Partners for Youth Board (a 501(c)3) (PFY) is working in collaboration with the Bexar County Juvenile Board and Juvenile Probation Department to maintain and further develop an on-site equine-facilitated therapy program to assist in the rehabilitation of court-ordered juvenile probationers who have significant mental and behavioral health problems. The program is called CHAPS (Children and Horses Always Produce Success). In addition to the therapy component, the CHAPS program looks forward to providing an opportunity for the youth to obtain academic and vocational training in animal science. The youth participating in CHAPS, who come from all over Bexar County, are primarily residents at the Cyndi Taylor Krier Juvenile Correctional Treatment Center (Krier Center), and there are plans to eventually expand services to include probationers served by other units within the Juvenile Probation Department.
The property houses 4 horses, spans nearly 30 acres and provides a multitude of opportunities for therapy, instruction and thought-provoking and contemplative activities for probationers on a weekly basis during the school year and a daily basis for the better part of the summer.
PFY, through its CHAPS Advisory Council, works in conjunction with the Bexar County Juvenile Board and Probation Department to obtain funding for the provision of program needs in order to accommodate this innovative, cutting-edge therapeutic program. Over the past seven years, the Council has sought out and obtained funding/donations for two 2-stall horse barns; a 150 x 60’ instructional covered arena; a 60’ round pen, pasture fencing and numerous other facility and program-related needs. The program has been fully operational since April of 2012.
CHAPS Site
- Program in Motion
The Texas Bar Foundation
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The Northwest Democrats Association http://northwestdemocrats.org/!
and The Andy Mireles Foundation! http://www.andymireles.org/Home.html
May 21, 2014
chapstherapyprogram
CHAPS 