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Therapeutic & Alternative Boarding Schools In California
Are you a California parent who is concerned about the direction your teenager’s life is heading? Does your teen make bad choices and behave so poorly that they have gotten in trouble in school or even with the law? It’s time to get your child the professional help they need in the form of therapy and a structured environment where they can take steps toward change. Help Your Teen Now is a parent advocate group dedicated to helping parents of troubled teens find out what is best for the family. Our insight into different teen help programs can help you decide what your teen needs and where to enroll them.Please call Help Your Teen Now at 1-800-901-7347 for more information on therapeutic and alternative boarding schools in California that may be right for your troubled teen.
Why Help Your Teen Now?
Help Your Teen Now was started by a teen help industry expert and mother who had worked with troubled teens for many years. She recognized that there was a significant lack of resources for parents when it came to identifying what type of programs were out there and which ones were successful as which ones were less than ideal. Help Your Teen Now was created by parents for parents, and our goal is to help you get the information you need to not only find the right place for your troubled teen, but to share the information we have about the entire process of working with teen help facilities.
Help Your Teen Now will answer all your questions via email or phone, and provide you with all kinds of information on therapeutic and alternative boarding schools in California and across the country. Because we aren’t affiliated with any program, you can feel comfortable that our advice and information is not biased. We want to help you through this difficult time and we’re sure that the teen help programs we have to share with you will be extremely useful. Let us help you so you can help your teenager.
Financial Assistance When Helping Your Adopted Teen In California
Parents can have an added layer of difficulty when it comes to parenting an adopted child. Even if you adopted your child as a baby, there can be difficulties.
California offers assistance for parents who have adopted children through the U.S. foster care system. You will have to meet the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) eligibility requirements to see if you can receive help from the Adoption Assistance Program (AAP). Some of the basic requirements are:
- Child must be U.S. citizen
- The child must have at least one barrier to their adoption (example – keeping sibling group together, older than 3 years old, professional assessment of disability)
- Child was under the legal guardianship of the state
- Child adopted through a licensed California agency, either private or public agency.
These requirements are dependent on what county in California you live in, so be sure to check your counties’ AAP requirements. To learn more about financial assistance in placing your child into a therapeutic boarding school or residential treatment center, check out our resource page on “Financial Assistance With Adopted Children Placement In Therapeutic & Alternative Boarding Schools For California”.
California Regulatory Laws For Alternative & Therapeutic Boarding Schools
Residential facilities such as alternative and therapeutic boarding schools are licensed and regulated by the State of California Health and Human Services Agency, specifically the Department of Social Services. These social rehabilitation facilities are subject to both general licensing requirements and function-specific standards.
Accreditation for California private schools is optional and there are no requirements for licensing. Registration with the Superintendent of Public Instruction is mandatory, however (Calif. Educ. Code §33190). Teachers are only required to be “persons capable of teaching” and state certification is optional (Calif. Educ. Code §48222). Schools must teach in English (Calif. Educ. Code §§48222, 30) and must perform criminal background checks on all employees (Calif. Educ. Code §44237(a), (b), (c).
(U.S. Department of Education, State Regulation of Private Schools, 2009)
Reference: http://www2.ed.gov/admins/comm/choice/regprivschl/regprivschl.pdf
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Educational Recources
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California Regulatory Laws For Alternative & Therapeutic Boarding Schools
Residential facilities such as alternative and therapeutic boarding schools are licensed and regulated by the State of California Health and Human Services Agency, specifically the Department of Social Services. These social rehabilitation facilities are subject to both general licensing requirements and function-specific standards.
Accreditation for California private schools is optional and there are no requirements for licensing. Registration with the Superintendent of Public Instruction is mandatory, however (Calif. Educ. Code §33190). Teachers are only required to be “persons capable of teaching” and state certification is optional (Calif. Educ. Code §48222). Schools must teach in English (Calif. Educ. Code §§48222, 30) and must perform criminal background checks on all employees (Calif. Educ. Code §44237(a), (b), (c).
(U.S. Department of Education, State Regulation of Private Schools, 2009)
Reference: http://www2.ed.gov/admins/comm/choice/regprivschl/regprivschl.pdf
Educational Recources
Statistics for Troubled Teens In California
ADD/ADHD
- 5.3%
5.3 percent of children in California, aged 3–17 years have been diagnosed with ADHD. (National Survey of Children’s Health, 2016–2019).
TEEN PREGNANCY
- 11%
The teen pregnancy rate for adolescents aged 15 to 19 in California is 11 per 1,000 females in this age group, according to the World Population Review.
https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/teen-pregnancy-rates-by-state
TEEN SUICIDE
- 6.5%
California ranks 5th with a suicide rate of 6.5 deaths per 100,000 adolescents aged 15 to 19, according to data from the CDC WONDER Multiple Cause of Death Files (2020–2022).
https://www.americashealthrankings.org/explore/measures/teen_suicide/CA
DRUG USE
- 10.37%
In 2020, approximately 788,000 teenagers aged 12 to 17 nationwide met the criteria for Illicit Drug Use Disorder (IDUD). In California, about 10.37% of adolescents in this age group reported using illicit drugs, according to the National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics.
ALCOHOL USE
- 8.35%
Approximately 8.35% of teens in California suffer from Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD). (National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics, 2020).
TEEN VAPING
- 18.2%
California ranks 39th among all states, with 18.2% of high school teens reported to have used vapes. (Drug Watch, 2024).
TEEN PORNOGRAPHY
- 57%
The porn industry experienced a 12.6% annual revenue increase from 2018 to 2023. Adolescent exposure to pornography has steadily risen, with the age of first exposure becoming increasingly younger. 57% of young adults ages 18-25 use porn monthly or more often.
TEEN BULLYING
- 46%
According to Pew Research Center, 46% of U.S. teens aged 13 to 17 have experienced at least one of six types of cyberbullying behaviors. (Pew Research Center, 2022).
https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2022/12/15/teens-and-cyberbullying-2022/
Summary
We Can Help!
Let HelpYourTeenNow Help You Find the Best California School For Your Teen.
A therapeutic boarding school is a fine place for teens with emotional, behavioral and mental health issues to get full-time therapy, help in school and boost self-esteem. Help Your Teen Now has already helped thousands of parents and teens, and we want to do the same for your family.
Please contact Help Your Teen Now for more information on what we can do for you as a parent of a troubled teen. Just call 1-800-901-747.