Coleman Advocates for Children and Youth is a one-of-a-kind local community organization that works to transform San Francisco's services and policies for children, youth and their families in order to create a more family-friendly community.

Coleman has created a powerful and cost-effective model for promoting social change and facilitating the participation of community residents (particularly youth and parents) in the city's policymaking process. Our unique model combines policy advocacy, community organizing, and leadership development strategies.

PRINCIPLES WE SUPPORT

• Policies and programs for children, youth and their families should be determined by the community, particularly by the people directly impacted by those policies and programs.
  
• All children and families deserve to have their basic needs met, and it is the role of government to ensure that this happens. Poverty is the greatest risk to the well-being of children.
  
• Equity should be a hallmark of the city's policies and services. Institutional racism is the major barrier to the equitable treatment of children, youth and families.
  
• Families should be given maximum support by the society, and should be helped to stay together as a family unit. Services aimed at children and youth should focus on the entire family, whenever feasible.
  
• Children and families should receive services in their communities whenever possible, and be institutionalized only as a last resort when less restrictive options have failed.
  
• Services for children, youth and their families should focus on assets, rather than deficits, providing positive developmental opportunities rather than problem-oriented intervention.
  
• San Francisco should treasure and support the multi-cultural diversity of its children, and help children take pride in their unique heritage.