Impact

Due to lack of adequate resources, countless children and families live in environments detrimental to a healthy, productive and contented life. Denver Area Youth Services empowers individuals to overcome adversity and move toward self-sufficiency.

• Approximately 2,000 youth statewide, most of them from the Denver area, are incarcerated in juvenile corrections facilities. (Colorado Division of Youth Corrections Intake Data)

Each year, DAYS works with 180 pre-adjudicated youth to reduce the number of young people in secure detention centers. In addition, DAYS supports 350 youth who have paroled back into the community and need a myriad of services to make that transition successful each year.

• In Colorado, 7,927 young people are in foster care. 11,881 young people are victims of abuse and neglect. (Children's Defense Fund)

As a Certified Placement Agency, DAYS has 10 safe and supervised foster homes. Out-of-home placement programs serve young children, teens, and teen mothers.

• Colorado ranks 9th in the nation in youth binge drinking. 51% of Denver Public School students report a “lifetime use” of alcohol. (Colorado Prevention Partnership for Success)

DAYS substance abuse treatment programs engage over 400 high-risk youth each year, allowing them to gain self-worth and become a productive member of their family and community.

• Every 1.5 hours a baby is born to a Colorado teen. 3 of every 10 girls under 20 years old gets pregnant each year.(National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy)

Prevention education programming is a centerpiece of DAYS’s vision for improving the lives of families and youth people in the Denver Metro community. Each year, DAYS provides parenting and sexual health classes to 750 young people and guardians.