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What a Youth Service Bureau Does – Four Core Roles
All youth on a track to successful adulthood are developing four significant character and behavior traits:
- Competence
- Belonging
- Usefulness
- Power.
Each of Indiana’s Youth Service Bureaus tailors its programs to the needs of its own particular community. Programs vary widely. But each and every Bureau fulfills four core roles that are at the heart of juvenile delinquency prevention. These are some general examples of the kind of work. Actual programs in place throughout Indiana are as diverse as the communities themselves.
| Mission or Role |
Program Examples |
Outcomes |
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Advocacy:
To support, represent and protect the well-being of children and youth |
Individual and Family counseling
Crisis Shelters, Project Safe Place
Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA)
Guardian ad litem
Wrap Around case management |
Protection from abuse, neglect or exploitation
Fair representation in legal hearings and family or custody conflicts
Identification and development of essential knowledge, skills and abilities |
|
Delinquency Prevention:
To prevent delinquency and divert young people from the justice system |
Teen Court programs
Quality residential care
Recreation programs
Family Preservation services
Conflict Resolution training
Drug and Alcohol prevention and/or treatment
Youth Development Programs |
Avoidance of problem behaviors
Avoidance of entanglement in crime, delinquency,
Avoidance of prosecution, probation and other mandated actions of the juvenile justice system
Development of positive performance values
Successful youth activities and community service |
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Community Education:
To inform and educate citizens about services available; to link the needs of youth to the community action
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Parent Education programs
Teen Mother Support Groups
Active participation in Step-Ahead
Civic forums on the needs and risks of youth
Orientation of community leaders on issues and problems of at-risk youth and children |
Successful local diversion programs
Cooperation among multiple youth-oriented programs
Effective community and/or agency response to the needs of youth at risk
Effective allocation of resources to eliminate or reduce problems before they begin |
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Information and Referral:
To share information and maintain a referral system among all service agencies for youth |
Participation in Step Ahead
Hot lines, rap lines and chat rooms
Teen Yellow Pages and referral cardsProject Safe Place
Referral through counseling |
Easy access to youth services and resources
Teens help one another with effective problem-solving and skill development
Actively engaged youth develop a strong sense of belonging through family, school, social and/or community service |
Examples of Youth Service Bureau programs and services in Indiana
- Advocacy and representation for children and youth, such as Court Appointed Special Advocates, guardian ad litem, and conflict mediation
- Crisis intervention and shelter programs such as Project Safe Place
- Youth leadership training
- Delinquency diversion programs, such as teen court, truancy prevention, tutoring
- Recreation and athletics as alternatives to idleness, gang behavior, or crime.
- Community and school outreach, such as drug and alcohol prevention education, youth issues forums.
- Individual and family counseling such as teen counseling, parent education, conflict resolution training, mediation, and home-based services.
- Teen parent groups, talk lines, pregnancy counseling, conflict resolution, tutoring and mentoring.
Residential Care, short to medium term residential programs for teens in counseling, under supervision or in transition to independence. (Residential Care, where provided, incurs far greater cost and generates greater revenue than non-residential programs. Twenty-four hour staffing, home-like facilities and security, as well as professional counselors are essential.)
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