Therapeutic & Alternative Boarding Schools In Utah

If you are a Utah parent with a troubled teenager, you may not know about all the wonderful therapeutic and alternative boarding schools in Utah. You know your teenager needs help but you don’t know who to listen to or where to turn. There is one place you can go for guidance on making one of the hardest decisions of your life–Help Your Teen Now. Help Your Teen Now will work with you for free and help you locate a therapeutic or alternative boarding school that can help your troubled teen with their issues. If you are a Utah parent with a teenager who is really struggling in traditional school and at home, let us work with you on getting you the information you need to help your teen start to make some changes at a therapeutic or alternative boarding school in Utah.

We are happy to talk with you about all your teen therapy options when you contact Help Your Teen Now at 1-800-901-7347.

How We Help You Find The Best Therapeutic Boarding Schools In Utah

We are a non-profit parent advocate group with resources and information on all kinds of teen therapy programs, like wilderness camps, boot camps, residential treatment centers and therapeutic boarding schools. Our experience comes from years of working with some of the top programs in the country, and we only recommend those with high standards and excellent reviews from parents and teens who actually experience the programs. Because we are not affiliated with any school or program, we provide honest and unbiased recommendations you can trust.

Help Your Teen Now was started by a woman who has experience with troubled teens when her own children needed help. She soon realized there wasn’t a resource group for parents new to the process that are nervous, frustrated and worried. Today, Help Your Teen Now has helped thousands of families and troubled teens with everything from explaining the differences between programs to celebrating a successful completion of a program. We are here to help and would love to hear from you right away.

Regulatory Laws For Residential Treatment Centers and Therapeutic Boarding Schools in Utah

Residential programs in the state of Utah are required to employ a manager who will oversee the day to day resident supervision and facility operations and a a CPR certified staff member must be available at all times. All staff, volunteers and employees will be screened and given a background prior to working with the residents or within the facility. Professional staff should include a licensed physician, licensed psychologist and a licensed mental health professional and any unlicensed staff will be supervised by a licensed clinical professional at all times (R501-19-5).

All residential facilities are required to maintain a minimum ratio of one staff to every four residents at all times during the daytime, however, night staff may be reduced, depending on the size of the facility(f). Staff in residential facilities will have a separate living space from the residents and all male and female living quarters will be separate and supervised. A single bedroom may house up to four residents (or two with disabilities) as long as each room occupant has a minimum of 60 square feet (including storage space). All residential facilities and treatment centers in Utah must be up to date on all safety and building health codes. (R501-19-8).

Meals must be approved by a registered dietician and all facilities are required to note and accommodate the special nutritional needs or allergies of the resident consumers. (R501-19-9). All medication, hazardous chemicals and materials must be kept in locked storage and only qualified staff will administer, supervise and record medication dosage and effects. (R501-19-10). Provisions must be made for adolescents to continue their current education. The curriculum must be approved by the State Office of Education as well as nationally accredited and all teachers must be qualified in their area of instruction. (R501-19-12).

Each resident will receive an individualized treatment plan upon arrival and it will be updated as they progress through the program. Monthly schedules will be available to both residents as well as their parents or guardians upon request. Individual treatment plans may include skills development as well as a variety of counseling options including weekly group, couple and family counseling sessions. (R501-19-13).

(Utah Department of Administrative Services)
http://www.rules.utah.gov/publicat/code/r501/r501-19.htm

(U.S. Department of Education, State Regulation of Private Schools, 2009)
http://www2.ed.gov/admins/comm/choice/regprivschl/regprivschl.pdf

Regulatory Laws For Non-Public and Non-Therapeutic Private Schools in Utah

For non-therapeutic & Private schools, Utah’s teen help industry is regulated by the Human Services Office of Licensing and encompasses all residential treatment programs that include a 24-hour group home for more than 4 residents that are not related to the owner.

Utah has absolutely no mandatory requirements for private schools—accreditation, registration, licensing and approval are not required. Private schools are also not required to hire certified or licensed teachers. In addition, there are no requirements for the length of the school year. Utah private schools are also allowed to use corporal punishment as long as parents and guardians are notified that it is a school policy (Utah Code Ann. §53A-11-802). There are no curriculum requirements and no state policy on textbooks. It is not required for private schools to conduct criminal background checks on employees, and if the school chooses to do so, it must only consider job-related convictions (Utah Code Ann. §53A-3-410). There are no testing requirements for Utah private schools, although some may choose to participate in the testing as administered by the public school district in which they are located (State Board of Education
Rule R277-604-3). Utah also poses no requirements on private schools for nursing and health or professional development.

Reference: http://www2.ed.gov/admins/comm/choice/regprivschl/regprivschl.pdf