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Sunrise Youth Bureau reports rising exploitation, runaways and synthetic‑marijuana cases
Summary
Sunrise Youth Bureau director Holly Prouse thanked the commission for funding and presented 2025 Stark County figures (86 diversion, 56 out‑of‑school suspensions, 41 shelter/attendant care cases) and warned of increases in female exploitation indicators, runaways, and synthetic‑marijuana positive tests among youth.
Holly Prouse, director of Sunrise Youth Bureau, told the commission Aug. 4 that county funding is essential to the bureau's operations and presented service statistics for 2025 specific to Stark County. She said the program served 86 youth for diversion, 56 for out‑of‑school suspension, 41 for shelter and attendant care, 146 youth in individual classes and completed 174 classes in schools.
Prouse said the bureau is seeing an increase in signs of female exploitation and an uptick in runaway youth; staff coordinate with the county's human‑trafficking navigator and law enforcement. She also told commissioners that recent drug tests have increasingly detected synthetic marijuana — "I would say the last drug kits that we've completed, kids have had tested, for synthetic marijuana." Staff discussed consumption modes (including vaping) and the bureau's role in early intervention and parent referrals.
Commissioners thanked Sunrise staff for the services and asked about overnight shelter frequency; Prouse said shelter care stays can be up to 14 days and that summer diversion was slower but expected to rise when school resumes. The bureau requested continued county support to maintain attendant‑care and prevention programming in western North Dakota.
