More than 20,000 children and families in more than 100 U.S. communities in 26 states benefit from Youth Advocate Programs (YAP), Inc.’s unique community-based alternative youth incarceration/out-of-home placement model.

As YAP expands in the U.S. to meet communities’ needs for time-tested reformative justice and child welfare alternatives, the nonprofit’s global programs are also growing. Its sister agencies in Ireland, Australia, Sweden, Guatemala and Sierra Leone apply the time-tested YAP wraparound advocate model to empower individuals and families in their countries. During a recent visit to the U.S., Sierra Leone YAP (SLYAP) Program Director Ajara Marie Bomah, MSW, provided a brief video update on her team’s work.