Parenting classes, youth education courses, tutoring programs … all of those and more are offered through Adams County’s Families First Resource Center.

Often, juveniles processed through Adams County Youth Court are referred to the center’s programs.

This spring, it looked as though all that might come to an end due to budget cuts by the State Department of Human Services.

As part of those cuts, DHS renewed for only six months the grant that funds the center, putting it on borrowed time.

But earlier this week, youth court officials confirmed with the state the good news: an $180,000 grant had been approved to keep the center going another year.

And Youth Court Judge John Hudson has said he’s hopeful the grant will become a more stable funding source for the center in years to come.

Families First will not only be able to keep its current programs under the grant, but will reinstate the GED courses that were cut this year and will actually add a new program.

Under Project Homestead, Adams County will be in charge of forming a coalition with 14 counties to discuss ways to improve services for children.

We applaud the state’s decision to fund this grant, which funds a variety of programs to strengthen families and help make sure youth don’t stay on the wrong track.

And we encourage the state to stabilize future funding for this and eight other Families First centers throughout the state.

Teaching youth to make the right decisions &045;&045; and teaching parents better ways to raise their children &045;&045; means a brighter future for our community as a whole.