Juvenile Protective Association
Encyclopedia
Juvenile Protective Association (JPA) is a private non-profit agency devoted to protecting children from abuse and neglect by providing intervention and treatment services to families in Chicago
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and her colleagues, the Juvenile Court Committee (JCC) provided the first probation officers for the first Juvenile Court in the United States before this became a government function. In 1907 the JCC merged with the Juvenile Protection League, an organization devoted to preventing juvenile delinquency, and renamed itself the Juvenile Protective Association. From 1907 until the 1940s, JPA engaged in many studies examining such subjects as racism, child labor and exploitation, drug abuse and prostitution in Chicago and their effects on child development. Beginning in the 1940s under the leadership of Jessie F. Binford, JPA chose to concentrate on direct service and to help the most resistant clients with a strong outreach (home visiting) component. When Lewis Penner became executive director of JPA in 1952, he reformed the organization by hiring social workers holding professional master's degrees and focusing more on research and casework over social reform. In the 1960s, JPA participated with other child welfare agencies in establishing the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS). In 1990, JPA made a strategic decision to focus on serving high-risk and vulnerable families with young children (age 0-5) to reduce the risk of maltreatment and provide help to vulnerable children early in life and maximize the impact of intervention on their developmental trajectory.
). Its research department contributes to knowledge about child welfare and is currently participating in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services's longitudinal study about how different environments effects child development, especially for children exposed to violence, poverty, substance abuse or neglect.
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
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History
Founded in Chicago in 1901 by Jane AddamsJane Addams
Jane Addams was a pioneer settlement worker, founder of Hull House in Chicago, public philosopher, sociologist, author, and leader in woman suffrage and world peace...
and her colleagues, the Juvenile Court Committee (JCC) provided the first probation officers for the first Juvenile Court in the United States before this became a government function. In 1907 the JCC merged with the Juvenile Protection League, an organization devoted to preventing juvenile delinquency, and renamed itself the Juvenile Protective Association. From 1907 until the 1940s, JPA engaged in many studies examining such subjects as racism, child labor and exploitation, drug abuse and prostitution in Chicago and their effects on child development. Beginning in the 1940s under the leadership of Jessie F. Binford, JPA chose to concentrate on direct service and to help the most resistant clients with a strong outreach (home visiting) component. When Lewis Penner became executive director of JPA in 1952, he reformed the organization by hiring social workers holding professional master's degrees and focusing more on research and casework over social reform. In the 1960s, JPA participated with other child welfare agencies in establishing the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS). In 1990, JPA made a strategic decision to focus on serving high-risk and vulnerable families with young children (age 0-5) to reduce the risk of maltreatment and provide help to vulnerable children early in life and maximize the impact of intervention on their developmental trajectory.
Mission
"As a social welfare agency, JPA’s mission is to protect and to promote the healthy development of children whose social and emotional well-being, or whose physical safety is in jeopardy either because of neglect or abuse at home or because of inimical interferences in the neighborhood and, when necessary, to provide for the rehabilitation of families for such children."
Services and activities
Under the leadership of executive director Richard Calica, JPA offers psychological treatment to children and families with a history of abuse and neglect and to those at risk of falling into a cycle of abuse. The organization also offers consultation and training services to other public and private social service organizations, including the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFSChild Protective Services
Child Protective Services is the name of a governmental agency in many states of the United States that responds to reports of child abuse or neglect. Some states use other names, often attempting to reflect more family-centered practices, such as "Department of Children & Family Services"...
). Its research department contributes to knowledge about child welfare and is currently participating in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services's longitudinal study about how different environments effects child development, especially for children exposed to violence, poverty, substance abuse or neglect.