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Founder/Director, North American Family Institute
Dr. Yitzhak Bakal is the founder and
President of The North American Family Institute. Established in 1974,
NAFI grew out of a need to create alternative services for youth who
had been sent to state institutions for unruly and delinquent behavior.
Dr. Bakal was part of the Massachusetts Department of Youth Services
(DYS) administration responsible for the closing of the state
"training" schools for juvenile offenders. Recognizing the need to work
with youth in their communities, he created NAFI/NFI. From its
inception, the agency's mission has been to develop a community- based
system of care and treatment for children, youth, and adults. NAFI/ NFI
began its work as a private service provider in 1974 by developing an
Outreach and Tracking program. This Program kept youth out of state
institutions and worked with youth in their homes by promoting
accountable behavior. The Program expanded to meet the needs of youth
who could not remain at home by developing a foster care component. As
the state became more reliant on the expertise of the private sector in
serving the adolescent, NAFI (originally, the Northeastern Family
Institute) grew to accommodate the needs of this population. Today,
NAFI operates more than 65 programs—residential, foster care, and day
services for adolescents and adults—in nine states. Dr. Bakal is the
author of many texts, including the classic Closing Correctional Institutions and frequently lectures, trains, and consults throughout the world.
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