Youth Advocacy Center : For Professionals : Services

“It is refreshing to hear your perspective on issues around working with our youth, and more than anything it is refreshing to hear someone who puts into words many of my beliefs on working with youth.”
~ Kevin Keegan, executive director, New Pathways, Baltimore

“The program’s emphasis on assisting youth to develop critical thinking skills will help them to pursue their goals. Additionally, the experience of completing the workshop is a great accomplishment for many youth who may have not gone through such a rigorous program before in their lives. This builds the foundation for them to move on and tackle other obstacles on the path to their desired goals.”
~Allison Moore, Valley Youth House, Philadelphia

How GBS Can Help You

Getting Beyond the System® (GBS) Self-Advocacy Seminar
Betsy Krebs and Paul Pitcoff, Youth Advocacy Center’s co-founders, spent more than 10 years creating and testing the GBS Self-Advocacy Seminar for teens in and at-risk of foster care. The Seminar employs the Socratic and case methods to help young people discover the skills they need to lead successful, self-sufficient adult lives. These skills include:
- Setting goals
- Making plans for how to reach your goals
- Developing a plan based on an understanding of how organizations work
- Identifying personal strengths that will demonstrate likelihood of success
- Using the advice and support of mentors and allies
- Analyzing the needs of the “other person” and depersonalizing the issues
- Developing and communicating workable solutions

GBS Professional Information Workshops
In hopes of reaching as many teens as possible in communities all over the country and abroad, Youth Advocacy Center began offering a one-day workshop for experienced professionals in the education and social service sectors. At these workshops, Youth Advocacy Center introduces a small group of no more than 20 professionals to GBS methods and philosophy such as:
- Empowering students
- Using the Socratic and case methods for creating understanding
- Teaching self-advocacy
- Establishing a future orientation
- Setting high expectations for teens
- Normalizing the transitions process

GBS Replication Services
Youth Advocacy Center partners with replicator agencies to provide ongoing support during the initial replication cycles of the GBS Seminar. Through replication services, Youth Advocacy Center shares its years of experience facilitating GBS and ensures that the program is implemented in the most effective and efficient manner, with fidelity to the program model. During replications, Youth Advocacy Center provides technical assistance such as:
- Recruiting and retention advice
- Review of homework, attendance rates, pre and post-evaluation scores
- Consultation with staff and students
- Ongoing training
- Verbal and written feedback

For more information about the GBS Model, our trainings or replication services, please contact Susan Ross at sross@youthadvocacycenter.org or by calling 212.675.6181.