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.

young kids talking to a teacher

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) that is CARF Accredited, 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.

Who We Are

Browning House is part of La Cheim STRTP, a CARF Accredited organization committed to empowering adolescents and promoting their well-being. With years of experience in the field, our dedicated staff understands the importance of providing a safe and supportive environment where adolescents can heal, learn, and thrive.

Our program recognizes the critical need for comprehensive support and treatment for adolescents facing emotional, behavioral, and mental health challenges. The purpose of Browning House is to provide a structured and therapeutic environment that fosters growth, resilience, and positive change. Our program goals include promoting emotional well-being, developing essential life skills, facilitating healthy relationships, and preparing adolescents for successful transitions into their communities.

Browning House serves male and male-identifying adolescents between the ages of 12 and 18 who require a structured residential setting to address their mental health and behavioral needs. We understand that each resident is unique, and we strive to create an inclusive environment that respects and honors their individuality.

Clients at Browning House may present a range of challenges, including trauma, emotional dysregulation, self-harm, substance abuse, and mental health disorders. Our program is designed to meet their unique needs by offering individualized treatment plans, evidence-based therapies, and a supportive community. Our team utilizes trauma-informed care, cognitive-behavioral interventions, and therapeutic modalities to address the specific issues faced by our residents.

Browning House offers a comprehensive range of services delivered by a highly qualified and compassionate team. Our residents receive individual and group therapy sessions, psychiatric evaluations, academic support, life skills training, and recreational activities. Services are provided in a structured residential setting where residents benefit from a therapeutic milieu, specialized programming, and around-the-clock support from our dedicated staff.

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

0K+

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.

0%

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.

young adults laughing together at school

La Cheim School

Quality Education in Contra Costa & Alameda Counties

Who We Are

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.

Jennifer Nunez

Associate Director of Educational Program
Jennifer has been a dedicated member of the La Cheim community since December 2014. She began her career as a Teacher’s Assistant and has steadily grown within the organization, serving as a Student Services Coordinator, Educational Program Manager, and now Associate Director of the Educational Program.
Jennifer is deeply committed to supporting youth who face complex mental health and educational challenges. Her passion for this work is rooted in a genuine desire to ensure that every student feels seen, heard, and supported. Throughout her time at La Cheim, she has built meaningful, lasting relationships with students, students’ families, and colleagues, contributing to the organization’s strong, family-centered culture.
Jennifer believes in the power of connection and advocacy. She strives to be a consistent source of encouragement for students who may not have had that support in their lives, helping them recognize their strengths, build confidence, and envision a future beyond the challenges they face. Her goal is to inspire students to break cycles, achieve personal success, and realize their full potential.

Sarah Marie Broward

Behavioral and Educational Program Coordinator
Sarah brings over a decade of teaching experience and a strong background in educational and behavioral program support. She has worked with students across diverse settings, including international classrooms (in South Korea) and U.S. public schools, teaching both English and multi-subject education while developing inclusive, engaging learning environments that support a wide range of student needs.
Sarah specializes in classroom management, curriculum support, workflow development, and team collaboration. She is passionate about empowering both students and staff, fostering positive learning environments, and aligning organizational systems to better serve educational and behavioral outcomes. Sarah is currently enrolled in a teacher credentialing program through the San Diego County Office of Education, further strengthening her foundation in instructional practice, classroom management, and student-centered learning.

La Cheim believes that through warmth, empathy, and guidance combined with structure and limits, youth can heal, learn, and change. The school utilizes a creative, positive, youth-centered, academic model with the intent of improving self-esteem, mental health, and the academic performance of our youth.

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.

La Cheim has consistently been committed to serving youth whose life experiences have created challenges that have impacted them academically and emotionally. They are youth who have experienced loss, disruption, uncertainty, and the impact of systemic racism. Research has found that one in four children has been impacted by adverse childhood experiences; these experiences increase a child’s risk of health, emotional, and social issues. La Cheim focuses on drawing on our students’ resilience to build on their strengths. Research supports the crucial role educators and other caregivers have in nurturing resilience. The school’s consistent positive behavior intervention program is designed to provide youth with basic skills and competencies to become thriving adults, tapping into the resilience they have to overcome adverse experiences during this critical developmental period.

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).

To meet the unique needs of our youth, there is a maximum of 12 students per classroom, where our direct care staff implement evidence-based best practices for behavioral interventions designed to keep students engaged and on-task. This ensures that students receive the special educational services they need to successfully complete their coursework while also managing their socio-emotional, behavioral, and mental health needs.

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.

Each La Cheim student has an individual Educational Program (IEP) that assesses present performance and proposes goals and objectives for the student to meet within a year. The teacher develops the student’s IEP goals using data gathered from testing and classroom observation, coordinated with input from the student’s IEP team including the student, parent, therapist, and school district personnel. The IEP teams may also include social workers, outside therapists, group home staff, and advocates.

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.

Click here to view our 2025-2026 calendar: https://www.lacheim.org/calendar-2025-2026

Click here to view our Student Schedule: https://www.lacheim.org/Student-Hourly-Schedule

Click here to view our School Brochure: https://www.lacheim.org/La-Cheim-School-Brochure

Click here to view our School Therapy Info: https://www.lacheim.org/La-Cheim-School-Therapy-Info

In the period between July 1, 2022, and June 30, 2023, 16 students attended La Cheim School in El Sobrante for all or part of the year. Three of those students earned their high school diploma in August 2022; one student earned a high school diploma in February of 2023. Two students transitioned back to public school, successfully completing their program at La Cheim. In total, the students completed 414.50 academic credits during this time.

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, Educational Program Manager, at (510) 243-2360 or lacheimschool@lacheim.org.

a young man talking to a counselor

Youth Empowerment and Wellness – Therapeutic Behavioral Services, Community Based Program and Wraparound

Prevention & Healing for Children & Adolescents

Who We Are

Youth engaged in the Youth Empowerment and Wellness Department (YEW) receive care in a supportive environment to end cycles of trauma and encourage renewed hope through Therapeutic Behavioral Services (TBS; ages 2-21), the Community-Based Program (CBP; School-aged children) and/or Early Intervention Wraparound (ages 0-5). These programs are designed to increase youth access to mental healthcare; La Cheim’s programming becomes a safety net to accessing mental healthcare for the uninsured.

The primary objective of each TBS Specialist and CBP Provider is to collaborate with clients, students, and their caregivers to identify patterns of maladaptive behavior and develop functionally equivalent replacement behaviors that fulfill the same emotional needs. Through this process, maladaptive behaviors are reduced, and adaptive, healthy behaviors are reinforced. Our approach supports children in expressing their emotions in constructive, developmentally appropriate ways, while also equipping parents with effective strategies to manage challenging behaviors. We strive to make this process engaging and meaningful for each child, promoting lasting behavioral change in a supportive and enjoyable environment.

As an early intervention Wraparound service provider, we support young children aged 0-5 and their families by delivering comprehensive, family-centered services tailored to their unique needs. We work collaboratively with families, caregivers, and community partners to promote healthy development, address developmental delays or disabilities, and enhance overall family well-being. Our goal is to empower families with the resources, skills, and support necessary to help their children thrive during these critical early years.

YEW services offer trauma-informed mental health care to minors ages 2-21 through Therapeutic Behavioral Services (TBS), the Community-Based Program (CBP) and the Wraparound Program. TBS serves youth with mental health diagnoses, often co-occurring with intellectual delays, in their homes and schools in Contra Costa and Alameda County. CBP provides mental health care to students in Contra Costa, Alameda, and San Francisco County: Pinole Valley Middle School, Bret Harte Middle School, Frick United Academy of Language, Encompass Academy Elementary School, and Commodore Sloat Elementary School to name a few. Wraparound Services are available to children ages 0-5 years of age and their parents, caregivers, or legal guardians, regardless of insurance living in Contra Costa, Alameda, and San Francisco Counties.

Through YEW, students receive care in a supportive environment to end cycles of trauma and encourage renewed hope. A team of clinical and nonclinical professionals offer outpatient individual, group, and family psychotherapy, and case management in the space most accessible to them vis-a-vis a menu of culturally-responsive, developmentally-appropriate services that meet each individual’s unique needs. Therapists educate teachers and caregivers to identify mental health concerns to ensure early interventions that reduce risks, improve social connectedness, and enhance academic engagement and performance.

Therapeutic Behavioral Services (TBS) is a home-based service that provides intensive, short-term support to youth experiencing severe emotional or behavioral challenges. Services are held in the youth’s natural environment, such as home, school, and/or community. TBS is tailored to the specific needs of each child or youth, often delivered one-to-one. Services help reduce severe behavior problems that could lead to hospitalization or placement in a higher level of care. A TBS Specialist works closely with the youth, their family, and their mental health clinician to create and implement a behavior support plan. Through coaching, support, and skill-building, TBS helps youth develop coping strategies, manage stress, and improve relationships with caregivers and peers.

CBP provides metal health services to school-aged students who need extra support through Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for Trauma in Schools (CBITS) and/or Bounce Back. CBITS/Bounce Back is a school-based mental health program designed to help students who have experienced traumatic events. The program aims to reduce symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and anxiety, and improve overall functioning and well-being. CBITS/Bounce Back typically involves group sessions, individual support, and parent and teacher components to promote healing and resilience.

Early-Intervention Wraparound services provide comprehensive, individual support by connecting individuals or families with various resources, services, and interventions tailored to their specific needs. This approach aims to promote stability, well-being, and self-sufficiency. Wraparound Tailors services to meet the unique needs of each child and family. It brings together various providers and supports to ensure a cohesive approach, and it empowers families to take an active role in decision-making and service planning.

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.

0M

ADHD

Approximately 9.8% of children are diagnosed with ADHD.

0M

Anxiety

Approximately 9.4% of children are diagnosed with anxiety.

0M

Behavioral Problems

Approximately 8.9% of children are diagnosed with behavioral problems.

0M

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.