San Francisco Boys’ & Girls’ Home Pre-placement and Reunification Program
 
In partnership with San Francisco Probation Department, SFBGH provides an eight-bed shelter program for boys who have been assigned to out-of-home placement but are detained in juvenile hall pending placement.

Approximately 70% of the youth are placement failures and 30% are hard to place, first time offenders.  The program provides an on-grounds school program, special education, psychiatric diagnosis, psychotherapy, family therapy, individual counseling, recreation and medical referrals. 

The goals of the program are:

A. To reduce the population in San Francisco Juvenile Hall by providing community-based shelter for youth who are at high risk but not in need of locked detention.
B. To provide treatment for youth who have failed other placements or who are on their way to initial placements and to assist them in successfully completing the long-term placements.
 
Family Reunification                                                         
 
In 1996, at the request of the Chief Probation Officer of San Francisco County, the short-term family reunification program was created.  The program is designed to be a 90-day intensive program, with staff working with youth and their families with the goal of reunification.  The focus of the treatment is to engage clients and their families in order to stabilize their home lives and keep youth in their homes whenever possible. Specifically, community-based school, counseling and mental health services are provided.
 
Success Stories

Like St.Vincent’s School for Boys and St. Vincent’s Foster Family Agency, the San Francisco Boys’ and Girls’ Homes graduations are a big celebration. Typically a graduate who is currently attending a four-year college or has already graduated comes back to speak to the current high school students. Many youth remain in contact with their staff after they graduate.

Jovan, a graduate of the San Francisco Boys’and Girls’ Homes, recently spoke at the Bay High awards celebration. She described her self-destructive behavior as a teen in San Francisco, and how challenging she was for the staff. She stated, “If it wasn’t for this program, I’d be in jail or dead by now.” Jovan graduated from Alabama State University and is pursuing funding so that she can enter the Masters program in Early Childhood Education, to which she was accepted.

For intake information, contact:   
Denise Mayfield 415.221.6741 or Scheron Douglas at 415.668.9543