Originally published November 2005.

With a mission rooted in work that began in 1857, today Good Shepherd serves some 18,000 young people and their families through a combination of residential, foster boarding home, and community-based programs. While differing in how and where these programs are delivered, the goal, according to Sister LoMonaco, is the same: “We strive to keep youth safe and secure while helping them develop the skills to become self-sufficient adults. We do this through an approach that supports a young person’s overall development, rather than identifying and fixing his or her individual problems.”

Through its Out-of Home Care Programs, Good Shepherd provides shelter to adolescent boys and girls who need to be away from their families because their home lives have become too unstable. A comprehensive set of services is delivered directly to all youth (whether they are in foster boarding care or a group residential facility) so that these youth can overcome the disruptions to their lives and gain the skills and confidence they need to lead healthy lives.

A new program that builds on this work is The Chelsea Foyer, which provides supported, transitional housing and linkages to job training and placement as well as educational resources to young adults who are “aging out” of foster and residential care, homeless youth and other young adults who can’t yet afford to live on their own in New York City. The facility is based on a highly successful European model and is the first of its kind in the United States.

Good Shepherd also operates Community-Based Programs that serve a large number of young people who still live at home with their families but who face many obstacles on their path to adulthood. For example, to help older-aged youth who have dropped out of the public education system, the organization created an alternative educational setting, in partnership with the New York City Board of Education, called South Brooklyn Community High School. Based on the school’s success, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation decided to help fund the replication of Good Shepherd’s model. Good Shepherd opened a second transfer school in another community in Brooklyn in September 2006 and its third school in September 2007 in the Bronx. Good Shepherd is also helping three community-based organizations open their own schools in the coming years based on its successful model.

Here is a brief summary of other ways Good Shepherd works in the community to help young people:

• Creating Alternative Learning Opportunities in collaboration with local educators. The programs are designed to re-engage under-credited, older-age youth in small, academically rigorous school and evening settings.
• Providing In-School Support such as counseling, tutoring, and parent involvement activities that designed to prevent young people from dropping out.
• Running After-School Programs that extend the school day and provide rich opportunities for youth to strengthen their academic abilities, build leadership skills, and formulate career paths.
• Helping Youth Explore Career Opportunities and overcome barriers to entering the job market while also laying the foundation for life-long success as productive employees and self-sufficient citizens.
• Offering Counseling and Family Support to individual and families, to address and resolve family challenges that might otherwise lead to children being placed in foster care.

One of the reasons Good Shepherd delivers such quality services is the organization’s ongoing investment in staff training and development. Through its Human Services Workshops, nearly 2,000 staff from as many as 150 social service, education, and recreation programs are trained in substance abuse, child abuse, domestic violence, and youth development issues, among other things. These workshops also provide opportunities for sharing “innovative ideas and professional knowledge across our organization and the field,” says Sister LoMonaco.

In recent years, Good Shepherd has enjoyed significant growth. For instance, in July 2005 New York City awarded Good Shepherd contracts to expand services by some 30 percent to youth in the Bronx. [To help ensure that this growth continues at a measured pace and that there is no diminution in the quality of its services, the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation has invested $7.25 million in Good Shepherd since 2005.]

Today, Good Shepherd is implementing a system that will collect participation and outcome data. Like most other multi-service organizations, Good Shepherd lacks an organization-wide performance tracking system. Once put into place, LoMonaco states, the organization will benefit from having real-time data to monitor the quality of services delivered to youth as well as track the progress of all its participants, like Guy.

Concludes Sister LoMonaco, “Guy has turned his life around. Today he lives in The Chelsea Foyer, assists other troubled youth and attends college classes. We are so proud of him that we chose him to represent Good Shepherd at an independent living conference in California, where he impressed everyone with his story.”