Venture restart plan

The Venture Program is designed to address the therapeutic, psychiatric and educational needs of students in grades six through post-secondary, who have recently been discharged from a psychiatric hospital or residential treatment program, or are exhibiting serious psychiatric symptoms. This program is a collaborative effort between Bergen County Special Services and Bergen County Division of Family Guidance (DFG), the latter which provides a full array of psychiatric and therapeutic services.

Psychiatric services include, evaluation, diagnosis, provision of prescriptions and the management and monitoring of psychiatric medications. Therapeutic services include: group therapy largely focused on mindfulness practice to facilitate the self-regulation of emotions and behaviors, individual psychotherapy with LCSW’s and group Art Therapy run by a licensed Art Therapist. Crisis Counselors are available at all times to all students. DFG provides psycho-educational services to staff, students and families. Family therapy is offered in evenings at their main office. Clinical Staff will maintain contact with students’ outside psychiatrist, therapists and agencies when applicable.

Venture has a strong academic program for grades 6 to 12+ to meet Individual Education Plans aligned with NJSLS and LCE. Venture also offers State Testing for those students participating in NJ Ask 8, NJBCT and PARCC. Progress reporting and grades occurs four times a year; parent conferences as needed and IEP annual reviews are part of the academic program. State of the art technology is implemented to enhance the Venture Program’s academic curriculum.

Post-secondary students who have completed all their high school academic requirements for graduation are offered career education and hands on community based instruction. This includes simulated work training opportunities, job training, internships and travel training.

Welcome to the 2021-2022 school year. We are looking forward to a school year filled with opportunities to provide our students with experiences that will influence their social, emotional and academic growth. It is an exciting time to be a Venture student, as our program relocated to 304 East Midland Avenue, Paramus, during the 2020-2021 school year. In order to provide quality educational services to our Venture students, the new facility includes a full size gymnasium, brand-new classroom furnishings and state of the art technology.

As always, the Venture program focuses on supporting both the academic and therapeutic needs of our students. This is accomplished through small group classes that provide our students with exposure to grade level curriculum in a structured academic environment. The Venture Program partners with the Division of Family Guidance who can provide therapy sessions for both Venture students and families. Medication managements is also available to our Venture students. Our supportive academic and therapeutic environment provides a safe, nurturing environment for our students.

We pride ourselves on our ability to help our students successfully meet their transition goals. Students who are interested in entering the work force are assigned a BCSS Job Coach their Junior year. A variety of jobs can be sampled. As Seniors, students may be eligible for an internship. For our students whose transition goals include two or four year colleges, we provide services through our BCSS Post-Secondary Counselor. The Counselor can help explore a variety of colleges and assist in the application process.

We look forward to working with families and local districts in order to provide a successful academic experience for all our students.

Kelly Lopez