Youth Sentencing Reentry Project

Name

Youth Sentencing Reentry Project

Legal name

Youth Sentencing & Reentry Project

Website

https://ysrp.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Legal Aid and Criminal Justice Advocacy

NAICS

Child and Youth Services (62411), Parole Offices and Probation Offices (922150), Vocational Rehabilitation Services (62431)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Reentry, Rehabilitation & Reintegration Programs (Education, Vocational, Case Management) (BPAKANAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Youth Justice, At-Risk Youth & Violence Prevention Nonprofits (BPAGADAM), Juvenile Justice System (Courts & Detention) (BPAIAFAF), Community Corrections (Probation, Parole & Reentry) (BPAIAFAE), Juvenile Justice Education Programs (Detention & Correctional Education) (EDAJAEAB), Alternative Dispute Resolution & Restorative Justice Programs (BPAIAFAL)

Keywords

• Legal advocacy services
• Juvenile justice
• Sentencing mitigation
• Reentry support
• Criminal justice policy

Headquarters

HQ city

Philadelphia

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: YSRP is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt public charity. Revenue is generated through individual donations, corporate partnerships (Philadelphia 76ers), and charitable contributions. The organization received a transformative grant from Chicago Beyond.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

YSRP provides holistic, free legal advocacy and reentry services to youth charged as adults in Pennsylvania and to Juvenile Lifers (individuals sentenced to life without parole as children). Its core offerings are Sentencing and Mitigation reports presented to prosecutors and judges, individualized Reentry Support plans connecting clients to housing, employment, education, and health services, Policy Advocacy aimed at ending the practice of charging children in adult courts, and Training for Defense Attorneys.

Product overview

YSRP is a nonprofit legal advocacy organization offering a holistic model of casework, advocacy, and service provision for youth charged as adults. The core service portfolio includes Sentencing and Mitigation (mitigation reports and humanizing narratives during court proceedings), Reentry Support (individualized reentry plans connecting youth with housing, employment, education, and health services), Policy Advocacy (legislative work to end charging youth as adults), and Training for Defense Attorneys. Supporting programs include Know Your Rights (legal education for detained youth), Youth Advocacy Project at Penn (interdisciplinary student volunteer program), Intergenerational Healing Circles (bi-weekly trauma healing sessions), Speakers Bureau (storytelling advocacy by client-partners), and a Housing Program (rental assistance for returning citizens). The organization combines techniques often used in death penalty cases with comprehensive reentry planning to challenge how young people are represented in the adult criminal legal system.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Youth Advocacy Project (YAP): A pro bono project launched at Penn Law School in September 2015 that brings together law students with graduate social work students to provide comprehensive mitigation and reentry supports for young people prosecuted in the adult criminal justice system in Philadelphia.

Products and services

• Sentencing and Mitigation

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 160 students trained through Youth Advocacy Project at Penn
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

20 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Philadelphia 76ers Assist for Safe CommunitiescoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 8 December 2023Partnership to address gun violence and mental health support in Philadelphia. The 76ers use their platform to spotlight YSRP's work and provide financial support. Partnership includes hosting community events, Intergenerational Healing Circles, and Sixers game attendance for staff and client-partners.
• Youth Advocacy Project (YAP) at PenncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 September 2015YAP is a pro bono project at Penn Law School that brings together law students with graduate social work students from Penn SP2. Student volunteers provide comprehensive mitigation and reentry supports for young people prosecuted in the adult criminal justice system. Since launch, over 160 students have volunteered, partnering with more than 45 young people and families.
• Gateway HorseworksminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIn fall 2023, Intergenerational Healing Circle members participated in equine therapy at Gateway Horseworks as an off-site healing activity.
• Abolitionist Law CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerYSRP congratulated Abolitionist Law Center for relentless advocacy leading to Commonwealth v. Derek Lee ruling. YSRP partnered with Juvenile Law Center and Philadelphia Lawyers for Social Equity on amicus brief.
• Juvenile Law CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with YSRP and Philadelphia Lawyers for Social Equity to submit amicus brief in Commonwealth v. Derek Lee case urging court to recognize developmental similarities between youth and young adults.
• Philadelphia Lawyers for Social EquitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with YSRP and Juvenile Law Center to submit amicus brief in Commonwealth v. Derek Lee case.
• Philadelphia Bail FundminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJohn Pace serves on the board of Philadelphia Bail Fund, supporting their mission to end pretrial detention.
• Youth Art & Self-Empowerment Project (YASP)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization that YAP members collaborated with; YASP provides art and empowerment programming for incarcerated youth.
• Greater Freedom Think TankminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDon Ike Jones is an active member of this think tank focused on advocacy for formerly incarcerated individuals.
• Incarcerated Children's Advocacy Network (ICAN)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDon Ike Jones is an active member of ICAN, an organization advocating for children impacted by the justice system.
• G.R.O.W.N. (Gaining Respect Over Your Night)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrganization co-founded by Don Ike Jones focusing on mentorship and violence prevention.
• Philadelphia Anti-Violence NetworkminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDon Ike Jones previously worked as a violence interrupter with this network.
• Temple University Inside-Out Prison Exchange ProgramcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBoth Don Ike Jones and John Pace are involved with this program that trains instructors worldwide in Inside-Out pedagogy. John Pace has worked with Temple University since his incarceration and continues as an instructor.
• Prisoner Reentry Institute (PRI) at John Jay CollegeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBianca van Heydoorn previously worked at PRI as Director of Educational Initiatives to increase access to college for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated students.
• Defender Association of PhiladelphiacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSeveral YSRP staff (John Lopez, Annie Zangari, Alicia Doorey) previously worked at the Defender Association. YSRP Board member David Rudovsky serves as President of the Defender Association Board. Lisa Campbell from Defender Association serves on YSRP Advisory Board.
• Philadelphia Reparations TaskforceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerYSRP joined the taskforce to address the legacy of slavery in the criminal legal system and advocate for reparations supporting Black Philadelphians.
• Penn Law School Toll Public Interest CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-founded Youth Advocacy Project; Joanna Visser Adjoian previously served as Associate Director. Advisory board member Arlene Rivera Finkelstein is Executive Director of TPIC.
• Penn School of Social Policy & Practice (SP2)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSP2 provides graduate social work students for the Youth Advocacy Project interdisciplinary teams.
• SP2 Criminal Justice BlocminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStudent organization at Penn SP2 that partners with YSRP and YAP.
• Graterford prison branch of the NAACPminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDon Ike Jones served as president of this NAACP branch for 19 years while incarcerated.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• JustLeadershipUSA: National nonprofit led by directly impacted individuals working to decarcerate state and local justice systems. Comparable to YSRP's lived-experience leadership model and reentry advocacy, though operating at a broader advocacy scale.

Direct peers

• The Sentencing Project: National research and advocacy organization focused on reducing unjust sentencing, including harsh sentences imposed on youth. Overlaps with YSRP's policy advocacy on adult prosecution of children, life-without-parole reform, and juvenile Lifer resentencing work.
• Equal Justice Initiative: Alabama-based nonprofit providing legal representation to people who have been illegally convicted, unfairly sentenced, or abused in state jails and prisons. Directly comparable to YSRP's mitigation-informed legal advocacy model, with parallel reentry and narrative-change programs.
• Juvenile Law Center: Philadelphia-based national nonprofit providing legal advocacy for children in the juvenile and adult justice systems. Partnered with YSRP on the Commonwealth v. Derek Lee amicus brief and shares YSRP's youth-in-adult-courts reform agenda, making it the most directly comparable peer.
• Campaign for Youth Justice: National nonprofit dedicated to ending the prosecution, incarceration, and sentencing of youth in the adult criminal justice system. Directly aligned with YSRP's core advocacy mission and shares policy goals around decertifying youth to juvenile court.
• Center for Children's Law and Policy: National nonprofit working to protect children from the harmful effects of the justice system through policy reform, technical assistance, and litigation. Shares YSRP's focus on keeping youth out of adult courts and improving conditions for court-involved children.
• Abolitionist Law Center: Pennsylvania-based civil rights law firm that litigated Commonwealth v. Derek Lee and partners with YSRP to challenge the constitutionality of juvenile life-without-parole and mass supervision. Directly comparable as a co-litigant on YSRP's most important recent policy win.
• Philadelphia Lawyers for Social Equity: Philadelphia-based nonprofit that filed the amicus brief alongside YSRP and Juvenile Law Center in Commonwealth v. Derek Lee. Works on criminal record expungement, Clean Slate, and juvenile Lifer reentry—directly adjacent to YSRP's reentry and resentencing services.

Broad incumbents

• Vera Institute of Justice: National nonprofit working to overhaul the justice system through research, programs, and policy advocacy, with a strong focus on ending mass incarceration and improving reentry. Operates a broader portfolio than YSRP but covers overlapping ground in juvenile justice and reentry reform.
• Defender Association of Philadelphia: Philadelphia's public defender office representing indigent adults and juveniles charged with criminal offenses. Multiple YSRP directors previously worked there and YSRP's board chair is the Defender's board president, making it the broad incumbent legal-services peer in the same geography.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ysrpinphilly
• Facebookfacebook.com/PhillyYSRP

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Youth Sentencing Reentry Project