Venture Academy is a unique residential program that also works with troubled teens. As the agency director explains, the youth are placed in parent/counsellor home while they learn to participate in community and academic activities. Each student has a support network of five to six professionals including physicians, psychologists, behavioral health specialists and drug counsellors.
“Parents come to us beacuase the couldn’t get access to government programs; their kids have been expelled from schools; and boarding schools simply won’t take them,” he says.
Of course, for this level of intervention and support, services do not come cheap, although some subsidized programs are more affordable than others. Costs range from a $12,000 annual fee for day programs for learning disabled children, to as high as $6,000 a month for boarding-school programs for children requiring extremely intesive therapeutic support.
In addition, given the intensity of the support required, space is limited. Registration for some programs is capped at a mere dozen, while others may have the resources to handle 100 at best – although most directors say they wish that wasn’t the case, “It’s too bad we can’t take on more,” he says.
For those committed to this educational area, specialized programs can be the key to unlocking a wealth of potential that would otherwise go to waste.
Cited Post: Globe and Mail
