Running head: OFFICE ON YOUTH

Field Agency: Surry County Office on Youth

Angela Blankenship
Briar Cliff University

OFFICE ON YOUTH

Field Agency: Surry County Office on Youth

The Surry County Office on Youth (SCOOY) is a county agency with the mission to
enhance the quality of life for Surry County youth and families by effectively addressing youth
concerns, assessing needs for services, increasing community collaboration and assistance in the
establishment of effective programs for positive youth development.
SCOOY works toward its goal by conducting needs assessments and developing long
range strategic plans and providing information and referrals. SCOOY also recommends,
coordinates, and implements services that promote positive youth development, prevention,
leadership, diversion/intervention programs. These programs include Advancing Youth
Development Training for youth worker professionals, parenting sessions and parent/child
engagement activities, adult mentoring programs, leadership and character development
programs, volunteer coordination, case management services and individual service planning for
families and children, workforce/job readiness and career training for youth and adults,
awareness and outreach services for families affected by autism, bullying, child abuse, and other
social issues. SCOOY participates in the Five Promises of Americas Promise Alliance, which
are: Caring Adults, Effective Education, Healthy Start, Safe Places, and Opportunities to Help
Others.
Surry County is a rural and remote county without a hospital, grocery store, pharmacy, or
many other amenities that most people have access to. Surry County Schools and the county in
general have experienced a population decline. The current graduating high school class is 56.
The nearest urban area is Williamsburg and is only accessible via ferry across the James River.
Keeping these facts in mind, the biggest social problems that SCOOY addresses are lack of

OFFICE ON YOUTH

positive adult role models, violence and delinquency prevention, underage drug and alcohol use,
and youth and adult unemployment.
SCOOY is a collaborative partner and/or key facilitator with other agencies/organizations
to meet the needs of the youth in the county. The agency diligently works with local, regional,
and state entities to coordinate an array of services for youth and families. Because the agency is
responsible for coordinating the Childrens Services Act, it is responsible for ensuring that long
range planning and service delivery is carried forth for multiple agencies and organizations.
Though the goal is to enhance or compliment current programs and services and it is never the
intent to duplicate services, there is sometimes an overlap or duplicate services with the local
Department of Social Services. Due to Surrys small population and limited resources, the
agencies often serve the same clients. Because of this, it is imperative that agencies establish
memorandum agreements and maintain open communication to eliminate confusion.
Funding for the Surry County Office on Youth comes from the following sources: 50%
Local Surry County government; 40% Childrens Services Act; 4% Virginia Juvenile Community
Crime Control; 4% Promoting Safe and Stable Families and; 2% donations. The majority of
SCOOY services are free and open to the public; however, there are special events that
participants are asked to pay for (i.e. parent/child activities, trips, camps, etc.). A sliding scale is
used for determining payment amounts for the Childrens Services Act.
The internship position has been restructured as a temporary paid position serving as
Program Assistant working primarily with two groups Precious Jewels and Guiding Good
Choices. Both of these programs are designed for all populations, but they target students in
middle school and their parents/guardians. Precious Jewels targets girls age 10 14. The
majority of the girls are African American; however, they come from different socioeconomic

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and cultural backgrounds. For instance, some are currently in kinship care with a relative and
not living with biological parents. Two of the participants have physical and learning
disabilities. Two are known to have open cases with the local Department of Social Services and
have received in-home counseling and mentoring services from private providers. Guiding Good
Choices is a five-session parenting series that is designed to educate parents/guardians on how to
help their children learn refusal and conflict resolution skills in order for them to make good
choices. All of the participants are African American with different socioeconomic
circumstances. Several participants are grandparents raising their grandchildren.
A new goal for Precious Jewels and Guiding Good Choices that the intern will be
responsible for is keeping the participants engaged SCOOY services beyond what they are
currently being offered after group termination. In the past both of these groups were terminated
after a predetermined number of sessions. There will be a new system for assessment developed
to identify what additional services and level of needs based upon pre/post testing, program
evaluation, feedback forms, etc.
SCOOY holds several special events or celebrations throughout the year for staff, clients,
and the community at large. April is Volunteer Appreciation Month and a special recognition and
awards program is held in order to honor volunteers. The Director uses Administrative
Professional Day as a time to show appreciation to clerical staff and program coordinators. Staff
are provided with a special outing at Christmastime and the County holds a Holiday Celebrations
for all county staff and board members. Awareness activities and events are held for autism,
child abuse prevention, drug and alcohol prevention, bullying. One of the largest events is the
Back to School Community Awareness Day with the goal of bringing families together to
empower youth for educational success.

OFFICE ON YOUTH

Probably the biggest fear, as an intern, is not knowing what I dont know. One of the
biggest challenges is figuring out what methods of delivery have been utilized in the past and if
they work. Other challenges are taking what works and tailoring it to fit me as a facilitator and
also coming up with new ways to deliver services in order to make the programming more
effective. Of course, a big fear is letting others down by not being as knowledgeable or effective
as others believe I am.
So far, my field instructor, the agency staff, and field liaisons have all been very helpful
and patient in just allowing me to ask all of my questions and providing honest feedback. My
field instructor has been awesome at including me in all of the county board/planning meetings
in order for me to network with other professionals in the community and other outside agencies
that the county partners with. I feel that, overall, my time at SCOOY has been very positive and
valuable to my development as a social worker.