MARIE DETTY YOUTH AND FAMILY SERVICE CENTER, INC.
HISTORY

     Marie Detty Youth & Family Service Center, Inc. has a long and interesting past in it’s evolvement into the comprehensive agency it is today. Ms. Marie Detty, for whom the Center is named, was a supervisor in Child Welfare Services in the 1960’s and 1970’s. She saw the problems of youth and sought out solutions. Ms. Detty had a lifelong involvement in helping others overcome difficulties. Her 30-year career in Oklahoma Public Welfare saw Marie Detty push for serious change in how women were seen in leadership roles, how children were cared for in our society, and how a community responds to its most vulnerable citizens.

     In 1963 Marie Detty found herself heading a committee studying the needs of delinquent children. The report from this committee helped fire up the community in planning a youth facility to keep teenagers with problems out of the adult jail, a cause that was taken up by several concerned community members. In 1970, as construction plans were being developed, this committee suggested naming the facility after Marie Detty. The County Commissioners agreed and so designated naming the agency after her.

     On October 10, 1970 the groundbreaking ceremony was held. Marie Detty opened the doors in August 1971 as a shelter and detention center operated by County government. In 1979 detention services were deleted. In December 1980, Marie Detty became a private, non-profit organization. Since 1980 Marie Detty has offered a variety of family, individual, and group services.

     In 1999, Marie Detty became the first youth and family service agency in Oklahoma to achieve CARF national accreditation. This accreditation has positioned the agency to be able to answer the call for needed services. The professionalism, accountability, and dedication increased with this achievement.

     Marie Detty is a community-based agency. It provides equal opportunity both to clients and staff without regards to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, or handicaps. Initially Marie Detty's primary purpose was to provide an emergency shelter for youth ranging in age from 12 to 17. Today a variety of services are offered to the Lawton-Ft. Sill community and surrounding area. Programs and services are designed to respond to the needs of our community as a whole. It is the goal of this agency to reach out to those most vulnerable or in need and provide them with a continuum of care.