Juvenile Protective Association (JPA)

Founded by Jane Addams, the Juvenile Protective Association (JPA) has spent the last 124 years working to improve the social and emotional well-being and functioning of Chicago’s most vulnerable children so they can reach their fullest potential. JPA’s mission is to bring compassionate, innovative mental health resources directly to children in need and the adults who support them. Leveraging extensive institutional knowledge, JPA’s mental health programs benefit children, educators and families in the neighborhoods where they reside. The accessibility of JPA’s services has reduced barriers to mental healthcare for under-resourced communities and produced measurable positive outcomes.

JPA’s school-based services include individual and small group therapy, Connect to Kids (C2K) Teacher Consultation, and The Grandparent Circle (an intergenerational supportive program for girls). In addition, JPA’s legacy Child Welfare Program continues to provide expert guidance, collaboration, and research to benefit families and public agencies. JPA’s New Light program provides individual and family therapy within three Chicago neighborhoods. Finally, JPA offers a well-respected clinical internship program to address the behavioral health workforce shortage providing in-depth clinical training and supervision to graduate students of social work.  When these innovative programs are combined, they offer unparalleled wraparound mental health support for socially vulnerable communities.