About Us
Through Tradition Comes Innovation
Jefferson County Youth Shelter provides 24 hour emergency care for youths, aged 10 to 18 years, within a residential home of 10 beds, for both males and females, referred primarily through the Indiana Department of Child Services and County Juvenile Probation Departments. JCYS receives a per diem rate from the state to fund residential placements and meets all regulations for operation as an emergency youth shelter, by providing housing, meals, medical care, as well as other services to meet the needs of the youth during their stay. Our residential shelter program is one of only a few facilities in Southeastern Indiana offering emergency care. Criteria for admittance include juvenile delinquency issues and/or abuse and neglect situations. Avoiding a disruption in the child's education and existing services is a large advantage of the services we provide. Youth are able to remain within their home community and receive services with their family to work toward successful reunification.
The Jefferson County Youth Shelter is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization.
YAR
Youth as Resources (YAR) of Jefferson County provides grants of $50 - $500 to young people, ages 5-21, to design and carry out service projects that address social problems and contribute to significant community change.
Jefferson County Youth Shelter has a new coordinator of this program and she is ready to do our community some good. If there are any questions please contact Jasmine Glover at 815-540-9289 during business hours or by email at YAR@jcysinc.org.
Safe Place Location
Safe Place is a national youth outreach program that educates thousands of young people every year about the dangers of running away or trying to resolve difficult, threatening situations on their own. This easily replicated community initiative involves the whole community to provide safe havens and resources for youth in crisis. Safe Place creates a network of "Safe Place locations" - youth friendly businesses, schools, fire stations, libraries, YMCAs and other appropriate public buildings that display the distinctive yellow and black Safe Place sign. In many communities the local transit system takes part, designating buses as mobile Safe Place sites. These Safe Place sites extend the doors of the youth emergency shelter or youth service agency throughout the community. Youth are easily able to access immediate help wherever they are.
Youth in crisis can text the word SAFE and their current location to the number 69866 and they will receive an address of the nearest Safe Place site and contact number for the local youth shelter. In cities that don't have a Safe Place program, the youth will receive the name and number of the youth shelter or, if there is no local shelter, the National Runaway Switchboard Hotline Number (1-800-RUNAWAY).