Supporters of an at-risk youth program fired by Tarrant County say the move makes no sense

A new contract to provide at-risk youth services was approved by the Tarrant County Juvenile Board on Wednesday, while some community advocates continued to criticize the decision to end the previous contract.

The board voted unanimously to partner with My Health My Resources of Tarrant County to work with youth to help them rehabilitate.

MHMR will replace Youth Advocate Programs Inc., whose contract was discontinued by the board in July over various concerns including language on its website about “diversity initiatives” and “systemic racism.” The nonpartisan Youth Advocate Programs, based in Pennsylvania, provided counseling, mentors and community service in an effort to reduce repeat offenders. The company worked with the county since 1992.

MHMR, a local unit of government whose board is appointed by county commissioners, already holds other contracts with Juvenile Services including for mental health assessments and substance abuse treatment. Its new contract is worth up to $895,000.

The CEO of Youth Advocate Programs, Gary Ivory, said the Juvenile Board unfairly ended the contract. Ivory told the Star-Telegram that he had met with County Judge Tim O’Hare in July after the contract was discontinued and showed O’Hare screenshots from the websites of MHMR and other organizations that do business with the county. They had the same language on their sites.

MHMR previously had a web page dedicated to diversity, equity and inclusion, according to an archived version of MHMR’s website. The page no longer exists on MHMR’s “About Us” tab.

Community Frontline, an east Fort Worth advocacy group, and the Justice Network of Tarrant County, held a press conference Wednesday in support of Youth Advocate Programs. .

“My heart is broken because this is 2024, we’re fighting a program that has a 100% success rate of their kids,” said Sharon Hines, an Air Force veteran and member of the Justice Network. “They go to high school, they get their GEDs, they get jobs. Why would we be against that program? Tarrant County is scary.”

At a Juvenile Board meeting in August, public comments in support of Youth Advocate Programs Inc. were cut short when judges left the meeting. Kimberly Brandon, a vice president with the organization, was one of the people who wasn’t allowed to speak to the full board.

She said 90% of the participants in their programs were not adjudicated or convicted of new charges, and 100% stayed in school or graduated.

“The work that we do is impactful, it’s needed,” Brandon told the Star Telegram. “It doesn’t have to ever be a competition, because it shouldn’t. There is enough need to go around.”

Brandon said Youth Advocate Programs is still working on what will happen to employees and will graduate the last remaining youth participants in two weeks. Its last contract with the county ends Sept. 30.

Ben Travis, director of development at Community Frontline, said the non-renewal of Youth Advocate Programs’ contract had little to do with merits of the program.

“There’s a lot of talk about not being anti-kids at that meeting,” Travis said. “I would ask you to really ensure you consider what your plan is, to ensure that these services are replaced with a program that will better sit with your kind of framework of what you care to see, but also ensure that youth are receiving those services that they need.”