By Bianca van Heydoorn, Executive Director
When I joined YSRP, I inherited an organization with an extraordinary reputation for ensuring courts saw children as whole people: all they had overcome and all they could become. Over its first decade, YSRP built a model of advocacy rooted in deep relationships, bold leadership, and an unwavering commitment to children prosecuted in the adult criminal legal system.
As the organization grew, so did its impact. YSRP expanded its services, deepened its policy work, and created new opportunities for healing, leadership, and community. Like many organizations responding to urgent needs, our systems, infrastructure, and long-term planning did not always have the opportunity to evolve at the same pace.
As we looked toward the future, we recognized that sustaining and expanding our impact would require investing not only in our programs, but also in the organizational resilience that makes those programs possible.
Our 2026–2028 Strategic Framework represents that next step.
Building on the strong foundation of YSRP's mission, values, and model of advocacy, the framework adds two important dimensions to our organizational roadmap: a shared vision for the future we are working toward and a clearly articulated theory of change that connects our work today to the lasting transformation we hope to achieve.
Over the next three years, we will focus on three interconnected priorities: building organizational strength for lasting change; strengthening learning, measurement, and impact; and expanding client-partner leadership and community.
Together, these priorities reflect our commitment to strengthening the foundation of our work while continuing to build a continuum of support that helps our client-partners move beyond survival toward thriving.
This framework is both a reflection of what we've learned and a commitment to what comes next. We know that lasting change requires strong relationships, responsive programs, and an organization equipped to adapt, learn, and grow alongside the people and communities we serve.
We invite you to explore our Strategic Framework and join us as we build what comes next.
Explore YSRP's 2026–2028 Strategic Framework
