Day & Residential school for special needs / troubled teens in Illinois

Allendale Association, Lake County:
Allendale Association is a private, not-for-profit social service agency serving troubled teens / adolescents and children with moderate to profound emotional and behavioral disabilities. We are located in Lake Villa in north-western Lake County, Illinois. These youth and their families receive care and treatment through Allendale's residential treatment programs, day treatment special education schools or from our community based clinical programs and services. Allendale serves over 700 children, youth and families annually. Our programs serve both male and female adolescents and kids ranging in age from eight to eighteen who are experiencing a wide variety of problems.

Accredited By:
- Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations
- Council on Accreditation of Services for Families and Children, Inc.
- North Central Association of Colleges and Schools
- American Psychological Association - Pre-Doctoral Internship Program

Licensed / Approved By:
- Illinois Department of Children and Family Services
- Illinois Department of Human Services
- Illinois State Board of Education
- Lake County Health Department
- Office of the State Fire Marshal
- State of Wisconsin Department of Health and Social Services

Allendale Association offers a full-time on-campus special education program for elementary / high school students. Students are initially assessed by a multidisciplinary team consisting of teachers, educational diagnosticians, social workers, psychologist, psychiatrist, nurses and related therapist. A comprehensive curriculum is offered to help students make academic and behavioral progress. Instruction is small enough (no more than 10 students in a class) to offer curriculum modification and individualized support.

Classes are offered in all core curriculum areas, as well as a wide variety of enrichment classes including art therapy, music therapy, physical and experiential education, recreation, horticulture, with a strong emphasis in comprehensive vocational education, assessment training, outdoor education, job preparation and placement. Related services such as occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, learning disability remediation, group and family counseling or psychotherapy are offered.

The main campus program includes collaboration between Allendale and local public schools, offering students the opportunity to transition into public schools when appropriate. A variety of vocational experiences ranging from on campus tutorials to attendance at the Lake County High School Technical Campus are provided to students 14 years and older. Work placements are available on campus and through community employment.

We also offer residential treatment programs for troubled teens / kids. These children, often victims of abuse, neglect or severe mental illness, come to Allendale with the devastating experiences of failure in the classroom, misunderstanding in the home and isolation in the community. Helping these children to heal and prepare for a brighter future requires highly sophisticated therapeutic programs and services. Allendale’s residential, clinical, educational, vocational and recreational programs are provided within safe, aesthetically designed facilities. Allendale's main campus houses the Elizabeth Morse Special Education School, the Bradley Counseling Center and intensive Residential Treatment programs for youth 7 -18 years of age.

The cornerstone and largest component of Allendale is our 128-bed residential treatment program which includes a 100 acre main campus on Cedar Lake in Lake Villa, IL, a 20-bed facility in Benet Lake, WI (approximately 15 miles north of the main campus), two community based group homes in Waukegan, IL and a community based group home for girls in Highland Park, IL. Individual units serve as homes for 8-12 children or adolescents and are designed to serve a particular population grouped by age, diagnostic profile, and social/emotional functioning level.