|
Special Education ChildNet offers troubled young people, both boys and girls the opportunity to attend a school that provides a rigorous curriculum and daily routine designed to meet special needs. Located in Long Beach Youth Home, Zinsmeyer Academy opened its doors in 1990 in response to the special educational requirements of residential treatment clients, as well as students attending public schools in the surrounding communities. Zinsmeyer Academy and our sister school Vista Ridge Academy located in Monrovia, California are state-certified and accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). Individualized curriculum student/teacher ratio of 6:1, means students are given special attention that leads to maximum opportunities for learning. Academic progress is measured by periodic testing with standardized tests. In addition the learning environment is designed to develop, social skills communication skills, problem-solving, decision-making, anger management and impulse control. Age appropriate life skills such as job search, resource budgeting and health maintenance are also available.
Foster Care Foster Family Network was established in 1986 for the purpose of providing quality foster homes for children who are victims of parental neglect or abuse. The children arrive with an array of medical, emotional, and behavioral problems. The Foster Family Network mission is to recruit volunteer foster parents, train them to meet stringent standards of care, match them with available children needing homes, and provide clinical and financial support to the new “family.” Foster Family Network provides services to thousands of foster children a year; 80% of these children are united with their families and an average of 25 children a year are adopted. Headquartered in Los Angeles County, Foster Family Network provides foster care services to six counties in California. Satellite offices are located in Orange, Fresno, Kern (Bakersfield), San Bernardino and Riverside Counties.
|
|
Family Support Services As the newest program in ChildNet’s “Continuum of Care,” Family Support Services is designed to help children and adolescents with serious emotional and behavioral problems successfully live with their families and communities. A variety of crises may affect the family in ways that place children at risk of being removed from their homes and placed into psychiatric hospitals, juvenile detention camps, foster homes or group homes. Our goal is to reach these at-risk children and their families with a preventative model that provides an array of services promoting family strength, cohesion, and preventing the need for breaking up the family. The program requires motivated families who have a desire to engage in a family-driven, strength-based process and a “whatever it takes” attitude to help the family function in a healthier way as they develop and support their relationships with one another, self-sufficiency and successful growth as a family unit. This is an intensive, community-based, family-centered approach to assisting our clients and their families. Success is realized when the family achieves a safe and stable environment where children are free from abuse and neglect.
Family Support Services staff work as a team with the child, his/her family and other significant support persons in the child’s life to identify family needs and strengths, teach new skills, and help access the community resources they need to instill hope and increase their sense of competence. Family members participate in developing plans and goals, and all services are tailored to the unique needs of each family. Issues may include meeting needs such as housing or medical care, parenting skills training, child care, medication support, and individual, family or group therapy. Families are able to gain confidence and build the skills necessary to build brighter futures for themselves.
Behavioral Health The Behavioral Health Services program at ChildNet (BHS) was launched in 1999 to meet the mental health needs of under-served and at-risk youth and families in the greater Long Beach community. BHS provides an array of community-based services including in-home individual and family therapy, group therapy, psychiatric evaluation and medication support when needed. BHS works in collaboration with the Long Beach Unified School District providing mental health services at nine Long Beach school sites. The goal of all BHS services is to improve the child’s functioning in home, school and social settings. |
