Wayne County presents Youth Assistance Program outcomes; commissioners ask for longer-term trends and provider-level data

Wayne County’s Department of Juvenile and Youth Services presented its Youth Assistance Program (YAP) annual outcomes, reporting that the program served 801 youth in fiscal year 2025 and that 76.3% of participants were listed as successful in achieving their goals.

Nathaniel McQueen, chief program officer for juvenile and youth services, said the program is a short-term prevention initiative funded by Wayne County millage and general-fund dollars and provided countywide programming through nine providers in FY2025. Commissioners pressed for additional context: Commissioner Killeen asked for multi-year trend data to determine whether success rates are changing over time and whether there is a formal review process for providers whose success rates decline.

McQueen and Director Rachel Davis said staff monitor provider metrics and meet with providers on at least a quarterly basis; they said the department increased review frequency from annual to quarterly to give providers earlier notice of slippage and to remove barriers that limit youth success. Commissioners asked whether contracts have ever been canceled for poor performance; staff said they had not reported any contract cancellations to date but will investigate provider-specific performance and historical trend data and report back.

Commissioners also questioned funding allocations, pointing to a chart showing certain conferences receiving a 1/10-mill set-aside. Corporation counsel (unidentified in the record) said a Wayne County ordinance governs the set-aside and that the counsel would circulate the ordinance language for committee review.