Guiding Our Youth Group Home, in conjunction with its sister home, For the Future, prides itself in providing the highest quality of services to the residents in placement, and defines its program as being a cut above the rest!

Guiding Our Youth Group Home, as well as For the Future, have developed a unique program model using both obligatory along with unconventional techniques in the delivery of services to the residents. Our model believes in going above and beyond the requisite expectations and requirements set forth as a standard of practice in this field. Our group homes are therapeutic based, which is due to the fact that almost all our staff are clinicians. At each of our facilities, at least one of or both working staff are Master's level Marriage and Family Therapist - Interns or Associate Clinical Social Workers. Thus the residents get a therapeutic environment at all times. We don't believe in points or levels. We believe in rewarding positive behavior, while dealing with negative behaviors through consequences and restrictions. The program is set up so that the resident enters into a positive and supportive atmosphere within a therapeutic setting. Residents will lose privileges in a progressive manner directly related to and as a result of their negative behaviors, thus teaching them to take responsibility for their own actions.

Our team is comprised of a combination of counselors, with varying levels of education and experience. A majority of our team members are clinicians with a Master's degree in Psychology or Social Work and are working towards getting licensed by the Board of Behavioral Sciences. The remainder of our counselors have either a Bachelor's degree in a behavioral science and are currently enrolled in a Master's degree program, have a Bachelor's degree in a behavioral science and also possess experience working with this population, or have the knowledge, ability and experience to work with this population. Our team allows us to be more effective in "helping" our residents by providing them with access to therapists and counselors throughout their day to day lives in order to help them "in the moment." Thus, our residents are receiving therapeutic and clinical services around the clock, ranging from empathetic listening, supportive counseling, effective communication skill building, independent living skills training, role modeling, re-directing, and crisis de-escalation. Our team of counselors are trained in Professional Assault Crisis Training (Pro-Act) techniques to help them appropriately deal with physically aggressive residents in dangerous situations

Guiding Our Youth provides the following routine services:

1. Psychiatric
2. Education
3. Medical
4. Dental
5. Vision

Guiding Our Youth provides the following program services:

1. Independent Living Skills Training
2. Transportation
3. Meals
4. Psychotropic Medication Administration

Guiding Our Youth provides the following therapeutic services:

1. Individual Therapy
2. Group Therapy
3. Family Therapy
4. Boxing Program (for the boys houses)

SPECIFIC GOALS OF GUIDING OUR YOUTH:

1. To provide nurturing and protection in a home-like environment.

2. To provide meaningful and significant help twenty-four hours per day for youth referred by probation, children & family services, and behavioral health who are physically, sexually or emotionally abused, neglected, ignored or at risk of being abused, neglected or exploited. These residents often have behavioral and/or emotional problems that prevent them from being cared for in a family environment.

3. To prepare youth with day-to-day survival skills, personal hygiene, food preparation, and proper sanitary living skills.
4. To develop and to maintain a working relationship where possible, with the resident's natural families in hopes of reunification of the resident.
5. To assist in preparing youth for academic or vocational training, and/or technical skills.

6. To reduce gang activities and gang association of resident and to help "at risk" residents from becoming members of violent gangs, destructive and violent behaviors.

7. To be able to change negative behaviors of destructive youth to positive, constructive behavior and help them develop into productive citizens in society.

8. To be able to change hard-core negative behaviors of youth's attitudes so as to correspond with and be acceptable to the greater community by utilizing a variety of psychological and counseling techniques, and psychiatric services as needed.

9. To provide placement away from the normal channels of the juvenile setting: while providing teaching, counseling, role modeling, and positive and rewarding experiences to this age group at all times.

10. To assist to families in relating to the resident's psychological and social development for possible reunification.

11. To provide coordinating information between medical agencies, therapeutic services, and staff to benefit the resident to achieve a grade level analogous with their age and experience.

12. To increase positive independent behavior, self-esteem and to enhance and strengthen personality and social integration.

13. To provide a staff that is reflective of the ethnic population of the residents serviced by Guiding Our Youth.



The above goals will be achieved through individual counseling, group counseling, psychological, and/or psychiatric consultation, role modeling, the teaching of different behavioral management techniques and through methods of disciplining with dignity.