Onslow County Youth Services began as a response to the 1975 legislative session of the North Carolina General Assembly, which enacted H.B. 456 eliminating the "status offender" from the state's training school population and providing for community-based alternatives.

Task Force

A task force was appointed by the Onslow County Commissioners in January 1975 to begin studying youth needs in Onslow County. This task force determined that the greatest need in Onslow County was an Emergency Runaway Shelter to provide safe housing and other services to runaway and otherwise undisciplined youth.

County Grant Funded

In 1978, Onslow County Youth Services opened its doors. Currently, the agency operates on grants through the North Carolina Department of Public Safety, Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice and Onslow County Government.