Peckham provides vocational training and transitional skills coaching to youth with barriers to employment. Peckham's youth programs deliver evidence-based vocational programming and skill building to support youth with disabilities, court involved youth, and/or youth-at-risk of juvenile court involvement.
Specialized Services for Youth with Disabilities
- Ready to Achieve Mentoring Program (RAMP)
- School to Work (STW)
- Youth Career Development (YCD)
Specialized Services for court involved Youth
- Youth Career Academy (Genesee & Ingham County)
- Footprints Residential Program
- RAMP (Reach to Achieve Mentoring Program)
- Right Turn
- Embers
Peckham Trades Academy
The Peckham Trades Academy is a cutting edge vocational program providing services to high school students who attend Ingham Academy and soon to serve young adults served in Right Turn.
Peckham Trades Academy provides students with an overview and exploration of the Trades through hands-on learning, talent tours, and work experience in the community directly related to the Construction Trades. The program will offer the NCCER Core Curriculum: Introductory Craft Skills, ultimately providing students with a nationwide recognized credential in the trades.
Special thanks to our Lead Donors for making this program possible:
- The Community Foundation
- Dart Foundation
- Pioneer Construction
Footprints Residential Program
Footprints is a unique, community-based, short-term, residential treatment facility providing court involved, adolescent females with rehabilitative and family reunification services. Adolescent girls between the ages of 12-17 are referred to the program through the 30th Judicial Circuit Court. Residents at Footprints have the opportunity to gain new skills and strategies to cope with difficult situations.
This is accomplished by providing high quality evidence based treatment groups supported by the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy model. Residents at Footprints are supported and cared for by a team of well trained, professional staff. The average length of stay for a resident is six months. Peckham is excited to help unleash each resident's full potential for success.
Participants are referred to this program by the court. Footprints strictly adheres to the most reliable research to develop the most effective programming.
Right Turn
The Right Turn Career-Focused Transition Initiative (Right Turn) provides a career development process for young adults (18-24 year olds) that are involved or have been involved with the criminal justice system (juvenile and adult systems).
Funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration and led by the Institute for Educational Leadership, Right Turn is being implemented in high-crime, high poverty communities across the country by non-profit and local organizations with expertise in career development, education, mentoring, leadership development, juvenile justice, and disability. Right Turn provides individualized education, training, and workforce development opportunities by engaging young adults in a three-phase career development process that includes self-exploration, career exploration, and career planning and management.
Participants meet regularly with program staff, mentors, and other caring adults to develop and implement an Individualized Career Development Plan (ICDP). Through weekly goal-setting based on each participant’s ICDP, Right Turn promotes employment, continued learning opportunities, and independent living.
Youth Career Academy
Youth Career Academy- Genesee County
Peckham Career Academy is a community-based, comprehensive, intensive vocational training program. The program accepts referrals entirely from Genesee County Judicial Circuit Court who refers young offenders between the ages of 15 to 18. The Career Academy was designed to provide vocational training options to youth involved with the 7th Judicial Circuit Court. In addition to vocational services, Peckham YCA also provides GED services for youth with this academic goal. The programs goal is to reduce recidivism, improve social functioning, increase vocational performance and provide job skills training for youth that have been unsuccessful in traditional settings. The Youth Career Academy is located at 1309 N. Ballenger Hwy., Flint MI 48502 on the Bethel United Methodist campus.
Youth Career Academy- Ingham County
Peckham’s Youth Career Academy (YCA) is a collaboration of Peckham, the Ingham County 30th Circuit Court-Family Division, and the Ingham Intermediate School District. YCA is a community-based, comprehensive, intensive vocational training program. Referrals are accepted entirely from the Ingham County 30th Judicial Circuit Court – Family Division who refers court involved youth between the ages of 15 to 18. YCA believes community based programs are a viable alternative to residential placement and encourages the development of structured programs designed to provide a continuum of support services to at- risk youth and their families. YCA is designed to provide a continuum of support services and vocational readiness to moderate-risk youth.
RAMP (Ready to Achieve Mentoring Program)
RAMP is a STEM career-focused mentoring program for youth with disabilities and at-risk for juvenile justice involvement. Youth enrolled in this program are between thirteen and eighteen years old. RAMP is funded by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) and led by the Institute for Educational Leadership (IEL). Peckham’s RAMP program is one of only twelve in the nation and is facilitated in both Flint and Lansing. RAMP uses a combination of peer, group and one to one mentoring to promote employment, goal setting, continual learning and independent living.
RAMP uses the best mentoring practices to ensure all youth learn vital skills including:
- Identifying personal strengths and interests
- Identifying career goals and learning about various careers through guest speakers and Talent Tours
- Completing STEM projects
- Completing soft skills training
- Setting and achieving educational goals that align with career goals
Mentor Flint
Mentor Flint is a STEM career-focused mentoring program for youth who do not qualify for RAMP due to lack of disability. Youth in the Mentor Flint program are at-risk for juvenile justice involvement. Youth enrolled in this program are between thirteen and eighteen years old. Mentor Flint is funded by the Mott Foundation and the program is ran using the RAMP model including using a combination of peer, group and one to one mentoring to promote employment, goal setting, continual learning and independent living.
This grant funded program partners with Genesee County 7th Judicial Circuit Court for youth referrals.
Mentor Flint uses the best mentoring practices to ensure all youth learn vital skills including:
- Identifying personal strengths and interests
- Identifying career goals and learning about various careers through guest speakers and Talent Tours
- Completing STEM projects
- Completing soft skills training
- Setting and achieving educational goals that align with career goals
Mentor Lansing
Mentor Lansing is a STEM career-focused mentoring program for youth who do not qualify for RAMP due to lack of disability. Youth in the Mentor Lansing program are at-risk for juvenile justice involvement. Youth enrolled in this program are between thirteen and eighteen years old. Mentor Lansing uses the RAMP model including using a combination of peer, group and one to one mentoring to promote employment, goal setting, continual learning and independent living.
This program partners with Ingham County 30th Circuit Court – Family Division and Ingham County Youth Center for youth referrals.
Mentor Lansing uses the best mentoring practices to ensure all youth learn vital skills including:
- Identifying personal strengths and interests
- Identifying career goals and learning about various careers through guest speakers and Talent Tours
- Completing STEM projects
- Completing soft skills training
- Setting and achieving educational goals that align with career goals
Want to become a mentor?
Youth Career Development (YCD)
YCD prepares youth ages 16 to 26 with disabilities or other barriers, to identify future career and enhance skill-sets to gain community employment upon graduation. Individuals are evaluated based on vocational skills and work aptitudes.
Services Include
- Preparing the student for higher levels of vocational training and employment
- Developing competitive work speeds and quality standards
- Developing independent work skills
- Obtaining earned income
- Developing effective communication skills and responsible work behaviors
- Methods for addressing conflicts
- Base for appropriate social and work behaviors
- Community based job try-outs to discover careers that would best suit the individual
Admission Criteria
- Be between the ages of 16 & 26, and be referred and funded by their school district
- Have documentation of a disability and meet Special Education requirements
- Have not accepted a high school diploma to certificate of completion
- Have proper identification: school ID, state ID or driver's license and a social security card or birth certificate
- Meet I-9 requirements (be eligible to work within the United States)
- Be able to remain on task for a minimum of one hour
- Be able to attend to personal needs without assistance or have a personal attendant to assist
- Participate voluntarily in the program
- Agree to abide by Peckham’s rules and regulations
2019-2020 Participating school districts
- East Lansing Public Schools
- Holt Public Schools
- Ingham Intermediate School District
*Participants are not limited to the above contracts
- Okemos Public Schools
- Waverly Public Schools
Additional programs
Embers is a 12-week trauma informed group to provide opportunities for healing for young people who have experienced trauma. The program is currently offered in Ingham County (Lansing) and Genesee County (Flint). We incorporate therapeutic art experiences, music therapy through drum circles, and yoga and breathing techniques for coping strategies. Students learn the skills to remove themselves from unsafe situations, are able to identify safe environments, can identify someone for encouragement and support, have a safety plan, utilize reflection skills, value themselves more, and apply the coping strategies learned from the program to help rebuild from trauma. Referrals are sent from the Ingham and Genesee County courts.