The mission of Youth Justice Fund (YJF) is to assist returning citizens, sentenced as youth to a term of imprisonment, with services and resources necessary to ensure human dignity and full participation in their communities. The underlying concept of YJF is that we, as a society, have deeply failed our children, and we, as a community, need to welcome them back and provide the support, understanding and compassion that has been lacking, in our policies and treatment of children in the criminal justice system, and in their lives, before they entered the system. YJF and its partners seek to humanize formerly incarcerated individuals, remove the stigma they often face, and emphasize their unlimited potential to grow into contributing citizens with dignity and hope.