YAP Invites System and Social Justice Reformers to Support #YAPGivingTuesday2019

Youth Advocate Programs (YAP), Inc. hopes #YAPGivingTuesday2019 grabs the attention of people looking to invest in social justice reform. The campaign comes on the eve of the nonprofit’s 45th anniversary. For 44 years, YAP has been a global leader in providing safe, effective community-based alternatives to youth incarceration and out-of-home placement.

#YAPGivingTuesday2019 is part of a global Giving Tuesday nonprofit fundraising effort that began in 2012 as a charity option to complement Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

YAP Advocates, most of whom live in the neighborhoods of individuals and families they serve, provide intensive “Advocate mentoring” to empower young people and parents/guardians with individualized toolkits and connections to help them succeed personally and professionally. YAP serves 20,000 youth and families in more than 100 communities in 28 states and the District of Columbia and expects to expand to a half dozen more states by the end of 2020.

You can support #YAPGivingTuesday by sharing YAP’s social media messages and videos that tell stories of young people supported by the nonprofit. For more information, please visit to  yapinc.org/donate.

Youth Advocate Programs (YAP), Inc.’s Community-Based Alternative to Incarceration Recognized as “Promising” by Federal Evaluators

As Americans seek safe, effective justice reform, Youth Advocate Programs (YAP), Inc. is pleased to announce that Federal evaluators have identified its community-based alternative to youth incarceration model as “promising.”

YAP is a new addition to the Office of Justice Programs (OJP) Crimesolutions.gov “Promising Programs” list and Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP)’s Model Programs Guide. Currently, 58 percent of the criminal justice, youth justice and crime victim programs and practices on Crimesolutions.gov are categorized as Promising; 26 percent are listed under No Effects; and 16 percent are identified as Effective. The ratings are based on rigorous evaluation.

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Peer-Reviewed Article Shares Blueprint for YAP’s Success

At age 16, Ellana Watson, whose mother battled mental illness, was mourning the death of the grandmother who raised her when a school fight led to an expulsion, arrest and charges of assaulting a police officer. Today, Watson is working, completing community college and volunteers in her spare time. She said Youth Advocate Programs (YAP), Inc., presented to her as an alternative to youth prison, helped her turn her life around.

Watson’s story is one of many that inspired program practitioners to combine their empirical knowledge with independent research to pen an article, “Increasing Resilience in Youth and Families: YAP’s Wraparound Advocate Service Model,” published in Child & Youth Services, a peer-reviewed journal. Authors Dorienne J. Silva, M.S.W.; Caroline M. Petrilla, J.D., M.A.; Diana Matteson, M.A.; Séamus Mannion, M.A.; and Stacy L. Huggins, M.S., provided a blueprint of the design, implementation, research base, and future global application of the YAP Wraparound Advocate Service Model. The publication of the article comes as more systems are embracing reform and looking to replace youth prisons and congregate care facilities with evidence-based, cost-effective alternatives.

Maryland-DC Youth Advocate Programs (YAP), Inc. Pays Tribute to Youth, Families and Community Partners

Maryland-DC Youth Advocate Programs (YAP), Inc. staff gathered recently to celebrate the progress of individuals and families they serve. An alternative to youth incarceration and out-of-home placement, YAP has begun applying its model to support adults returning from prison.

In the region, in addition to partnering with youth justice and child welfare systems, YAP also supports returning adult citizens through partnerships with the Washington DC Department of Youth Rehabilitative Services (DYRS) and DC Department of Corrections. As a new Baltimore City Safe Streets partner, YAP hires returning citizens to help keep Penn North neighborhood families safe and connect them with valuable resources.

While YAP recognized successes of all regional program participants, the organization spotlighted three youth served through its partnership with Maryland Department of Juvenile Services (DJS). The young people – Jacquwan, Osman Erick – all college students now, received the YAP Tom Jeffers Endowment Fund for Continuing Education scholarship, one of the tools available to program participants and their families.