Blending the best of the old with the best of the new, Second Chance Youth Ranch provides a caring home for youth facing difficult situations and choices. Based on a group home model, all residents live in a “bunk house” with other youth and their live-in-house parents. To foster consistency, trust and relationship, each bunk house is assigned one set of house parents—creating the most stable home like environment possible. In addition, each bunk house has an assigned set of relief house parents. Frequently for the youth we serve, “home” has been       a chaotic, uncertain place. At Second Chance Youth Ranch our youth not only know who their care giver is but are assured their care giver will be there tomorrow. This team approach also extends to our support staff with each bunk house being assigned a social worker/therapist, case manager, and volunteer mentor. This staff forms the core clinical team working with the youth and family. Each bunk house is encouraged to develop its own identity. Learning to co-exist with your bunk mates, house parents, ranch hands, counselors, social workers, workman, teachers, and other staff as a team to accomplish tasks and goals are life lessons in how to resolve interpersonal conflicts at home, school and abroad. In addition, a sense of community is developed as the bunk house residents have “Town Hall” meetings to identify group goals to support local communities through service projects.
			Second Chance Youth Ranch is of course a functioning ranch with horses, livestock, and gardens. Learning new skills, the youth also learn new attitudes. Our philosophy is that day to day activities (i.e., chores, recreation, school, peer interactions, “family” interactions, etc.) can and are a means of effecting change in a young person’s life—teaching discipline, personal worth, confidence, service, respect, dignity, integrity, and a strong work ethic. At Second Chance Youth Ranch the youth is taught that challenges are no longer obstacles but stepping stones to achievement.
	Second Chance Youth Ranch maintains that working with the family is the most important aspect of working with abused, neglected and at risk youth. Services for the family include: parent support groups, intensive family therapy weekly, limited case management for parents/guardians, referral services, experiential/adventure therapies, family weekends, and structured home visits with clinical support. Most youth want to return to their families and their families want them home. However, many youth cycle in and out of programs/facilities with few resources dedicated to solving crisis in the family. Identifying, engaging and working with the family system is the cornerstone of our clinical program and critical in reducing recidivism. Although our focus is to help restore families, we recognize that some children will never be able to return home. Those children for whom parental rights have been terminated and adoption is not a viable option, Second Chance Youth Ranch hopes to provide a permanent home.