THE Department of Community and Cultural Affairs-Division of Youth Services has purchased five brand new vehicles to expand its services, DYS Director Vivian Sablan said.
The five 2021 Mazda CX-5 SUVs worth about $120,000 were presented Wednesday at the DYS office in Kagman.
Sablan said the purchase of the vehicles was made possible by a consolidated block grant that the division receives annually from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the disaster supplemental funding and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security or CARES Act.
The funds came from a “combination of different grants,” Sablan added.
DCCA Secretary Joseph P. Deleon Guerrero said they are grateful to the federal grantors as the new fleet of vehicles will mean a “big upgrade” in DYS services. He noted that most of the division’s vehicles are old, and the maintenance expenses are growing.
He said DYS has a big responsibility to the CNMI’s children “so we are very thankful to the federal government’s assistance that will help DYS do its job.”
The brand new vehicles will be assigned to the DYS Child Protective Services, the Juvenile Probation Unit, and the Family & Youth Enhancement program and administration.
Sablan said, “The five additional cars will greatly assist us since [a lack of] transportation is a major obstacle when it comes to delivering our services.”
Department of Community and Cultural Affairs Secretary Joseph Deleon Guerrero, left, Division of Youth Services Director Vivian Sablan, second left, and DYS employees pose with a new fleet of vehicles at the DYS office in Kagman on Wednesday.
Photo by Emmanuel T. Erediano
