AK Child & Family’s residential treatment program provides a healing and collaborative environment guided by the principals of trauma informed care. The residential program is designed to serve youth who have emotional, psychological, or behavioral health symptoms that have significantly impaired their functioning at home, in school, and / or within the community in. A highly structured environment and 24 hour care is provided. Families and youth play an integral role in establishing the course of treatment which is individualized to best meet the needs of each youth and their family. Treatment includes comprehensive assessment; family, individual and group therapy with master’s level professionals; psychiatric evaluation and oversight; medications management (when applicable); nursing services; nutritional assessments; recreational therapy; educational / school supports; highly structured milieu therapy environment; skill building and linkages to appropriate community referrals for specialized services as needed. Each youth will have treatment plan that details the therapies, interventions and supports to address their specific needs as well as the projected discharge plan back to community based care.
Our goal is to treat youth at the most effective level of care. Youth who are accepted into the residential program must meet medical necessity criteria which support their need for a structured residential program. Our admissions department assists in determining the most appropriate level of care based upon the youth’s prior treatment history, severity of symptoms, and related problems. Many of the youth served in the residential program have histories that may include complicating concurrent disorders, high risk behaviors, destructive behaviors towards self or others, suicidal ideation, self care deficits, and other presenting problems that lower levels of care are not expected to adequately address.
AK Child & Family is committed to safe, high quality care, treatment and services. We achieved accreditation through the Joint Commission for Healthcare Organizations with an emphasis on Behavioral Health Care in November of 1990 and have gone through rigorous reviews to ensure we continue to meet or exceed quality standards in the health care industry. The residential program is also licensed through the State of Alaska.
AK Child & Family’s residential program is housed on two campuses – the Jesse Lee Campus located on Abbott Road and the Maplewood Campus located in mid-town. Across our two campuses there are seven cottages, which house the treatment programs for various ages / genders contingent upon the needs of the youth in the community. During the school year, students may attend one of our specialized on-campus Anchorage School District classrooms or may be mainstreamed into a local community school, depending upon the individual student’s needs. Staff support and encourage each youth to succeed in school. Our recreational program provides regularly scheduled group activities in our Benson Center gym, in our outdoor basketball or skating rink or in off campus community based activities. These activities are designed to promote good physical and mental health while meeting the therapeutic, social, leisure and physical needs of youth.
Nutrition is also an important aspect of overall well being and AK Child & Family follows the National School Lunch Program requirements for providing students with nutritious and balanced meals. Meals and snacks are developed in consultation with a registered dietician and take into account any food allergies and sensitivities that the youth may have.
We realize that making a decision to place a youth into residential care is not easy and we encourage you to browse our website for additional information and we also have a Facebook page that may offer another glimpse into our agency. We encourage you to call with any questions you may have regarding admission criteria, programming or treatment philosophies. We conduct campus tours if you’d like to see the facilities before making a referral.
