About Us
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The Executive Director, Joseph Ferrainola of YES Academy has accumulated over 28 years of experience as a top administrator and resource manager for the Glen Mills School near Philadelphia, PA. Additionally he serves as the C.E.O. of Field Systems Inc., which is an international training and consultant firm focusing on the sociological model of normative systems and group dynamics. Mr. Ferrainola obtained his Masters Degree in the Field of Human Services from the University of Lincoln in 1986. It has been a dream of his to develop a team oriented concept utilizing the sociological model of normative systems and group dynamics to treat the most difficult juvenile delinquent, sex offenders, fire setters, and excessively aggressive behaviors.
The YES Academy has been established to treat juvenile fire setters, sex offenders, and excessively aggressive behaviors with a focus on excellence in programming, physical environment, and staff training. The progressive behavioral and independent living facility is located in the rural setting of Mercer, Pennsylvania. The YES Academy has 16 private rooms enabling each student to have their own bedroom. Expansion of the facility will occur at a later date. However, it is YES Academy’s mission to tackle the problem of ongoing disturbance and disruption in families. As the residents are prepared to make successful decisions and choices so that they may live a life free from dysfunction and institutional dependency. Furthermore, the YES Academy will utilize the sociological and cognitive treatment model developed and implemented by Cosmo D. Ferrainola and Joseph Ferrainola. The structured therapeutic milieu promotes pro-social behavior, self-esteem, emotional stability, personal integrity, personal accountability, and character building traits while teaching students the life skills necessary to become productive and responsible young men. As envisioned, the YES Academy is poised to become the premier facility in the state of Pennsylvania specializing in the treatment of juvenile sex offenders, juvenile fire setters, and excessively aggressive youth.
The YES Academy will operate on a 24-hour per day basis, seven-days per week. This schedule is designed to provide treatment services to male adolescents between the ages of 11 and 18 years old. Services are provided for up to 16 students in accordance with the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare {DPW} Title 55, Chapter 3800 regulations for a Staff Secured Placement. Mr. Ferrainola believes A Staff Secured Residential Care facility is care that provides treatment, supervision, and rehabilitation to juveniles in a setting that prevents student truancies. All services or activities are designed to meet the individual needs of each resident, provide a safe, secure, and humane environment, as well as the safety needs of the public.
When arriving at the YES Academy, students will receive a private room. Each student is provided with four meals a day, seven days a week which are prepared in the dining hall. Additional services offered immediately upon admissions will be a case manager, a counselor and a big brother in order that the normative sociological model may begin. Within a 24-hour period of admissions, all students will be given clothing and a health and safety assessment. A full-time registered nurse is on call 24 hours a day at the Health Center. The physician is located less than ¼ mile away from the facility should a student have a medical emergency. Then an individual psychiatric evaluation and psychological testing will be completed by a psychologist and psychiatrist from Mercer County.
Student Related Issues
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Sexual Issues
- understanding your offense chain
- developing an alternative behavior chain
- avoidance and escape strategies
- changing self talk
- correcting thinking distortions
- boundaries and consequences
- replacing dangerous fantasies
- self-(urge) control contract
- thinking errors about victims
- victim empathy
- healthy relationships
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Fire Setting Issues
- understanding the relapse process
- identifying high risk situations
- strategies to handle high risk situations
- handling urges and cravings
- handling social pressure
- anger management in sobriety
- leisure time in sobriety
- long-term sobriety plan
- lifestyle balancing and sobriety
- emergency sobriety card
- what to do if relapse occurs
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