Hillcrest Youth Services

Hillcrest is a community-based residential facility for both male and female youth ages 10-21 years who become a ward of the court or are in need of services through the Department of Child Services. Hillcrest is staffed 24 hours a day and provides Residential Services to adolescents from any county in Indiana.

Each resident will work with staff to develop a multidisciplinary treatment plan upon admission. The resident's family as well as the placing agency is an integral part of developing the plan for treatment. Regularly scheduled reviews and progress reports are conducted to decide if the treatment plan is working to best fit the resident's needs.

Hillcrest makes every effort to provide a safe and nurturing environment for our residents. Living units are divided according to age and sex, and meals are served in a common dining room.

Each resident is assigned a Community Resource Specialist who meets with the child regularly to discuss and work through issues as they arise. The Community Resource Specialist also acts as an advocate and liaison for the resident by maintaining contact with the family, placing agent, and other community agencies as needed. A full time Residential Therapist is on campus to offer individual therapy, group therapy, and crisis intervention for all of our residents. Our residents participate in groups on and off campus throughout the week which focuses on an array of topics that will help assist and educate them in all aspects of their development. Residents are offered tutoring services by Indiana licensed teachers several days each week as well as a daily independent study program to assist residents working toward earning their TASC.

A level system is utilized to assist each child in measuring his or her progress and all expectations are clearly outlined upon admission. As the resident achieves higher levels, he or she is eligible for increased privileges. While privileges may be increased or decreased, basic needs are never withheld from our residents. The system is based on set guidelines and may be modified to meet a resident's needs and designed to give a new start with each new day.

An Independent Living Coordinator plays an important role in encouraging each resident to take an active role in school and community activities, sports, and cultural programs. Age appropriate activities are designed to address the physical, intellectual, emotional, spiritual, and cultural development of youth. The resident's ages 16 years and older are offered training and assistance gaining employment, if approved by their placing agent, as well as working on developing independent living skills.

Through a collaborated effort utilizing input from the resident, family, placing agent, and our multidisciplinary team, a plan is created and followed to ensure each resident have the utmost opportunity for a successful discharge from Hillcrest.