Beginning July 1, at-risk kids in the Burlington-Alamance area can attend a day treatment program at Another Chance Treatment Center in Burlington. The program is designed for children and adolescents between the ages of five and 20 who struggle with behavioral issues.
Each child who completes an assessment and qualifies for the program will receive a personalized care plan to help them work through their behavioral challenges, according to Crystal Lawson, director of the day treatment program.
“The day treatment program focuses on helping them learn to cope and manage those types of feelings, so that rather than reacting to what they're feeling, they're actually taking time to think about it and choosing the right choice of behavior,” Lawson said.
Though the program is advertised as a day treatment program, Lawson said it is important to understand that not all patients will be in treatment for the full 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. day. Each child will attend for as long as determined by their personal care plan.
“We would implement that to determine whether they're here all day for five hours, or they're here after school, or a portion of the day,” Lawson said. “So that we can get them the help that they need.”
Shawn Davis, operations and human resources director at Another Chance, said that, for many students with behavioral issues at school, they are able to benefit more from a personalized plan than a general treatment plan.
“First we identify the goal,” Davis said. “The issues, the goals, and start bringing them in to work on those. So they can eventually return to class.”
Lawson said this program is also beneficial to students falling behind in school because the staff can determine the larger issue influencing their behavior and actions.
“A lot of times, children that do not engage in schools ,it is not just behavioral issues they don't understand,” Lawson said.“They feel like they can't grasp the concept of the lessons being taught.”
Davis believes the individualized plan treatment approach is best because people participate in the program for many different reasons, and it is important to offer specialized treatment.
“For reasons such as some issues at home, there's some issues in the class and also, kids who are threatened to be removed from school for good for them because of behavioral issues,” Davis said.
Though the program is set to begin July 1. Assessment applications are continuously rolling and available whenever a child or adolescent needs to enroll during the year. To learn more about the program and to schedule an assessment, call 336-395-8689.