About Us

History – The Orange County Youth Commission was established by the Orange County Board of Supervisors in 1980. A taskforce had been appointed in 1979 to complete the first needs assessment and delinquency prevention plan to address the needs of youth and families in Planning District 9. One of the recommendations from that plan was to establish the Commission to address the needs of youth and families in Orange County.

The Commission addressed many needs. They established the first Youth Council, developed Job Bank, established what is now the Garvis Huff Outstanding Youth/Youth Advocate Award Program, created the Crime Stoppers Program, and others. After a few years, it became clear that while they were making great progress on a volunteer basis, that there was a need for full-time attention to the issues. They applied for a Delinquency Prevention Grant through what is now the Department of Juvenile Justice. As a result of that, the Orange County Office on Youth was established in 1987 through grant funding with a local match. Until FY03 the office functioned as a county agency, supported, in part, by grant money. At that time the state withdrew all funding for offices around the state. The OOY continues to function as a county agency, supported almost entirely with local funding.

Youth Commission – The Orange County Youth Commission is comprised of ten adult members and two youth members. Each of the five districts in the county is represented by one person and the additional five are “at large” members. The youth members are representatives from the Youth Council. Commission members are appointed for a three-year term by the Board of Supervisors and serve as an advisory board to the Office on Youth. Members include:

• Barry Pendleton

  Ann Riordan

  Dwayne Pugh

  Hank Lewis

  Marcella Babatunde

  Debra George

  Lisa Harris

  Stephanie Hensley

  Larry Sappington

  Sherry Paige

Youth Council – Youth from the 8th - 11th grades must apply and be interviewed to serve on the Youth Council. They are appointed for a one-year term by the Board of Supervisors to represent the youth population and to advise the Commission and the Office on Youth. They are selected during the first couple of weeks in September.

Orange County Interagency Council – The Orange County Interagency Council (OCIC) was established in 1988 by the Office on Youth to assist in coordinating services, planning, and to prevent a duplication of services. It is comprised of members of youth-serving agencies and groups, and meets on at least a quarterly basis to share programming and address the needs of our youth. This group serves to develop the "Comprehensive Delinquency Prevention and Youth Development Needs Assessments and Plan", the last being updated in 2004.

The OCIC has served as the spring board for other committees and coalitions that have served and continue to serve special needs. They report back to the OCIC. The present committees are as follows:

Child Care Advisory Committee - This group was established in 1989 to address the needs of young children and parents of young children. This group presently in involved with the Child Safety Fair, the Backpack Trail to Kindergarten program, serves in an advisory capacity for the preschool day care program and before/after school care programs operated by Parks and Recreation, and is working on a grant project to provide assessments and planning for preschool children.

Suicide Prevention Coalition - This group was established in 2006 and is headed up by Alan Rasmussen, Prevention Specialist and Suicide Prevention Director with the CSB. The purpose is to educate adults and youth regarding the warning signs of suicide and how to intervene and access help for someone who is contemplating suicide.