VICTORIES FROM YOUTH VILLAGES
• A DAY IN THE LIFE OF MADI HARP • YOUTH VILLAGES TURNS 40
IMPROVING OUTCOMES FOR YOUNG ADULTS
UPDATE
FROM YOUTH VILLAGES EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Our work at Youth Villages comes down to a simple core mission: helping children and families live successfully. The children, families and young people we serve cannot wait.
We are moving forward on all fronts. Last fall, we launched Intercept services in Tillamook County at the request of coastal communities. During that same time, we grew our teams in Bend, Salem and Portland to respond to the urgent need families are requesting across our state.
In 2018, Congress passed the Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA), which allows states to access uncapped federal matching funds to help prevent children from entering foster care. Nationally, the results are showing positive progress. Since FFPSA’s implementation, foster care entries have fallen by 9%, and early‑adopting states have expanded access to prevention services.
Children do best when they can grow up safely in their homes and communities. Wraparound and in‑home services help families address challenges that impact stability and long‑term success. With Family First in mind, we believe Oregon could safely reduce the number of youth in foster care by half by focusing on prevention and evidence‑based family support. We’re working with partners at every level across the state to help make that happen.
We will continue to show up for families and neighbors to ensure they can safely stabilize and stay together because families do well when they get the help they need, when they need it. We will also continue to work closely with state leadership to advance efforts to help children and families live successfully.
Thank you for joining us, believing in the success of youth and families, and for helping us maintain our momentum through your active support.
Andrew Grover EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OREGON
andrew.grover@youthvillages.org 503-675-2232
OREGON ADVISORY BOARD
David Durocher, Chair
Elijah Pahl, Outgoing Chair
MJ Dunne
Jenn Fortmann
Sister Guadalupe Guajardo
Joan Horstkotte
Amber Kelly
Scott Learn
Jodie Oltmans
Pat Ritz
Colby Schlicker
Pete Stofle
Charlie Swindells
Youth Villages is a national leader in mental and behavioral health committed to finding the most effective solutions to help children, families and young adults overcome obstacles and live successfully. Working through direct services, partnerships, with innovative public agencies and advocacy, we collaborate to bring positive change to child welfare, children’s mental health and justice systems. Last fiscal year, our 5,000 employees served more than 47,000 children and young adults in more than 120 locations in 29 states and the District of Columbia. Youth Villages has been recognized by the Harvard Business School and U.S. News & World Report and was identified by The White House as one of the nation’s most promising results-oriented nonprofit organizations.
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LEADING ON AND OFF THE FIELD
ELIJAH TURNS CHALLENGES INTO WINS
But Elijah wasn't always sure what the future would hold when he entered kinship foster care at 15. He moved in with this grandfather, which provided a stronger sense of consistency and family support during a critical stage of his life.
Even with his grandfather’s support, the reality of graduating and setting plans for his future still felt overwhelming.
That’s where Youth Villages’ Independent Living Program (ILP) — designed to help young people who experienced foster care build the skills needed to enter adulthood — became a turning point.
“When you come from a situation like Elijah’s, there’s just a lot of unknowns,” said Noah Gerber, ILP specialist. “It’s not just about school or work. It’s about figuring out how you’re supposed to do life — how to make decisions, plan for the future and believe you can get where you want to go.”
Gerber provided guidance and reassurance for Elijah during a time when the stakes felt high.
“There’s a lot of uncertainty when you’re thinking about your future,” Elijah said. “ILP really helped clear that up. It helped me understand what path I needed to take and how to move forward.”
Throughout high school, Elijah balanced many responsibilities. Off the field, he also began thinking seriously about life after graduation, including college and employment.
“Elijah has always been motivated,” Gerber said. “He wants to do well. He wants to give back and be involved.”
Gerber says Elijah needed someone to help him organize those goals and see that they were attainable. Together, they worked on college applications, completing the FAFSA and applying for scholarships.
Elijah will attend the University of Oregon in the fall.
learned employment readiness and financial literacy. One of his proudest moments came when he saved up and purchased his own car.
“That was huge for him,” Gerber said. “Buying a car showed how much he had grown. He set a goal, worked toward it and followed through.”
But ILP’s impact went beyond checklists and milestones. It helped Elijah build confidence that he can accomplish anything.
“ILP helped take away some of that fear of taking the next step in adulthood,” Elijah said. “It helped me see that I could get a job, manage my responsibilities and do the things I need to do for myself in life.”
Elijah is set to graduate from high school this summer and was accepted to the University of Oregon as a first generation college student.
He’s excited about joining campus clubs, staying involved in community service and continuing to lead — whether that’s on a team, in a classroom or in his community.
For Gerber, watching Elijah grow and mature as he enters the next chapter of his life has been deeply rewarding.
“That sense of fulfillment matters to him,” Gerber said. “He wants to stay active, help others and feel connected.”
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF MADI HARP
As a licensed program expert (LPE) with Youth Villages, Madi Harp often acts as the team’s beloved ‘work mom.’ Her role is dedicated to supporting young adults facing mental health challenges; coaching caregivers through the ups and downs of parenting; and mentoring Youth Villages staff as they make difficult decisions.
Harp may write blog posts and share clinical tips for the organization, but her role is much broader. LPE’s provide clinical leadership to assigned teams by implementing Youth Villages’ treatment models, ensuring program success through weekly consultation and conducting team trainings. She also provides direct clinical support; as a licensed clinical social worker, she is qualified to diagnose. Harp uses that expertise to identify concerns and guide families toward services and next steps.
When a diagnosis is part of the process, Harp helps parents in Intercept® and young people in LifeSet™ and the Independent Living Program (ILP) understand what it means in practical terms and how it connects to treatment, services and daily life.
“This can be so important for the young adults who age out of foster care because many of them have gone so long with undiagnosed ADHD, depression or anxiety,” she said.
“For the first time, many of them feel seen by a provider, and I can help them get the care they need.”
A significant part of Harp’s work involves helping parents understand their child’s behaviors that may feel uneasy or unfamiliar. She guides families in distinguishing normal developmental behavior from concerns that may require additional support.
“I had one family who was very concerned their 9 year old was taking selfies with knives,” she said. “The dad said: ‘What are we going to do?’”
Harp said the child could have seen that in a movie or television show or simply found an iPad and knife at the same time and acted out of curiosity. She quickly reassured the parents and encouraged them to get a lock box for sharp items.
She also works with younger children whose parents report they are seeing shadows or ghosts. Harp explains this is often developmentally normal, noting that many children
Madi Harp
have imaginary friends or active imaginations at that age. She reassures parents that these experiences are typically part of healthy development and helps them avoid jumping to self‑diagnosis.
“You can’t supervise everything,” Harp said. “What you can do is help caregivers think through expectations and communication in a way that fits their family.”
Harp says collaboration is a critical part of her role. She works closely with Youth Villages clinicians, specialists and program staff to ensure care is coordinated and responsive.
She brings crucial legal and ethical perspectives to every situation, which is an essential part of her job. When a specialist reports that a young person has made statements about self‑harming — even if they add, “They say this all the time...” — Harp steps in to ask the hard questions and provides an objective clinical view. Her responsibility is to ensure every concern is taken seriously, because even familiar patterns can become urgent without warning.
“I want them to know they have a helping hand, and they’re not alone,” Harp said.
SMALL START BECOMES BIG IMPACT
Youth Villages celebrates 40 years of service
In the 1980s, Ronald Reagan was elected president, the first 24 hour news network (CNN) launched, and the Winter Olympics featured an upstart hockey team that became “The Miracle on Ice.”
In Memphis, Tennessee, another miracle was beginning.
A juvenile court judge sent 24 year old Patrick Lawler to a struggling residential campus near Memphis with these marching orders: “Fix it or shut it down.”
At the campus, Lawler found a handful of dedicated staff helping about 20 young people. It soon became apparent the children had nowhere else to go if the campus closed.
Donors and volunteers stepped up in support, and in 1986, that small campus grew to become Youth Villages in a merger of two small residential campuses.
Now, 40 years later, Lawler is still at the helm as CEO and Youth Villages is one of the leading children’s mental and behavioral health nonprofits in the United States, lifted by the passion and commitment of staff, volunteers and donors.
Setting the highest standard for residential services needed by children with the most severe needs will
always be a part of Youth Villages’ mission. However, most of the organization’s 5,000 staff members work in community‑based programs: Intercept®, intensive in home services, and in LifeSet, supporting former foster youth as they move to adulthood.
Implementing services that are proven help us achieve high success rates, children who complete their programs at Youth Villages are living successfully at home with their families, enrolled in school or working and not having trouble with the law.
The organization is planning for bolder impact in the future.
“We’re making an incredible impact on the communities we serve through the committed support of our staff, local and national boards, donors and volunteers,” Lawler said. “We’re taking what we learned over the past 40 years and focusing on deepening our services. I’ve never been more excited about what we can do together to heal families and give children and young adults their best chance at long term success.”
To our donors, volunteers, mentors, foundations and everyone who has supported Youth Villages, we say thank you! As we celebrate this 40th anniversary, we are excited to continue our work to enhance child welfare across the country.
Kauna speaking with Karen Bass, a politician who served as the U.S. Representative for California's 37th congressional district and is currently the 43rd Mayor of Los Angeles.
YOUTH VILLAGES OPENS DOOR TO NEW LIFE FOR KAUNA
When Kauna was just 11 months old, she and her mother were caught in gunfire while sitting on a porch. Her mother died. Kauna survived, and her childhood was forever changed.
After her mother’s death, she went to live with an aunt, one of the first homes where she experienced trauma.
Kauna struggled with behavioral challenges that began in elementary school. She was frequently in trouble, throwing objects and facing expulsions that continued into high school. At 12, she entered foster care, where moving between homes, residential programs and detention centers became common.
At 14, Kauna entered Youth Villages’ residential care and was placed at the Rose Center for Girls. After six months, she stepped down to a foster home but continued to need additional support, which led her to the Dogwood campus.
This is where Kauna began to finally feel a connection.
“I got staff to understand me, and they felt like a family,” she said. “They really got to know the real me. When you have people trying to find the root of the problem, that’s when it works.”
Eventually, Kauna went to what would be her final foster home, where she began to thrive. She was excelling in school and thinking seriously about the future.
That’s when she received additional support from LifeSet, a program helping young people on their journey to adulthood.
Kauna first met her LifeSet specialist, Britney Creekmore, at the local mall food court while she was on a work break.
“I sat down, and Kauna immediately started setting ground rules for me,” Creekmore said, laughing.
At the time, Kauna wasn’t sure what she wanted to do next. Together, they wrote down goals — big and small — and got to work.
“From that point on, we’ve been rolling ever since,” Creekmore said. Their relationship went beyond paperwork and goal setting.
Kauna and Britney at Steven Tyler’s Sixth Annual GRAMMY Awards® Viewing Party benefiting Janie’s Fund.
When Kauna didn’t have reliable transportation to school, Creekmore didn’t hesitate.
“I was waking up at 6 a.m. to drop her off,” Creekmore said. “I felt like I was dropping off my own kid. I would say, ‘Have a good day. I’ll see you when you get done.’”
Their bond was built on humor, honesty and a healthy dose of tough love. When Kauna needed an extra push to get her driver’s license, Creekmore jokingly told her it was a new LifeSet requirement.
She dropped Kauna off at the DMV and later received a text to pick her up. When she pulled up, Kauna was sitting outside the office with glossy eyes and a disappointed look.
“I thought, ‘Oh no, she didn’t pass,’” Creekmore said.
Then Kauna laughed and said, “I passed.”
Creekmore helped Kauna stay on track to finish high school and apply to trade schools and colleges. Kauna
set her sights on Gould’s Academy, which offered a salon and spa curriculum for cosmetology, esthetics and manicuring.
“Britney actually helped me put all my thoughts down on paper and write my acceptance letter,” Kauna said.
After many hours of studying, board exams and a final practical skills test, Kauna graduated as a licensed esthetician in the summer of 2022.
Today, she is enrolled in nursing school with ambitions to become an esthetician nurse. She also welcomed her first child, a daughter, in 2023.
And like Creekmore said, Kauna continues to ‘keep on rolling.’
She remains actively involved with the Lived Experience Corps, a group of young adults who have participated in Youth Villages’ programs and been a part of the child welfare, juvenile justice or children’s mental health systems.
The Corps consults with Youth Villages leadership and takes
on specific projects to enhance the way children and young people are helped throughout the organization’s programs and services.
As a Corps member, she’s traveled the country to places like Las Vegas and Washington, D.C., advocating at the state and federal levels for youth aging out of foster care.
In 2022, Kauna was selected to attend Steven Tyler’s annual GRAMMY Awards® Viewing Party benefiting Janie’s Fund, a partnership helping girls who’ve faced abuse and neglect.
“I’m blessed,” Kauna said. “I think about where I would be if I hadn’t entered LifeSet.”
For Creekmore, Kauna holds a special place.
“Working with Kauna has been a great experience,” she said. “She was one of my first cases when I started with LifeSet.”
IMPROVING OUTCOMES FOR YOUNG ADULTS
Young people leaving foster care at 18 often face major barriers, including housing instability, limited access to education and few job opportunities. To address these challenges, the National Collaborative for Transition Age Youth — formed by the American Public Human Services Association, FosterClub and Youth Villages — created Improving Outcomes for Young Adults and the Systems that
Serve Them: A Playbook of Best Practices. Co designed with young people who have lived experience, the playbook is a roadmap for child welfare agencies, policymakers and advocates. It includes 12 guiding principles, 35 policy and practice recommendations, nearly 100 examples of innovative programs and tools for implementation and accountability.
Key features include:
• Expanding extended foster care
• Improving housing options
• Increasing access to education and health care
• The playbook aims to help systems nationwide implement proven strategies for brighter futures. Scan the QR code to access the playbook and learn how to create better opportunities for young adults.
Scan the code here to view the playbook.
OREGON CHAMPIONS FOR CHILDREN
JULY 1 – DEC. 31, 2025
VISIONARY
$50,000 to $99,999
Marie and Dennis Gilliam Charitable Fund
OnPoint Community Credit Union
James and Shirley Rippey Family Foundation
Pat and Trudy Ritz
PILLAR
$25,000 to $49,999
Northwest Foundation NW Natural
OCF Joseph E. Weston Public Foundation
Youth Villages employee giving
LEADER
$10,000 to $24,999
Anonymous Donor (1)
The James R and Diane Cameron Philanthropic Fund
Delbrueck Family Fund of Oregon Community Foundation
Terry and David Durocher
Dutch Bros
Enterprise
Jackie Gordon
Tasca and Paul Gulick
Herbert A Templeton Foundation
In-N-Out Burger Foundation
The Renaissance Foundation - Stephanie Fowler and Irving J. Levin
The Standard
The Swigert-Warren Foundation
Darci and Charlie Swindells
Wheeler Foundation
*If
PROTECTOR
$5,000 to $9,999
David and Ginny Bennett
Clark Lewis Family Foundation
First Tech Federal Credit Union
Malu, Ltd.
New York Life
Marilyn Patane-Halloran
Mark Santangelo
Pete Stofle and Dawn Johnston
UnitedHealthcare
BUILDER
$1,000 to $4,999
Alaska Airlines
Anonymous Donor (2)
Steve Beatty
Lisa Blair
Boly:Welch
Diane Bonica
Nicole Bresnahan
Tom Bride
Blaine and Porecha Browning
David Budd
Michael Bunce
Cliff Casey
CFM Advocates
Nicole Cissell
Bill and Sharon Cleveland
Susan Conrad
Scott Eisenstein and Kelly Ritz-Eisenstein
The Les and Nancy Fahey Fund
Jennifer Fortmann
Genentech
Jackie Gordon and Doug Stamm
Hoffman Corporation
Marlow and Denice Hornberger
Joan Horstkotte
iQ Credit Union
Robert Jones
JPMorganChase
Kaiser Permanente
Scott and Teresa Learn
McDonald Jacobs PC
Meurk Family Charitable Fund
Jim Mitchell and Elise Legère
Multifamily NW
Multnomah Bar Association
Oregon Society of Certified Public Accountants
PacificSource Health Plans
Paradigm Shift Club
Vanessa Perrin
Brittani Pomeroy
Providence Health & Services
Steve Reinisch
RE/MAX Equity Group
Jeffrey L. Rippey Family Charitable Fund
Kimber Ritz
The Stan and Madelle Rosenfeld Family Donor Advised Fund
Rotary Club of Tualatin
Ted and Holly Ruback
Marcus and Samantha Santangelo
Anna Maria and Tom Savinar
Ron and Lynne Saxton
Colby and Christine Schlicker
Keith Scott and Janet Clough
Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary
Heidi Thompson
Urban Restaurant Group
Beth and Jesse Wilhelm
Claudine and Geoff Wilson
Amy Worth
Julie Yarnall
Lynzie Zawadzki
ZoomInfo
DONOR SPOTLIGHT
YOUTH VILLAGES MOURNS THE PASSING OF LONGTIME BOARD MEMBER
JOAN
HORSTKOTTE
Longtime board member Joan Horstkotte passed away Jan. 19, 2026, just weeks before her 100th birthday. Horstkotte began her service with us under our previous name, Christie School, nearly 50 years ago, and quickly became a driving force for Youth Villages. She held numerous leadership roles, including board president, foundation chair and twice as interim executive director. She also helped launch Christie Bridge and the Children’s Charity Ball, which raised more than $1 million for youth services.
Horstkotte was a true champion for the children we serve. She spent years visiting our former residential campus, celebrating birthdays and holidays with the children, and witnessing firsthand the challenges they faced. Her belief that every child deserves happiness, stability and the chance to overcome adversity guided her lifelong commitment to our mission.
Her steady leadership helped guide Youth Villages through major changes and laid the foundation for the momentum that continues to live on.
Even during periods of significant change, including the merger with Youth Villages, Horstkotte remained devoted, saying, “Christie is still Christie.”
That remains true today.
Through in home services and programs for young adults who experienced foster care, we continue to serve the same population of young people from our days as Christie School.
We are profoundly grateful for Horstkotte’s leadership, compassion and remarkable service.
Joan Horstkotte, 2/4/1926 – 1/19/2026
THERE ARE NUMEROUS WAYS YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES IN YOUTH VILLAGES’ PROGRAMS. Save the date for our Fifth Annual Fall Celebration at Castaway Portland! Our signature event of the year, Fall Celebration brings together more than 250 of our supporters to celebrate our programs supporting young adults impacted by foster care. You won’t want to miss this year’s special program and keynote youth speaker.
JOIN OUR EFFORTS BECOME A FORCE FOR FAMILIES
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Shauna Lugar, Development Director shauna.lugar@youthvillages.org | 503 675 2256
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YOUTH VILLAGES
5331 S. Macadam Ave., Ste. 287
Portland, OR 97239
(Address Service Requested)
Youth Villages is a private nonprofit that serves more than 47,000 children and their families each year from offices in the following cities:
Alabama: Auburn
Arizona: Phoenix
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Florida: Lakeland
Georgia: Atlanta, Douglasville
Indiana: Bloomington, Indianapolis
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Louisiana: Baton Rouge
Maine: Biddeford
Massachusetts: Boston, Marlborough, Springfield, Raynham, Woburn
Mississippi: Biloxi, Hattiesburg, Hernando, Jackson, Tupelo
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Ohio: Cincinnati, Dayton, Worthington
Oklahoma: Oklahoma City, Tulsa
Oregon: Bend, Portland, Salem
South Carolina: Columbia, Rock Hill
Rhode Island: Providence
Tennessee: Chattanooga, Clarksville, Columbia, Cookeville, Dickson, Dyersburg, Jackson, Johnson City, Knoxville, Memphis, Morristown, Nashville, Paris