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Youth, Families, and Community Supporters Help Juvenile Court of Memphis and Shelby County and Youth Advocate Programs (YAP®), Inc. Celebrate Positive Outcomes

Kelly Williams

Photos by Ken Lewis

Memphis, Tenn. — About 100 guests gathered at the National Civil Rights Museum for a brunch to celebrate positive outcomes for justice-involved youth in Memphis and Shelby County.

The event recognized the first-year outcomes of Juvenile Court of Memphis and Shelby County’s partnership with Youth Advocate Programs (YAP®), Inc. A philanthropy-supported publicly funded national nonprofit, YAP® partners with youth justice and other systems to provide community-based, accountability-focused individual and family wraparound services as an alternative to incarceration and residential placements.

Since partnering with Juvenile Court of Memphis and Shelby County in June 2025, 24 Memphis area youths ages 12 – 18 facing or convicted of gun, assault, carjacking, theft, and other serious offenses successfully completed services with YAP®.

The event recognized four former program participants who are putting their lives on a positive path. Johnny is spending the summer training for his final high school football season. Nick is in the final stages of completing his GED program and has rebuilt his relationship with his mother, which was a top goal for him. Kenyata is looking for full-time employment. Pierre, who served as guest speaker, completed his senior year with a B average, is delivering packages at night and working for a landscaper in the daytime, and plans to attend college on a band scholarship.

The event was hosted by YAP® Shelby County Program Director Darius Ford and his team along with the Juvenile Court’s Community Stakeholder Manager Kimbrell Owens.  

Juvenile Court of Memphis and Shelby County Judge Tarik Sugarmon served as the keynote speaker, emphasizing that accountability and rehabilitation go hand in hand.

“YAP® doesn’t simply supervise young people, they walk alongside them, they invest in them, they invest in their families,” Sugarmon said. “They help them find jobs, reconnect with school, strengthen relationships and build confidence and give them tools to make different choices.”

Sugarmon congratulated the successful program participants and acknowledged supporters of the pilot including Youth Development Specialists and other Shelby County Court personnel. He also recognized District 8 Shelby County Commissioner Mickell Lowery, who attended the event, and others whose belief in the program contributed to its initial success.

Celebrating with Ford and his team were YAP® President & CEO Gary Ivory, VP Jamaal Crawford, and Regional Director Marlon Rucker.

“The annual cost for 30 YAP® wraparound services slots for Juvenile Court of Memphis and Shelby County youth last year was $600,000. Half was covered by the county, and the other $300,000 by YAP® philanthropic donations,” Ivory said. “That $110 per-day investment is less than a sixth of the more than $120,000 cost to incarcerate a child for six months. And that doesn’t account for the costs for visitation — transportation, lost time at work, childcare, and other expenses when a parent visits one of their children in a facility.”

Ivory added that that youth incarceration and residential placements compound risks leading to homicide, suicide, school failure, poverty, unemployment, substance use, homelessness, adult incarceration, and other negative cycles, straining public resources and threatening community safety and wellbeing.

“In 2023, YAP® issued a Notice of Available Funds application, also known as a NOFA, to youth justice, child welfare, and educational systems across the country,” Crawford said. “Thanks to a generous philanthropic donor, we were able to offer matching funds to jurisdictions wanting to launch our YAP Pursuing Excellence program. We were impressed by Juvenile Court of Memphis and Shelby County’s desire to improve outcomes by trying something innovative.”

YAP® Chief of Marketing and Communications Officer Kelly Williams hosted a brief panel discussion with former program participants, including 18-year-old Tiffany and 14-year-old Jaylen. Jaylen’s mother, India, and Jaylen’s Juvenile Court of Memphis and Shelby County Community Youth Development (CYD) Specialist Tracy Steele were also a part of the discussion.

“Jaylen was stealing cars; now he wants to grow up to own car dealerships,” India said, expressing her gratitude for supporting her son.

The YAP® Pursuing Excellence program model implemented in Memphis and Shelby County includes weekly group Structured Psychotherapy for Adolescents Responding to Chronic Stress (SPARCS) cognitive behavioral therapy sessions to address behaviors linked to exposure to violence and abuse.

Rucker, who provided training and guidance to support the program’s launch, recognized YAP®’s team of Memphis and Shelby County Advocates LaVonda Burks, Lance Lester, Charles Griggs, Georgio Washington and Thiery Vester. The Advocates introduced and recognized milestones of current program participants, Cody, Antanya, Tiffany, Christopher M., Jerrel, Ad’dye, William, Martavis, Jaylen, Christopher B., Jamarcoe, Darious, John, Torrian, Lee, Lequinton, and Jabaree. Other regional YAP® staff who helped launch the Memphis pilot were on hand for the celebration, including Vice President of Program Operations Dina Harris, Program Director Monique Crisp, and Program Coordinator of Operations Kanisha Fields.

In addition to recognizing milestones and achievements of former participants, the event recognized parents, court personnel, educators, employers, community and faith leaders, donors, and others for their collaboration and support. Through community partnerships, many participants received education support, acquired workforce development skills through paid YAP® Supported Work, and/or landed their first job.

Memphis and Shelby County Juvenile Court supporters recognized at the event include:

Juvenile Court Staff members

 Memphis and Shelby County Community/Supported Work Partners

Ford also acknowledged the National Civil Rights Museum and the event’s brunch caterer, Hungry AF.

YAP®’s decades of service include working with many young people whose histories include serious offenses, multiple arrests, and lengthy out-of-home placements. John Jay College of Criminal Justice research found 86% of YAP®’s youth justice participants remain arrest free, and six – 12 months after completing the program, nearly 90% of the youth still lived in their communities with less than 5% of participants in secure placement. Partnering with cities like Baltimore and Charlotte, the nonprofit also applies principles of its 50-year-old evidence-based individual and family “wraparound services” model to help reduce community violence. Learn more about YAP® and how you can support the national nonprofit’s work yapinc.org.

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