Menu
Indiana Sheriffs’ Youth Ranch selected as site for NSA Youth Leadership Institute
BRAZIL – Select U.S. high school students interested in careers in law enforcement will soon spend part of their summers studying and training together in this quaint Hoosier hometown under an agreement signed recently between the National Sheriffs’ Association and Indiana Sheriffs’ Youth Ranch.
NSA officials have selected Indiana’s not-for-profit Youth Ranch, a 62-acre retreat under development at Brazil, as the permanent home for a new, privately funded NSA Youth Leadership Institute.
“Indiana’s Youth Ranch is already being built as a state-of-the-art venue, so our sheriffs and deputies can mentor future law enforcement officers,” Marion County Sheriff John Layton, who serves this year as president of both ISYR and NSA, said. “This national partnership comes at a perfect time -- as our Youth Ranch is beginning construction on our cabins, peace chapel and recreational facilities.”
ISYR is nestled on 62 acres of rolling, wooded terrain with three small lakes and is located just 45 minutes west of Indianapolis’ centrally located international airport, said John Thompson, NSA’s deputy executive director.
“Student leaders attending our NSA Youth Leadership Institute will be selected by state sheriffs’ associations with their free transportation and training scholarships paid for by national corporate sponsors.”
NSA’s Youth Leadership Institute curriculum will mirror that offered to Indiana students attending week-long Youth Ranch camps and include classes in personal safety, first aid, substance abuse, cyber crimes, bullying, financial fraud, criminal law, firearms safety and crime prevention, Thompson said.
Leadership Institute graduates will remain engaged through an alumni association and online continuing education, he added.
In addition to public safety training, young visitors to the Youth Ranch and Youth Leadership Institute will relax by ziplining, horseback riding, swimming, hiking, canoeing, fishing, shooting archery and playing baseball, basketball, volleyball and throwing horseshoes, Layton said.