Aftercare Scholarship Program

The transition period following an intensive therapeutic program, whether it be a short term wilderness program or a year at a therapeutic boarding school, presents special challenges for both the student and the family. The experiences of others indicates the difficulty for adolescents attempting to integrate new behaviors in settings where both negative peer influences and unrealistic expectations may lead to a return to previous negative choices. The need for ongoing counseling and support has been well documented. However, many families are already stretched from the financial burden of the therapeutic programs, and cannot afford ongoing professional support. As a part of its mission,  Saving Teens In Crisis Collaborative is dedicated to providing short term transitional support in the form of Aftercare Scholarships to the families of at-risk adolescents who have successfully completed a therapeutic boarding school or wilderness program and have or will be soon returning to a family setting, so that they can make a successful transition home, and stay on the path to a healthy adulthood.

Should Your Family Apply for an Aftercare Scholarship?

Resources are limited, so it is important to note that the Aftercare scholarship program is targeted to families working through the transition of their adolescent returning home. Many families may need more extensive support, including transitional living and/or “halfway houses” that involve continuing residential treatment beyond the scope of what we define as Aftercare: supporting the transition back to a full-time family setting. The Aftercare Scholarship program is not intended to fund on-going education, including therapeutic boarding schools or inpatient stay at a rehabilitation clinic. (For more information on funding for teens and families needing long-term recovery and education, please refer to the Challenge and Methodology pages of this website, or contact STICC directly through the Contact Us page.)

STICC is classified as a 501(c)(3) public charity. As such, we may provide direct financial assistance only to families/ individuals who meet both our program criteria AND demonstrate sufficient financial need. We must evaluate whether a family might well have to forgo professional counseling altogether, or curtail its effectiveness, if additional financial support is not available to them. You need not be destitute to qualify. However, it is expected that families will first seek funding from other sources, before requesting scholarship support. Such sources may include insurance, if available, home equity loans, funds from other family members, and any other available sources.

Typical scholarship awards for Aftercare are up to $1500, facilitating transitional counseling after the family’s adolescent has completed his or her residential program and treatment, and is moving home.

About the Application

The STICC Aftercare Scholarship Application requires a description of the current or planned professional counseling to be funded, as STICC anticipates that the typical aftercare scholarship will support group and/or individual counseling by a licensed mental health care professional in good standing. In order to objectively assess the financial need of applicants, we require a copy of your most recent federal tax return (Form 1040). You need not furnish schedules or attachments to the Form 1040 that you may have submitted to the IRS, unless you wish to share them to more fully demonstrate your financial situation. If you were not required to submit a Form 1040 in the past year (for instance, having recently arrived in the US), please explain your circumstances in that section of the application. We do not share personal financial information provided to us with any third parties, unless required to do so by law. Such information is used by STICC only for evaluating the applicant family’s current financial circumstances. (Click here for a copy of our Privacy Policy.)

The STICC Aftercare Scholarship Program focuses on counseling needs of adolescents. When our funds permit, however, we will consider applications on behalf of older teens/young adults if they qualify as a DEPENDENT child to the applicant under current IRS definitions. In general, the child will qualify as your DEPENDENT if they are under the age of 19 and another adult (the applicant) is legally responsible for their care, or if they are under the age of 24, lived with the applicant over half the previous year, and the DEPENDENT did not provide over half his/her own financial support. If you are uncertain if your circumstances meet the definitions to claim the individual as a DEPENDENT child, please provide sufficient information in your application to assist us in making an assessment. We will consider all unusual circumstances in assessing whether your situation meets the goals and limitations of our assistance program.

Because STICC cannot fund every request we receive, applications will be evaluated based on several criteria, including but not limited to, financial need, a clear aftercare plan, and the progress made in previous programs. Our objective is to identify those applicants most likely to benefit from STICC’s support. The application asks that you share with us an understanding of the child’s recent therapeutic experience and the specifics of the existing or proposed professional aftercare counseling. These facts are essential to our evaluation. You need not be wordy, but please be specific.

STICC will also consider independent references to support its assessment of each application. The information that most distinguishes one applicant from another is the nature of the references provided to us. We require a minimum of two references, and will attempt to reach three if they are provided. Ideally, the applicant will provide non-family references that, in combination, have personal experience with the teen/young adult both before and after the most recent therapeutic program. If at all possible, the individual/practice that is expected to provide aftercare counseling should be one of the references provided.

Applicable privacy law requires that we obtain from the applicant, or directly from the teen/young adult if he or she has reached 18 years of age, signed Releases and Authorizations granting STICC permission to discuss medical/therapeutic issues as appropriate. We cannot commence our due diligence process prior to receiving the signed releases.

After receiving an application for scholarship assistance, STICC will send an acknowledgement, request any additional information necessary to consider the request, and evaluate all applications at its discretion. STICC will make every effort to act on each request within 30 days of receipt and acknowledgement of the application.
  

Please contact us if you have any questions or need further information. 

Click here for the Online Application