White River Academy Troubled Teen Boarding School - using positive peer pressure to help teens.

WRA Troubled Teen Boarding School for At Risk Youth

Questions & Answers

BEHAVIORS
	If a teenager doesn't want to attend a boarding school are you still able to receive them? Yes.
	Can the teen get kicked out? It is a rare occasion that we expel a child although if we feel it is in the best interest of the child and family we will recommend the family to an alternate placement.
	Do you take aggressive teens? It depends on the incidents of aggression. This is decided on an individual basis.

BASIC INFORMATION
	What is the age range of teenagers that are accepted into your boot camp? 13 to 17.
	Are boys and girls kept separate? How? We are a boys only teen boarding school.
	What types of financing do you have? Unsecured and Educational Loans.
	What contact do parents have with teen? Students are given opportunities to write home daily. Letters are accessed through a Parent Access Page on the Internet. Students do not have access to E-mail or Internet this provided by the staff. Progress review calls are done up to four times per month depending on the level of the student. Phone calls with your student begin approximately 30-45 days after enrollment. Parent Weekends are held on site at White River every 90 days. Parents participate in training's, activities and visiting their child. These Parent Weekends are strongly recommended.
	How often do parents get to talk to the boarding school administrators? Depends on the level of the student. A minimum of twice per month.
	How many students in a room? three to four depending on the size of the room.
	What kind of sleeping facilities? Dorm style.
	How many share a bathroom? A maximum of six teen students to one bathroom.
	Can my teen stay after 18 if they are willing? A variance is required for licensing however this is something we recommend it the student has not yet graduated from the program.
	Do they get to leave the facility during the program? Yes.
	What do the teens do for fun? Hiking, camping, spelunking, movies, games, intramural sports, snow skiing, water skiing, geological field trips (dinosaur fossils) bowling, and ice skating.
	What kind of extra charges beyond tuition are there? $2,000 start up cost plus $500.00 for uniform, and any evaluations, medications or medical necessities.

	For enrolling my student are both parents' signatures required? Yes. In the case of divorce, custody papers are required or the guardians need to sign the enrollment agreement.
	How long has your school been in existence? This boarding school started in Puerto Rico in June of 2002 and relocated to Delta Utah in November of 2006.
	Have you ever had any deaths in your program? No.
	Have you ever had any life threatening or serious injuries? No.
	What is the average length of stay? One year to 18 months, short term 60-90 day wake up calls are also available.
	What is program success rate? From the studies of components used, 80% is the average success rate. Depending on what problems exist percentages may be higher (this success rate is only for the results based program . It does not apply to the short term).
	Are admissions done on an ongoing basis? Yes, Year Round. And may be done in less than 24 hours notice.
	What is your maximum occupancy? We are licensed for 16 students. Our boarding school's capacity is 65 teens.
	What form of discipline do you use? Positive Peer Culture which gives each student the opportunity to grow emotionally so that they may stand on their own two feet when confronted with a negative choice. The ultimate goal is to assist students to do the right thing and expect nothing in return for having done so. Emotional Growth, & self-esteem building workshops are also provided. Groups are done five days per week and deal with three Core Problems: Low Self Image, Inconsiderate of Self and Inconsiderate of Others and 9 Specific Problems: Easily Angered, Fronting, Lying, Stealing, Drug and Alcohol, Easily Mislead, Misleads Others, Authority Problem, and Aggravates Others. Students also participate in Individual Counseling twice per month, and a 24 hour structured schedule.

ACADEMICS
	Can they take SAT, ACT, GED tests, etc? They can take the ACT and GED tests. SAT is not offered in Utah, however the student can study for the SAT here and then take it at home while they are there for a home visit.
	Are college courses offered to high school graduates? Yes.
	Through what organization is your education program accredited through? Provisional Accreditation through Northwest Association.
	Are there any competitive sports available? Yes, intramural sport teams. basketball, and softball.
	Is there any special tutoring offered? Yes, our boarding school has teachers who assist in classroom daily.
	Is there an additional price for special tutoring? Only if extensive one on one is required.
	Is there any kind of special education help available? Yes.
	Is there any kind of music classes offered? Not yet.
	Can teens bring musical instruments? Yes.

SECURITY
	What is the procedure for a runaway teen? Our boarding school will do all it can to bring students back. If a teen runs away more than twice the school is required to expel him. On the first run attempt we recommend a 30 day High Impact program to assist the youth to recommit.
	In a year how many teen runaway from your program? On average one to two teens.
	What kinds of regulations are put on mail and phone calls? Letters are uploaded by staff to a Parent Access Page on the Internet and can only be seen by parents who have a username and password. Parents can forward mail from that point. Phone calls are scheduled and parents contact the school at the scheduled time.
	Is the facility fenced? Parts of the facility are fenced.
	What is the staff to student ratio? The ratio of student to staff members never exceeds five students to one staff member except during sleeping hours when the ratio may be one staff member to every 10 teen students. However never less than two staff on at one time.
	Do you take teens with criminal records? Our youth program only accepts teens who are first time offenders.
	Do you take court ordered kids? If custody is still with the parents and the student fits all other criteria.
	What kinds of contact do the boys have with girls? None, it is a boys only boarding school.
	What are the credentials of the staff? Licensed Therapist, LPC., and Certified Secondary Education Teachers, Contracted General Physician, Contracted Dietitian.
	What back ground research do you conduct before hiring a staff member? By law each employee is required to have a background check done by the Utah State Human Service, Office of Licensing. We also require three work references and three character references.
	Have there ever been any convictions against your program? No.
	Has their ever been any convictions against anyone affiliated with your program? No.
	Has your boarding school or any of its employees ever been convicted of child abuse? No.

LICENSING
	Is your facility licensed? Yes. White River Academy is licensed as a Therapeutic School through the Utah State Department of Human Services, Office of Licensing.

At Risk Teen Program

Troubled Teen Program and Treatment

MEDICAL
	Is Individual therapy included in price? Yes. Up to two sessions per month any sessions over and above this will be billed at $85 per hour.
	Is Individual therapy available? Yes.
	How close to a hospital is the facility? Two to three minutes by car
	Do you take teens with suicide attempts in their history? Not generally.
	Do you take teens that are self mutilating? On review of mutilation.
	Do you take teens with eating disorders? Depends upon the review of severity.
	Is there a Dr. or nurse on staff or regularly scheduled to come? Contracted Doctor's office is within two to three minutes.
	Is Orthodontia available? Yes.
	Do you take teens on medications? Yes, after a review of medications.

NOT APPROPRIATE
	What kinds of teens are not appropriate for your program? Those teens who have serious mental disorders such as schizophrenia, severe cases of bipolar, severe cases of Tourette Syndrome, teens that have attempted suicide and other serious medical or legal issues. We prefer to evaluate each student individually and decide at that time if that student fits the criteria for our services.

Troubled Teen Help Program

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