Are you a licensed adolescent residential treatment facility?
How long is your adolescent residential treatment program?
Do you take boys and girls?
What are the ages of the kids that you take?
How many kids attend the residential treatment center for teens?
What is your staff-to-student ratio?
Where are you located?
What kind of therapy do you use?
What is your religious affiliation?
How often do Therapists see the kids?
Do you treat adolescent substance abuse/alcoholism?
What are the qualifications of the Staff at SunHawk?
What type of students do you take?
What about my child's medical needs?
Can the kids run away?
What kind of consequences do you use?
How do we communicate with our child while he/she is there?
Can anyone else communicate with our child?
How much are the parents involved?
What is your success rate?
Are there parents with youth in your programs that we could talk to?
What is the cost of your program?
Does insurance help with the cost?
Do you offer financing or scholarship?
When can our child begin?
Can I come and visit the residential treatment facilities before I enroll my child?
Can you recommend an escort service?
What clothes do we need to send?
Will my child get school credits?
How much time is enough to deal with issues & see a change in the kids?
What happens if my child comes home and falls back into the same old habits and patterns?
SunHawk Academy is licensed in Utah under the Department of Human Services as an Adolescent Residential Treatment Center. We are members of the National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs (NATSAP). We are also an accredited High School through the Northwest Association of Accredited Schools.
Our program for troubled teens is individualized, depending on the student's needs. A typical stay lasts between 5 and 9 months.
Yes. We admit boys and girls to our school for troubled teens.
We have a capacity of 74 students in our residential treatment program.
In the Academy we have a 1-to-4 staff-to-student ratio.
We are located in St. George, Utah. We are about 2 hours from Las Vegas, NV or about 4.5 hours from Salt Lake City, UT.
We implement a therapeutic and academic program, as well as personal and family development. We use a cognitive approach utilizing counseling, role modeling, and the environment. Kids progress through 5 levels and work on goals and life skills. We are growth based rather than a time based program.
The program mission is to improve and develop the mental, physical, and emotional well being of our students and their families. We want to empower our students with traditional values of honesty, respect, and accountability; in order to instill a positive, responsible attitude and prepare them to live successfully within their family and society. We don't push specific beliefs or religions, but try to implement a spiritual component in correlation with the 12 steps and emphasize behavior modification, emotional growth, and life skills to kids with all types of different religious backgrounds.
Therapists see students everyday. They have group with therapists every day and an individual session each week. We also have 1 family session per week. We have 12 to 15 group sessions per week. We use a team approach and a lot of case management in therapy.
Yes. In fact, each of our students have had some substance abuse history that helps us focus in on the needs of our students. We implement therapy for substance abuse including drug education, 12 step groups and attend on and off campus NA and AA groups.
We have a Psychiatrist, a Psychologist, 6 Master's level Therapists, 1 Clinical Assistant, a Registered Nurse, and 7 Certified Teachers along with non-professional staff who are screened and have a desire to work with adolescents.
We enroll teens who are struggling with substance abuse issues, defiance, running away, academic difficulties, low self-esteem, lack of motivation, anger management issues, and depression. We do not enroll kids with chronic violent behavior, diabetes, epilepsy, pregnancy, heavy gang activity, IQ below 80, and severe psychiatric disorders that would require acute care.
Each student that enrolled in SunHawk Academy will have a medical history and physical completed. We have a full-time Registered Nurse who attends to or coordinates with other medical personnel regarding medical, vision, orthodontic and dental needs. We also have a psychiatrist on staff in case your child is currently on medication.
Runaways are uncommon, but sometimes do happen. Because of our location and structure, runaways are very rare. Our facility is staffed 24 hours a day, however we are not a "lock down" facility.
Consequences might include a loss in privileges or being dropped back to a lower level in the program. We also utilize the Treatment Team to customize the consequences for some behaviors. Never physical consequences.
Parents can write or email letters to their student. Students can also write letters that are typically scanned and emailed to parents that day. By level 2 student gain the privilege of a weekly phone call to family. Parents will also have a weekly call with the assigned therapist and family therapy teleconferences will be arranged as appropriate. Parents are eligible to visit their student at each level and those visits should be setup with the primary therapist.
Families will discuss with the therapist those family members they feel are appropriate to have contact with their student. Families can email directly to our clinical assistant who can get the letter to the student usually on the same day. Any inappropriate mail or information will not be given to the kids.
We emphasize family values and relationships and believe that successful treatment requires parent and family participation. We utilize Parentcheckin.com as a way for parents to get updated information on the program and their student as well as pictures throughout their stay. We have powerful personal and family development workshops and include a year subscription to the web-based Family IQ to help parents prepare for the return of their students.
We measure success through changed behaviors and family involvement. Our studies have shown that family participation is one of the strongest keys to success. We have been applying our successful techniques for over 10 years. Read a study that was done and the effectiveness of what we do here.
Yes. We can provide names, phone numbers and e-mail addresses for parents to contact and ask questions about their experience with SunHawk.
The cost is shown on the admissions page. via the supplemental documents link.
Insurance coverage depends on your particular plan. We will bill your insurance company for reimbursement as long as you have benefits available. Upon admission or prior to, we will do a benefit check to help you understand your coverage. Should you choose to call your own insurance company, we can guide you through this as well. Please understand that although we will do billing for you, your insurance is your responsibility.
We work with companies that offer long-term low interest education loans, such as Sallie Mae and Key Bank - you will find the information on our Tuition and Financial Information page. You can also apply on-line at www.salliemae.com. Unfortunately, we do not have scholarships or financial aid available.
We have open enrollment. Admissions are flexible and can be any day of the week subject to a possible waiting list. We can suggest an escort company that will come to your home and pick up your child if necessary.
Tours are available. Give us a call to set one up and we will do all we can to accommodate your schedule. If you are able to attend between the hours of 8am and 5pm, Monday through Friday, we can typically arrange for you to meet with our leadership team, discuss our program, and tour the facility.
Please call us if you need information on escorts.
All clothing is provided. Students only need to bring shoes that they are appropriate for PE class and daily activities.
Sunhawk provides accredited academics through teacher led instruction. Our emphasis, of course, is the therapy and emotional growth. Once the kids are positive and responsible again, school and grades usually improve. They will receive credits similar to attending a public high school.
We try to get your kids positive enough to go back home and deal with school and negative peers. While they are here they will mature and become confident to manage their life and contribute to the family. Kids will perform to a script until a commitment is realized. Commitment causes change. Bonding to staff brings commitment. Staff has no hidden agendas and knows that lecturing doesn't work. They try to be a role model and develop a rapport with the kids, which generates respect and consequently the kids then change because they "want" to, not because they "have" to.
Using the skills at home that are learned here is up to the kids and parents. It isn't easy. Not all kids or parents are going to be "perfect" when they go home again. We will cover all of the anxieties and concerns about going home. If all else fails, your child can be re-enrolled for more treatment.
