Sam Bofto thought he had achieved all the goals of his 28 years in law enforcement, a couple months ago, when he retired from the Yellowstone County Sheriff’s office as undersheriff – but such appears not to be the case. Earlier this month he accepted a new position – a new challenge – as the Director of the Youth Services Center, filling the position of Val Weber, who recently retired after serving as director for 28 years.

Beaming happily, Bofto said in an interview with Yellowstone County News, that he is having a good time – and learning a lot. In fact, he is looking back, and thinking that maybe he missed his calling. While he always wanted to be in law enforcement, he is thinking this is the road he was meant to be on.

This is the first time in 28 years he doesn’t have to wear a uniform every day, beamed Bofto, attired in a casual sport jacket and shirt. He bemoaned, however, about now having to buy his own gas. Bofto said that he passed through “it all” in law enforcement. “I did the streets for five years,” and then was a detective and county corner.

But, now he is realizing “I still have a few years to give.”

The Ted Lechner Youth Services Center  (YSC), at 410 S. 26th Street in Billings, is a secure detention facility that holds minors, up to age 18, who have allegedly violated the law, while their cases go through the judicial system. YSC also operates a shelter care facility that provides a temporary safe and secure “home” for children, who through no fault of their own, have nowhere else to go.

It’s nothing like law enforcement, said Bofto, who also served five years as commander of the Yellowstone County Detention Facility, before being named undersheriff eleven years ago.

In talking about the new challenge before him, it became clear that Bofto appreciates the opportunity to help the young people who pass through the Youth Services Center. “There are a lot of them who really need some help,” he said.

YSC has “a lot of needs”, explained Bofto, not least of which is more space. With the detention facility having been booked to capacity for many months now, the need to expand it is looming large and it is an issue that the county commissioners are talking about, said Bofto.

YSC serves a multi-county area, with the respective counties paying the daily cost ($235 a day) of security, room and board – -and education. They employ 35 people. There are only two other similar facilities in the state, one in Missoula and another in Great Falls.

The detention portion of the center has a maximum capacity of 24, and is currently occupied with 21 youth offenders. The current population is posing a unique problem in that many of them are all part of the same gang and are being held on related charges so they cannot be allowed to communicate with one another. The shelter portion of the center currently has four residents.

Bofto joins a team of dedicated professionals , who he very much respects and appreciates. Two of those individuals accompanied him to a meeting with Yellowstone County Commissioners, last week, to discuss the prospect of getting a grant that would bring one or two professionals to assist YSC, perhaps in cooperation with Pine Hills Youth Correctional Facility, to help in redirecting the lives of “students” in the system.

Especially excited about the possibility of a multi –million dollar, 3 -year grant under the Project Encourage program from the University of Alabama, is Hank Richards, who has served as the counseling and education director at YSC for the past 18 years. He was joined by Terra French, who is Chief of Youth Court, which gives oversight to child protective services, monitoring  the well-being of children who come from conflicted homes, making sure they have a safe place to live and other treatments that may be needed.

Prior to the meeting Richards and French talked excitedly about news that two of their students had passed HiSet tests, achieving Montana High School Equivalency Diplomas.

The duo explained that Dr. Kristine Jolivette, at the College of Education at the University of Alabama strongly encouraged them to apply for the grant. They explained that they had worked with Jolivette previously, having received two past grants from university programs. This grant would provide the funding and oversight for one full time or two part time individuals, who would provide assistance in dealing with serious gang problems with juveniles. It would help determine if “our interventions are working,” said Richards.

French commented that the program is especially needed given the failure of School District 2’s mill levy that included the hiring of a gang specialist.

They explained to the county commissioners that while the University of Alabama would hire the educator(s), YSC and the county commissioners would vet the candidates and oversee the program locally. It would become effective this fall.

Bofto commented that there is a need to work with students to teach them about gangs — about how to get out of gangs – “how to keep from doing stupid stuff.”

Richards is cautiously optimistic about getting the grant – but all agreed that given the issue Billings is having with gangs it could be greatly beneficial.