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Executive Director Susana Marotta, Ph.D
Para informacion en español, llame a Martha 312.447.4323
Email: Mguerrero@SGA-Youth.org |
SGA Youth & Family Services, (formerly known as Scholarship and Guidance), Chicago's premier social service agency serving adolescents, young adults and their families, is now entering its 97th year of providing exceptional service. We are proud to retain our long-standing commitment to providing mental health, case management and prevention services to at risk youths. Our programs are both strong and distinctive in that they combine a sound therapeutic approach with practical life skills and information that young people need to make good choices, maintain healthy relationships, perform well academically and lead healthy productive lives. 5,000 young people and their families benefited from SGA services in FY 2007.
SGA services span the following core areas: School Based Services, Juvenile Justice Services, Substance Abuse Prevention Services, Family Life & Teen Parenting Services, and Community Development & Advocacy.
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*Increased School Attendance, Emotional Wellbeing and Higher Graduation Rates
- Clients served in School-Based Services are more likely to stay in school through the end of the year, and to go on to graduate from high school. These are youths who came to SGA largely because of high risk of drop out due to emotional or behavioral problems.
- SGA provides for children’s social and emotional development as an essential underpinning to school readiness and academic success.
- According to principals and teachers, students who receive SGA services attend school regularly, show improvement in grades, have fewer discipline problems and have stronger peer relationships.
*Reduced Delinquency and Recidivism - Mental Health Issues Addressed Early
- Juvenile offenders who receive SGA services are less likely to perform a subsequent delinquent act.
- Juvenile offenders who receive SGA services are more likely to return to and stay in school.
- The underserved juvenile offender population benefit from mental health services to treat depression, post traumatic stress and oppositional disorders before they become chronic and result in further criminal involvement.
*Reduced Youth Substance Abuse and Increased Community Involvement, Awareness and Responsibility
- SGA works within communities and schools to provide alternatives to drug use for youth and to promote awareness of substance abuse in low-income areas.
- Under the guidance of SGA and a collaborating community agency, a neighborhood on the southwest side of Chicago with notorious overpopulation and a reputation for a lack of cohesiveness came together to host a public hearing for community members and key public officials. Over 350 people from the community participated, and the alderman, state representative, and police commander were all in attendance.
- As part of a community coalition, SGA was able to leverage a SAMHSA Drug Prevention grant to secure new funding from the Chicago Board of Education to place a full-time drug counselor at an overcrowded, drug-ridden high school on the southwest side.
*Healthy Development of Teen Parents and Their Babies
- SGA helps strengthen the parent/child bond, which in turn significantly impacts the child’s developmental progress and later success in school.
- SGA addresses the mother and the child’s emotional and mental health needs, thus preventing more severe and debilitating illnesses that impact another generation.
- Participant rates of child abuse/neglect are lowered after program involvement. None of the teen parents in our Healthy Families Illinois/ Parents Too Soon Program had indicated filing reports of abuse or neglect
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