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mission of YH

mission of YH

Youth Homes, Inc. is a non-profit organization committed to serving the needs of abused and neglected children and adolescents in Contra Costa County by providing high quality residential and outpatient counseling treatment programs that promote the well-being of individuals and families.


about the agency

Youth Homes Inc., is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that has been in operation for over 40 years, providing California counties with high quality residential treatment programs for abused and neglected children and adolescents. Our current programs focus on providing residential treatment in Contra Costa County. The agency provides a safe and supportive environment for 30 boys and girls in five State-licensed facilities, 24 hours a day.

The organization was founded in Contra Costa in 1965, when a group of concerned citizens responded to articles in the Contra Costa Times and the Oakland Tribune which exposed Juvenile Halls overcrowding with children who could no longer remain in their homes, most often through no fault of their own. A published report by the Little Hoover Commission entitled "Now in Our Hands," states:

In the shadow of California's prosperity, the plague of child abuse and neglect grows more severe. An increasing percentage of a growing population of young people is flooding a child welfare system that has proven incapable of healing the complex problems of traumatized children. California is failing to protect and care for abused children...

The tragedies unfold by child, but the trauma is universal. Often under the scourge of drug and alcohol abuse, parental love and patience lose out to abuse and severe neglect. The government intervenes, and nearly 100 times a day somewhere a child in California is placed in foster care. Despite benevolent intentions and millions of dollars, the government has proven to be a poor surrogate parent in these cases, seemingly incapable of ensuring that these children receive the education, medical care and counseling that all children need. In the end, troubled children often end up as troubled adults. The personal anguish becomes a public calamity.