Beginning in the 1940s under the leadership of Jessie Binford, JPA chose to concentrate on direct service and to help the most resistant clients with a strong outreach (home visiting) component.

[5] In the 1960s, JPA participated with other child welfare agencies in establishing the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS).

In 1990, JPA made a strategic decision to focus on serving high-risk and vulnerable families with young children (age 0-5) to reduce the risk of maltreatment and provide help to vulnerable children early in life and maximize the impact of intervention on their developmental trajectory.

As a social welfare agency, JPA's mission is to protect and to promote the healthy development of children whose social and emotional well-being, or whose physical safety is in jeopardy either because of neglect or abuse at home or because of inimical interferences in the neighborhood and, when necessary, to provide for the rehabilitation of families for such children.Under the leadership of executive director Richard Calica, JPA offers psychological treatment to children and families with a history of abuse and neglect and to those at risk of falling into a cycle of abuse.

Its research department contributes to knowledge about child welfare and is currently participating in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services's longitudinal study about the effects of different environments on child development, especially when children have been exposed to violence, poverty, substance abuse, or neglect.