George Junior Republic’s Preventative Aftercare Program is designed to prevent out-of-home placement for at-risk youth, reduce the length of placement should out-of-home care become necessary, and decrease the rate of recidivism for youth who have been in residential care. Currently, George Junior Republic maintains 80 Preventative Aftercare Programs spanning four states including, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia, and ranging in size from 7 to 12 youth.
Annually, hundreds of adjudicated delinquent and dependent/neglected boys and girls, from infancy to 17 years of age, receive the benefits of this program. The uniqueness of this program is its ability to provide a cost effective alternative to probation or placement by delivering services to children and their families in their home, school, and community settings, as determined by the contracting agency.
Social Workers, who are on call 24 hours, provide consistent structure, supervision, and treatment. These professionals meet with families, teachers, counselors, employers, and others involved with the youth in different settings and at various times of the day and night. At a minimum, social workers contact the referring agency weekly and appear in court whenever necessary. These individuals implement a behavior modification system, provide family counseling, develop individual treatment plans, distribute family stipends, and utilize community resources.
Each day, youth are provided with life space counseling which focuses on the development of a positive self-image, confidence, responsibility and insight. The youth assists in evaluating how one affects his/her various environments and how these environments affect him/her. Additionally, youth participate in scheduled group activities, and assist in planning weekly family activities. A family’s active participation in the program is imperative to achieve success. Therefore, a small monthly stipend, determined by the level of participation and response to the program, is paid to the family of the youth and an additional weekly allowance is provided for the youth.
To inquire about George Junior Republic's Preventative Aftercare Program please contact:
Jim Poulos, LSW, MSW
Vice President – (724) 458-9330, ext 2161
