For over 40 years, the United Methodist Youth Home (UMYH) has helped at-risk youth become productive and responsible members of the community. Our Residential Treatment Program is licensed for youth ages 13 to 18 (though we’re licensed to serve 10-21 year olds). We currently operate two licensed group homes with a total of 17 beds, 8 for males and 9 for females. Our Residential Program puts an emphasis on developing pro-social behaviors, emotion regulation, personal responsibility, educational achievement, interpersonal effectiveness, and independent living skills.

In September 2010, at the request of Juvenile Court Judge Brett Niemeier, we began our Day Treatment Program to assist youth in the community who have dropped out of school or who are struggling with school attendance or academic achievement. The ultimate goal of this program is for the youth to obtain their high school equivalency. We have partnered with Vincennes University, in which our youth are able to enroll in a number of their certificate programs, free of charge, allowing them to gain the experience necessary to obtain a life-long career path.

Due to the increasing number of youth in Vanderburgh and Warrick Counties who are experiencing truancy issues, we began our Truancy Intervention Program in March 2013. There are various reasons as to why youth are truant from school, including dysfunctional families, unstable housing, school anxiety, and bullying. Our staff work with the youth and their family to identify the specific reasons for the youth’s truancy, identify the barriers to achieving regular school attendance, and put interventions in place so that the youth can be successful in school and in the community.

Service Demographics/Population Served

The youth in our all of our programs typically are placed through the Department of Child Services or through a juvenile probation department. They frequently have histories of physical, sexual, or emotional abuse, neglect, family stress or dysfunction, behavior problems, and/or substance abuse. The youth typically have a psychiatric diagnosis such as Conduct Disorder, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, ADHD, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Depression, Anxiety, Substance Abuse, and/or Personality Disorder. Status offenders with histories of truancy or running away are also accepted.

In 2019, we served 59 youth in our Residential Program (28 females and 31 males) with an average placement time of 107 days. In our Day Treatment Program, we served 49 youth (18 females and 31 males). 17 of those youth received their TASC. The Truancy Intervention Program served 95 youth (37 females and 58 males).

Program Model

UMYH touches the lives of every youth that walks through our doors. Our goal is to prepare each youth for an effective, productive, and successful life in the community. UMYH not only strives to meet the physical, mental, and social needs of the youth that we work with, but we are also seeking to continue our services with the youth even after they have left our programs. We have found that often when youth leave our programs and return back to the community, they are desperately in need of continued support, so they can experience long-term success.