Mission

Mission

To provide innovative and accessible prevention, intervention and counseling services that promote social, emotional and mental health to youth and families most in need.

In 1995, Santa Fe Adolescent Services, now doing business as Santa Fe Youth Services, began as a day treatment center licensed by Texas Commission on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse (TCADA) and was one of the only agencies providing drug treatment services to youth on Medicaid. From 1995-2001, the agency provided drug treatment services to over 1,500 youth from the most impoverished communities in Tarrant County.

Since 2001, services have been expanded to include a wide range of evidence-based prevention and counseling programs designed specially to meet the unique challenges of adolescents and their families. Our programs incorporate a combination of strategies that include youth and family specific services to address alcohol and drug use, family conflict, trauma, truancy, school bullying and violence, and other deterrents to healthy adolescent choices.

In 2015, Santa Fe Youth Services merged with Youth Advocate Programs, Inc.(YAP) in order to increase our collective impact by creating a continuum of services to better support resiliency and enhance social and emotional health for Tarrant county youth and families. YAP is a nationally recognized non-profit that brings over 40 years of experience working with the nation’s highest risk youth and their families through an array of direct services, advocacy and policy change.

Annually, Santa Fe Youth Services serves over 5,000 youth and 400 families in a combination of school, community, and home-based programs. Services are:

Youth Focused

In order to meet the complex needs of adolescents, we implement evidence-based programs that have been critically evaluated and proven effective by research projects and are nationally recognized as model programs. Santa Fe Youth Services is committed to maintaining professional, skilled, and highly trained staff so that quality services are provided for each and every youth and family served.

Family Inclusive

Research is clear – prevention efforts directed exclusively at one member of a family are not as effective as those programs that address all family members. In recognition of this, services are family inclusive.

Community Based

Our experience confirms the fundamental need for services to be in the community and staff to be knowledgeable and aligned with the community it is committed to serving. Understanding the obstacles youth and families face in accessing services is key in addressing those barriers.

Culturally Responsive

Santa Fe Youth Services’ staff and Board of Directors remain committed to providing services that are tailored to the unique cultural and linguistic needs of the individuals, families, and communities we serve and to promote mental health equity for all in Tarrant County. Santa Fe Youth Services continually strives toward cultural competence by:

  • Having a diverse staff that reflects the characteristics of our community
  • Developing policies that promote equal access and non-discriminatory practices in service delivery
  • Identifying, understanding, and being responsive to the needs of individuals and families
  • Providing on-going learning opportunities to ensure that all agency employees remain responsive to cultural and linguistic needs