The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) has released a study of justice-involved youth enrolled in Youth Advocate Programs (YAP). The study was completed by Dr. Michael J. Karcher, Ed.D., Ph.D, of the University of Texas, San Antonio and co-written by Dr. David Johnson, Ph.D. of Wake Forest University and was comprised of two parts.The first part of the study used a quasi-experimental research method to examine the impact of YAP Advocacy model for 164 young people in YA...

Lebanon County PA Juvenile Probation saved $400,000 during the past fiscal year and increased community safety through a partnership with Youth Advocate Programs.  YAP's community-based treatment services are cheaper than residential placement.  "We've been able to provide community protection, treatment to the juveniles, but still be fiscally responsible at the same time," said Sue Christner, Deputy Director of Lebanon County Probation Services, Juvenile Unit.  ...

In this Huffington Post blog, Shaena Fazal, YAP National Policy Director, urges politicians and the public to stop treating youth in conflict with the law like throwaway kids by confining them.  She points to new polling data that suggests the majority of Americans agree that youth can be taught to take responsibility for their actions without resorting to incarceration.  "The time is right to focus our energy and resources on bringing and keeping young people safely home and abandoning the yout...

Nine national juvenile justice organizations developed a policy platform for juvenile justice reform and shared it with all Presidential candidates. Please CLICK HERE to read more.February 23, 2016Dear Presidential Candidate,We know you care about keeping our communities safe, ensuring the welfare of our children, and guaranteeing a fair and equitable justice system for all. While there are realistic, sensible policies and programs that can help us realize these goals, our current justice syste...

Community capacity is built in many ways.  This article is a great example of how Lebanon Valley College is strengthening the academic experience and preparation of its students for working in their community AND helping YAP youth through this creative senior capstone project.