A Leader In Helping Kids and Families Succeed
Eckerd Youth Alternatives currently serves about 11,000 young people and their families annually through about 40 behavioral health and child welfare programs organized under five broad divisions:
Private Care
Eckerd Academy is a highly effective therapeutic boarding school that specializes in helping boys and girls ages 10 – 18 reach their full potential. Referrals are accepted from parents, families, schools, behavioral and mental health professionals, and educational consultants. Eckerd Academy’s two campuses offer include fully accredited education in on-campus alternative schools; group and individual treatment; counseling; adventure-based activities; behavior management; social- and life-skills training family support and involvement; and transition planning and follow up. Campuses are located in Brooksville, FL, and Suches, GA.
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Preventive Care
Early Intervention & Prevention Services- These intervention services, located in Florida, promote non-violent behavior, while encouraging academic success and healthy development in elementary and middle school children. “Hi-Five” program activities include a violence prevention curriculum, non-competitive games, team-building exercises and more. Other services include after-school programming, mentoring, teacher training and family outreach, literacy enhancement and summer activities; not all programs are in all locations
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Community Care
Alternative Day School- Located in Stewartstown, NH, Eckerd’s Diamond Pond Academy serves at-risk middle and high school students who have not succeeded in a traditional classroom. Referrals are made through public schools.
Child Welfare– Services that assure the safety, well-being and permanency of children served in the child welfare system, including:
- Eckerd Community Alternatives – As the lead agency for child welfare services in Florida’s Pinellas and Pasco counties, Eckerd serves as the system administrator for foster care, adoption and independent living services for children and families in the Department of Children and Families Circuit 6 region.
- Case Management Services – Our case management services provide support to enhance family function and the well-being of children and families. Services are provided in Florida’s West Palm Beach area and in the Vermont Department of Children & Families’ Rutland District.
- Family Preservation – Intensive, in-home crisis intervention services to help families at imminent risk of having a child removed from the home. Our Intensive Family Preservation Services provided throughout 10 counties in central North Carolina are based on the Homebuilders model and help maintain children safely in their homes (whenever possible) and prevent unnecessary separation of families. The Homebuilders model, one of the best documented family preservation approaches in the nation, is characterized by very small caseloads, intensive 4-6 week duration of services, and 24-hour availability of staff. Family visitation and preservation services are also provided in Florida’s Brevard County.
- Family Reunification – Services that help families throughout 10 counties in central North Carolina reintegrate children into their homes after they have been placed into foster care or other types of out-of-home placement. Reunification services typically begin with the family while the child is still living out of the home, helping to create a safe and successful transition back to the home. Services continue after the child returns home, with workers providing individual and family case management and client advocacy to help support the reunification. Reunification services typically provided from 4 – 8 weeks with workers providing up to 10 hours of interventions per week and 24-hour staff accessibility.
Day Treatment Programs- The Eckerd Leadership Program in Ft. Pierce, FL, is a low-risk juvenile justice program emphasizing self-esteem building, family counseling, peer group process and education. Referrals are made through Florida’s juvenile justice system.
In-Home Services– A variety of in-home therapeutic and counseling services for youth and their families are offered including MST, BSFT and diversion.
Transitional Living Services– A group home program designed to help Florida foster teens and young adults ages 13 – 22 build necessary life skills for independent living.
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Residential Care
Outdoor Therapeutic Programs- Our Outdoor Therapeutic Programs (OTPs) in the states of Florida, North Carolina, Vermont, New Hampshire and Rhode Island provide therapeutic behavioral treatment and fully accredited education in residential small group settings for at-risk, troubled, delinquent or difficult-to-manage boys and girls ages 10 – 17. Youth are referred from a variety of sources, primarily through contracts with public agencies. Typically, these youth have experienced difficulties at home, at school or in the community. Services include group and individual treatment; counseling; adventure-based activities; behavior management; social- and life-skills training; family support and involvement; and transition planning and follow up.
Residential Therapeutic Program- The Eckerd Youth Challenge Program, located in Brooksville, FL, provides group treatment, accredited education, individual and family counseling, behavior management, social- and life-skills training, family support and involvement, and transition planning. It serves delinquent boys ages 13 – 18.
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Aftercare
Eckerd ReEntry– These aftercare programs help Florida youth who have successfully completed an Eckerd or other juvenile justice residential program make a successful re-entry back to their homes, schools and communities.
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