Youth Counseling Pilot Program

The Youth Counseling Pilot Program was inspired by the client's that we see at the CACJ's Youth Aid Panel (YAP), our community-based court diversion program for first time offenders under the age of 18.

At YAP, many of our clients are also struggling with their mental health, so we built this Centre Foundation grant-funded pilot program as a way to provide enhanced services to at-risk youth including those who are struggling with truancy, or other behaviors that put them at-risk of being involved in the criminal justice system.

Through this program, we aim to provide youth in the State College Area School District with short-term, school-based, individual (6-8 sessions) counseling to help assess and address the underlying reasons for their truancy and/or other problematic behaviors.

The ultimate goal of this pilot program is to provide services at critical moments in a youth's life so that they can ideally avoid unnecessary interactions with the justice system and/or juvenile incarceration.