Ohio Department of Youth Services

🥳 127 REASONS TO CELEBRATE 🎉

This week’s high school graduations reached the largest Buckeye United School District graduates on record to earn diplomas in a single academic year. Nearly 130 youth graduated from our facilities during the 2025-2026 school year, including 86 who earned high school diplomas.

Congratulations to all our young people and THANK YOU 🙏 to all our teachers and staff who helped them reach this significant milestone.

MORE DETAILS: https://bit.ly/3PW3bvS

🌟 STAFF SUCCESS STORY 🌟

In the modern world of corrections, there are a lot of tools required for the more than 1,000 members at DYS across Ohio. Behind the scenes, there are people who ensure staff have not only have the best possible tools but are also best equipped on how to use them. For us, Facility Resources Administrator Ken Berry is one of those people.

Whether it's hardware like body-worn cameras or radio-frequency identification badges, or skills and methods to enhance safety and security for staff and youth, he's constantly on the road providing resources to facilities.

Thank you, Mr. Berry, for your tireless efforts to strengthen fellow staff so they can be at their best for our youth.

DYS supports the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI) as it helps communities safely reduce unnecessary youth detention while connecting youth to supportive, community-based alternatives.

Montgomery County Juvenile Court is preparing youth for the future through hands-on STEM programming at one of our community correctional facilities, the Center for Adolescent Services. Programs like Wi-STEM on Wheels builds real-world skills as it introduces youth to career pathways, engineering challenges, and science-based learning.

Recently, our Circleville facility had the honor of celebrating the retirement of two incredible team members, Norma Stallins and Deborah Johnson. Both conclude an incredible 36 years of dedicated public service.

Throughout their careers, Norma (pictured) and Deborah have made lasting contributions to our agency, their colleagues, and the youth we serve. Their commitment, leadership, and compassion left an impact that will be felt for years to come.

We extend our deepest gratitude for their years of service and the legacy of hard work and positivity that they leave behind.

Norma and Deborah, we hope you both enjoy this next chapter and wish you all the best in your retirement.

DYS supports the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI) as it helps communities safely reduce unnecessary youth detention while connecting youth to supportive, community-based alternatives.

Clark County, Ohio is helping youth build confidence through a local CrossFit program – BB Fitness 937. It offers structured workouts and mentorship to support positive growth. With capacity to serve up to eight youth at a time, participants can earn incentives like gym memberships to continue their progress beyond court involvement.

We recently celebrated an extraordinary accomplishment as Senior Juvenile Parole Officer Maria Kawental retired after 42 years of service!

Maria’s compassion, wisdom, and dedication have left a lasting mark on our agency and the many lives she touched throughout her career. As one colleague shared, “Her legacy isn’t just in the work she’s done—but in the hearts she’s touched and the hope she has inspired for years to come.”

Thank you, Maria, for decades of commitment, leadership, and service. We wish you all the best in this exciting new chapter!

This May, DYS welcomed more than 20 new members to our agency! These people will serve in eight new roles across the agency, committing to our mission to transform and save lives in a multitude of ways.

Congratulations to our new teammates, and welcome to the DYS family!