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Elks Aidmore is located in Conyers, GA., about 30 miles east of
Atlanta.
Residents at Elks Aidmore will live in one of four cottages located
on the campus. You will be sharing a room with 1-2 other girls.
Each cottage can house up to 16 youth. For each group of 8 youth,
there is a Direct Care Specialist who supervises that particular
group.
Lots!! We have a full gym in which to play basketball and volleyball,
a softball field, tennis courts, a fishing lake complete with
canoes, camping facilities, a swimming pool, a gazebo for cookouts,
playground equipment, a game room and a ropes course.
Elks Aidmore serves youth ages 12 - 21. Many of the residents
will be in the custody of the Department of Family and Children
Services and cannot return home because of some kind of abuse,
neglect, or family problems such as parental alcoholism or drug
abuse. Others may be in the custody of the Department of juvenile
Justice, because they have been charged with a status offense
(i.e.: truancy, running away, unruliness) or a non-violent delinquent
offense (i.e.: shoplifting, trespassing). Still others will be
placed by their parents, because the families feel they need someone
from the outside to help them workout some family difficulties.
Our residents attend public school, alternate school, GED school,
vocational school, or community college. Grades 9-12 generally
attend Heritage High School, Grades 6-8 attend Edwards Middle
School, and Grades 1-5 attend Sims Elementary. Rockdale County
is known for its excellent school system.
You can work at age 15 with a work permit as long as you are showing
progress in your Care Plan.
Good question! The Individualized Care Plan (ICP) defines goals
and objectives that the staff will help you achieve during your
stay with us. You have input into what goes into your care plan.
We will review it monthly with a formal review every three months.
These goals and objectives may change during your stay as you
make changes within your life. Examples of some goals include
"To concentrate on your school work", "To work expressing your
anger appropriately", or "To learn self-sufficiency skills" to
prepare you for living on your own.
Yes. Each cottage will have a Clinical Coordinator who provides
individual, group and family therapy for all residents in the
cottage. In / Cottage, the Preparation for Independent Living
Program, the residents attend therapy with a counselor in the
community and attend Life Skills Groups weekly. In addition, our
live-in staff, the Direct Care Specialist, will run educational
groups and house meetings so everyone can give' receive feedback
on life in the cottages.
No. The use of tobacco, alcohol or drugs by our residents is prohibited.
As with most group homes, dating is fairly limited. You must be
at least 16 years old and must be progressing toward your goals.
We will have a level system which will help us to determine if
you have acted responsibility in the past. If you are under 16
and wish to attend a school sponsored function such as a school
dance, staff will also check your level before granting permission
for you to attend.
Residents in the Preparation for Independent Living Program can
drive if they have a car, are over 18 years of age, and have proof
of insurance.
Elks Aidmore is not affiliated with any church. Non-denominational
services will be offered; these are strictly optional. Efforts
will be made to help a young person who is active within her church
to continue attending pending arrangement of transportation.
We understand that every child's needs are different. The length
of stay depends completely on your own individual situation. On
average, youth will stay from 6-12 months; some may need to stay
longer, some shorter. As soon as you enter our program, we will
start talking about your long range goals. This might include
placement with your parents, a relative, in some situations it
could be a friend's family, or a long term foster family. For
those of you who are older and have no placement resources, Elks
Aidmore staff will help teach you those basic skills necessary
for making it in the community.
We have structured a program which encourages residents to make
suggestions for improving the program. Serious suggestions will
be evaluated seriously. Some rules cannot be changed because of
guidelines established by the state, but we hope that you will
feel that this is YOUR home and YOUR program.
In additional to allowance that your guardian might provide, you
will earn a weekly allowance. The amount is based on your level
of cooperation within the cottage and your satisfactory completion
of your chores.
Chores will be assigned on a rotating basis. One night, you might
be asked to help prepare dinner, then the next night, it might
be your turn to vacuum or mop the dining room floor. All residents
in the cottage will be asked to pitch in to keep the general living
areas cleaned. Every morning, you are responsible for making sure
that your bedroom and bathroom are cleaned. You are responsible
for washing your own laundry. If you are unsure how to complete
a chore, ask the staff to teach you this new skill.
More excellent questions - you're getting good at this! Visitations
will be determined by your treatment plan. We want all resident
to have some outside "home" that they can visit on weekends or
holidays. If you are in the custody of the state, often times,
there are restrictions on visiting families who have not gone
through a home evaluation. We are unable to allow friends from
school to visit campus, in order to protect privacy and confidentially.
You may call anyone your guardian puts down on your phone list.
As long as our staff gets permission from your guardian, it's
fine to add people to your phone list. Since so many people will
be living in the same home, you will need to follow certain phone
rules to enable everyone to get their fair time on the telephone.
Phone calls may be monitored at a staff persons discretion if
she has reason to believe that the call could be upsetting to
you or that something negative might occur as a result of the
call. You may write to or receive mail freely without the fear
of staff reading your mall. The only exceptions to this would
be if a court order restricts contact between you and someone
else, or if exchanging mall with someone is contra-indicated on
the Care Plan.
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