County to consider funding youth services

The Hays County Commissioners Court will consider an agreement to provide joint funding for youth services between the county, Texas State University, San Marcos Consolidated ISD and the City of San Marcos during Tuesday’s meeting. 

The joint funding is related to the creation of a Youth Services director, which the county approved during its Jan. 21 meeting. 

The City of San Marcos will fund 50% of the Youth Services director position, while the other three entities will equally fund the balance. The cost for the county, Texas State and SMCISD is not anticipated to exceed $20,000 per year. 

The Youth Services director is expected to partner with the four entities and community-based organizations to “develop out-of-school time programming focused on building a college-going and career-ready culture and increasing levels of post-secondary educational attainment among teenagers throughout Hays County,” according to the commissioner’s agenda. 

The director is also expected to work with the core 4 and community members to “develop and implement a sustainable, community-wide mentoring program for teens focused on goal-setting and educational achievement grounded in research and best-practices.”

The Youth Services Director will also be responsible for the following: 

• Provide quarterly progress reports on deliverables, budget, research metrics and program implementation to members of the Core 4 entities.
• Work with Texas State University faculty in conducting research on programs that produce positive mental health outcomes in young people, collect relevant social statistics, and develop indicative longitudinal metrics to gauge efficacy of programming.
• Work with Core 4  partners to establish best practices for working with youth around the intersection of mental health and school safety.
• Work with Hays County to pilot a juvenile diversion program that incorporates preventative mental health programming and creates pathways for post-secondary success.
• Provide opportunities for Texas State University faculty to conduct local research on issues pertaining to mentoring, poverty, family, at-risk youth and children.
• Work with the Early Childhood Coalition of Hays County to promote kindergarten readiness.

In other business, the court will consider taking action related to the renegotiation of a collective bargaining agreement between the county and the Hays County Law Enforcement Association. 

This collective bargaining will be the fourth bargaining round in Hays County history. The current agreement between the two parties expires on Sept. 30, unless the an evergreen clause is utilized. 

The commissioners will also consider a memorandum of agreement between the county’s veteran’s service office and Samaritan Center Counseling related to counseling services to individual veterans and/or their family members at no cost to the county. 

Tuesday’s meeting begins at 9 a.m. inside the Hays County Historic Courthouse — 111 E. San Antonio St.