YAP Newsletter May 2012

Catalysts of Change. Connectors to Community.

In This Issue

Systems Change

Mission-Driven Growth

Newsmakers

Commitment to Quality

YAP ACROSS

THE NATION

YAP serves over 12,000 youth and adults annually in nearly 100 counties across 18 states through offering a spectrum of programming committed to advancing the safety and positive development of high and/or complex need individuals and families involved with the child welfare, juvenile justice, mental/behavioral health, autism and developmental disabilities, education and adult probation systems.

Anna Mae Jeffers Brady

Systems Change Endeavors

YAP programs around the country participated in the 2012 "Give Back Challenge." The week-long event encouraged youth, families and staff to contribute to their communities through individual, small group and program-wide projects.

YAP representatives presented testimony before US Attorney General Eric Holder's Defending Childhood Initiative's Children Exposed to Violence Task Force in Detroit later this month.

YAP also attended a briefing by the Director of the White House's Office of Public Engagement and members of the Domestic Policy Council to discuss investments and threats to investments in children in the proposed federal budgets.

COA

COA Accreditation

YAP has been accredited through the Council on Accreditation (COA) since 2009. With agency-wide support, renewal is expected in 2013.

Mission-Driven Growth

Current Expansions

New Jersey: YAP recently received a grant for Specialized Mentoring for youth in the juvenile justice system in Hudson County, NJ (Jersey City). This was received on the heels of an aftercare grant for this region, as well as a Southern NJ grant to reintegrate youth returning to the community from secure youth correctional facilities.

Florida: YAP's funding for a wraparound program to prevent multi-system youth from being placed in institutions has expanded in recent weeks in Orlando.

Louisiana: YAP received two grants from the Louisiana Juvenile Justice System to serve youth returning from their state correctional facilities to their communities in Louisiana's bayou region.

Future Possibilities

Texas: A proposal was submitted to the Tarrant County Youth Empowerment Services Waiver program to provide behavioral health services. The program can serve up to 100 kids at any given time. The expected start date is early May.

New York City: A proposal for a contract with New York City probation is being prepared. YAP has forged a partnership with the like-minded local non-profit Community Connections for Youth in the South Bronx to work with high-risk youth and their families in one of the highest crime areas in the nation.

NY State and behavioral health leadership are working on developing behavioral health programs for both the elderly and military families in New York State.

Pennsylvania: YAP leadership recently attended a meeting with Pennsylvania's Secretary of Corrections and Chairman of Parole to present our Adult Re-entry Model. There was much interest and our program has been referred to the Administration's Justice Reinvestment Team for further discussion.

California: Discussions were initiated with the Los Angeles Probation Department and Casey Family Programs.

Mississippi: YAP leaders also met with the Director of Mississippi Department of Juvenile Justice.

Newsmakers

Recognizing our Outstanding Staff:

Longtime Cumberland County, NJ Youth Advocate Anna Mae Jeffers Brady received "The Extraordinary Compassion Award" from the New Jersey Association of Mental Health and Addiction Agencies. The award is considered one of the most prestigious in the state. Ms. Anna Mae has worked with YAP as an Advocate for almost twenty-five years!

In the News:

The Sharon Herald reported that school attendance rates have increased and linked the improvement to our Mercer County, PA Truancy Program.

A new job program in Hudson County, NJ that will provide employment to juveniles released from detention facilities was profiled in The Jersey Journal.

The San Angelo Standard Times profiled our work with high-risk youth in Tom Green County, TX.

YAP's program in Oswego, NY, focusing on keeping kids and families together, was featured in The Valley News.

Legislative Advocacy:

A YAP Vice-President had an op ed published in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette to oppose the draconian cuts to services for children with autism in Pennsylvania. PA leadership is also leading a letter writing campaign, organizing parents to write and reach out to policymakers.

Empowering Youth:

CBS News and ABC News in Chicago covered YAP's Stop the Violence Tour on Chicago's South Side last week. The tour is a way for our youth to give back by contributing to the non-violent movement in the city. Illinois staff reports that the Tour so far has reached 2,000 youth!

Commitment to Quality

Evidence Based Status

The OJJDP funded Best Practice in Mentoring Research study of the YAP Advocacy Model begins this month. Researchers from the University of Texas/San Antonio will assess the fidelity to the YAP advocacy model as it is implemented on the ground in five study sites. Site visits will continue during the spring and end in June. This study is but one endeavor in the on-going effort to prove YAP as an evidence-based model highly effective in working with high and complex need youth and adults from within the community.

Wraparound Training

YAP will be implementing a new curriculum developed by national wraparound experts John Vandenbergh and Jim Rast this summer. The training, designed for program leaders and Advocates, adapts high-fidelity wraparound with our advocacy model. Program leaders from across the agency have worked in partnership to ensure that the training strengthens existing practice to become a valuable tool for staff in improving outcomes for our youth and families.

Youth Advocate Programs, Inc.

2007 North 3rd Street

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17102

717-232-7580

www.yapinc.org