Programs

The Youth Service Bureau Programs
It is the mission of the Youth Service Bureau to divert youth ages 11 to 21 from the juvenile justice and/or child welfare systems by providing access to needed comprehensive community based services aimed at prevention, diversion, or treatment. 

The mission also includes serving the needs of the homeless adolescents population.



The Youth Service Bureau accomplishes its mission through the following programs:

Comprehensive Community Based Youth Services (CCBYS)
CCBYS provides youth between the ages of 11 to 17 who are at-risk of being or have been abused, neglected, abandoned, or locked out by parents or guardians.  CCBYS provides 24-hour crisis intervention, individual and family counseling, outreach, advocacy, shelter care, temporary placement, and referrals for other services.  Click here for more information.


Homeless Youth Program (HYP)
HYP provides various services to youth between the ages of 16 to 24 who are homeless.  Youth who are under the age of 18 and homeless must reside in the YSB group home with parental permission unless the youth is an emancipated minor.  Homeless youth between the ages of 18 to 24 reside in subsidized community apartments. Youth are provided with services to address their individual needs.  Click here for more information.


Housing and Urban Development Program (HUD)
HUD serves youth that are non-wards of the state between the ages of 16 to 18 who are homeless.  Youth who meet these criteria include those who have been locked out of their homes and cannot be reunified with their families.  Click here for more information.


Structured Psychotherapy for Adolescents Responding to Chronic Stress (SPARCS)
SPARCS is a therapy group counseling to youth between the ages of 11 to 17 who have experienced trauma in their lives.  The therapy is provided in group settings that involve 16 week sessions that teach participants how to cope with anger, improve coping skills, and elicit positive life changes.  Click here for more information.


Safe Place
Safe Place is a project designed to reach youth who are in the early stages of a crisis situation.  Volunteer outreach stations are established in each neighborhood in business establishments to provide a safe place for at-risk youth or youth who may feel threatened in any way.  Safe place operates in Sangamon, Christian, Mason, Menard, and Logan Counties.  Click here for more information.


Illinois Violence Prevention Authority Bullying Prevention (IVPA)
Bullying can have destructive consequences for our young people; therefore, the Youth Service Bureau has launched a partnership with IVPA, an anti-bullying program.  This program will be administered in many of the middle schools in the five counties of Sangamon, Christian, Mason, Menard, and Logan.  Look for more information regarding this anti-bullying program in the fall of 2012.