School Based Youth Services Programs

New Jersey Community Development Corporation has teamed up with the New Jersey Department of Children and Families to operate three School-Based Youth Services Programs (SBYSP). These programs are currently located in Passaic County Technical Institute, Clifton High School, and Passaic Valley High School and operate as “Teen Centers”.

The Programs acknowledge that young people come to school with many different problems, and that students have to overcome challenges they face outside the classroom before they can succeed inside the classroom. Providing students with year round academic support services, tutoring, mentoring, counseling, life skills, health education, employment services and recreational activities, the Programs prove to be more than simply a fun place to hang out. They are designed to be “one-stop shops,” where students and families can access a variety of resources in one convenient location: their own school building.

Through workshops presented by program staff and outside partnering with agencies on various topics, the School Based Youth Services Programs offer young people a safe and exciting space to learn, discuss relevant issues, and interact positively with their peers and caring adults.

Teen centers across the area serve youth with full-time NJCDC staff as well as AmeriCorps volunteers.