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YAP changes systems: bringing a YAP program into a community provides judges, probation officers, caseworkers and others with an option that safely supports and preserves families and that promotes equity.

YAP also changes biographies: by walking alongside families from where they live, learn, work and play and providing them with tools to repair harms to others, rebuild from harms caused to them, and reconnect with supportive people, places and activities within their community, we position people to develop and live to their potential while reducing their risks and negative outcomes.

YAP works in more than 100 urban, suburban and rural communities across 29 states and Washington, DC. That is over 20,000 families annually who are strengthened and living better lives from within their homes and communities in lieu of costly and damaging out of home placements.

 

DEMOGRAPHICS

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Participant Gender
 
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Participant Race
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85% participants were living safely in the community at discharge
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97% participants were not convicted/adjudicated of a new offense while in the program
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83% participants did not have an open protective services case at discharge
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76% participants were regularly attending school or graduated/GED at discharge

OUTCOMES

 

A single-minded dedication to YAP's mission drives our tireless effort to grow into new communities that lack a program like YAP in their continuum of care: our programs are designed to work with those individuals and families who are not succeeding with existing programs and supports. For more information about YAP, contact Carla Benway, Chief Strategy Officer, at cbenway@yapinc.org or at 717-514-6965.

 

YAP's Evidence Base

Our growing research base confirms that YAP is making a positive difference in the lives of young people, families and within the systems that support them. YAP is a Gold Medal Program in Positive Youth Justice and recognized by the National Institute of Justice and by the Office of Juvenile Justice Delinquency and Prevention as “Promising.” Studies by the University of Chicago Crime Lab, the Urban Institute, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, and others that have shown that:

Increases Wellbeing

YAP significantly improves life skills, social connections, connections to school, and health family functioning.

Decreases System Involvement

YAP services reduce participant involvement in the criminal justice and child welfare systems and keep them safe at home with their families.

 
Saves Taxpayer Money

YAP offers safe, successful community-based programs at about half the cost of most out-of-home placements.