Youth Advocate Program Inc

Youth Advocate Programs, Inc. (YAP) is a high-impact nonprofit organization dedicated to providing community-based alternatives to youth incarceration, congregate placements, and neighborhood violence. Founded in 1975, YAP operates as a nonpartisan national nonprofit organization, delivering services across urban, rural, and suburban communities in 35 states and the District of Columbia.

YAP's mission is to promote divesting in facilities and investing in communities to create continuums of care that provide exactly what each person needs. Utilizing the unique YAPWrap model, the organization offers intensive support to young people, adults, and their families directly within their communities—where they live, learn, work, and play. This approach has been proven to reduce recidivism, keep communities safe, and save taxpayer dollars.

YAP’s services are characterized by their neighborhood-based staff who work directly with youth and families, providing them with the tools to address their individualized economic, educational, and emotional challenges. This model incorporates practices of accountability, restorative justice, respect for victims' rights, and community engagement to ensure long-term success for participants.

With a strong commitment to equal opportunity employment, YAP ensures a work environment free of discrimination and harassment. The organization prides itself on serving participants from diverse backgrounds with a no reject, no eject policy, and focuses on achieving excellent outcomes for all youth and families regardless of their background.

YAP also partners with various public systems, including youth justice, child welfare, behavioral health, and education, to deliver rehabilitative and behavioral health wraparound services. The organization’s evidence-based model has been instrumental in reducing crime and recidivism, exemplified by successful partnerships like the Group Violence Reduction Strategy (GVRS) with the Baltimore Police Department and State Attorney’s Office in Maryland.

YAP’s public policy work promotes community-based programming and opportunities for education and employment, ensuring fair and just treatment for youth and families. Through initiatives such as YAP Voice, the organization provides current and former participants a platform to share their success stories, demonstrating the positive impact of holistic wraparound services.

For nearly five decades, YAP has been a change leader, committed to strengthening communities, one biography at a time. To learn more about YAP's impactful work and how they are transforming lives and communities, visit their blog featuring stories of families, advocates, and program practitioners on the front lines of youth justice, child welfare, and social services systems reform.