Youth in Care

A student works on her personal narrative for a podcast

Spy Hop’s Youth In Care Program works with community partners to reach youth throughout the state who are in the foster care system, residential treatment programs, and juvenile justice system. These partners house young people from across Utah, with a wide array of offenses including behavioral, drug addiction, gang issues, violent offenses, and sex related crimes. These young people are at risk of or have already demonstrated behaviors that have lead them to state’s care. The three programs work with different populations and in different “dosages.” All programs are free to the participants. 

Examples of Youth In Care Programs

Youth Services Boys & Girls Group Home

We partner with the Division of Youth Services and the Boys & Girls Group Home every Friday to help the youth in their program learn technical skills, digital storytelling and media arts. Because the young people need to maintain anonymity, we’ve developed several projects that allow them to be on camera and learn other digital media skills while protecting their privacy. These include a PSA puppet show that teaches a new theme each week, stop motion animation covering scientific facts, and personal narrative podcasting. Watch the Super Sweet Friday Morning show to find out more.

Primary Children’s Behavioral Health Center

Spy Hop offers a month long animation and filmmaking workshop for the youth in the Primary Children’s Behavioral Health program. This curriculum is customized with clear instructions and metered activities. Spy Hop mentors work alongside staff at Primary Children’s to create the most effective program for the unique needs of the students. The youth create stop motion work based around values such as friendship, understanding differences and cooperation. Their finished projects are screened in a celebration for the participants families, and then are shared online.

YOUTH IN CARE

Contact Myke Johnson, Director of Community Programs to learn more