"It Takes A Whole Village To Raise A Child."
The District Heights Family & Youth Services Center prides itself in creating programs that are beneficial to all participants. Programs are offered in a nondiscriminatory manner, without regard to race, religion, gender, disability, or sexual orientation. We are constantly looking to create and implement new programs that pro-actively help our community prosper. The programs currently in place are include the Children In Need of Supervision Program (CINS), and the Visionary Youth Program.
Children In Need of Supervision Program (CINS)
The Children in Need of Supervision Program is a partnership between Prince George's County Department of Juvenile Services, located in Upper Marlboro and District Heights Family and Youth Services Center.
The goal of the CINS services are t o prevent pre-delinquent youth in Prince George's County from entering the Juvenile Justice System.
The CINS Program provides families with:
Children in need of supervision are defined as children or adolescents who exhibit acting out or pre-delinquent behaviors. Youth served may be male or female between the ages of 8 and 18.
CINS youth are often involved in status offenses, which are crimes that only pertain to juveniles, for example, curfew violations, underage drinking, or truancy. Ungovernable youth or frequent runaways also fall under this category. Youth who have been adjudicated or are on probation are not appropriate for the CINS Program.
Visionary Youth Program
Through support from the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) provided by Prince George's County Housing and Community Development Department, the District Heights Family and Youth Services Center offers the Visionary Youth program for at-risk youth. This program exists to ensure a successful academic and vocational future for our youth.The three specific objectives of this program are:
1) Establishing tutoring and academic enrichment programs for teens who may be struggling academically.
2) Implementing employment readiness projects so our youth can learn about potential career opportunities.
3) To expose our youth to the various college opportunities and options by hosting events such as a college fairs.
Specific facets of the Visionary Youth program include:
Job Bank
The Job Bank program is a job matching service that provides various employment opportunities for teens. Those who are interested simply complete an application that is in turn filed with the Job Bank. Residents then call when they need work done, whether it be ongoing work or a one-time task. Fees for services are negotiated between the resident and the teen.
Scholarship/Financial Aid Bank
Agency staff maintains and updates a comprehensive catalogue of financial aid and scholarship opportunities for college-bound youth.
College and Career Expo
Representatives from four-year colleges, community colleges, technical/trade schools provide curriculum options and admission requirements to teens in attendance. Within the expo, private and public companies discuss opportunities about summer help, internships as well as disclosing information about various job requirements and descriptions.
Tutoring
Operating as a weekly tutoring program, high students with a GPA of 3.2 or above serve as tutors to elementary and middle school children in areas such as math and reading.
Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Tours
This opportunity allows our youth to tour HBCU's wthin the Baltimore- Washington Area for little to no-cost.
For more information about these services please contact
District Heights Family and Youth Services Center at: 301 -336-7600 or 301-952-5498