The Residential Program consists of group homes. In this program, the focus is on assisting the youth in meeting established treatment objectives with the aim of improving emotional stability, behavior, social skills, academic achievement, and family relationships in order to transition the youth to a less restrictive setting. This program is very intense and utilizes a therapeutic approach in assisting the youth to meet their goals.

The Residential Program is designed to provide young men with the opportunity to emulate positive and productive men, that work together to reach personal goals, and live productively in the larger community. The program is geared toward enhancing the spiritual, psychological, educational and social functioning of all residents. WLC operates from a client-centered, strength-based and culturally competent treatment perspective. The goal of the program is to empower young men and prepare them for a greater level of responsibility and self-sufficiency. With this aim, our residents are intricately involved in all facets of their treatment program and intervention. A resident is in essence a part of the treatment team. Goals are not developed for the residents, but rather with the resident. With this approach, we have found that our residents are more invested in the treatment process and motivated to achieve their goals.

We consider WLC to be a “home” for young men, not a “facility”. Each resident is treated as a member of our family and we encourage bonding, teamwork and cohesiveness through our service provisions designed not only to help each individual, but rather the entire WLC family.

WLC has grown with respect to the type and intensity of the services offered to our residents. Below is a snapshot of the services we offer in our Residential Program, some of which are new and extremely exciting, and are geared toward enhancing the lives of all of our residents. These services include the following:

* Individual Therapy;
* Group Therapy;
* Family Therapy;
* Recreational Therapy;
* Psychological/Psychiatric Evaluations;
* Mentoring;
* Mental and Behavioral Health Services;
* Behavior Management Plans;
* Social Skill Development;
* Educational Support;
* Physical Health Maintenance and Screenings;
* Comprehensive Treatment Planning (CTP) involving family and relevant others;
* Drug Screenings

In addition to the interventions and services listed above, there is a full-time licensed social worker on staff to provide case management and advocacy services for all youth. Some of these duties include making bi-weekly school visits (more when necessary), scheduling and maintaining appropriate medical appointments, scheduling and monitoring family visits, preparing treatment plans and all progress reports, attending court hearings, and advocating for the overall needs of our youth.

In addition to the staff social worker, there are ample child care workers on staff to assist the youth with day-to-day living and activities. Some of their duties include assisting youth with homework, supervising weekly outings, implementing the established behavior plans, serving as positive role models, implementing positive parenting strategies, and the like.

The residential program is highly structured and allows all youth the opportunity to develop the skills of self-discipline, responsibility, accountability, and personal goal setting. Many youth transition from our program back to their families of origin or to a less restrictive setting due to their mastery of these skills.