TYPE OF TEENS WE ACCEPT

There is a scale of 1 to 5 that rates psychological or behavioral problems. If we were to put the teens at JYA into a category, they would range from 0 to 1 on this scale. In other words, the girls we take into our program typically do not have problems severe enough to require them to be admitted to a long-term medical or psychological residential facility.

JYA is designed to help kids who are headed in a harmful direction before they have advanced too far into destructive behavior or incurred severe psychological damage. For example, we accept teens who have dabbled in drugs but not those who are drug addicts. We accept girls on medication but not those who have been clinically diagnosed with a severe psychological problem. There are students at JYA who are victims of abuse, but we do not accept those who have physically abused others. We can also help girls who have cut themselves, have been involved in self-destructive behavior, have talked about suicide, and have perhaps even attempted it, if they are not a current ongoing high risk of harming themselves or others (5150 H&S Code).

These are general guidelines for the stages of psychological and behavioral problems we address at JYA, but all of our decisions are made on a case-by-case basis. If we find that JYA does not have the resources to give your child the help she needs, or if you have a teen boy who needs assistance, we are also a nation-wide referral service and will help you find a program that is appropriate for your child.