Para Los Ninos Youth Development Services

The Youth Development Services (YDS) program serves youth currently or formerly placed in foster care and/or probation between the ages of 14 and 20, up until their 21st birthday. Participants must reside in Service Planning Area (SPA) 6: more commonly known as South Los Angeles, Compton, Watts, Paramount, and Lynwood. Historically these areas have been identified as having the largest number of youth in foster care and highest rates of high school drop out, teenage pregnancy, and juvenile delinquency. Our program is designed to address these issues and help youth find employment, identify and complete their educational goals, and to prevent homelessness and reliance on public welfare/assistance.

As a service component of Para Los Niños, YDS is one of many program divisions dedicated to improving the lives of children. For thirty years, Para Los Niños has worked to create academic success and social wellbeing for children. Para Los Niños aims to change the paradigm of urban education, eliminate the achievement gap caused by poverty, generate mental wellness and social wellbeing, and create sustainable success in the communities we serve. Our mission is to help them overcome the challenging conditions in which they live, and ultimately, “to succeed in school and in life.”