The Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice Announces a new Partnership with National Youth Advocate Program (NYAP) to provide wraparound services to youth in Central Illinois.

As part of its 21st Century Transformation Plan, the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) today announced a partnership with National Youth Advocate Program, Inc. (NYAP) to provide community-based services to youth in Central Illinois. Founded in 1978, NYAP is a private, not-for-profit community-based service provider for youth and families, who currently provides over 66 types of services in ten states. Through this partnership, NYAP will provide services to youth in Champaign, Macon, Sangamon, Peoria, and Vermillion counties.

This new partnership is part of DJJ’s 21st Century Plan for Transformation, announced by Governor Pritzker and Lieutenant Governor Stratton on July 31, 2020. The NYAP partnership brings their signature Contact and Never-ending Improvement (CANEI) program to youth residing in Central Illinois and enables DJJ to offer a continuum of support to youth and families in this region—before, during and after release from DJJ commitment. Youth will be connected to programs offering community service, and will receive holistic supports as well as linkages to services, including individual and family psychotherapy, mentoring, case management, and educational and vocational support.

“We are thrilled to launch this partnership with NYAP to bring these much-needed services to Central Illinois communities,” sa id DJJ Director Heidi Mueller. “The CANEI program model of intensive, holistic wraparound services has proven to help youth and families achieve significantly better outcomes than traditional incarceration models. Partners like NYAP are critical to DJJ’s 21st Century Transformation, and key to providing our young people the support in their own communities that will help them develop into safe, healthy and positive adults.”

CANEI is a 26-week, strength-based treatment program that facilitates life skill development and fosters compassion and empathy with others. Through intensive home and community-based services, group-based sessions, life skills training, and completion of a service- learning project, CANEI youth transform themselves by cultivating a sense of self, purpose, and responsibility. The CANEI program also includes access to emergency, licensed foster care services and family stabilization.

“We are honored to partner with Director Mueller and Illinois DJJ to serve one of our state’s most vulnerable populations”, said NYAP Corporate Vice President and IL Executive Director Viviane Ngwa. “Giving opportunity youth and all youth impacted by the juvenile justice system another chance to fulfill their life’s goals and missions is what this journey’s partnership with DJJ is all about.”

The partnership with NYAP is part of the Transformation Plan goal to invest resources in communities most impacted by the juvenile justice system. Forty percent of youth committed to IDJJ originate from Central Illinois, but none of them are currently able to be housed or receive transitional services in the region. The addition of NYAPs services to the Central Illinois region allows DJJ to more equitably and effectively serve youth and families in this region by providing needed services and interventions in youth’s homes and communities of origin.

To learn more about the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice’s plan for Transformation, please visit https://www2.illinois.gov/idjj/ Pages/default.aspx.