PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
Hillside is a therapeutic community providing specialized, comprehensive, long-term residential treatment for severely emotionally
and behaviorally disturbed adolescents. Facilities include:
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74 beds - 29 female and 45 male residents
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A specialized, secured evaluation and stabilization unit for males and females
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An open campus program for males and females
Note: Hillside does not have emergency receiving facilities.
APPROPRIATE REFERRAL SOURCES
Admissions inquiries are accepted from all sources including:
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Georgia Department of Human Resources
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Department of Juvenile Justice
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Department of Education
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Families or guardians with private and/or insurance funding
ADMISSION ELIGIBILITY AND CRITERIA
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Hillside serves males and females ages 8 to 18.
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Potential residents must have a primary psychiatric diagnosis and intelligence near the normal range.
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All residents must be ambulatory and able to progress within the facility without physical assistance of staff.
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Hillside accepts patients from all areas of Georgia and from all income levels.
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Parental or surrogate involvement is desired but not mandatory for a child to be considered.
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Admission to Hillside must be deemed to be in the best interest of the patient.
Due to the nature of the program, Hillside may not consider accepting patients who:
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Are non-ambulatory and whose physical handicaps preclude normal access to and from buildings without assistance from staff;
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Have serious medical problems not controlled by medications (such as seizures, diabetes);
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Have a current primary diagnosis of substance abuse;
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Do not have adequate verbal/cognitive skills to benefit from the treatment
program;
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Have a history of criminal behavior with no documented history of emotional problems.
Eligibility for admission will be based on the above criteria regardless of race, creed, color, religion or national origin. Hillside does not discriminate against applicants who are diagnosed as having Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) or Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS).
ADMISSIONS PROCESS
The Administrative Social Worker receives all initial inquiries and provides information about the admission process.
Once application information is received, the process includes:
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Gathering of clinical and demographic information regarding client;
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Review by the Hillside clinical staff;
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An on-campus pre-admission interview with the child and the family or guardian;
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Determination of appropriateness of program for the child and family or guardian;
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Coordination of admission date based on waiting list;*
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Completion of documentation at admission.
*Hillside maintains an active waiting list of potential residents.
ACCEPTANCE DETERMINATION
Acceptance to the program is based on determination that:
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Adolescent requires comprehensive, intensive residential psychiatric treatment;
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The adolescent is likely to benefit from the Hillside program;
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Financial arrangements have been established;
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Appropriate space is available in the program.
An Application for Admission and Admissions Requirement Checklist may be downloaded from this site in PDF format (Acrobat reader required), or may be obtained by contacting: