Statements
Mission
Youth Villages helps children and families live successfully.
Youth Villages is a private nonprofit organization that serves emotionally troubled, at-risk children and their families through a continuum of services, including residential treatment, intensive in-home services, group homes, therapeutic foster care, special needs adoption, the LifeSet program, specialized crisis services and mentoring. The primary goal for each child in all of our programs is to find permanency, either returning home with biological parents, finding a loving and nurturing foster/adoptive home, or in the case of older youth, transitioning successfully into the community.
Background
Founded in 1986 as a residential treatment program for emotionally and behaviorally troubled children, Youth Villages has since added a number innovative programs such as treatment foster care, special needs adoption, group homes, intensive in-home services, specialized crisis services, mentoring, and the LifeSet program, which helps young adults successfully 'age out' of state custody and live independently. Many of the children served by Youth Villages have been removed from their homes because of abuse and/or neglect and are in custody of the State. The primary goal for each child in all of our programs is to find permanency -- either returning home to their birth parents with in-home counseling, finding a loving and nurturing foster/adoptive family, or, in the case of older youth, transitioning successfully into the community.
Last Year, Youth Villages impacted the lives of more than 5,700 youth across Middle Tennessee through our core programs and specialized crisis services from our offices in Nashville, Columbia, Cookeville, Clarksville, and Dickson. Youth Villages is a proven leader in delivering health and human services to Middle Tennessee's children and families, and the organization has been successfully serving in Middle Tennessee for more than 30 years. That success is measurable. Twenty years of data show that more than 85 percent of Youth Villages' children continue to be successful one year after discharge from our programs.
Youth Villages helps emotionally and behaviorally troubled children rebuild their lives by preventing separation and restoring broken families. Long term, this translates into fewer children requiring state custody and a greater than 85 percent success rate of children remaining at home, staying in school, and staying out of trouble with authorities.
Impact
Youth Villages helps emotionally and behaviorally troubled children rebuild their lives and save broken families. Long-term, this translates into fewer children requiring state custody and a greater than 80 percent success rate of children remaining at home, staying in school and staying out of trouble with authorities.
The most significant goals for the current year: 1) To raise the necessary funds to expand the LifeSet program, which helps former foster children learn to live independently; 2) To recruit and train treatment parents to serve special-needs foster children; 3) To find adoptive homes for children with special needs; and 4) To find volunteer mentors for children in Youth Villages' programs.
Significant accomplishments include:
In fiscal year 2021, Youth Villages of Middle Tennessee served 3,040 of the most at-risk children in our core programs (residential treatment, foster care, in-home services, LifeSet and wraparound services - children can take part in more than one program during the year) in all counties of Middle Tennessee. We served an additional 9,245 through our Specialized Crisis Services program, which supports kids across the state.
The LifeSet program experienced great success in FY2021. Youth Villages helped 564 of the most vulnerable young people in Middle Tennessee meet their basic needs; establish safe and stable living arrangements; finish and further their education; learn essential job readiness skills and obtain employment; stay out of legal trouble; and access the community services they needed, including many other elements needed to navigate adulthood successfully. The outcomes of the LifeSet program at 1-year post-discharge are as follows:
Living with family or independently: 90%
No trouble with the law: 91%
Graduated/GED and/or employed: 90%
The YV Scholars program was started to provide additional help to young people in our LifeSet program who are attending college. The YV Scholars program reflects Youth Villages' belief that all youth in the LifeSet program deserve the opportunity to better their education, employment viability, and general well-being. Key components are mentoring, educational opportunities, support systems, and other assistance as needed. Currently 23 of the 124 YV Scholars across the nation are young people in Middle Tennessee. Youth Villages Scholars are represented at the following institutions of higher learning: Tennessee Technological University, Tennessee State University, Volunteer State University, Middle Tennessee State University, Tennessee College of Applied Technology, Belmont University, Nashville State Community College, Boston University, Columbia State Community College, and Austin Peay State University.
Nationally, Youth Villages served 18,942 children and young adults in our core programs, and a total of 32,344 across all programs.
Needs
The most pressing needs in for Youth Villages (YV) Middle Tennessee are:
To raise funds to expand the LifeSet program throughout Tennessee to make sure all eligible young adults aging out of foster care have the opportunity to participate in this program.
To increase the number of mentors and volunteers for children and teens in YV programs who lack positive adult role models.
To recruit foster/adoptive parents to nurture emotionally troubled teens and children.
To retain quality staff and ensure the best possible care to our young people.
To increase awareness of the work that Youth Villages does.
CEO Statement
This past year, we Amplified Our Voice by helping more than 39,000 children, families and young adults in more places than ever before. We partnered with others to improve child-serving systems and advocated together for better policies on children's issues from the halls of Congress to state legislatures to every community in every state we serve. We also listened carefully to those with lived experience in child welfare, children's mental and justice systems and helped them find success.
Our voices include a staff of more than 4,000 working from over 100 locations in 26 states. Their work is reflected in our success rates. Eighty-nine percent of those who completed their program at Youth Villages went on to live successfully in their homes and our communities.
These results are only possible with your encouragement and commitment. On behalf of the children, families and young people we serve and our staff, we thank you for your support of our mission.
Sincerely,
Patrick Lawler
Chief Executive Officer
Youth Villages
Service Categories |
|
| Primary Category: | Human Services - Children's and Youth Services |
| Secondary Category: | Youth Development - |
| Tertiary Category: | - |
Areas Served
Last year in Middle Tennessee, Youth Villages served more than 5,700 children and their families through our core programs and specialized crisis services from our offices in Nashville, Columbia, Cookeville, Clarksville, and Dickson. Nationally, in FY21, Youth Villages served 32,344 children and young adults in core and ancillary programs.
| TN |
| TN - Bedford |
| TN - Cannon |
| TN - Cheatham |
| TN - Clay |
| TN - Coffee |
| TN - Cumberland |
| TN - Davidson |
| TN - DeKalb |
| TN - Dickson |
| TN - Fentress |
| TN - Franklin |
| TN - Giles |
| TN - Hickman |
| TN - Houston |
| TN - Humphreys |
| TN - Jackson |
| TN - Lawrence |
| TN - Lewis |
| TN - Lincoln |
| TN - Macon |
| TN - Marshall |
| TN - Maury |
| TN - Montgomery |
| TN - Moore |
| TN - Overton |
| TN - Perry |
| TN - Pickett |
| TN - Putnam |
| TN - Robertson |
| TN - Rutherford |
| TN - Smith |
| TN - Stewart |
| TN - Sumner |
| TN - Trousdale |
| TN - Van Buren |
| TN - Warren |
| TN - Wayne |
| TN - White |
| TN - Williamson |
| TN - Wilson |
