Youth Guidance

Youth Guidance sees a bright and successful future for every elementary and high school student regardless of their background or circumstances. Because we believe that success in school is not only possible but should be achieved and celebrated, we are present in schools to facilitate an environment that engages students in the learning process, and through careful guidance, enables them to realize their full potential and graduate with a meaningful post-secondary plan. Youth Guidance empowers students to become successful socially, emotionally, and academically and to prepare for life during and after high school by promoting the following goals:

• Students will experience social-emotional well-being;
• Students will be engaged in school and succeed academically;
• Students will practice safe and healthy behaviors;
• Students will be prepared for post-secondary success;
• Parents will be engaged in their children's lives and school communities;
• A strong, supportive school community will develop.

Our long-term vision, as outlined in our strategic business plan, includes improving life outcomes for thousands more youth through the significant expansion of our nationally recognized Becoming A Man (BAM) and Working on Womanhood (WOW) programs both in Chicago and the United States. We also continue to strengthen the social-emotional, psychological, academic, and postsecondary success of youth across Chicago through Counseling, Career Readiness & Success, and Community & After School programming.”

No matter what challenges a young person faces, they are more likely to succeed when they have caring adults in their lives. Youth Guidance’s highly trained staff work full-time in schools to meet kids where they are- physically and emotionally- to help them recognize and realize their full potential. Establishing positive, authentic, and consistent adult relationships is a core component to every Youth Guidance program. Our staff provide counseling, mentoring, support, and life-skills to the youth who need it most, helping them overcome challenges while building confidence and skills that translate to a lifetime of opportunity and success.

Our programs are developed to respond to the needs of the youth, schools, and communities we serve. Programs like Becoming A Man (BAM) and Working on Womanhood (WOW) were designed by clinicians who observed the need for highly engaging social-emotional learning and character development programming for middle and high school students. The BAM and WOW curricula were developed through the integration of youth input with staff’s clinical and professional expertise. All Youth Guidance programs undergo rigorous evaluation, both internally and externally, to ensure that programs are delivered with quality and deliver their intended impact. Our research partners at the University of Chicago found in a 2016 report that BAM participants were 50% less likely to be arrested for violent crime when compared to a control group, and 35% less likely to be arrested overall. BAM students were also 19% more likely to graduate high school on time. In a 2019 report, researchers at Lurie Children’s Hospital found that WOW participants experiencing clinical symptoms of trauma, depression, and anxiety experienced statistically significant improvement in each of these areas.

Building upon the evidence base of BAM and WOW, alongside growing demand from school districts and cities across the country, Youth Guidance seeks to reach thousands of new BAM and WOW youth each year. Since 2017, BAM has grown to Boston, MA; King County, WA; and Los Angeles, CA; Kansas City, MO; Washington, D.C.; and Dallas, TX. We partner with school districts and local leaders from each community’s public, private, philanthropic, and nonprofit sectors to promote local adaptation and programmatic and financial sustainability of the programs.

Youth Guidance has operated full-time within- and in partnership with- public school districts for over 50 years. This allows us to reach students where they are, eliminate barriers to access, and reduce stigma associated with mental health services. Youth Guidance staff works closely with school administrators and community partners to establish a coordinated system of support for all students and their families.

Given the agency's recent expansion, Youth Guidance has grown its staff of highly qualified practitioners. The Becoming a Man (BAM) and Working on Womanhood (WOW) programs are delivered by experienced and credentialed social workers/counselors/youth development practitioners. Given research that suggests the importance of counselor relationships in both programs, Youth Guidance prioritizes hiring highly qualified individuals who can provide culturally responsive interventions and build strong relationships with students.

Youth Guidance is also supported by a strong leadership team, an invested Board of Directors, and dedicated Advisory Councils in each city that we operate. Our programs are aligned with broad education, youth development, public safety, and economic development initiates such as mentoring initiatives, summer employment programs, and public safety coalitions to promote sustainability of our work. We’ve worked with national leaders in organizational capacity-building and scaling evidence-based practices, including The Bridgespan Group and the National Implementation Research Network, to build administrative capabilities (marketing/communications, fundraising, finance, human resources) to ensure that the agency's growth and impact are reaching their best potential.

For 96 years, Youth Guidance has created and implemented school-based programs that enable children to overcome obstacles, focus on their education and, ultimately, to succeed in life. The agency currently serves children and families across Chicago through three program areas: Counseling and Prevention; Youth Workforce Development; and Community and After School Programs. Youth Guidance is unique in its school-based model, which has been the foundation of its programs in Chicago for over 50 years. Youth Guidance now annually delivers
programs to 13,000 students and families in over 160 partner schools across 50 of Chicago’s 77 neighborhoods. In 2017, Youth Guidance launched its first program outside of the Chicago area with the launch of BAM-Boston. Youth Guidance is now in six geographic locations across the United States. While our programming is still predominately in the City of Chicago, BAM and WOW are now operating in six schools in Waukegan, IL. Outside of Illinois, BAM has established programs in Boston, Los Angeles, Dallas, Kansas City, and Washington, DC and WOW has established programs in Boston, Dallas and Kansas City.

Due to our long-standing partnership with Chicago Public Schools, Youth Guidance is uniquely positioned as an agency to be present in schools to facilitate an environment that engages students in the learning process, and through careful guidance, enable students to develop agency and realize their fullest potential, including graduating with a strong, personalized post-secondary plan. Many of the students that Youth Guidance serves come from neighborhoods that face community violence that has lasting effects on the life outcomes of the youth living in these primarily low-income communities. Our programs – from Community & Afterschool Programs, Counseling & Prevention to Youth Workforce Development – works within these communities providing effective and efficient programs that build safe spaces for students and families and help them create a foundation of skills that will position them to thrive in school and in life.

Youth Guidance sees a bright and successful future for every elementary and high school student.

The agency aims for all participants to achieve the following organizational goals:

- Students will experience social-emotional well-being;
- Students will engage in school and succeed academically;
- Students will practice safe and healthy behaviors;
- Students will be prepared for post-secondary success;
- Parents and/or guardians will be engaged in their children's lives and school communities; and
- Youth Guidance full-time, school-based staff will develop strong and supportive school communities.