 budget to support local outreach and programming.

Lynn Williams, director of operations at Youth Zone, described a range of services offered across the Ninth Judicial District, including risk screening, in-house counseling, substance-use intervention, restorative justice, diversion and youth coaching. Williams said Youth Zone has expanded clinical capacity, added certified addiction technicians, and increased parent engagement and bilingual services; she described results for Carbondale where the organization reported 70 unique clients and strong contract-completion rates.

Trustees asked about Youth Zone’s funding history and noted earlier support through tobacco-tax and community grants. Williams and staff said fee-for-service revenue does not fully cover operating costs in Carbondale and that stable municipal support would help maintain an on-the-ground presence. Trustees discussed whether funding would come from the town’s tobacco-tax allocation or community grants and directed staff to evaluate options during upcoming budget deliberations. No appropriation was approved at the meeting.

Trustees complimented Youth Zone for an apparent positive impact on local families and emphasized the strong return on investment compared with detention costs, but they did not make a final funding commitment and asked staff to include the request in the budget schedule for further consideration.