The next several weeks will be immensely instrumental in a Piatt County non-profit's future direction for the community's youth.

The Illinois Youth Survey is a biennial self-reporting assessment given to youth in DeWitt and Piatt Counties and Tony Kirkman at the Piatt County Mental Health Center says this year's survey is hugely important for them and the communities they serve.

Kirkman is so happy to have each district in Piatt and DeWitt Counties participating this year. He explains there is going to be a lot of interest in the results of this survey that encompass everything from drug and alcohol usage to issues of mental and emotional wellness.

Kirman indicates the results of this survey will return in the early summer months and he is very anxious to see what, if any, results from the pandemic may have had in some of the data points since the last survey that was in 2020 for some Piatt County students, but 2018 for most DeWitt County students.