Community Reintegration Program
YEP began in 2004 to provide effective reintegration services to youth returning home from correctional institutions and group homes, and while our mandate and clientele have expanded, this is still a key service of the organization. Through the provision of intensive, individualized case management and support, YEP ensures that coordinated services are provided in meaningful and effective ways for youth making the very difficult – and critical – transition from facility to home.

YEP's case management protocol, based on the Intensive Aftercare Program developed in 1987 with the support of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, has proven highly successful, last year reaching more than 20 clients with services designed to empower them to create better lives for themselves and their families and avoid future incarceration.

Mentoring Program
Through a system of experienced youth advocates, specialized services, and close monitoring, YEP provides a highly successful mentoring /tracker program. YEP's youth advocates are young, positive, African-Americans who serve as role models, mentors and counselors that our clients relate to because they share similar backgrounds and overcame common challenges. Our advocates maintain small caseloads, which allow them to spend hours of personal time with each client. As well as our youth advocacy team, clients have daily contact with other YEP staff, including trained psychologists and social workers, financial and career advisors, educators, legal advisors, and community members. YEP staff also monitor youth on home furloughs from secure facilities to ensure they have successful visits with their families and to help prepare the youth and his family for a successful long-term re-entry.

NOPLAY (New Orleans Providing Literacy to All Youth)
NOPLAY provides GED and basic literacy instruction to out-of-school youth and young adults between the ages of 16-24 from the Greater New Orleans region. NOPLAY classes are held eight hours a day, five days a week at the Tulane Tower Learning Center. NOPLAY has an open-enrollment policy and is tailored to meet the individual needs of at-risk students -- students receive the intensive, personalized instruction they need for the time they need it. NOPLAY is the only adult education provider in the city that specializes in providing literacy and educational services to at-risk youth and young adults. All eligible applicants are admitted to NOPLAY, no matter how high or low their academic initial assessment, even if they lack documentation required in more traditional educational settings.

Besides instruction tailored to each student's needs, background and interests, NOPLAY also addresses barriers that might prevent students from attending, including the provision of free transportation for those who need it, babysitting to young parents who cannot make other childcare arrangements, basic clothing when required, and financial advising and advocacy for those struggling just to survive.

NOPLAY employs a team of three professional teachers as well as numerous AmeriCorps members and community volunteer tutors. Last year NOPLAY served over 100 students, and currently has 81 students enrolled.