About Youth & Family Services

Youth & Family Services (YFS) is a branch of the Channel Islands YMCA devoted to social services. We operate programs that provide a continuum of care to youth, young adults, and families. Thousands of youth and young adults in our community experience homelessness, cycle their way through the foster care system, and face chronic stress that adversely impacts wellness and stability. Our programs are grounded in positive youth development whereby protective factors are bolstered, risk mitigated, and those in crisis have access to supportive services when they need them most.

We are focused on bringing about meaningful and lasting change in youth and families by ensuring they have a safe place to live, a reliable support system, connection to positive adult role models, and access to needed resources.

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Drug-Free Communities Support Program

The DFC Support Program, administered by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, was created in 1997 by the Drug-Free Communities Act and is currently managed by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The DFC program maintains two goals:
1: Establish and strengthen collaboration among communities, public and private non-profit agencies, as well as federal, state, local, and tribal governments to support the efforts of community coalitions working to prevent and reduce substance abuse among youth.
2: Reduce substance abuse among youth and, over time, reduce substance abuse among adults by addressing the factors in a community that increase the risk of substance abuse and promoting the factors that minimize the risk of substance abuse.
DFC-funded coalitions implement SAMHSA's Strategic Prevention Framework to guide work in a way that is culturally-competent and sustainable for the future.

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