Youth for Change

What Youth for Change does

Youth for Change is a California 501(c)(3) nonprofit public benefit organization founded in 1991, delivering comprehensive social services to individuals, families, and communities across the North State region of California (Butte, Colusa, Shasta, Sutter, Tehama, and Yuba counties). The organization operates through nine physical office locations spanning Chico, Oroville, Paradise, Redding, Yuba City, and Marysville, providing direct-service programs including foster care and adoption, wraparound services, CalWORKs Home Visiting (a certified Parents as Teachers program for families with children 0-24 months), behavioral health, school-based counseling, supervised visitation, therapeutic behavioral services, and the 6th Street Center for Youth for homeless and at-risk youth. CARF International accreditation (achieved 2014 and re-accredited 2017) across 1,200+ program standards underpins the organization's eligibility for California county and state contracts.

The organization's revenue model is three-pillar: (1) government contracts and grants from California counties and state departments (California Department of Social Services, Department of Education, Department of Public Health, county mental health departments); (2) tax-deductible donations from individuals and organizations; and (3) a Flex Membership subscription program at the Strategies Center, requiring a minimum $5,000 deposit redeemable for learning and development, capacity building, and applied research services. The Strategies Center at Youth for Change is a nationally recognized consulting subsidiary offering Trauma-Informed Series, Neuroscience Series, Mastering Management, Vital Signs assessments (via Six Seconds certification), the iCAT impact assessment tool (via Algorhythm partnership), and initiatives covering father involvement, economic mobility, organizational resilience, cultural proficiency, and evaluation. The consulting arm has delivered more than 135 research and evaluation projects and 200+ focus groups, and reports 99.8% participant recommendation rates.

Go-to-market is community-led: direct service delivery at physical offices, referrals from county agencies, healthcare providers, schools, and first responders, and a professional-network-driven motion for the Strategies Center's training and consulting business. The leadership team is multi-decade-tenured, with CEO Beth Parsons (since 2019, previously COO since 2017), CFO Stacey Poliquin (since 2002), and COO Alan White (20+ years board/operations tenure). The organization has no proprietary technology platform, no mobile app, no public API, and no integrated technology stack beyond a Squarespace-hosted website and Google Analytics.

Name

Youth for Change

Legal name

Youth for Change

Website

https://youth4change.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Youth for Change is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1991 providing foster care, adoption, behavioral health, wraparound, and homeless youth services across six California North State counties through nine offices, and operates the Strategies Center, a nationally recognized consulting arm.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Human Social Services

NAICS

Child and Youth Services (62411), Child and Youth Services (624110), Other Individual and Family Services (624190), Emergency and Other Relief Services (624230)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro primary industry

Youth Housing, Foster Care & Wraparound Support (Education-Linked) Nonprofits (BPAGADAO)

akta.pro secondary industries

Youth Mental Health, Counseling & Wellbeing (Education-Linked) Nonprofits (BPAGADAK), Behavioral Health for Children & Adolescents (Youth Services) (HLAFACAL)

Keywords

• Foster care adoption
• Behavioral health services
• Youth homelessness programs
• Community capacity building
• Social services nonprofit

Headquarters

HQ city

Paradise

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices10 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: Youth for Change accepts one-time and recurring donations from individuals and organizations. Donations may be made anonymously or in honor of another person. The organization is tax exempt, and donations may be tax deductible.
2. Government Contracts and Grants: As a CARF-accredited organization established in 1991, Youth for Change receives funding through government contracts and grants to deliver social services programs including foster care, adoption, CalWORKs Home Visiting, and other family support services.
3. Flex Membership Services: The Strategies Center at Youth for Change offers a flex membership program where organizations deposit at least $5,000 to redeem for learning and development, capacity building, and applied research and evaluation services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Youth for Change is a California-based nonprofit social services organization providing foster care and adoption, wraparound services, behavioral health (medication management, therapeutic behavioral services, crisis intervention), CalWORKs Home Visiting, and homeless youth services through the 6th Street Center for Youth. The organization also operates The Strategies Center, which delivers capacity-building training, consultation, and applied research/evaluation to government agencies, foundations, and community organizations across Northern California.

Product overview

Youth for Change is a nonprofit public benefit organization providing comprehensive social services to individuals, families, and communities in California's North State. The organization's offerings are organized around two main areas: direct service programs (foster care, adoption, wraparound services, CalWORKs Home Visiting, and the 6th Street Center for Youth) and The Strategies Center subsidiary—a nationally recognized training and consulting arm offering capacity building, applied research and evaluation, and learning and development services for human and social service professionals. The Strategies Center provides specific assessment tools (Vital Signs assessments developed by Six Seconds, and the iCAT impact assessment tool), specialized initiatives (Father & Male Involvement, Evaluation, Economic Mobility, Organizational Resilience, Cultural Proficiency, and Brief Screening), and professional training series (Trauma-Informed, Neuroscience, Mastering Management, Protective Factors). The organization also offers graphic design services through its Design for a Cause center and maintains Flex Membership for ongoing capacity building engagements.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The Strategies Center at Youth for Change: A nationally recognized group of professionals providing learning and development, coaching, skills implementation, applied research, evaluation, capacity building, and leadership and management development for human and social service sectors.

Products and services

• Foster Care & Adoption Services

Quantifiable outcome

• 99.8% of this year's participants would recommend the Strategies Center's learning and development sessions to others
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• HelpCentral.orgcoreOthersHelpCentral.org is the online home of the 2-1-1 help line, featuring a searchable directory of health and human services in Butte County. The website is also the direct intake for Camp Fire Disaster Case Management Services. Youth for Change links to this resource as a community resource for clients.
• California Alliance of Child and Family Services (CACFS)coreOthersYouth for Change maintains membership in the California Alliance of Child and Family Services, a statewide organization supporting child and family service agencies through advocacy, education, and professional development.
• Six SecondscoreTechnology or IntegrationThe Strategies Center is certified to work with organizations to administer and debrief Vital Signs assessments developed by Six Seconds, the emotional intelligence network. This includes Leadership Vital Signs, Team Vital Signs, and Organizational Vital Signs assessments.
• AlgorhythmcoreTechnology or IntegrationThrough a partnership with Algorhythm, the Strategies Center consults with nonprofit organizations to administer and interpret the results of the iCAT (Impact Capacity Assessment Tool), an evidence-based organizational assessment and planning tool.
• National Fatherhood InitiativeminorOthersA resource organization for father involvement that Youth for Change's Strategies Center references and links to as part of their Father and Male Involvement Initiative resources.
• National Center for FatheringminorOthersA resource organization referenced as part of father involvement resources, providing educational materials and support for father engagement programs.
• The Fatherhood ProjectminorOthersA resource organization for fatherhood education referenced as part of the Strategies Center's father involvement toolkit.
• National Responsible Fatherhood ClearinghouseminorOthersA federal resource clearinghouse for responsible fatherhood programs referenced as part of father involvement resources.
• CARF InternationalcoreOthersYouth for Change achieved CARF accreditation in 2014 and 2017, demonstrating high level of practice in programs, services, financial practices, board function, human resources, and administrative oversight.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves12 records

Expansion highlights10 records

Direct peers

• Fred Finch Youth & Family Services: California-based nonprofit offering mental health, Wraparound, residential, and transition-age youth programs under county and state contracts; comparable behavioral health and child welfare focus.
• Aspiranet: California-based nonprofit providing foster care, adoption, wraparound, behavioral health, and home visiting services across multiple counties — closely mirrors Youth for Change's service mix and California-county distribution model.
• Stanford Youth Solutions (Stanford Sierra): California nonprofit delivering Wraparound, behavioral health, and intensive home-based services to children and families; directly comparable Wraparound and Katie A. service delivery model.
• Seneca Family of Agencies: California nonprofit delivering intensive behavioral health, foster care, Wraparound, and school-based services through county contracts; comparable operating model and target population as Youth for Change.
• Hathaway-Sycamores Child and Family Services: Southern California nonprofit providing foster care, adoption, Wraparound, school-based mental health, and intensive services — overlapping service lines with YFC and similar nonprofit funding structure.
• Children's Home Society of California: California adoption and foster care nonprofit operating across multiple counties; directly comparable adoption and post-adoption service offerings.
• Alternative Family Services: California foster care and adoption agency providing resource family recruitment, Wraparound, and mental health services — closely comparable foster/adoption and Wraparound focus.

Broad incumbents

• Pacific Clinics: Large California behavioral health nonprofit with extensive county contracts for mental health, Wraparound, and Full Service Partnership programs — operates in similar space at significantly greater scale.
• Boys Town: Nationally recognized child welfare, family services, and behavioral health nonprofit operating far more broadly than YFC; relevant comparable for capacity building, training, and direct services breadth.
• KVC Health Systems: Nationwide nonprofit providing foster care, behavioral health, and family preservation services; broad incumbent in the same child welfare and family services category as YFC.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/yth4chng
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/youth-for-change

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Youth for Change