Alternative Rehabilitation

Alternative Rehabilitation Communities (ARC) is an organization that once had several addiction treatment facilities in Pennsylvania, including this one on Susquehanna Trail in York, Pennsylvania. This location offered residential treatment for boys ages 14 to 19 who are in the Juvenile Justice system, with services available in Spanish. However, this location is now closed.

Evidence Based Residential Treatment for Teens

Treatment at ARC included highly structured and peer oriented services. They had individual and group counseling as well as education, recreation and life skills classes. Each youth had an Individual Service Plan to give them the specific care they need.

Approaches included motivational interviewing and other evidence based options. They also had access to an agency operated 12 step group each week. They had group counseling with a focus on criminal thinking and another on addressing trauma.

I noticed they had a variety of other interesting topics covered in the program, including emotional intelligence, anti gun education and a culinary arts program. They also had field trips and family interaction sessions, both supervised and unsupervised.

Speciality Education at ARC in York
Another thing that caught my eye was their educational program. They understood that many of their students feel like failures in school and they focused on getting them re engaged in learning.

Education was provided onsite for six hours per day, and they took the youth to the YMCA for recreation. They focused on earning high school credits with an eye toward graduation or preparing for the GED exam, depending on their age and situation.

Students with their high school diploma or GED could take college level courses and the staff would also help seniors fill out the FAFSA forms to prepare for college attendance.