Ascent 121 Residential Services
Ascent 121 joined forces with Lutheran Child & Family Services (LCFS) in 2014 to launch the IMPACT Program. We provide comprehensive residential services for teen girls with a history of commercial sexual exploitation and/or human trafficking. Clinical services are trauma-informed and strengths-based, using best practice service standards. IMPACT is available to girls between the ages of 12 and 18 years old. Options are available for gender-diverse youth.
Youth who have been sexually exploited often present with unique vulnerabilities and distorted perceptions of relationships that require a highly specialized level of care. Successful intervention with these youth requires both rapid and long-term interventions to help the youth resist eloping or returning to their previous behavior. Safety is paramount and, because youth in care present with their own unique needs and vulnerabilities, the IMPACT Program is comprised of four separate living centers and youth are assigned accordingly: high needs, moderate needs, low need, and youth who are “at-risk”. Youth are “at risk” often have a history of multiple elopements and other indicators of exploitation but have not disclosed and adjudication/substantiation is not required. Supportive services for areas of common co-occurrence, such substance abuse and externalizing behavior, are also provided.
Education, vocation, recreation and life-skills development are all offered on campus. Additionally, discipleship and off-site ancillary services such as job coaching, financial literacy and equine therapy are provided for youth as appropriate. Evidence-based practices utilized include: Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Ecological Based Family Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, and Eye-Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing.
Continuity is vital and the residential component of programming is part of a larger continuum of care, which also includes community-based care, emergency shelter care and group home support. All services are strengths-based and intrinsically motivated.
Both Ascent 121 and LCFS are faith-based agencies committed to providing quality care with adherence to the core practice values and principles outlined by the Department of Child Services, including family centered, culturally competent service. The collaborative partnership between LCFS and Ascent 121 allows for the integration of specialized services and provides greater flexibility in meeting the needs of families and children.
Contact info@ascent121.org for more information about the Impact Program.
