Profile: Penny Lane

Penny Lane's mission is to foster hopes and dreams by empowering children, youth and families to teach their highest potential.  Penny Lane services include residential treatment, foster care, adoption services, an on-site special education school, outpatient mental health services, and Transitional Housing for Emancipated Foster Youth.

Our History:
Ivelise Markovits (Ive) founded Penny Lane in 1969.  Fresh out of college with a bachelor's degree in Psychology and a 60's sense of social consciousness, Ive began her career as a LA County Probation and Placement Officer.  She earned an MA in Marriage and Family Counseling and later received her license as a Marriage Family and a Child Counselor.

It was Ive's dream to provide a home for deeply troubled teens about whom she had come to care deeply.  In December 1969, Ive's dream became a reality when she started Penny Lane.

The foundation nickname, Penny Lane, was taken from the upbeat, cheerful Beatles tune that celebrates the simple joys of life.  Penny Lane Centers care for over 1,400 abused and neglected children and youth.  We provide therapeutic residential services and education fro teenagers, foster family home placements for boys and girls of all ages, and transitional housing for young adults who would otherwise be homeless, and outpatient mental health services for children and youth from Penny Lane, other agencies, and area schools.