Lee County Youth & Family Services

Mission Statement

The Lee County Department of Youth & Family Services is the only agency in this community, which has the sole purpose of serving the court-involved and at-risk youth and their families.  Since its inception in 1977, the department has worked to develop services to strengthen and enhance the lives of the community.  All services are provided at no cost to Lee County youth and their families.

 Lee County Juvenile Crime Prevention Council RFP

Services offered include:

HILLCREST YOUTH SHELTER:  The emergency shelter program serves at-risk, court-involved, or youth in crisis (ages 10-18) in a five-county region including Lee, Harnett, Johnston, Chatham, and Orange Counties. Hillcrest is also a Federal Runaway/Homeless Youth Shelter that can serve youth from anywhere in the United States that is displaced in our regional area. The residents may stay at the shelter for up to ninety days depending on their particular situation.  Hillcrest accepts referrals from DSS, Mental Health, Juvenile Justice, Schools, local providers, Law Enforcement and parents.  Youth in crisis may walk-in to the shelter 24-hours a day.

SAFE PLACE PROGRAM:  A prevention/outreach program available to assist youth who may be in crisis and feel they have nowhere to turn. Sanford Nissan and the Pantry Company are primary sponsors of this program.  Each of the Pantry/Kangaroo Stores in Lee County serves as Safe Place sites where youth may go if they are in crisis.  The Nissan dealerships in Sanford and Moore County also serve as Safe Place sites along with the City of Sanford Fire Stations.

PSYCHOLOGICAL SERVICES PROGRAM:  Addresses the need for family and individual counseling and assessment services.  Our staff psychologist provides assessment, evaluation and/or counseling for youth and their families.  The Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention of Lee County, the Lee County Department of Social Services, the Lee County School System and other youth
agencies refer youth and their families to this program.  The staff psychologist sees all residents of the Hillcrest Youth Shelter for individual and group counseling.  Finally, all juveniles and families that reside in Sanford or Lee County can enroll in this program.  The overall mission of this program is to assist youth, families and agencies in dealing with difficult, and potentially explosive, situations that can occur during the passage of adolescence.

FAMILY-CENTERED CASEWORK PROGRAM:  Provides family preservation services, which include intensive home-based activities as well as counseling, parenting skills, socialization and educational activities. The Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention of Lee County, the Lee County Department of Social Services, the Lee County School System and other youth serving agencies refer youth and their families to this program.

THANKS (THOUGHTFUL, HELPING, ADULTS ‘N’ KIDS SHARING) MENTORING PROGRAM:  This big brother, big sister type program has been a Governor’s One-on-One Volunteer Program since 1982.  Adult volunteer mentors are matched with local children (ages 7 – 17) who have been or are at risk of getting into trouble at home, school, or in the community.  Mentors spend at least 2 hours per week showing their young friends new ways to look at things and exposing them to new experiences. The THANKS Program is always looking for mature adult volunteers who are seeking to make a positive difference in the life of a young person.

JUVENILE RESTITUTION & COMMUNITY SERVICE PROGRAM:  Provides an array of work opportunities for court-involved youth to make restitution or to perform a service to the community.  Types of work performed include mowing, yard work, helping at the Salvation Army Thrift Store, etc.

YOUTH INVOLVEMENT BOARD:  Coordinated by youth from the Lee County community ages 14-18 who meet on a regular basis and conduct social/educational activities for residents at the Hillcrest Youth Shelter and the THANKS Mentoring Program.

PARENTING CLASSES:  Are provided in a six (6) session block to Lee County families by the Lee County Youth and Family Services’ staff psychologist. The purpose of the classes are to provide parents with the tools necessary to become effective teachers of their children, with the objective of teaching the children to be self-responsible. It is based on a social-learning theory model, which is one of the most popular methods of psychological treatment today.

Useful Links

Youth & Family Services Documents & Forms

Lee County Departments main page