AMIkids WINGS Piedmont Program for Girls in the Juvenile Justice System

AMIkids contracts with the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice to provide a non-secure intensive residential program for girls, AMIkids WINGS Piedmont. Located in rural Laurens County, the program serves girls who may reside anywhere in the state of South Carolina. Girls at AMIkids WINGS Piedmont have a high incidence of mental health needs due to histories of trauma as well as greater medical needs than their male counterparts. Currently, the program provides girls with education, skill building, delinquency interventions, and other activities that aim to reduce their risk to reoffend and have further justice system involvement. However, without on-site clinical treatment and medical services, girls have disruptive delays in their access to health care and having their needs met.  

With this project, AMIkids proposes to add on-site clinical treatment services by contracting with AMIkids Behavioral Health to place a full time Licensed Mental Health Professional at the program. The LMHP will be trained in multiple trauma-focused treatment models, and will reduce girls’ wait time for assessment and counseling from about 6 weeks to 1 week. AMIkids will also hire a part time Registered Nurse who will provide on-site medical services and health education. This will reduce the number of trips off-campus that girls must make, increasing their real-time access to healthcare. Additionally, this project will allow AMIkids to train two existing non-clinical care management staff in evidence-based trauma-responsive treatment models to enhance the level of service they are able to provide to girls.  

This project is expected to enhance services and improve outcomes at the AMIkids WINGS Piedmont program, which serves up to 20 girls at any given time. Girls’ average length of stay is 4-6 months, so this project has the potential to impact up to 60 justice-involved girls with mental health and medical needs each year of the project. This project is proposed for 36 months and includes a Memorandum of Understanding with the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice, who will continue to refer girls to the program for the duration of the project.