In June, 2006 The DOVE Vocational Academy (Developing Opportunities through Vocational Education) opened as the first vocational program for girls in the State of Florida.  Today, the DOVE Academy serves 38 females, ages 15 to 18, who are in need of mental health or substance abuse treatment services in a non-secure residential commitment program.

 

This is a therapeutic community combined with a cognitive behavioral model.  The program provides mental health overlay services (MHOS) and substance abuse overlay services (SAOS).  However, youth who are physically aggressive, have serious mental health issues or educational limitations are not considered appropriate for placement.  The anticipated, average length of stay is between three and six months, depending on the youth's pace of success in completing her individualized treatment plan and goals

 

Dove Academy is one of the premier girl’s residential programs in Florida.  Our approach to providing services to girls consists of state-of-the-art gender responsive services that are nationally recognized.  Twin Oaks recognizes and addresses the following key areas in girl’s programming:

 

• Trauma informed practices

• Forming strong and meaningful relationships

• Creating a physical environment that is conducive to developing a girl into a strong and independent woman

• Empowering the girls by allowing them to have a voice in programmatic decisions and drive the development of treatment and transition goals

• Hiring and training staff who committed to working with girls

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Core Values are the standards that our girls and staff are expected to follow. The Core Values were picked by the girls and staff to be the foundation for how we interact daily. This foundation helps us make decisions, develop expectations and establish the overall goals for our community. The program’s core values were decided by asking questions like…. “We believe that….” or “In this community we believe in….”  For the Dove Academy, “In this community, we believe in….R Girls”. The core values were established by the Dove community with both youth and staff participating in the process. The core values include the following: 

 

• Respect

• Responsibility

• Remaining Safe