Youth Villages

Our Mission: Youth Villages helps children and families live successfully.

Our Values: Kids’ needs come first… always. We make every decision in the best interest of each child. We adapt our programs to accommodate the special needs of children and families. Often, we make personal sacrifices in order to help children and families achieve their potential.

Children are raised best by their families. When at all possible, children belong with their families. We help families provide the support and structure that all children need.

We provide a safe place. We provide care and treatment for children in an open, safe environment. We ensure that young people are physically and emotionally safe.

We strive to achieve positive, lasting results. We help children and families develop skills to live successfully by focusing on areas that have a long-term impact on the family.

We are committed to our staff. We recognize the many challenges our staff face each day. We value teamwork and help staff achieve their potential through an atmosphere of open communication, learning and fun.

We are each responsible for providing the highest level of service to our customers. We deliver our best by listening and responding to our customers … every time, every day.

We constantly improve our performance to achieve excellence. We measure our efforts by assessing our strengths and needs to identify areas for improvement. We believe that anything can be made better.

We create new programs to meet the needs of children, families and the community. We develop innovative programs that serve children and families facing the most challenging circumstances. Our entrepreneurial spirit leads us to test the limits of existing services and create new opportunities.

We do what we say we do. Our mission and values are more than just something to talk about. They guide all of our decisions. We believe that our integrity can only be measured by how we live by these values each day.

Youth Villages is a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to helping children with emotional and behavioral problems and their families live successfully.

We provide direct help to thousands of children and families each year; partner with innovative states and high-performing nonprofit organizations that use our effective program models; and advocate for positive change to child welfare systems around the country.

Our approach involves intensive work with the child and family; a focus on measuring outcomes; keeping children in the community whenever safely possible; and providing accountability to families and funders. The Youth Villages approach produces lasting, positive change for children.

While we help children from birth to age 22, the majority of the children who receive services from Youth Villages are between 12 and 17.

Children come to us because of emotional and behavioral disorders, physical or sexual abuse, substance abuse, or suicidal ideation or attempt. Our LifeSet program is a bridge from foster care to successful adulthood for young people who have experienced foster care.

More than 85% of Youth Villages children have multiple problems, which may include developmental or learning disabilities, as well as family issues and instability.