ADDITIONAL SERVICES

AFS Homes For Youth is a collaboration between the San Francisco Juvenile Probation Department (JPD) and the Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF). AFS coordinates, places and supports emergency and long-term placements for youth referred by the San Francisco Juvenile Court, in coordination with the Juvenile Probation Department (JPD). Resource parents are approved and licensed Intensive Services Foster Care (ISFC) caregivers in San Francisco, and the surrounding Bay Area. 

Program Goals

• Improve outcomes for justice-impacted youth, particularly Black, Indigenous, and youth of color by providing them with intensive services in a home with caring resource parents.
• Reduce and minimize the use of secure detention facilities for young people while the intensive services may provide better outcomes.

 Target Population 

Youth ordered to out-of-home placement by the San Francisco Juvenile Court, based on alleged or sustained charges for criminal conduct. Additional characteristics include:

• Ages: 13-18, mostly 16 or older
• Gender: girls, boys, and gender-expansive
• Special Populations: Including but not limited to, youth who have experienced commercial sexual exploitation, monolingual youth, youth with behavioral health needs, and unaccompanied youth

Youth in this program will have immediate access to AFS’ array of SFDPH contracted mental health services including outpatient, therapeutic visitation, and Therapeutic Foster Care.

Common challenges faced by youth with juvenile justice involvement:

• Substance abuse
• Physical and mental health issues requiring individualized, comprehensive treatment approaches
• Housing and employment instability

Our staff and families are trained in evidence-based practices including:

• Wisdom Path Way, a reparative parenting approach
• Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES)
• Strengthening Families–a protective factors framework
• Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths.

Out-of-Home Placement in the San Francisco Juvenile Justice System: A Study Conducted for the San Francisco Juvenile Probation Department - click here

Intensive Family Preservation Services are for kinship and home trials to maintain permanency and decrease reliance on formal support systems through the following services:

• Immediate response to youth 24/7/365 including Crisis Intervention and Stabilization.
• Needs-driven and family-informed solutions support permanency within the family and community-based settings.
• Empower clients by educating them about the Child and Family Team (CFT) process and then engaging them in the Child and Family Plan including recruiting and encouraging natural and formal support.
• Behavioral interventions and services are based on the existing probation plan using elements of the Integrated Core Practice Model.
• Sustainable interventions promoting independence.
• Connect the client with community resources with guidance from the Family Partner who acts as a liaison.