One of DeWitt County's programs that aims to assist teens is going to be eliminated due to the budget woes of the state.

The DeWitt County Human Resource Center's Teen Reach program is going to be eliminated. Teen Reach is a year round program aimed at the teens of DeWitt County to teach them social skills and study skills as well. HRC Executive Director Roger Larson says the elimination of this program is a big blow to the teens of the county.

[audio:teenreach1.mp3]A Word From Larson[/audio]

The regular turn out for the program would vary from day to day, however Larson says getting a large number of kids would take away from the amount of attention each teen would get. Larson notes the regular turn out is very good for DeWitt County.

[audio:teenreach2.mp3]A Word From Larson[/audio]

HRC has been dealing with budget issues the past few months in relation to the funding of their other programs, which is why the Teen Reach program has been eliminated. Larson says HRC will continue to receive a couple of grants they receive annually, which will allow for their other programs to continue on.

[audio:teenreach3.mp3]A Word From Larson[/audio]

Larson says other areas of HRC have seen an increase in the utilization of programs, he says with the community taking advantage of the programs they offer, the more likely those programs are to remain in place. August 5th will be the last day for the Teen Reach programs operations, he says funding was cut off July 1, however, they will continue on with the program until August 5th.

For more information about the elimination of Teen Reach you can contact the DeWitt County Human Resource Center at 935-9496.