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County to work on juvenile department internal communication Three months after Juvenile Department employees first penned a letter expressing no confidence in director Alan Young, Jackson County has issued a statement saying that it will hold workshops to improve communication in the department. County Administrator Burke Raymond declined to discuss specific problems within the agency other than to express continued confidence in Young. "Complaints were made by certain employees, but some were made employee-to-employee, and as I looked into it, it appeared to me a department that's full of stress," Raymond said. "Because that's what it is -- they deal with kids in trouble." Young, who was in Salem on Friday and not expected to return until Wednesday, could not be reached for comment. The county's press release said employees had criticized changes in the department since Young replaced the late George Brown, longtime juvenile director, in 1994. Since news of the letter broke in December, county administrators have received letters in support of Young from county judges, his peers in the juvenile justice community, some present department employees, and from the public. Burke said the department would hold a series of workshops to improve interpersonal communication and conflict resolution skills. A committee composed of a probation officer, a detention officer, a manager from the Juvenile Department, Jackson County Judge Mark Schively and Janet Rantz, of the county's Human Resource Department, is now selecting a facilitator for the workshops. The workshops are expected to begin within a month. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA