Orange County Youth in Government Day gives students hands-on civic experience

A record 95 high school students spent April 10 inside the Orange County Government Center in Goshen, where two of them were assigned to County Executive Steve Neuhaus’s office and helped present declarations recognizing Child Abuse Prevention Month and Autism Acceptance Month during a legislative session.

Orange County said the annual Youth in Government County Service Day brought students from 12 districts, including Cornwall, Florida, Goshen, Highland Falls-Fort Montgomery, Marlboro, Middletown, Minisink, Newburgh, Pine Bush, Port Jervis, Valley Central, Warwick and Washingtonville. The county and Orange/Ulster BOCES co-host the program, which is meant to give teens a direct view of how county government works and where public-service careers begin.

The day went well beyond a tour. Students shadowed representatives from 21 county departments, including Emergency Services, Human Rights, Mental Health, Social Services, Probation, Planning, Parks and Recreation and the County Clerk’s Office. Some were placed in leadership roles as County Executive, District Attorney, Assigned Counsel and Sheriff, while others were paired with judges for hands-on learning in the courts.

County leaders said the program is becoming a larger civic pipeline. Rachel Wilson, executive director of the Orange County Youth Bureau, said, “We used to range between 60-80 students, and this year we were just under 100.” Orange County said the 2026 turnout surpassed the more than 80 students from 13 districts who took part in 2025, and it also topped an earlier year that drew roughly 90 students from 12 districts.

The timing was also tied to broader county messaging. Orange County formally proclaimed April 2026 as Child Abuse Prevention Month, with county leaders saying, “Protecting children is one of our most important responsibilities as a community.” The county also held an Autism Awareness & Community Support training on April 9, noting that autism affects 1 in every 31 children in the United States.

Neuhaus has said the program gives young people a window into public service and helps inspire future community leaders. For Orange County, the value is in the mechanics: students were not just watching government from the gallery, they were sitting in offices, reading declarations and seeing how county decisions move from policy to practice.