Youth In Need
Believing in the power of potential...
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Vulnerable young people and families in the St. Louis region encounter numerous challenges. Disadvantaged and underserved populations, including runaway and homeless youth, victims of child abuse and neglect, victims of sex trafficking, teen parents, at-risk school-aged children and youth, and low-income families with young children are particularly vulnerable. Confronted with numerous and complex issues that are difficult and sometimes nearly impossible to successfully navigate on their own, Youth In Need provides vulnerable youth and families a continuum of services that uses a comprehensive three-pronged approach (crisis intervention, therapeutic recovery and prevention services) to address the multiple issues faced by children, youth and their families in the region. Youth In Need's comprehensive approach ensures that at-risk, underserved and vulnerable populations receive the support and resources to find safety and hope, achieve their goals, and build a positive future.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Residential Programs
Youth In Need's Emergency Shelter is an emergency residence for 12 children and teens, ages 10 to 18, experiencing crisis. Youth can access Emergency Shelter services 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The Transitional Living Program is a group home and supported living apartments that offers teens and young adults, ages 16 to 21, who are experiencing homelessness an opportunity to learn independent-living skills and to work towards educational and employment goals and become self-sufficient community members.
Head Start and Early Head Start
Head Start and Early Head Start serves income-eligible families with children, ages birth to 5. The program offers families comprehensive, developmental services, including education, inclusion of children with disabilities, vision, hearing and developmental screenings, nutritious snacks and meals, health services, mental health consultations, family involvement opportunities, parent education, identification of family needs, community resource information and volunteer opportunities. Services are offered in center-based or home-based settings in St. Louis City and St. Louis, St. Charles, Lincoln, Warren and Montgomery Counties.
Counseling and Support Groups
Professional Counseling: Out-client counseling services assist children, youth and families experiencing conflict or crisis. Offices are located in St. Charles County and St. Louis County. Staff offer school-based counseling in nine St. Louis County School Districts (Normandy, Ritenour, Pattonville, Lindbergh, Valley Park, Hancock Place, Riverview Gardens, Maplewood-Richmond Heights and Parkway as well as North Tech High). Teen Parent Program: Community and in-school support and counseling provides teen parents and expectant teens with nutrition and health information and supports them while they complete their education. Support Groups: Groups for both youth and parents address various topics of interest.
Homeless Outreach and Safe Place
Street Outreach: A mobile unit offers emergency food, clothing, referral sources and support to homeless youth living on the streets. Safe Place: Youth In Need is the regional provider of this national youth outreach program that educates young people about the dangers of running away. A network of Safe Place sites (more than 400 stationary sites and 300 mobile sites), or youth friendly businesses, in St. Louis City and St. Louis and St. Charles Counties provides safe havens and resources for youth in crisis. Area safe places are identified by the yellow and black diamond-shaped Safe Place sign.Youth In Need is the largest Safe Place provider in the country.
Foster Care Case Management
Children’s Permanency Partnership: In collaboration with three other local agencies, Youth In Need’s program addresses the needs of children in foster care, with the goal of either successful reunification of these children with their birth families or permanent placement in other nurturing families.
Teen Parent Program
The Teen Parent Program provides community and in-school support as well as counseling services for teen parents and expectant teens. Teens receive nutrition and health information as well as additional supportive services while they complete their education.
Where we work
External reviews
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of students who exhibit kindergarten readiness
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Head Start and Early Head Start
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Youth In Need measures this metric as the number and percentage of kindergarten eligible children meeting/exceeding expectations for school readiness goals. (New metric for 2016.)
Average youth self-rating of functioning and coping skills
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Counseling and Support Groups
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Youth In Need measures this metric as the number and percentage of youth indicating improved well-being.
Number of youth transitioned to safety
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Homeless Outreach and Safe Place
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Youth In Need measures this metric as the number of youth transitioned to safety from homelessness or from crisis situations.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Youth In Need’s primary goal is to build on the strengths of children, youth and families so they find safety, hope and success in life through services and programs that embrace a strengths-based approach and the values of integrity, respect and excellence. Youth In Need fulfills its mission by developing and maintaining a professional and trained staff, a strong network of volunteers, dedicated leadership on the agency’s Board of Directors, and a committed group of donors who partner to support families as they work to achieve their goals.
Youth In Need's 2018 expected outcomes are as follows:
Emergency Shelter for Youth in Crisis:
• Serve 250 unduplicated youth
• 90% will discharge to a safe environment
• 70% will indicate improved well-being
• 80% will be reunited with their families, when appropriate, as defined at intake
Foster Care and Adoption Program:
• Serve 75 unduplicated youth
• 0.3% or less will have substantiated child abuse/neglect reports while in care
• 8% or less will re-enter state custody
Head Start and Early Head Start:
• Serve 1,300 unduplicated children
• 90% of four-year old pre-school children will be on target for school readiness
• 10% of enrollment will include children with a diagnosed disability
Counseling Services:
• Serve 2,900 unduplicated children and youth
• 70% will demonstrate improved school engagement and performance
• 70% will indicate improved well-being
Street-Based Outreach Program for Runaway and Homeless Youth:
• Transition 200 youth to safety
Teen Parent Program:
• Serve 120 unduplicated youth
• 80% will have a healthy pregnancy
• 70% will progress toward completing an educational program
Transitional Living Program for Runaway and Homeless Youth:
• Serve 24 unduplicated youth
• 70% will indicate improved well-being
• 85% will increase their knowledge of essential life skills
• 30% will successfully transition to independence upon discharge
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Youth In Need is exceptionally positioned to deliver successful outcomes and significant community impact in the region. Youth In Need employs a unifying approach and core organizational values with a commitment to a client-centered, strengths-based philosophy that mirrors the research-based positive youth development approach approved by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. This approach assumes that all clients, no matter their challenges or past failures, have the capacity to make decisions and take actions to improve their lives. This core value of utilizing a strengths-based philosophy begins with staff hiring and orientation, and is implemented through carefully designed programs that are continually measured and evaluated with quality metrics. The resulting environment is one in which staff morale and creativity is optimized, client ownership of growth is maximized, and resulting outcomes are significant and lasting.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Youth In Need's services include Head Start and Early Head Start early childhood education; individual, family and school-based counseling
services, including crisis counseling; foster care case management; teen parent programming and other support groups; positive youth development programs and crisis prevention presentations; crisis emergency shelter for abused and neglected children and youth; mobile street outreach programming for runaway and homeless youth, including victims of sex trafficking; and transitional and independent housing programs for runaway and homeless youth that includes educational and job training preparation; foster care case management. Youth In Need is the regional provider of the National Safe Place program as well as the front door for the Youth Coordinated Entry Systems for the St. Louis City, St. Louis County and Tri-County (St. Charles, Lincoln and Warren) Continuums of Care around the issue of homelessness.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Youth In Need remains entirely focused on leveraging our services and programs to produce the best possible community impact and outcomes:
• Stabilizing runaway youth and reuniting them with their families
• Helping older homeless youth achieve self-sufficiency
• Stabilizing children in foster care and reuniting them with their families
• Improving healthy coping behaviors among at-risk youth
• Improving positive relationships with children and families
• High school dropouts securing jobs and re-entering school or GED programs
• Improving social and school success among abuse victims
• Improving behavior and family success among juvenile offenders
• Teaching teen parents effective parenting skills and helping them remain in school
• Fostering successful developmental milestones and early school success for children in low-income families
• Improving parenting skills and family stability among low-income parents
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Youth In Need
Board of directorsas of 02/11/2022
Ms. Anita Viehmann
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Term: 2018 - 2019
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Carolyn Koenig
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Bob Kalinich
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John Winkelmeier
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Jay Savan
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Cathy Glosier
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James W. O'Neill
Retired, Boeing Defense, Space and Security
Patrick S. Sullivan
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Fran Ventimiglia
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Rick Leach
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Paul Middeke
Retired, Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod
Gerald E. Daniels
Retired, The Boeing Company
Carol Conoyer
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Kim Scheidegger York
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Robert Crumpton
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Keith Kohler
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Mary Krogmeier
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Mary Carter Martin
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Tom Pagano
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Jackie Yoon
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Linda Tracy
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Rod Arends
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Melanie Curtis
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Jesse Goldner
Saint Louis University School of Law
Karl Jeppesen
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Scott Stork
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Dr. Patrick Walker
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Breck Washam
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