Youth Programs
Health, Education, Social Services
Caring for a troubled child or adolescent? You don’t have to do it alone. Our compassionate team is on standby ready to help you get the help you need. Our youth services include non-public school, a community mental health center, a therapeutic behavioral services program, a residential treatment center, and more.
Short-Term Residential Therapeutic Program
Browning House in Richmond Hills
La Cheim STRTP’s Browning House, located in the serene Richmond Hills, is a Short-Term Residential Therapeutic Program (STRTP) dedicated to providing exceptional care and support to adolescents. With a team of highly-skilled professionals, Browning House offers a nurturing environment where young individuals can thrive and overcome challenges. Our program is designed to address the unique needs of each resident, providing them with the tools and resources necessary for personal growth and success.
By providing a nurturing environment, personalized care, and evidence-based interventions, Browning House at La Cheim STRTP is dedicated to empowering male and male-identifying adolescents, promoting their well-being, and facilitating their successful reintegration into the community
Contact STRTP
Did you know there are more than 391,000 children and youth in foster care? Mental and behavioral health is the largest unmet health need for these children and teens.
Up to 80 percent of children in foster care have significant mental health issues, compared with approximately 18 to 22 percent of the general population. See more child welfare stats.
Contact STRTP
For more information, contact Lemuel Constantino, Acting Program Director, at (510) 836-9567 or strtp@lacheim.org.
La Cheim School
Quality Education in Contra Costa & Alameda Counties
La Cheim School is a nonsectarian, nonpublic school which first opened in West Contra Costa County in 1974. The founders of the organization created the school’s programs to help children and youth who were failing in traditional educational settings. The initial program was designed as a criminal Justice Diversion Alternative to Incarceration. La Cheim referrals at that time were young people on probation, who had been expelled from school, or who had not been regularly attending. In 1980 at the request of Contra Costa County Mental Health Department, La Cheim Schools increased its referral base and added the mental health program component. Thus, La Cheim became a community-based mental health provider for Contra Costa and Alameda Counties.
Today La Cheim School continues to provide a caring, compassionate, and successful educational experience for all students. Our small campus and small classroom sizes (with a maximum of 12 students), as well as our skilled teachers and education support staff, ensure each student receives the individualized special education services they need to successfully complete their required educational course work. Our team includes a Registered Nurse, Licensed and Licensed Eligible Clinicians, and a Psychiatrist to ensure the support of every aspect of our students’ mental health.
The School team is led by Program Director Britany Oliver, LCSW, who is devoted to the delivery of trauma-informed care and tailored education to youth with a holistic wrap-around approach. The School’s curriculum and educational programming is directed by Holly Byrnes, who is certified under the Education Specialist Instruction Teaching Credential. Holly is dedicated to helping each one of La Cheim’s students reach their fullest potential. Holly and our team embrace the philosophy of Bertrand Russel – “a good life is inspired by love and guided by knowledge.”
Jennifer Nunez
Administrative/Student Services Coordinator
We strive to prepare each student to be productive members of their community, to thrive in school, and to be active members of their families. Where appropriate, we teach students the skills required to return to their neighborhood public schools as quickly as possible. For some students, their families and school district might decide it would be in the student’s best educational interest to continue in La Cheim’s small, structured, individualized program. For those students who remain to continue their education, they can graduate from La Cheim with a High School Diploma, or a Certificate of Completion.
The school serves students in grades 6-12 with co-occurring intellectual delays and mental health challenges. Students have been identified as a part of their Individualized Education Plan as having social/emotional, behavioral, and learning needs that cannot be met in traditional school settings. Students are referred to La Cheim by our eight partner school districts and two charter schools throughout four Bay Area counties (San Francisco, Solano, Alameda, and Contra Costa).
Our deepest value is community. The longevity of our staff is evidence of our commitment. We become for each youth a community where they can get their needs met and their families can feel supported. We focus on the small routines that provide continuity and care as we transport students to and from school each day, and provide breakfast and lunch daily. We look for opportunities to celebrate by bringing our community together for holidays, acknowledging birthdays, and honoring our graduates. This sense of community extends to former students who call, at times because they need their transcript or to share about their lives, and often to say thank you.
With small class sizes, the program provides a project-based experiential learning program, with integrated services rendered by a multidisciplinary team including a nurse, psychiatrist, mental health therapist, and mental health resource specialist. Our dedicated and experienced professional staff work with each individual student and their families to help them develop their academic skills while strengthening social skills, problem-solving, and conflict resolution.
Therapists are available throughout the day to assist direct care staff in resolving peer conflict, help students remain engaged and focused on the classroom, and ensure they are benefiting from the program. Clinicians work closely with the team to ensure continuity of service and understanding of the best interventions to support each youth.
One of the graduates is now working at a women’s shelter; another is working in retail. Another graduate moved into transitional housing and has started taking classes at a community college.
In this period, 719.50 hours of job training were completed from July 1, 2022, to June 30, 2023. Forty-three of these hours were earned through once-a-week supervised work sessions at Waterside Bicycle Repair in Berkeley who partners with us to provide vocational training to our youth. Other students participated in the school-based Job Ready program on site which involves tasks on campus, researching employment opportunities, securing an ID card, and developing a resume to earn their job training hours.
Contact La Cheim School
For more information, contact Jennifer Nunez, (Administrative/Student Services Coordinator) Program Manager, at (510) 243-2360 or lacheimschool@lacheim.org.
Youth Empowerment and Wellness – Therapeutic Behavioral Services, and Community Based Program
Prevention & Healing for Children & Adolescents
Our specialists are Designated Mental Health Workers, having at least a Bachelor’s Degree; a Practicum Trainee enrolled in a MFT or MSW Graduate Program; a Mental Health Rehabilitation Specialist, having a Master’s Degree; or an Associate Marriage and Family Therapist collecting hours towards licensure. Our specialists utilize several modalities and evidence-based practices in working with children and caregivers in building new, socially appropriate skills. Evidence Based Practices and interventions include Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Social Learning Theory, Solution Focused Therapy practices, The Nurtured Heart Approach principles, Mindfulness practices, and Trauma Informed Care approaches.
The CMHC has also made in-person mental health services available to high school youth with Severe Emotional Disturbances (SED) matriculating at the Oakland Emiliano Zapata Street Academy. Services have included individual and group psychotherapy; case management and care coordination; and parent-educator education. La Cheim has provided mental health services to about a dozen youth annually on a pro bono basis.
ADHD, anxiety problems, behavior problems, and depression are the most commonly diagnosed mental disorders in children. See estimates for ever having a diagnosis among children aged 3 to 17 years, in 2016 to 19, from the CDC.
ADHD
Approximately 9.8% of children are diagnosed with ADHD.
Anxiety
Approximately 9.4% of children are diagnosed with anxiety.
Behavioral Problems
Approximately 8.9% of children are diagnosed with behavioral problems.
Depression
Approximately 4.4% of children are diagnosed with depression.
Contact YEW
For more information, contact Leslie Leiva, Director, at (510) 222-3946 or yew@lacheim.org.