Residential Services—Raise the Age

Hillside’s Snell Farm Campus in Bath, NY, offers Raise the Age (RTA) residential treatment services for young men. This program includes a four-bed Specialized Services unit for individuals with sexually harmful behaviors and a four-bed Developmental Abilities Services (DAS) unit for individuals with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities.

About this Program

• Residents in Hillside’s Raise the Age—Specialized Services unit are 16 years of age or older and have been mandated to treatment following adjudication for a nonviolent sexual offense. Youth in this RTA program are determined to be at a moderate-to-severe risk of causing further sexual harm. Risk is determined upon examination of offense history, history of aggressive acts (e.g., fire setting, animal abuse, property destruction, violence towards others), AWOL history, previous response to treatment, and overall risk to the community. Discharge planning begins on the first day of the youth’s placement at Snell Farm; on-site placement lasts for up to eight months with four months of aftercare.

  RTA Specialized Services provides exceptional care based on best practices and evidence-based research. The program is dedicated to positive outcomes including stopping sexually harmful behaviors; healing and strengthening the lives of children and families; and creating safer communities for everyone. Treatment provides a warm, safe environment that is strength-based, family-focused, relationship-based, trauma-sensitive, nonjudgmental and culturally competent.

• Residents in the RTA Developmental Abilities Services (DAS) unit are 16 years of age or older, with an assessed IQ of 50-80, and have been adjudicated for a nonviolent crime through the new RTA court system. The DAS unit is designed to meet the needs of youth that have been dually diagnosed for a developmental disability and a mental health diagnosis. Youth served in the program will be placed for eight months with four months of aftercare services, with the goal of developing the skills necessary to move to a lower level of care or return home.

  The program is structured to meet the unique needs of each youth. Treatment is trauma-informed and relationship-based, with an individualized and highly structured program that addresses challenging behavior through the development of skills that emphasize learning, coping and pro-social behavior.

Hillside’s RTA units use the Risk-Need-Responsivity model, which takes a standardized risk-assessment approach, matches service intensity/level based on that assessment, and addresses needs through individualized interventions that target behavior change. The program uses restorative practices that emphasize ways to prevent harm and rebuilding relationships when harm has already been done.

Education Services: Hillside campus schools, approved by the New York State Education Department, provide therapeutic education services for youth in residential treatment. Daily instruction is guided by each student’s Individual Education Plan and designed to maximize the student’s ability to learn academically and socially. Working collaboratively with families and youth, education staff help students improve their academic achievement and emotional coping skills so that they can return to their school districts.

Residential campus classrooms feature a 6:1:2 ratio of students to teachers to teaching assistants. Classes may be self-contained or departmentalized by subject area, to meet students’ educational needs. All coursework must meet New York State standards, including a core instructional program that is comprised of English, social studies, science, mathematics, physical education and the arts. Students have access to guidance counseling and a school psychologist for educational testing, planning and recommendations. Clinical services are also provided. Speech/Language and Occupational Therapy are available for those students who have been identified to receive these services by the Committee on Special Education. The education staff collaborates with the students’ home districts throughout placement and in preparation for transition.

Health Care Services: All children in residential care have round-the-clock access to health care services from highly trained teams of licensed practical nurses, registered nurses, psychiatric and pediatric nurse practitioners, pediatricians, child and adolescent psychiatrists and registered dieticians, all committed to who can attend to most medical and psychiatric needs experienced by youth in Residential Treatment. These individuals work collaboratively with program staff to provide high-quality care and maintain strong relationships with local hospitals and medical providers to provide higher levels of specialty medical and psychiatric care, as well as emergency care.

Locations

Snell Farm Campus
7320 Snell Hill Road
Bath, NY 14810

Contact Information

For details about this or any Hillside program, contact us 24 hours a day at 585-256-7500 or info@hillside.com

This Program Supported by NYS Office of Children and Family Services