Their Job is to Be the Alternative to Youth Incarceration and Congregate Care. And They Love it.

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    A nonprofit that empowers program participants to focus on their strengths is using the same approach to recruit and retain great employees. Youth Advocate Programs (YAP), Inc. invited employees to record videos saying why they love their jobs and is sharing them on social media.

    YAP’s services are a community-based alternative to incarceration, out-of-home child welfare placements, behavioral health and developmental disability treatment facilities and other congregate care.

     With offices in more than 100 communities in 32 states and Washington, DC., YAP also hires credible messengers to provide alternatives to neighborhood violence.

    YAP’s work is based on a four-decades-old model of hiring neighborhood-based Advocates and professional staff persons who receive special training to help young people see their strengths and connect them and their parents and guardians with tools to reach their educational, economic, and emotional goals.

    “These are very powerful videos,” said YAP President Gary Ivory.  “They’re a reminder of why we all work for YAP and are a great tool to recruit more amazing staff.”

    Learn more about YAP at www.yapinc.org and follow the nonprofit on Twitter @yapinc.