The Adirondack Youth Lodge is a family-centered community residence for children and adolescents, ages twelve to seventeen, serving the North Country area, including neighboring counties of Essex, Clinton and St. Lawrence. The Adirondack Youth Lodge is operated through Citizen Advocates Inc., and licensed through the New York State Office of Mental Health. The Adirondack Youth Lodge focuses on identifying and building upon each family’s strengths, and developing and enhancing the individual self-esteem of the child. An emphasis is placed on introducing and involving the child and family in a wellness approach, utilizing the surrounding recreational and cultural advantages of the Adirondack area. Citizen Advocates, Inc., a local not-for-profit agency which provides a variety of outpatient mental health, substance abuse and developmental disabilities services for both children and adults, has developed an open-space, “Adirondack Camp” style residence that includes families in every aspect of the child’s treatment program.
The Adirondack Youth Lodge provides families with an alternative to long term, out of county placements for their children, where their involvement in treatment is almost always negated by the long distance between their home and their child’s placement. Children are referred to this program through the SPOA committee. Referrals are reviewed by an interagency admission and discharge committee. This committee includes representatives from DSS, Probation, mental health, St. Regis Mohawk Mental Health Services, other providers and representatives from the school districts. Prior to accepting a child for admission to the community residence, all efforts will be made to offer the child and family less restrictive services, i.e., respite services, recreation, crisis intervention, intensive case management, parent mentoring, etc. When a child is accepted for admission to the program, the family becomes part of the treatment process. Because the goal of the program is to help the child and family become reunited whenever possible, much emphasis will be placed on the family’s involvement in treatment. Discharge planning begins at admission, with a focus on family reunification as soon as possible.
Consistency and structure are cornerstones of the program. The Adirondack Youth Lodge has ten full time Residential Aides and four professional staff, including a full time RN. The staff of the Adirondack Youth Lodge provide a warm, family like environment for youth to learn and grow in. Meals are eaten as a group, with everyone helping with preparation and clean up. The staff of the Adirondack Youth Lodge lead the youth in a variety of structured activities. Some activities include: camping, hiking, swimming, as well as games and crafts. During the winter months everyone goes tubing at the local ski mountain. A strong focus is placed on building ties in the community, and there are many opportunities for community involvement. Youth have participated in school sports, as well as CYO basketball and Mustang football.
All staff working at the Adirondack Youth Lodge receive extensive training. Staff are trained in children's mental health issues and development, utilizing a strength based approach, trauma informed care, developmental trauma, cultural competence and youth supervision. All staff are also certified in the Crisis Prevention Institute's Nonviolent Crisis Intervention.
Each child is also connected with a mental health clinician at North Star’s Mental Health Clinic. Residence staff assist children and families in accessing these services, and the respective mental health staff participates in treatment team meetings at the residence. Weekly meetings are held with the clinicians and residence staff, ensuring continuity of services.
Children placed at the residence attend local schools. The community residence staff keep in close contact with the school and assists the child’s parents with participating in their child’s education. The residence staff assist parents in attending meetings and events at the school involving their child. The residence shares a close relationship with the school, ensuring that each child receives the educational services necessary for success.
The Adirondack Youth Lodge is closely networked with other service providers in the community, such as the Department of Social Services, Probation, and doctors. We are able to assist families in navigating plethora of services to help each child receive the individualized services needed for success. The Adirondack Youth Lodge also networks with local mental health hospitals when their services are needed.