Youth Policy Institute

For more than 30 years, YPI has been breaking the cycle of intergenerational poverty. At the core of our commitment to serving key high-need communities in Los Angeles with essential resources and support services, we focus on direct education and comprehensive services including early childhood education, tutoring, operating K-12 schools, college preparation, computer labs, case management, financial capability, and job training.

Originally part of the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial, YPI was founded in 1983 in Washington, D.C. In 1996, YPI relocated to Los Angeles to focus on direct education and comprehensive services.

YPI employees serve some of the city’s lowest-income neighborhoods, reaching more than 112,000 youth and adults annually at 138 program sites in Los Angeles. YPI is the only nonprofit in the country to receive all three signature federal Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative grants: Promise Neighborhoods (twice), Choice Neighborhoods, Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation, and the Los Angeles Promise Zone designation, making YPI the lead implementation partner for the zone.