We believe that ultimate success of a youth falls heavily on the Family. Our goal is to increase and improve communication among all family members, to build inter-familial relationships, to elicit support for any necessary changes, and to provide opportunities for a family to progress as a cohesive unit. Because we believe so strongly in the Family Pillar, we require a commitment from all families prior to Daybreak Canyon accepting a young man into our program that they will fully participate in the family aspects of our program.
We offer a variety of services and activities that all help improve and strengthen the Family Pillar.
Each youth will have one weekly outgoing call of 20 minutes and one weekly incoming call of 20 minutes. Parents and the treatment team will come up with an approved contact list. Youth will be encouraged to send and receive letters to all parties on their contact list. Youth will be required to provide their own postage. Daybreak Canyon will also facilitate email correspondence through the therapist.
Parents are welcome to visit at any time. Due to our remote location we encourage parents to plan ahead to make sure that we are at the facility but that is not required. While at the facility parents are invited and allowed to participate side by side with their son in whatever activity we are engaged in. For parents' convenience we will post our weekly schedule in a parents' only area of our web site.
Daybreak Canyon will provide regular family counseling by our therapist. Because of our location we anticipate that many of these sessions will occur over the phone and perhaps via computer video conferencing. This is a critical part of helping strengthen the family.
Every three months DC will host a family weekend. Coordinated by our highly trained staff, these activities will be designed to enhance the family pillar. There will be a blend of recreational activities, classes for parents, and lots of time for families to enjoy each other's company. Families will also be encouraged to mingle with other families to provide a support group for each other.
Parents will be invited and encouraged to attend one of our bi-annual international service trips. This is an ideal opportunity to travel with their son, experience another country's culture, and provide valuable service to those in need. Working together, side by side, will provide an opportunity for parents and children to bond and forge lifetime memories.
Parents will be invited and encouraged to attend one of our bi-annual Super Outings. These outings will involve an extended outdoor adventure, usually traveling to one of the pristine areas in or around Idaho. There we will engage in multiple recreational activities. This gives a parent the chance to recreate side by side with their son, forming strong bonds and providing a foundation for future recreational activities as a family. The Super Outings will count as two of the four Family Weekends.
Community passes are shortened interactions to give parents an opportunity to have alone time with their son in the local community and to work on any identified family goals or tasks. Youth are eligible for community passes with their parents for several hours, up to one full day, once they have completed 90 positive days. They also cannot be on a restrictive level and go on a pass.
A youth must have reached merit status on the level system (the highest level within the Daybreak Canyon level system) before they will be eligible to go on home passes. Usually a youth would start with a weekend pass. After two successful weekend passes a youth is then eligible for an extended home pass. Extended home passes are designed to give the youth and parents opportunities to pursue resources in their own community, to interact for a longer period of time, and to arrange any details for discharge.
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