The honor was handed down by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Black Hills Pediatrics and Neonatology nominated YFS last spring for the award. YFS was one of the groups nationally awarded for the work it does in the community for adolescents.

     Certified Nurse Practitioner Deb Kuehn says, "There were certain criteria that they had to meet, but one of them was are they advocates for health, health and safety, and one of the things they do is they help with kids getting to appointments and they work with kids that are having trouble getting to counseling or any of their appointments, help with families, I mean it's not just the child enrolled in the program, it's all of the family." Kuehn says YFS was nominated for the award because of its success over many years assisting hundreds of youth to achieve healthier lifestyles.

Tessa Thomas