General Info

Founded in 1975, Youth Advocate Programs, also known as YAP, is one of the largest nonprofit youth and family support agencies working with high-risk youths and their families in the United States. It operates programs in more than 120 communities in over 15 U.S. states. Youth Advocate Programs has also developed and supported programs in Ireland, England, Scotland, Hawaii, Guatemala and Sierra Leone. The agency works with child welfare, juvenile justice, behavioral health, disability and education systems to develop and offer community-based alternatives for the high-risk children, young people and families. Youth Advocate Programs has been certified by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and National Council on Crime and Delinquency. It serves and empowers over 10,000 families per year and has a staff of nearly 2,200 employees. The agency has worked with Hale Kipa, which is a local Hawaiian youth organization that advocates and develops community-based alternatives for the state correctional facility and Native Hawaiian and Samoan youths. Youth Advocate Programs maintains a location in Meadville, Pa.