Program Overview

Salem4youth is a 100+ acre working ranch for ‘prodigal’ boys. Located in the heartland of Central Illinois, Salem is just 1 1/2 hours south of Chicago in Flanagan, IL. For 115 years, Salem has had a tradition of service to children. Today, Salem ministers to boys, ages 12-18, whose current life path may be destructive or detrimental to their overall maturity and growth. (Our current capacity is 26.)

Is your teenage boy:

• Defiant or exhibiting rebellious behavior?

• Skipping school or doing poorly?

• Experimenting with drugs and/or alcohol?

• Hyperactive, depressed, compulsive or unmotivated?

• In troubel with the law?

• Making poor choices?

• Threatening or attempting to hurt him-self or others?

The mission of Salem4youth is to be a ‘premier, Biblically based organization that excels at mentoring and supporting youth and families in crisis.’ We believe that it is not just about changing their mind, but it is all about a change in their heart.

Much like the story of the prodigal son in Luke 15:11-32, the boys who come to Salem require alternative methods of training and a structure that can help them realize the success of a better way. As Hebrews 3:10 says, ‘their hearts have gone astray and they do not know my way…’ Our purpose is to come alongside the family, by providing their son with an environment that helps ‘…bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord’. (Ephesians 6:4)

Zac was one of those boys.

'Salem is a terrible place and it can never help me.'

These were my first thoughts when I arrived at Salem. I am very glad to say that I like the place now. The staff, the horses, the other guys, even the buildings just grow on you.

Salem has helped me in so many ways, but one (thing that) I am very grateful for is my relationship with my family; especially my mom and my little brother. Before I arrived here, I was very defiant and wouldn’t listen to anyone…I thought I was invincible and all of my elders were wrong and did not know anything. Salem has changed my whole outlook on life. It has taught me not only to show respect for others, but to show respect for myself.

Now my mom, my brother, and I all have a happy relationship, and I would not change it for the world. I thank everyone at Salem for helping me and not giving up on me. The memories and things I have learned will never be lost or forgotten.

(If you would like to read more testimonials from past/current residents or from their families, click here: Testimonials).

Perhaps nothing can compare...

Perhaps nothing can compare to the hurt and pain you are experiencing as you watch your son slipping further away from all you had hoped for him. Panic, despair, hopelessness, fear and anger are all emotions you may have felt over the course of weeks, months or years as you have tried your best to parent your son.

Our desire is to minister to your son in such a way that he understands that hope and healing is found in a saving relationship with Jesus Christ, and that he can use this truth as a springboard to change the course of his life from one of destruction to one of restoration.

What is Salem4youth?...We are a Christian Therapeutic Boarding School

A Therapeutic Boarding School is a School that offers an educational program that is specifically structured to support the supervision and training of students that have special challenges. These challenges can include emotional and behavioral problems, learning difficulties, lack of motivation and other deficits that are the result of self harming behaviors like drug and alcohol experimentation/addiction and other mental health problems. The fact that we are a Christian Boarding School means that our therapy is Biblically based.

Salem4youth’s on-campus school uses a Home Schooling format. Because many of our students come to our program significantly behind in school or in different places academically, our school is designed to challenge each student to work at their own pace at the appropriate grade level.

Our qualified and experienced teachers work with each student at a computer work station, using a Christian Home School based curriculum called Switched on Schoolhouse, an Alpha Omega Publishing curriculum. Because of this individualized program and because our students go to school year-round, many of the students who have successfully completed the Salem4youth program, leave Salem ahead in their studies. For more information on our school, click here: Educational Program.

For more information on the educational ramifications, go the Salem4youth School link.

For more information on the financial possibilities,click here:Tuition and Fees

We are a Christian Residential Program!

The campus of Salem4youth is free from many of the distractions of our daily culture, giving us an opportunity to get their attention from the first day they arrive. We are in the middle of nowhere, between the corn and the bean fields of Central Illinois. Though we have the internet and TV, it is tightly monitored and controlled. Our program is all about developing healthy relationships. Whether it is with the animals (horses, cattle, dogs, chickens (future)) that they care for, their peers, the staff that assist them, or their family, our goal is to help them build positive relationships with the environment that is around them.

Our program is based on what we call the R.I.S.E. principle. We want them to R.I.S.E. above their current problems and find a different way:

• Relational: Growing in Respect and Dignity

• Instructional: Learning through Work and Play

• Spiritual: Accepting Restoration and Reconciliation

• Educational: Willingness to Expand and Improve

The Main Purpose...

The main purpose of the residential program is to teach students that God has a plan for their life and that we are all held responsible for our actions. Through a program of accountability, hard work, academics, athletics and counseling, each young man is shown that there is a better way than the path they are currently walking. This is accomplished through what we call a Restorative Phase Process. For more information regarding our Restorative Phase Process, read below.

If you are interested in Salem and its options for your son, your first contact will be with our Intake and HR Director, Linda Lindley. She will help you walk through the process of determining whether your son is,

1. A possible fit for the Salem4youth Program, and;

2. What the next steps need to be for your son to come to Salem.

You may also want to go to our Frequently Asked Questions Section.

If your son is accepted into the Salem4youth Program, he will be constantly evaluated by our Treatment Team and given appropriate goals each week, to help set the foundation for change. (Our Treatment Team is composed of the V.P. of Program Development, Director of Residential Life, Biblical Counselors, Cottage Supervisor, and Case Worker. The Treatment Team discusses the progress (or lack thereof) of your son every on a weekly basis.

Within the first 8 weeks of his stay at Salem, the Treatment Team will make a recommendation regarding whether your son should be in the Short Term Program or Long Term Program. Some details regarding each of these programs are as follows:

Short Term Program

The Short Term Program is, on average, a six to ten month program, for young men who are considered to be on the brink of potentially life-altering negative behavior(s). The goal is to reach these young men before their behaviors become critical. Some of these behaviors may include:

• Legal involvement to the level of status offences or misdemeanors

• Minor drug use/abuse

• Less than one year behind in school

• No more than one school suspension

• No more than one Axis I diagnosis according to DSM-IV

• Minor to moderate defiant behavior in the home/school/community

• Expresses desire to be a part or reunite with the family

• Negative behaviors are of a more recent nature (< one year)

• No evidence of self-harming behaviors

The length of the program for each boy is contingent on how he responds to the requirements of the program. For more information on the Short Term Program, click here: Short Term Program.

Long Term Program

The Long Term Program is, on average, a twelve to eighteen month program for young men who are considered the most at-risk and whose behaviors have escalated to the point that they should no longer remain in their homes due to the risk that they may pose to themselves and to others. Some of these behaviors may include

• Legal involvement above the level of misdemeanors

• Moderate to acute drug use/abuse

• More than one year behind in school

• More than two school suspensions of three days or more

• More than one Axis I diagnosis according to DSM-IV

• More extreme defiant behavior as characterized by a general refusal to cooperate with basic requirements of home/school/community

• Does not expresses desire to be a part or reunite with the family

• Long-term (> one year) pattern of negative behaviors

• Has demonstrated evidence of self-harming behaviors

The length of time that each boy stays at Salem is contingent on how he responds to the requirements of the program. For more information on the Long Term Program, click here: Long Term Program.

We follow a Restorative Phase Process!

The goal of the Salem4youth Program is to challenge the improvement of behavior for each resident and assist in the restoration of relationships with their family. We expect respect and we expect results.

The Salem4youth program is built on a two-tier system of rewards and consequences. The First Tier is our Phase System, which allows students to gradually improve their position over time, as their behavior improves. There are four phases that each student goes through in order to complete the Salem4youth program. These phases are called Learner, Achiever, Leader and Innovator. (The Short Term Program has only three phases and the resident moves from Learner to Leader.)

The Second Tier of the program results in more immediate recognition of behavior and attitude. Each day, every student is graded on attitude, participation, and the completion of treatment goals. The higher the score for the day, the more privileges the student receives the next day. Attitude and participation are graded on an hourly basis, and treatment goals (assigned by Treatment Team) are graded throughout the day. These grades are Gold (Above and Beyond), Silver (At Expectation), Bronze (Below Expectation) and Packet (Unacceptable).

Biblical Counselors

We counsel from wisdom and experience. It is our belief that the only way to change outward behavior is through what we call a ‘heart change’. We can change their mind, but only God can change their heart. Because of this, all of our counseling is based on scripture. If you would like to know more about how we counsel our students and the qualifications of our two counselors, click here: Biblical Counselors.

We are a Working Farm!

Salem4youth is located on 100 acres of rich farmland in the bounty belt of Central Illinois. The current vision of Salem is to become a working farm. In many ways, we are going back 50 years, when Salem grew its own crops, raised its on livestock and canned its own food. Our current focus is in these three areas:

Equine Center for Excellence

From the ancient deserts of the Middle East evolved the oldest known breed of riding horse, the Arabian. Now one of the most popular breeds in America, the Arabians' incredible energy, intelligence and gentle disposition allow riders to excel in most equine sports and activities. This is the breed that has sustained the Salem Horse program through the over 25 years it has been in existence. It is the Arabian Horse that has the gentleness and versatility to support a Horse Therapy program; and it is the Arabian Horse community that continues to support a program of this kind.

Today, Salem regularly receives Arabian, Paint, Quarter Horses, Palomino and many other breeds through donations to the program. Salem keeps on sight 15 ‘dead broke’ horses that are specifically used for riding by our students and by others who are involved in our other horse programs at Salem.

Our students are involved in everything from feeding and watering, picking stalls, grooming and washing, riding, showing and training.

For more information on our Equine Center for Excellence, click here: Equine Center for Excellence.

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