OUR HISTORY

La Cheim means " to life! " The schools' mission and purpose are reflected their name. The founders of the organization started the school programs to help at-risk children and youth, who often had given up on themselves and their future.

The first La Cheim School was opened in west Contra Costa County in 1974 by Victor G. Prada and Sister Claudine Hammer. Operations began in October, and by the following June fifty Wards of the Court were being served. The initial program was designed as a Criminal Justice Diversion Alternative to Incarceration. The Juvenile Referee and the Probation Officer determined the admission criteria. La Cheim referrals were young people on probation, who had been expelled or who had not been regularly attending their local school. Enrollment in La Cheim was court ordered.

From the start, the La Cheim schools focused on engaging the child in an academic program, establishing and nurturing family alliances to support the student's growth and future needs, and reducing or eliminating criminal activity and recidivism. While serving wards of the court, La Cheim worked closely with each student's Probation Officer.

In 1980, at the request of the Contra Costa County Mental Health Division, La Cheim Schools widened its referral base and added mental health services. The new influx of referred youth came primarily from West Contra Costa County, and La Cheim School's services were funded by a Health Services Department contract.  Thus, La Cheim became a community-based mental health provider.

In 1988 La Cheim was certified as a Short-Doyle Medi-Cal provider for Contra Costa County Mental Health Division. Since that time, treatment services have been funded by a contract between La Cheim and Contra Costa County Mental Health. Alameda County has also contracted with La Cheim to provide mental health services to troubled youth within its jurisdiction.  Local school districts refer the majority of our students today.

Notable constants have marked the growth and change in the organization's scope and services in the years since 1974. La Cheim has always operated programs for children and youth within a school setting. La Cheim has also been consistently willing to serve children and youth whose histories are filled with placement failures, school failures, violence, abuse, substance use issues, learning disabilities and more.  Today, while no longer specifically a probation diversion program, La Cheim continues that same commitment to serve at-risk children, particularly those with emotional and behavioral difficulties. La Cheim now operates two schools -located in Richmond and Antioch- and, in a separate but closely linked corporation, two group homes for children and adolescents unable to function in their normal home environment. 

Each June since 1975, La Cheim has awarded high school diplomas to graduating seniors, many of whom never thought they would, or could, attain that distinction. Often, the La Cheim graduate is the first in their family to earn a high school diploma. These Graduation ceremonies provide a powerful emotional boost that sustains the program and its staff throughout the year.