After spending decades focused on helping the town’s children, the Dartmouth Youth Commission is planning to refocus its programs and support services on the whole family.

Discussions about the future of the department have been ongoing, and on June 3, commission members presented where they are now at the Select Board meeting.

Change had been coming for about two years, explained chairman Jamie Jacquart. The committee had began to examine the structure of the one-person department originally established in 1969 and which is supported by small volunteer board.

Plans to restructure the department became a priority in February, when long-time Youth Advocate Jen Cabral stepped down, leaving the department leaderless.

“It gave us an opportunity to step back and re-evaluate the program,” Jacquart said. “We talked with department heads, the police, schools, DCTV, got feedback on what the programs were like.”

Jacquart said being a kid is much more challenging today with bullying, social media, and mental health issues. Likewise, being a parent can be challenging too, from two parents working nonstop to put food on the table, to supporting their grandparents. Mental health services can also be difficult to find, especially during a crisis.

There are homeless families in Dartmouth, as Jacquart noted in the past year the commission helped a homeless mother who had to move between temporary accommodations three to four times, and an 18-year-old who had to adopt their sibling following a family tragedy.

“All of this has really affected the Youth Commission’s ability to try to look at what our services are, what our community needs are, and how do we step into that space to fix that,” Jacquart said.

The focus of the department and its services will change to providing community resources to all members of the family, not just children.

The commission also studied 43 cities and towns in Massachusetts to get a sense of what type of services are offered, and narrowed the list down to three towns with departments ranging from one to eight staff members.

A job description has also been drafted for a new leader for the department. Unlike the previous role, which only require a bachelor's degree, the draft proposes qualifications including a master’s degree and five years of experience.

“It’s a key difference because it allows us to supervise graduate interns,” Jacquart said. “Working with Bridgewater State and UMass Dartmouth’s town to gown initiative, we can get free labor and those students get to bring their insight into this building, where they can actually utilize their skills and cut their teeth in this industry.”

The Youth Commission will hold two meetings on June 19, which are open to the public, to solicit ideas and hear from residents about the future of the department. The meetings will be held at 3:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. in the Youth Commission’s basement office at Town Hall.

“The work we’re doing with the Youth Advocate, moving it into a family service model, is about prevention,” Jacquart said. “It’s the social service side of who we are. We’re trying to help our citizens live fuller lives. No one right now is reaching out to adults specifically, and for children, after school and summer they’re going with unmet needs.”

Jacquart said the goal is to have a new person hired by September 1, to align with the start of the new school year.