Background: The Foundation and Its Programs
The Sheriff’s Youth Foundation (SYF) was created in 1985 based upon the belief that
crime prevention programs focused on youth are the key to developing safer communities.
Through its programs, the Foundation works with young people throughout Los Angeles County
to provide them with tools for life success, and empowers them to utilize these tools -
while also having some fun. The programs exist to offer Los Angeles County youth a safe,
supportive haven where they can interact with positive role models, including law
enforcement officers, and receive life guidance, factual information, educational
tutoring, as well as participate in after-school and esteem-building activities.
The Foundation Staff and its Board see to the funding and support of two countywide
programs for youth participants: Youth Activity Leagues (Y.A.L.s), including Youth
Activity Centers, and the Success Through Awareness & Resistance (S.T.A.R.) Program.
Combined, the two programs serve more than 120,000 Los Angeles County youth each year.
Youth Activity Leagues (Y.A.L.s)
Of the 21 Sheriff’s Stations throughout Los Angeles County, eleven offer organized
Y.A.L. activities for girls and boys as viable alternatives to drug involvement and gang
membership. More than 20,000 children and teenagers participate in Y.A.L. activities each
year with activities divided by age brackets.
Y.A.L.s provide safe, supportive havens for counseling, educational tutoring, and
after-school recreational activities for youth - in addition to functioning as
neighborhood sources of information on other types of vital community services. The
schedule of activities for each station is dependent upon the preferences of the involved
communities, but activities do include (partial list):
Academic Tutoring Baseball
Basketball Soccer
Flag Football
Overnight Camping Libraries Scuba
Diving Modeling Cultural
Trips
Soapbox Racing Boxing
Karate
Tennis Computer
Labs
Weight Training
Dancing Summer Camps
The Foundation also supports three Youth Activity Centers as part of the Y.A.L. network
that offer computer labs, tutoring, counseling, and summer youth employment training
programs. Sheriff Station Captains have responsibility for the Leagues and Centers in
their communities. The scheduling of specific activities is determined by the interests
and needs of youth in that area.
Currently, Y.A.L.s are headed by the captains at Sheriff Stations in East Los Angeles,
Norwalk, Temple City, City of Industry, Compton, Walnut, West Hollywood, Santa Clarita, Palmdale,
and the South Central Los Angeles locations of Century and Lennox. In addition, Y.A.L.
Centers are located in East Los Angeles, Century and Lennox.
Success Through Awareness & Resistance (S.T.A.R.)
Drug, gang and violence prevention education classes are co-taught throughout Los Angeles
county schools by specially trained Sheriff’s Deputies assigned to the Success
Through Awareness & Resistance (S.T.A.R.) unit and classroom teachers. S.T.A.R.
programs are at work in 370 schools within 50 school districts in 30 contract cities and
the unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County. The program annually reaches over 100,000
youth.
The drug prevention classes have been operating in Los Angeles County schools since 1985,
and are primarily geared toward the last two grade levels of elementary school and the
first two grade levels of middle school, but are also offered to other grades according to
requests from the school districts.
Lessons cover proven prevention techniques to empower youth to fight the lures of drug use
and gang membership, while improving their self-esteem. Issues include: why people use
drugs; how to overcome peer pressure; how to actually “say no;” and how to
improve self-esteem. Instruction also covers gangs and the dangers associated with
membership, anger management and cultural awareness.
In addition to classroom lessons, S.T.A.R. also conducts parent education classes in an
effort to educate families about the warning signs of drug usage so they may be better
able to deal with a problem before it escalates.
The Drugs, Pregnancy and You program addresses the problem of babies exposed to drugs by
their mother’s substance abuse. The effort, which includes medical professionals,
informs high school students about the dangers of drug exposure during pregnancy.
S.T.A.R. establishes a lasting partnership between the community and Sheriff’s
Department. Deputies regularly participate in community events and provide public speaking
engagements for community, church and business groups upon request.
The S.T.A.R. program is a template for other programs through the nation - S.T.A.R.’s
leadership is frequently contacted to train other law enforcement departments in S.T.A.R.
methods and curriculum.
What Makes the Foundation Different - Why Its Programs Work
Direct law enforcement involvement - S.T.A.R. and the Y.A.L.s offer
unique opportunities for learning, relationship building, and role-modeling for youth who
interact and relate directly with sworn Sheriff’s deputies in positive,
non-threatening environments.
Learn, grow, and have fun - Through the Y.A.L.s, young people are
provided with tools to aid them in their lives, while also having fun.
Flexibility - In each Y.A.L. program, and through the S.T.A.R.
curriculums, specific program elements are designed to “speak to” the youth in
the area or classroom in which it operates __ deputies are encouraged to adapt to program
activities to match the interests and needs in their neighborhood.
A true public/private partnership - The Foundation’s programs do not
rely solely on taxpayer support. Funding, volunteers and in-kind contributions come from
private foundations, corporations, small businesses, schools, concerned individuals,
families, and Sheriff deputies, in addition to the County of Los Angeles and local
municipalities. Nationally, no other law enforcement crime prevention program is supported
by a non-profit organization in this manner.
Big-number statistics are not the point - “One step, one
youth, one day at a time” was the founding motto of the Sheriff’s Youth
Foundation. It still holds true today. Although hundreds of thousands of young people have
participated in the many Foundation-sponsored activities in its 13+ year history, the
Foundation’s focus is on individuals. To the Foundation and the deputies who
participate, effectively helping one child is more important than rolling out impressive
statistics.
No age boundaries - The Foundation’s various programs reach from
first through 12th grades - something many other youth programs cannot accommodate.
How It All Gets Funded
The Sheriff’s Youth Foundation has grown by leaps and bounds, both in the scope and
depth of the programs it offers and in the way it is funded. Originally funded by Los
Angeles County and a few prominent foundations and corporations, the foundation now
receives funding through many varied sources, as indicated in the following budgetary
overview.
The Foundation’s annual budget is being met through contributions
from the following sources:
Los Angeles County
Los Angeles County Contract Cities
Grant/Foundations
Fundraising Events (Benefit Dinner in the Spring; Golf Tournament in
the Fall)
Corporate Sponsorships and In-kind Contributions
Contributions by Individuals
And what about future growth? The Foundation seeks to increase contributions and
fundraising by 10 percent annually to expand programs to meet the increasing demand for
youth-oriented crime prevention services. |
