Family and Youth Services Bureau - Street Outreach Program

The Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB) - Street Outreach Program enables organizations around the country to help young people get off the streets. To that end, the program promotes efforts by its grantees to build relationships between street outreach workers and runaway, homeless, and street youth. Grantees also provide support services that aim to move youth into stable housing and prepare them for independence. The program's ultimate goal is to prevent the sexual abuse or exploitation of young people living on the streets or in unstable housing. More than 20,000 young people who came into contact with a street outreach worker went on to spend at least one night in shelter in FY 2014.

Street outreach programs provide services directly or by collaborating with other agencies. In particular, street outreach programs work closely with other organizations that work to protect and treat young people who have been or are at risk of sexual abuse or exploitation. Street outreach services include the following:

Street-based education and outreach
Access to emergency shelter
Survival aid
Individual assessments
Trauma-informed treatment and counseling
Prevention and education activities
Information and referrals
Crisis intervention
Follow-up support

FYSB requires grantees to incorporate elements of the Positive Youth Development (PYD) approach into their programs. PYD suggests that the best way to prevent risky behavior is to help young people achieve their full potential. Youth development strategies focus on giving young people the chance to exercise leadership, build skills and become involved in their communities.