Juvenile Protective Association

What Juvenile Protective Association does

Juvenile Protective Association (JPA) is a 120-year-old Illinois nonprofit, founded in 1901 by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Jane Addams, that delivers trauma-informed mental health services to children and the adults who support them in Chicago's underserved neighborhoods. Its core platform comprises eight interconnected programs: school-based therapy (individual and small-group), the Connect to Kids (C2K) teacher consultation program, child welfare consulting for Illinois DCFS and courts, professional development for educators, a graduate social work internship pipeline, the Grandparent Circle intergenerational mentorship program, the New Light fee-for-service therapy clinic (in-person and telehealth), and neighborhood-based community clinics. The underlying clinical technology consists of established trauma-informed modalities — psychodynamic talk therapy, play therapy, EMDR, and cognitive behavioral therapy — delivered by LCSW and LCPC-credentialed staff with deep child welfare expertise.

JPA's revenue model is a hybrid of philanthropic and fee-for-service streams. The majority of funding comes from charitable donations and grants across a tiered donor base that includes A Better Chicago and Cook County Health (both $250,000+), Steans Family Foundation ($150K-$249,999), and corporate foundations (CME Group, Crown Family Philanthropies, MacArthur Foundation, Wintrust). Fee-for-service revenue is generated through the New Light Therapy Clinic, which accepts Blue Cross Blue Shield PPO, Cigna PPO, Aetna PPO, United Healthcare PPO, and Medicaid (including YouthCare), with a sliding scale for uninsured clients. Planned giving and signature fundraising events (Spring Benefit, Casino Night, Golf Outing) supplement revenue. Go-to-market is community-led: services are embedded directly in 22 Chicago schools across 14 neighborhoods, with auxiliary access through New Light and neighborhood clinics.

The organization is governed by a Board of Directors and led by President & CEO Karen G. Foley, MBA, with an executive team including EVP Stephen Budde, PhD, LCSW, and VP & Senior Clinical Director Sally Herschman, LCSW. JPA has earned a Charity Navigator Four-Star rating, a GuideStar Platinum Seal of Transparency, and the 2025 American Psychiatric Association Foundation Award for Advancing Minority Mental Health, reinforcing its institutional credibility within Chicago's social services ecosystem.

Name

Juvenile Protective Association

Legal name

Juvenile Protective Association

Website

https://jpachicago.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1901

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Juvenile Protective Association is a Chicago-based nonprofit founded in 1901 by Jane Addams that delivers trauma-informed mental health therapy, teacher consultation, and child welfare services to children and families in underserved neighborhoods across 22 schools.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Children's Mental Health Services

NAICS

Child and Youth Services (62411), Other Individual and Family Services (624190), Individual and Family Services (6241)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Behavioral Health for Children & Adolescents (Youth Services) (HLAFACAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Mental Health Counseling & Therapy Services (K–12) (EDAJALAG), Family Engagement & Caregiver Support Programs (SEL/Mental Health) (EDAKAMAK)

Keywords

• Child mental health services
• School-based therapy
• Trauma-informed counseling
• Child welfare consulting
• Family therapy services

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

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 Grants: JPA relies on charitable donations from individuals, corporations, and foundations. The organization receives significant support from major donors including A Better Chicago, Steans Family Foundation, and various corporate foundations.
2. Fee-for-Service Therapy: New Light Therapy Clinic provides in-person and telehealth therapy services for children, families, and adults on a fee-for-service basis. Accepts insurance (Blue Cross Blue Shield PPO, Cigna PPO, Aetna PPO, United Healthcare PPO) and Medicaid.
3. Planned Giving: Planned giving programs allow donors to make larger impacts through estate planning and legacy gifts.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

JPA provides trauma-informed mental health therapy and child welfare services to Chicago children and families. Core offerings include school-based individual and group therapy, the Connect to Kids (C2K) teacher consultation program, the New Light fee-for-service therapy clinic (in-person and telehealth), child welfare consulting for courts and DCFS, professional development for educators, social work internships, and the Grandparent Circle intergenerational mentorship program. Services reach over 4,000 children, teachers, and caretakers annually across 22 Chicago schools in 14 neighborhoods.

Product overview

JPA provides a comprehensive suite of mental and emotional health programs for Chicago's children and the adults who support them. The organization operates as a platform of interconnected services centered around school-based delivery, including Connect to Kids (C2K) teacher consultation, School-Based Therapy, and Professional Development for educators. These are complemented by the New Light Therapy Clinic for in-person and telehealth services, Child Welfare consulting, the Building the Field of Social Work internship program, Grandparent Circle intergenerational mentorship, and Neighborhood Clinics for community-based support. Together, these programs serve over 4,000 children, families, and educators annually across 22 schools in 14 Chicago neighborhoods.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• New Light Therapy Clinic: JPA's group therapy practice providing in-person and telehealth therapy for children, families, and adults. Founded to extend impact beyond the school setting.

Products and services

• Connect to Kids (C2K) A teacher consultation program in which mental health consultants work one-on-one with teachers to help them understand social, emotional, and mental health issues facing students, the impact of trauma, and how to build positive teacher/student relationships. Includes weekly meetings, classroom observations, support plans, and Social Emotional Learning (SEL) classroom groups. Delivered in Chicago public schools.
• School-Based Therapy Individual and small-group therapy for children affected by trauma, including parent and caregiver support, drop-in and crisis counseling services delivered directly in Chicago schools across 14 neighborhoods.
• Child Welfare Services

Quantifiable outcome

• 100% of teachers report that JPA has a positive impact on the entire school
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Cook County HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner$250,000+ donor. Healthcare system partner providing support for mental health services.
• The Grandmother ProjectcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJPA is the first Chicago-based partner of The Grandmother Project. Through this partnership, JPA works with community elders to provide intergenerational mentorship to middle school students.
• New Life Church Humboldt ParkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity partner in the Neighborhood Clinic initiative. Partner in extending child therapy and educator resources into the Humboldt Park community.
• Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerState agency partner. JPA clinical staff assist DCFS, foster care organizations, and courts in determining appropriate placements for children in care.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• UCAN (Uhlich Children's Advantage Network): Chicago-based nonprofit providing child welfare, mental health, and trauma-informed services to youth and families. Direct peer given overlapping school-based and child welfare service delivery in the same Chicago geography.
• Thresholds: Chicago-based nonprofit providing mental health, substance use, and recovery services, including youth programs. Shares Chicago geography, mental health focus, and community-based delivery model.
• Metropolitan Family Services: Chicago social services nonprofit offering counseling, youth, and family support programs. Comparable in operating model (multi-service, community-rooted, school partnerships) and donor-funded structure.
• Brightpoint (formerly Children's Home & Aid): Illinois-based social services organization providing child welfare, family support, and behavioral health services. Directly comparable in child welfare + family mental health focus and Illinois footprint.
• Aunt Martha's Health & Wellness: Illinois-based nonprofit providing integrated health, mental health, and child welfare services. Comparable in combining health/mental health delivery with child welfare and school-based work in Illinois.

Broad incumbents

• Heartland Alliance: Large Chicago-based human services nonprofit serving vulnerable populations across health, housing, and child welfare. Broader and larger than JPA, but overlapping in Chicago social services space and donor ecosystem.
• La Rabida Children's Hospital: Chicago pediatric specialty hospital providing medical and behavioral health services to children with chronic and complex conditions. Relevant comparable for pediatric mental health services in Chicago, though hospital-based rather than school-based.
• Lurie Children's Hospital (Stanley Manne Children's Research Institute): Major Chicago children's hospital with a robust behavioral health and child welfare portfolio. Overlaps with JPA on trauma-informed pediatric mental health and child welfare consultations.

Emerging players

• Hazel Health: School-based telehealth mental health provider serving K-12 students. Partial overlap with JPA's school-based therapy model but uses a tech-enabled, multi-state telehealth approach rather than in-person Chicago schools.

Others

• Erikson Institute: Chicago-based graduate school and research center focused on early childhood development. Adjacent rather than competitive; shares Chicago geography, child development focus, and overlapping funder/partner ecosystem.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/jpachicago1901
• Facebookfacebook.com/62529483026
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/juvenile-protective-association

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

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 Juvenile Protective Association