Our programming focuses on the 4 aspects of a balanced life:
- Physical
- Mental
- Emotional
- Spiritual needs
Physically, Elk Island Child and Youth Ranch employs various activities to meet the needs of clients. These activities include football, soccer, a hockey rink and basketball on Ranch property, also various outings that incorporate facilities such as swimming, skate park, West Edmonton Mall Water Park, Amusement Parks, and workout facilities.
The mental aspects are met with structure and supported educational programs. Elk Island Child and Youth Ranch works closely with Elk Island Public Schools to supply individualized programming to meet the needs of clients. This special needs program has resulted in numerous students succeeding educationally, and graduating from High School. The accomplishment of graduating cannot be understated, as it results in confidence for the client, increased job opportunities, and a bond with staff, family, and community that cannot be measured.
The emotional aspect of our clients is met through structure and treatment. Elk Island Child and Youth Ranch is an Intensive Treatment Facility that aims to meet the needs and challengers presented to clients with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), Bipolar Disorder, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, Conduct Disorders, and Learning Disorders. To meet these challenges, Elk Island Child and Youth Ranch provides a safe environment that implements structure while having regular meetings vvith on sight Psychologist and off sight Psychiatrists.
Elk Island Child and Youth Ranch meets the spiritual aspects of clients by keeping and encouraging strong ties to Native Culture. Our Elder has weekly meetings with all clients, telling native stories, participating in smudges, doing bead work, arts and crafts as well as arranging sweats and other cultural events. Our Balance Wheel Program is based on the Native Medicine Wheel, and its benefits are seen not only with the Native clients, but all nationalities. The Balance Wheel is a visual display that allows staff, including our psychologist, to see where a clients struggles are.
Elk Island Child and Youth Ranch is one of the few facilities that are able to offer treatment to the clients in a rural setting, thus, limiting AWOL’s and serious incidents, and allows the facility to utilize the setting to build programs that use animals therapy, farm programs, and/or job training, that may not be otherwise available in a urban area.
In addition. Elk Island Child and Youth Ranch offers from 4:1 and as low as 2:1 Client/Staff Peak Ratio, as well as individualized programming to meet the needs of clients.
Our individualized programming clients can expect constant supervision and personalized attention. Constant supervision means either directly supervising the client or knowing with certainty where they are and what they are doing. All other duties take second place to the monitoring of an individualized programming client to ensure the safety, and well being of the client. In addition to this, programming can be tailored to an individualized programming client to meet their needs or disabilities. Individualized programming clients can also expect to have programs developed by a behavioural specialist, in order to improve their chances of success at Elk Island Child and Youth Ranch. An individualized programming client can expect to participate in group activities, however if it is felt that the success of that individual would occur in a individualized setting, at that time, programming would occur on an individualized basis.