Acceptance Criteria and Referral Guidelines

  • ALS accepts referrals on young adults between 16 to 20 years of age
  • Clients who are referred for placement may be adjudicated either delinquent or dependent
  • ALS will consider clients with a wide range of delinquent or dependent behaviors. Potential clients with a history of mental health or substance abuse treatment will be considered for placement. Likewise, potential clients who are prescribed psychotropic or other behavior management medications will also be considered for placement
  • Many of the clients who are referred for service to ALS are homeless by nature of their family circumstances (parental abandonment, incarceration of parent(s), or one or more parent(s)/guardians deceased)
  • Additionally ALS is ideal for adjudicated youth who are ready to “step down” from a RTF, group home or residential facility
  • Finally, ALS is appropriate for an older adolescent whose adoption has failed to materialize as planned and is now in need of transitional living facilities as well as clients who are covered by Act. 80 and 91 of 2012, commonly referred to dependent children who are “aging out of the system of care” or children who have requested permission from the Court to return to a system of care once being released

Clients who are not suitable for acceptance are those who have demonstrated aggressive behaviors in the recent past or who have been adjudicated delinquent of a felony offense involving acts of violence. Also, those individuals who require considerable levels of monitoring or who would otherwise be considered a security risk may also not be suitable for placement.

Referrals

Referrals to ALS should be made directly to the Admissions Department who may be reached at the following contact information. You may also complete an online Referral Form by clicking the below links.

Referrals
Telephone: (724) 433-7229 OR (724) 322-0063
Fax: (724) 836-2469
Email: [email protected]

Online Referral Form

ALS requests that, at a minimum, the referral information include the following documents:

  • Petition alleging dependency or delinquency and corresponding adjudication and dispositional order
  • Recent social summary that includes at a minimum the child’s demographic information (age, sex, race)
  • Comprehensive history of the child’s family and their involvement with the referring agency
  • Point of Contact for the County making the referral
  • Primary reason for the referral
  • Any information on referrals to other facilities where the child was rejected for placement and the reason for the rejection
  • Recent medical evaluations along with a copy of the client’s immunization record plus any psychological and/or psychiatric evaluations
  • Prior facility or institutional reports

ALS accepts clients on a normal and emergency basis depending on the need of the referring agency. It is anticipated that referrals made on an emergency basis will come with a limited amount of information with the full complement of information to follow on a very timely basis.

Discharge Information

Planned discharges from ALS will be recommended at such a time when the client has successfully reached the goals as outlined in their ISP. Discharges will be coordinated between the appropriate ALS staff (CEO, Director of Operations, Clinical Director) and the appropriate Agency staff.

Unplanned discharges from the program are avoided at all costs; however they do occur from time to time. During these occasions, ALS staff will work with the committing Court and Agency to transition the client from ALS to an alternate treatment facility with a limited amount of difficulty.

Services to the client are documented on a daily basis (Youth Development Summary) as well as through monthly and quarterly comprehensive report. All reports are available to the Court and placing Agency upon request and in sufficient time to be included in all dispositional review hearing reports scheduled before the Court.