ICAP News

ICAP Website

The Illinois Council of Area Projects is pleased to welcome you to our new website. We are still in the process of adding content, so if you don't find what you are looking for, please feel free to contact us.

Illinois Council of Area Projects

The Illinois Council of Area Projects (ICAP) brings together private, not-for-profit organizations with a distiguished history and demonstrated track record of work in community organizing, advocacy for youth, and providing direct services for youth. The three-pronged purpose of ICAP is unique among youth service providers in Illinois and the nation. The three prongs represent interdependent pathways through which Area Projects work to develop and sustain healthy communities for youth.

• Community Organizing - fosters community involvement in improving the quality and health of neighborhood life.
• Direct Service - Implements services and programs for communities that engage youth in pro-social activities and provide intervention for those in need. Direct service aims to foster health and positively engage youth in their local communities.
• Advocacy - Recognizes the needs of individuals and communities to advocate for programs, services, and most importantly consideration to ensure that neighborhoods are healthy environments for young and old alike.

ICAP and its agency affiliates form a significant web of services (united under the core program areas of community organizing, direct service, and advocacy) offered throughout Illinois to diverse youth and their communities.

The great accomplishment of ICAP has been its ability to foster community health through involving citizens in a process of local engagement. The over sixty-year mission of CAP is a great example of an unwavering commitmen to youth and local communities:

To work toward the prevention and eradication of juvenile delinquency through the development and support of affiliated local community self-help efforts, in communities where the need is greatest.

ICAP agencies have witnessed changes in their programs, issues, and neighborhoods, but their mission and democratic ideals of self-determination and self-improvement have remained consistent.