ELKINS — Gov. Jim Justice has announced $30,000 in funding will be coming to Randolph County to be used for a Prevention Resource Officer in county schools.

The funding comes in the form of a Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (JJDP) Title II Grant to the Randolph County Commission. The $30,000 “will be utlized to employ one or more Prevention Resource Officers to be placed in Tygarts Valley Middle/High School, Elkins Middle School, and Elkins High School,” according to information from the Governor’s Office.

Through a partnership with the Randolph County Commission and the Randolph County Board of Education, in 2021 when Deputies Daniel Pennington and Rocky Hebb, were placed in Elkins Middle School and Tygarts Valley High School, respectively.

Deputy Ethan Carr, who has been a deputy for the past 11 years, was added as the county’s third PRO officer in January 2023, stationed at Elkins High School. In August, Carr was named Prevention Resource Officer of the Year for West Virginia.

Justice made the funding announcement as part of the awarding $756,419 in grants going toward 10 separate projects. 

The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Title II Grant funds are awarded to public and private non-profit agencies throughout the state for the purpose of preventing juvenile delinquency, reducing racial and ethnic disparities, rehabilitating juvenile offenders, and improving the West Virginia juvenile justice system.

These funds are provided by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and are administered by the Justice and Community Services (JCS) Section of the West Virginia Division of Administrative Services (DAS).

The other funding grants include:

Innovative Community Solutions — $40,000

These funds will be utilized to provide training for teachers, parents, students, and intersectoral social service providers to reduce racial and ethnic disparities amongst minority and socio-economically disadvantaged students in the Eastern Panhandle.

Jefferson Day Report Center, Inc. — $58,390

These funds will be utilized to provide mental health and substance use treatment services to juveniles referred to the Jefferson Day Report Center, Jefferson Teen Court, and/or Jefferson County Juvenile Drug Court.

Libera, Inc. — $72,778

These funds will be utilized to expand Libera groups and mentoring to justice-impacted girls in different regions and counties in the state of West Virginia.

Marshall University Research Corporation

These funds will be utilized to support the Community Outreach Project, which provides community outreach, evidence-based delinquency prevention programming, and positive youth development to primarily minority at-risk youth in Cabell County.

Monongalia County Child Advocacy Center — $30,000

These funds will be utilized to empower teenagers to make healthy life decisions using a positive youth development model to disrupt the pathway to the criminal justice system and prison.

Mountain CAP of West Virginia — $73,000

These funds will be utilized to support the Asset Building and Collaboration (ABC) Program, which assists children and families in removing barriers to family stability and academic success.

Nicholas County Commission — $40,000

These funds will be utilized to provide education, training, prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation services for local youth.

West Virginia Child Abuse Network — $90,000

These funds will be utilized to train professionals across the state who work in child abuse investigative and treatment teams in best practices and evolving research to keep these professionals up to date in the most effective approaches for investigation. 

Marshall University — $265,051

Funds will be used to provide research oversight and training for the Division of Administrative Services, Justice and Community Services Section, Office of Research and Research and Strategic Planning.