| Valley Teen Ranch, Inc., opened our first Residential Group Home for 10 boys ages 14-17 in May 1987. Valley Teen Ranch is licensed by the State of California Department of Social Services, Community Care Licensing Division. Located in rural Madera County on an 80 acre ranch, the boys are able to participate in recreational, vocational and educational activities. Over the years, two more homes were built to provide for 32 boys. Valley Teen Ranch (VTR) employs caring young men and women to help these young boys become men. There is structure, stability, supervision, therapy, school and fun at VTR. The key to our success is the relationships our staff develop with the boys.
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We are working to provide the opportunity for these boys to deal
with their emotional, social, mental and spiritual challenges in a
safe and healthy environment. The boys are placed with us from
County Probation Departments throughout the State, via a court order
by the Juvenile Judge. They have committed offenses such as Assault
and Battery, Grand Theft Auto, Breaking and Entering, Truancy from
School, and Drug and Alcohol abuse, to name a few. They typically
stay with us for 12-15 months. During that time they attend an
on-site Community Day School operated in partnership with Golden
Valley Unified School District. They participate in daily chores,
individual and group counseling, and receive two weekly substance
abuse treatment groups. They are taught by example to be respectful,
polite, responsible, reliable and to tell the truth. They also
assist with outdoor chores such as feeding the animals, irrigating
th pastures, cleaning the swimming pool and grounds maintenance.
We also work with their families when that is appropriate and they
are available. Given our support, we are hopeful that the boys will
ultimately return to their homes or to a foster home as an asset
rather than a liability.
The recreational opportunities they have include swimming, ropes
course, horse back riding, basketball, football, soccer, volleyball,
baseball, weight lifting, billiards, ping-pong, camping, fishing,
canoeing, running and playing all kinds of board games as well as
video games. They also go on many outings including to the Ocean,
the Mountains, Theme parks, Summer Camp and National Parks.
The vocational opportunities include swimming pool maintenance,
ground and building maintenance, food preparation, animal husbandry
and 4-H. We are in the process of developing a wood working,
automotive and welding shop.
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