|
   
 
Southern Oaks Girls School
Ms.
Jane Dier-Zimmel,
Superintendent
Phone: 262.878-6500
Fax: 262.878-6520
Email:
jane.dierzimmel@wisconsin.gov
Address
21425B Spring Street
Union Grove, WI 53182
Mission Statement
Southern Oaks Girls School (Southern Oaks) provides a safe, secure, and humane
environment with innovative treatment and educational programs designed to
change the behaviors of delinquent girls. The girls are challenged and
held accountable for their behaviors as they receive services and training
to prepare them for their return to the community.
Below is a synopsis of Southern Oaks programming. In depth information can be found in its
2005-2006 Annual Report.
Institutional Information
In October 1994, Southern Oaks
opened as the secure juvenile correctional facility for adjudicated female
youth. It includes two buildings, Main and Annex, and is located on 2.8
acres seven miles west of the city of Racine.
Programs Unique to SOGS
Southern Oaks offers an extensive range of programs, treatment and other
services as described under
Type 1 Secure
Juvenile Correctional Facilities. In addition, Southern Oaks provides some unique programs.
Short-term
Re-entry Program
The Short Term Re-Entry Program for Juvenile Females is a
gender-specific, culturally diverse dispositional option designed for
mentally stable girls between 13 and 17 years of age, meeting statutory
criteria for correctional supervision under s. 938.34 (4m). The program
includes no more than 10 girls at any time. Applicants are screened by the
Southern Oaks Office of Juvenile Offender Review (OJOR). Girls may enter
the Short-Term Re-Entry Program through any of three avenues: (1)
a direct
commitment from the juvenile court; (2) a regular juvenile
correctional order with a judge's recommendation for the short-term
program prior to release from Southern Oaks, or (3) a girl on a regular
juvenile correctional placement may be transferred by
OJOR to the short-term program.
Whatever the means of placement into the Short-Term Re-Entry Program,
participation requires a commitment by the county, aftercare agency, and
family to invest in the program, attend reviews, and work toward re-entry
from the time of reception. The program's maximum length is 120 days. The
program consists of eight key elements:
Two week reception period
assessing needs and strengths resulting in an individualized case plan;
Family therapy
(telephone or video conferencing
will be an option);
Education
- academic education and vocational
exploration including career portfolios;
Experiential "Outback" programming
such as Ropes and Challenge
teambuilding courses;
Substance Abuse Programming
- a four week group program focusing
on education;
Juvenile Cognitive Intervention
- Phases I and 2 of the
Division's Juvenile Cognitive Intervention Program;
Aggression Replacement Therapy / Skillstreaming -
Skillstreaming is a structured and systematic approach to learning and
practicing an array of pro-social skills.
Intensive Treatment Program (ITP)
The 6-bed ITP unit located within the Stepping Up unit addresses the
treatment needs of the most severely challenged delinquent females. They
have mental health issues typically combined with severe
disruptive/aggressive behavior patterns. Many of the girls have a history
of engaging in acts of serious physical self-harm.
The eclectic treatment approach involves strong developmental systems
and cognitive-behavioral perspectives. It places high priority upon
identifying underlying casual factors for the negative behaviors and using
multi-leveled therapeutic interventions across a broad range of treatment
domains to create positive change.
Stepping Up (SU)
The SU provides specialized programming to girls with less severe
mental health problems than girls in ITP. Some former ITP girls "step
down" to this less intensive treatment unit. The treatment approach on SU
is very similar to ITP, but the overall intensity is lower.
Additional Programs
|
Girl Scouts |
Sexual Abuse Groups |
|
Skills Teaming |
Women's Issues Groups |
|
Consumer Education |
DJC Home |
