Many of the counselors have been at Preston for more than a decade. Preston is a school and wards spend a significant portion of each day in class. The curriculum is designed to enable the wards to earn a high school diploma or to take the GED examination. Preston's ward population changes daily with approximately 960 wards ranging in age from 15 to 20. The wards vary from low to high security risk.
Some wards have serious drug dependencies.
A formalized substance abuse program using the Framework for Recovery and the AA 12 step program is used at Preston. There is a high correlation of delinquency to the need for Special Education and about 200 wards qualify. Annual parental conferences are required for all Special Education wards. Some families cannot come to Preston for the conference so Preston has developed a Surrogate Parent program. The local community provides 200 volunteers that act as parents, tutors and other roles on behalf of the wards.