Youth Villages provides the Intercept program in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Tennessee and Virginia.

Intercept provides treatment to troubled children and families in their own homes at times convenient for the families. Counselors with small case loads -- four to five families -- focus on helping the child and family at home, in school, and in the community. The program serves children of any age (infant to 18) who have serious emotional and behavioral problems.  Intercept is based on the principles and practices of research-based mental health treatment.  Youth Villages' fourteen years of data from on-going outcome evaluation studies have demonstrated that 80% of youth are successful up to two years after discharge from the program, although random assignment clinical studies have not yet established the effectiveness of the program.

Intercept serves a broad population of youth, including those involved with multiple child-serving systems and those at high risk of removal from their families.  The program specializes in diverting youth from out of home placements by helping their families safely maintain youth in their home environment.  Intercept also focuses on reunification of youth who are in a residential treatment or foster home setting; counselors are skilled at reuniting families even when the child has been out of the home for an extended period.

Many of the elements of the Intercept program are common to a variety of intensive family preservation programs including:

• services provided to the family, rather than just the identified youth 
• time-limited services, usually lasting three to six months
• intensive services -- we meet with families at least three times weekly and are on call 24/7
• services are delivered in the family's home or wherever the family needs us (school, court, etc.) and are flexibly scheduled to meet the family's needs
• services are designed to meet each individual family's needs; ongoing assessment and review of treatment progress assures individualized service
• small caseloads -- counselors are responsible for four to six families; supervisors are responsible for four to five counselors

Since 1994, Youth Villages has helped nearly 15,000 children in their homes and communities.  Treatment for reunification cases averages six to nine months, and four to six months for prevention or diversion.  All treatment is family-centered and includes strength-based interventions.