Youth Villages Founder Patrick Lawler On Its Origin And Impact

Over the course of three decades, a program called Youth Villages has drastically improved the foster-care system in Tennessee by reducing the number of children removed from their homes. The program is able to assess a child's home environment and determine the root of the neglect. The aim is to provide in-home resources such parenting classes, behavioral therapy, housing help, and addiction services. Giving families the tools they need to care for their children decreases the number of children facing the traumas of entering the foster care system and decreases the amount of money spent by the state.

First 5 — a group of public agencies created by California’s Proposition 10 tobacco tax — provide funding for preschools, homeless family housing, pediatric dental and mental health care and infant-mother home visits to help parents in need. Home visit groups funded by First 5, like Welcome Baby, serve more than 15,000 families a year and provide necessary supplies like cribs and car seats as well as check-ins for child development.

The foster care system in Tennessee drastically reduced the number of children removed from their homes by implementing a preventive strategy that seeks to help parents remedy problems leading to child neglect. The strategy includes parenting classes, behavioral therapy, housing vouchers, and rehab, among other services. Fewer children in Tennessee face the trauma of entering the foster care system, easing the burden on case workers and allowing them to focus on victims of abuse who need their help the most.

Child First is a program in Connecticut, where staff members deliver home-based parent guidance and child-parent psychotherapy to help prevent the detrimental physical and mental effects of toxic stress on children. The engagement is guided by an evidence-based methodology called Child-Parent Psychotherapy, which is grounded in collaborative problem solving.

Through programs across the country, nurses, social workers, or trained mentors offer support to new or expectant parents, imparting skills to help them become better teachers for their children. Through regular home visits with the families, these programs are working to close an achievement gap between rich and poor children that starts as early as just nine months into a child's life.

During the early 1990s, New York City had a sky-high number of kids in foster care. Now, it's safely keeping them with their families, placing them in foster care only when necessary.

Time for a Change uses a volunteer-run model that distributes 30-50 diapers per month to families through partner agencies like churches and social service organizations. The group distributed 70,000 diapers in 2025. Parents report the support is "super helpful" in managing child care costs.

The Kids with a Vision Foundation (K-WAVF) provides care and shelter, particularly to vulnerable youth displaced by conflicts. K-WAVF’s team of community representatives also partners with local schools to take youth on educational field trips and provide vocational training. Since its inception in 2013, K-WAVF has extended its reach across five local government areas in the state.

Lumen High School enrolls pregnant and parenting teens, providing a “learn-as-you-go” approach to learning that makes it possible for them to parent and stay in school. The school provides full-day child care, free baby supplies, mental health counseling and other supports to help get students to graduation day. All the Lumen High School students who graduate have been accepted into college, with 95% enrolling or choosing to start working within the six months after graduation.

Hennepin County implemented a comprehensive overhaul of its child protection system, implementing a multi-pronged approach including increasing the staff and budget, splitting caseloads more evenly among workers, and instituting a two-month training program for new hires with ongoing education throughout their careers. The overhaul ensures families receive more comprehensive support, including therapy and addiction treatment services, reducing repeat cases and improving family outcomes.