The Basics
Youth Care is a residential and Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP) for children and teens between the ages of 11 and 18 struggling with behavioral or mood disorders and addiction. Located in Draper, Utah just twenty miles south of Salt Lake City, Youth Care is part of the CRC Health Care network—a collection of 140 facilities that offer “research-supported, client-directed treatment that emphasizes the relationship between client and counselor.”
Youth Care’s PHP treats students who have completed treatment in Youth Care’s residential program or elsewhere as well as young people who don’t require intensive residential treatment but may benefit from an Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP).
Treatment and Staff
The typical stay in the PHP is four to five months during which residents attend school and therapy in the residential treatment facility on Youth Care’s campus. PHP and residential clients (usually totaling fifty clients combined) attend classes together. PHP clients may also attend some of the weekend activities for residential students. In addition to offering clinical treatment and academics, the teachers, staff and clinicians strive to teach personal responsibility, respecting others and the importance of setting goals throughout the day.
Youth Care’s treatment philosophy revolves around the “Level System” in which residents are awarded points based on good behavior and participation. As residents gain points they are eligible for special privileges, as they lose points, they lose participation and privileges. Youth Care believes this model of frequent positive reinforcement encourages motivation to change and collaboration with others.
On a typical day PHP clients arrive at school at 8:30 am for Goals Group where they apply skills they are learning in therapy to claim a behavior or a process to focus on for the day. After Goals Group, it’s off to school where the credentialed teachers break clients into smaller groups to learn each subject at their academic skill level.
Most afternoons clients have process groups. Once a week there is an addiction group, recreational therapy is twice a week, music therapy is three times a week, and DBT group meets once a week. EMDR, CBT and Sand Play Therapy are also used in group and individual sessions. Other therapeutic methods include Psychodynamic and Trauma Informed Care (TIC) and clients are also introduced to the 12 steps. Residents are pulled from groups or classes three times a week for individual therapy. If family therapy is required, parents may come to the Youth Care campus, Skype or phone in for sessions. After school, all residents have physical education activities at a nearby recreation center.
All staff, therapists (including MFTs and LCSWs) and teachers are credentialed and undergo extensive background checks before being offered employment at Youth Care. The facility has a nurse on-site to provide medical attention 24/7 and a psychiatrist is on-call who also makes site visits.
The staff-to-client ratio is three-to-one; Youth Care distinguishes itself from other therapeutic schools by its low teacher-to-student ratio in addition to having a para-educator or teacher’s assistant in every class. This way, little class time is lost to discipline and behavior management.
Extras
Youth Care hosts a Parent/Family weekend every 6 weeks in which parents can take workshops to learn how to facilitate their child’s treatment. Every month each resident has a “Clinical Day” in which therapist and staff members take students off-campus for a day trip of special activities tailored to each individual’s interests and strengths. Youth Care also recognizes that some students may be school-resistant due to their illness and past experiences, and so it strives to make learning dynamic and unpredictable by offering guest speakers, field trips and study skills classes. Its academic program is accredited by the Northwest Association of School and Colleges.
Youth Care knows that, ideally, the PHP is the last stage of intensive treatment for its clients and begins a discharge plan commensurate with enrollment to give each client goals to work towards and optimal chances for success. Therapists and teachers welcome check-in calls from their clients after they complete treatment so that they can know the Youth Care team is rooting for them as they continue to take successful steps towards long-term recovery.
In Summary
Youth Care’s commitment to implementing the most effective evidence-based treatment combined with its very small class sizes enables it to offer a remarkable level of support to teens in crisis. If the cost of treatment is prohibitive to some, the facility employs two specialists to facilitate finding insurance coverage. As a member of the nation-wide CRC Health Care family, it has the resources to conduct studies and track its own effectiveness, ensuring that its young residents are getting the most up-to-date and comprehensive treatment available.
Youth Care Treatment Center
12595 Minuteman Dr
Draper, UT 84020
Youth Care Cost: $3,450.00 (30 days). Reach Youth Care by phone at (800) 786-4924. Find Youth Care on Facebook
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