Philosophy

 

ACCEPT, Inc.’s PHILOSOPHY:

 

Social Innovation from ExperienceSM.

Our EXPERIENCE HAS EVOLVED OUR APPROACH AND INFORMS OUR PROGRAM MODELS.

Our 22-year EXPERIENCE in juvenile corrections has demonstrated that youth entering ACCEPT, Inc.’s programs have shared the following features:
  • A feeling and belief that “no one cares”
  • Emotional “numbing” in order to escape the discomfort of their life experience and belief that they literally have no future, i.e., won’t survive into their twenties
  • Drug and alcohol abuse/addiction
  • A variety of learning styles not easily accommodated in most public classroom settings
  • Academic difficulties - educational gaps, disrupted academic progress, suspensions and expulsions
  • A sense that they have no competency
  • Developmental immaturity in the areas of patience, discipline, responsibility
  • Disruptions in family life: absent parent(s), loss of parent(s), family substance abuse/addiction, family preoccupations (illness, job loss, etc.) or hopelessness
  • Psychiatric diagnoses in the constellations of: conduct disorder, early personality disorder, substance abuse/addictions, attention deficit disorders with or without hyperactivity, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, major depressive disorder
  • (from the youth’s point of view) AN AWARENESS THAT EACH IS “A GOOD KID” WHO DID SOME “BAD THINGS”


All of ACCEPT, Inc.'s programs share an APPROACH derived from this experience:
  • A delinquent/at-risk youth is empowered to rejoin the community as a pro-social individual.
  • This empowerment is gained through an awakened self-awareness of the youth's personal strengths.
  • These strengths are recognized and nurtured
    • by the "do as I do" staff mentoring the youth
    • while providing a safe environment
    • in which the youth can discover and test these positive internal resources.

 


ACCEPT, Inc.’s PROGRAM MODELS integrate our philosophy with community and individual circumstances:

 

  • The SEA Project SM achieves these goals within a specialized classroom organized around Keys to FREEDOM © principles.
  • UPRITE SM (formerly known as Homeward Bound) achieves these goals through an intensive experiential education program which also implements Keys to FREEDOM © concepts.
  • ACCEPT, Inc. recognizes as with all of humanity, at-risk youth, families, schools and communities share common features while at the same time they are unique. There is no “silver bullet” to fix every situation nor “one size” that fits all. Our consultants draw on their combined 80 years of experience working with youth, schools, agencies and communities to assess needs and resources and work with clients to develop programming that best fits each unique situation.

 

 

ACCEPT, Inc. can provide program design, assistance in preparing grant applications, policy and procedure formats, staffing formats and job description formats, staff training and training materials, program implementation oversight and quality assurance oversight.

 

 

 Register here to receive further information on program details of The SEA Project SM, UPRITE SM, and Keys to FREEDOM ©.