Our Street Soccer team provided a training yesterday to Lebanon (PA) YAP staff, youth, and students from Lebanon Valley College. Together, they plan to introduce the sport to the Lebanon community at a December street soccer tournament at LVC."Our kids loved it," said Program Director Bob Swanson. "Despite their insistence that they don't play soccer, many remained after the event to keep playing!"Many thanks to Jay, Diana, and David who have been working hard at spreading the joy of street socc...

NJ YAP's Fatherhood Healthy Relationships Initiative (FHRI) held a "Dads - Take Your Child to School Day" in Vineland.  Fathers were invited to accompany their children to school and participante in a breakfast at Sabater Elementary School.  NJ FHRI is part of the state's #NJFathersMatter program that recognizes that fathers are an instrumental part of a child's life and seeks to involve them more, while providing information on a wide range of fatherhood issues.  Read more about this event in t...

In the National Juvenile Justice Network's (NJJN) snapshot on probation, YAP is named as a "Promising Practice" for its approach for working with youth in the juvenile justice system.  Read NJJN's snapshot here.

On July 29th, Lucas County YAP held a Family Fun Day for their youth and families.  "It was one of the best days of the summer!" said Program Director Sherri Munn.  Staff members from YAP and Lucas County Juvenile Court to manned activity booths including a bounce house, dunk tank, basketball game, and photo booth.  Concessions included cotton candy, popcorn and snow cones.   Musical entertainment was provided by a Lucas County DYS volunteer who DJ'd the event.  Community providers were also in ...

"While the overall rate of incarceration of all youth has decreased by 55% since 1997, the rate of incarceration of youth of color continues to rise, marking an alarming pattern."A report by the Burns Institute examines the dispropritionate overrepresentation of youth of color in prisons.  "Stemming the Rising Tide: Racial & Ethnic Disparities in Youth Incarceration and Strategies for Change" cites Youth Advocate Programs' report Safely Home and its call for culturally competent, community b...