For many youth, the temptations of the streets such as gangs, drug dealing and other risky or illegal behaviors prove too great. Juvenile offenders are sent to institutions with the hope that removing them from their precarious situation will help, yet when the youth are released, they return to the same environment in which they first committed their crimes. Many fall prey to the same temptations, commit another crime, and remain entrenched in the juvenile justice system.

To break this cycle, The New York Foundling was selected by the Administration of Children’s Services to pilot “Blue Sky”. The goal of this initiative is to provide support and guidance to youth involved in the juvenile justice system and their families, so that the youth can remain in their homes, rather than be removed from their communities and detained in an institution. Blue Sky integrates three successful state-of-the-art therapeutic methods and applies them at a critical point in a child’s journey through the juvenile justice system. Youth are referred to the program by New York City Family Court.

Already well into Year 4, Blue Sky is maintaining a nearly 70% rate in preventing youth in the juvenile justice system from being removed from their homes. For each youth we keep in his/her community and prevent incarceration we help the City realize a potential annual savings of about $100,000. As our continued efforts effectively reduce the recidivism rates among these youth, keeping them out of the prison, homeless and entitlements systems, we expect to demonstrate potential savings of millions of dollars over the next few years, while saving the futures of many New York City youth.

Exciting news: In recognition of our expertise and the promising results we are achieving with Blue Sky, The New York Foundling was awarded a $1.1 million grant by the Robin Hood Foundation.  See related press release.