
Residential Services
At Residential Youth Care, we offer inpatient residential services for both male and female clients, ages 10 to 18, with individualized care designed to address each client's specific needs. While in our care, clients receive 24/7 support, including assistance with medication management, social skills development, educational tracking, and comprehensive clinical and behavioral support.
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Our residential treatment program provides regular psychiatric and clinical care while engaging clients in a variety of structured, nurturing activities. These include educational support, community involvement, physical exercise, group therapy, and daily routines, all designed to promote healthy behaviors, build positive habits, and encourage overall emotional and mental well-being.
Residential Facilities
Residential Youth Care (RYC) provides residential services in two lodges: Spruce Lodge, which accommodates up to 15 clients, and Hemlock Lodge, which houses up to 10 clients. These lodges are designed to create a home-like environment where clients can develop essential skills and tools for successfully transitioning to lower levels of care.
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Our trained residential staff foster a supportive and structured environment, offering opportunities for clients to learn and practice new social skills and behaviors. They maintain consistency in expectations while encouraging positive behaviors and teaching new skills through praise and teaching interventions. By combining staff-led interventions with an earned consequence point system, clients are guided to gradually develop social skills that will help them achieve the goals they set in collaboration with their treatment team. Throughout their residential program, clients' progress and privileges are influenced by the behavioral choices they make while in treatment.

180 Treatment Day Program
For clients requiring the level of care provided in a residential setting, our standard starting point is 180 treatment days. However, this duration may vary based on the individual client’s progress and specific needs.
Clients entering this program undergo a Mental Health Assessment and an initial evaluation period. After participating in the program for 14 days, a treatment team meeting will be scheduled to discuss a personalized treatment plan and the recommended duration for completion. The Treatment Team Meeting includes Clinical, Case Management, and Residential staff, along with the client and their representatives.
90 Treatment Days and Eligibility for Step-Down Treatment
As clients approach 90 days of treatment or reach the halfway point of their residential program, their treatment plan is reassessed to evaluate progress, identify areas for continued work, and consider potential treatment options, including:
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Completing the long-term treatment program of 180 days with a detailed aftercare plan
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Transitioning to RYC’s Therapeutic Treatment Home Service for the remainder of the recommended treatment duration
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Returning home with recommendations to participate in Community Care support services, such as counseling, psychiatric services, case management, school support, community engagement, and employment skill development​​
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Treatment days are determined by a client's behavior within the residential program. Clients earn points for positive behaviors, completing tasks like education assignments, participating in activities, and engaging in house routines. Negative points are given for negative behaviors, lack of engagement, or refusal to participate.​​ Clients are considered "On Level" when they maintain a positive point balance, with each day of treatment counting as a full day toward their treatment goal. Clients with a negative point balance are considered "On Sub," with each day counting as half a day of treatment.
A client’s treatment plan may be extended beyond the initial 180-day placement if their behaviors and choices result in them accumulating only ½ day of treatment per day. However, clients who have completed 130 days of treatment may become eligible for the "Merit Level." To achieve this, clients must pass an exam on the social skills they have learned, demonstrate progress toward their goals, exhibit stable behaviors, and maintain a positive point balance. Achieving Merit Level allows clients to count 1 ½ days of treatment for each day they participate in the program.
Meet Michael Martin
Residential Director
Michael Martin is a dedicated professional with a deep passion for helping youth and families. Born and raised in a small community on the Bering Sea coast, he moved to Ketchikan in 2001 and began working with the local school district. In 2006, Michael transitioned to Residential Youth Care (RYC) as a Youth Practitioner, where he discovered his calling. He holds a Social Science degree from the University of Alaska and is currently completing his Masters of Public Administration.

Michael has served in various roles within RYC and is currently the Residential Program Director. He is committed to providing individualized care, focusing on consistency, compassion, and understanding for the youth and families he serves.