About Us
Youth & Family Services sponsors programs for children from birth through age 18. YFS reaches more than 10,000 children through its centers in Rapid City, S.D., and outreach programs in 24 South Dakota counties.
Our programs include Girls Incorporated®, Child Care, Counseling Center, Rapid City Prenatal to Five Head Start, Rural Prenatal to Five Head Start, Nutrition Services, and the Western Prevention Resource Center.
What We Do
Our mission is to support children and their families in being capable, caring and contributing members of the community. To fullfill this mission, YFS sponsors several programs for the community of Rapid City and rural areas in western South Dakota. In Rapid City, over 80 percent of the children live in families with lower incomes, and 34 percent of the children are Native American.
YFS began in 1965 as Girls Club of Rapid City and has expanded over the years to include services for youth and families throughout western South Dakota. In 2005, YFS reached its 40th year of service. We now operate in four locations in the Rapid City area, with a staff of 200 employees, 38 board members, and a fleet of 58 buses, cars, and vans. Today, our programs include Girls, Incorporated of Rapid City® (formerly the Girls Club), Counseling Center, Western Prevention Resource Center, Rapid City Prenatal to Five Head Start, Rural Prenatal to Five Head Start, Child Care, Nutrition Services, administration for the USDA Family Child Care meal reimbursements, and a father involvement program called RuralFathers.com. Click on a program name on the left to learn more about our specialized services for the community.
Who We Serve
Youth & Family Services offers comprehensive programs for everyone in our community. Many of our programs focus on high-risk youth and their families, but we also provide services to nearly everyone from birth through age 18. Now in our 40th year, we serve over 10,000 children and their families. Although YFS is located in Rapid City, we provide services in nearly every county in South Dakota, west of the Missouri River.
How We Are Funded
Our programs receive funding from a variety of sources including private donations, government grants and contracts, foundation grants and fees for services. We operate on a budget of nearly $9 million. During the last year, 8 percent of the budget went to Administration, 2 percent went to fundraising, and the remaining 90 percent was allocated to programs for children and families. We're always in need of private donations and grateful to our contributors. To find out more about how you can help, click here.
Employment
Youth & Family Services offers the opportunity to use leadership skills in our organization to contribute to and impact the families and children we support. YFS affirmatively recruits, hires, trains and promotes qualified persons into all job levels without regard to race, color, religion, origin, sex, and disability.
To see a list of open positions, or to download the employment application, visit our Employment Page.
Black Hills Community Needs Assessment 2006
A consortium of local organizations in the Black Hills commissioned the Institute for Educational Leadership and Evaluation, a project of the Chiesman Center for Democracy, to conduct a community needs assessment study in the Black Hills area. The purpose of the assessment study is to provide service organizations within the community with information about the quality of services being delivered and to determine if there are some specific needs not being met. Additionally, the study gives the various providers information about the effectiveness of their services and some insight into the procedures for addressing specific implementation strategies and delivery modalities.
View the report (PDF 4.3MB, 163 pages)
