Youth Service Bureau (YSB) has been a cornerstone of our community for 57 years, providing crucial support and services to our local children. I have the privilege of working at YSB, where every day I witness the positive impact our programs make on the lives of vulnerable youth in our area. I am continually inspired by the dedication of my colleagues and the resilience of the young people we serve.

YSB was established in 1968 by Judge R. Paul Campbell and a group of committed citizens who realized that our then-current systems were failing to serve the best interests of our children. Instead of helping them within their home community, we were sending young people across the state to larger cities for treatment and services. Our founders recognized that we could—and should—do better for our community’s children.

Today, YSB’s Safe Shelter Programs provide immediate, critical support to children in crisis, ensuring they have a safe place to stay and access to the resources they need to thrive. From emergency housing to counseling and educational support, our programs are designed to address both the immediate and long-term needs of children and families in distress.

However, without continued support from our community, these vital programs cannot sustain the level of assistance required to serve all who are in need. The demand for our services is constantly increasing, and securing adequate funding is a persistent challenge.

Your support is essential to ensuring that YSB can continue its mission of keeping local children safe, healthy, and hopeful for their futures. By signing this petition, you are helping raise awareness and drive the community backing necessary to secure resources that allow YSB to keep doing this life-changing work.

Current Barrier:

We anticipate that changes at the state level will inhibit our ability to provide Safe Shelter services in Centre County. The state of PA’s Office of Children, Youth and Families (OCYF) is updating the licensing regulations that we must follow to run residential services for children. We estimate that the adoption of these new regulations will DOUBLE the cost of providing care for the children who need our services.

We believe that the level of care that we provide – a step between a foster family home and a larger institutional setting (such as a detention center or residential treatment facility) – is a necessary and critical piece of our current child serving system. Losing this level of care will result in a step backwards for our community – back to the 1960s when our agency was founded to address this very problem.

Will you add your name to our list of community members who want to ensure that upcoming regulation changes don’t result in unfunded mandates that could force us to close our doors?

Please join me in supporting YSB’s Safe Shelter Programs. Sign this petition and make a difference in the lives of children in our community.