Agency Details:

YMCA Youth Service Bureaus

The YMCA’s Youth Service Bureaus’ mission is to support and nurture families in the development of connected, productive and healthy youth.  We do this by providing mental health and prevention services in the three YSBs and on 52 school campuses in San Mateo and San Francisco Counties serving over 4,000 children, youth and families annually.

Description:
We provide individual, family and group therapy in our three YSBs in Pacifica, South San Francisco and San Mateo. We have a sliding fee scale and accept Medi-Cal to keep our counseling affordable for the community. We also provide counseling on 52 school campuses as well as a myriad of youth prevention programs.  Our prevention programs are embedded in a youth development framework.

We offer early intervention through a variety of peer support groups on specific issues such as bullying, violence, anger management gangs, self-harm, and school/peer challenges.  These groups are tailored to promote pro-social values and behavioral change through role playing, leadership opportunities and field trips. Our Building Futures program matches higher-risk youth and volunteer adults for one-year mentorship relationships. Youth in our juvenile justice diversion program are seen for individual and family mental health counseling and more intensive intervention. Therapy is conducted in a family systems model with strength-based assessment, cognitive behavioral therapy, anger management and referrals for treatment to other agencies or County Mental Health.  Youth on suspension or probation are referred and/or mandated to our Day, Evening and Weekend (DEW) Center, a safe and structured environment for youth who would otherwise be left unsupervised during probation or school suspension.

Linking this system together are school-based Case Managers or School Safety Advocates (SSAs). They work full-time on high school campuses in San Mateo to intervene in crises related to fights, violence, suicide, abuse and gangs.  They perform safety and risk assessments, generate family case plans, conductschool-site youth support groups and make referrals for therapy to the YSB sites.

All of our counselors and case managers are professional-level staff who are Licensed Clinical Social Workers (“LCSW”), Marriage and Family Therapists (“MFT”), and those with Master’s degrees in Social Work or Counseling Psychology.  The YSBs also provide a highly-respected licensure program where Social Workers and MFT interns gain their required internship hours toward licensure while working in our clinics and schools.  Each year 20-25 interns work in our system receiving supervision and professional training from our clinical leadership staff. 

Most services are available in English and Spanish. 

History:
The Pacifica Youth Service Bureau (PYSB), the first of its kind in the country, opened its doors in 1969.  YSBs where launched throughout the Bay Area, with the YSB of South San Francisco (also d.b.a as North Peninsula Family Alternatives) and San Mateo (also d.b.a. as Project FOCYS), opening in 1976. They merged with the YMCA of San Francisco 11, 8 and 25 years ago respectively.  The YSBs are part of the Peninsula Family YMCA, which has a budget of 7.5 million.  Together they now form the mental health department of the YMCA Association of San Francisco. The YSBs have a board of managers made up of many of the originators of the YSB concept – representatives from local police departments, county probation and school districts.  We are now in the process of forming a strong committee to work with those members on raising funds and developing a marketing plan and web site.

Contact people:

Marie Ciepiela, Special Projects Manager, (phone), (email) Kimberly Wheeler, Executive Director, (phone), (email) Erin Lamon, Administrative Assistant, (phone), (email)

Office fax number: (650) 349-1103

Address:

1670 South Amphlett Drive, Suite 115 San Mateo, CA 94402 (See a map)

Web Site: None specified

Directions:

Take the Fashion Island exit off of South 101. PRoceed to North Grant Street and take a right.  Take a right at the next light and go down to Concar Street.  Take a right on Concar and follow it around. . . (more)

Last updated on February 8, 2010