When the Department of Children and Families began sending older teens to the Hamden facility in 1993, staff members realized they needed to prepare adolescents for the less-structured life they would face after turning 18. They really needed to learn how to work. But the full-time staff of 108 had some work of its own to do. And with no extra room or supplies for a work skills program, the teachers had to use their ingenuity. Five years after the courses began, the impact of the High Meadows' vocational program can be seen around campus.
Youngsters learn cooking and food service in the school's diner-like snack shop.
Many of the 17 teens currently in the program view it as a way to earn a small allowance, but staff say they see greater benefits. The youngsters become good at a marketable skill, feel better about themselves and have an incentive to behave. We're able to see the students gain skills, and that's energizing. Youth at High Meadows must qualify for the program through good behavior and classroom performance, which often is no small task for them. The adolescents often come from Riverview psychiatric hospital in Middletown and may suffer from depression or have trouble controlling impulses and managing anger.