ICARE stands for Interdisciplinary Community Adolescent Rehabilitation and Education

Interdisciplinary is a characteristic of this program because we utilize a variety of teaching methods and disciplines to meet the needs of youth we are charged with. Technology, social sciences, literature, multi-media and the arts are just a few of the disciplines that are used throughout the curriculum to foster relationships with and amongst the youth in addition to meeting the youths' progress goals.

Community is a characteristic of this program because we encompass the families, the local agencies and organizations as well as other professionals to assist youth in giving them ownership of the community in which they live, will one day serve and should also find pride in. This program attempts to acknowledge the sometimes negative experiences that youth have had with their community while at the same time assisting them in embracing and changing their perceptions of OUR community by offering opportunities to experience OUR community in a different light.

Adolescence is a key idea of our program because we seek to serve youth between the ages of 11 and 17. These are key developmental ages where youth begin to not only cope with puberty and self-identity but also begin to see themselves as a part of the world. We must work on our youth not finding themselves at odds with our world but instead contributors to it as well as beneficiaries of it.

Rehabilitation describes our program because our goal is for students to complete it with a sense of self, family, purpose, and goals and objectives. We seek to assist youth in developing self-efficacy so that they can step into the shoes of our future leaders, whether they choose to do so by being local business owners, teachers, politicians, or community advocates. The curriculum in which we employ allows youth who have found themselves at odds with the legal and judicial systems to make better choices and decisions but more importantly find the self-worth in themselves to understand why previous decisions had a negative impact on their growth, development, and success.

Education characterizes program because it is through education that we meet the needs of our youth. Education is the foundation of our program.

Why Icare

Kainette Combs developed ICare because many programs were reactive to youth and their issues rather than proactive. Watching inner city "at-risk" youth shuffled down the paths of either the prison system or death due to a lack of mentors and appropriate coping skills did more than pull on the strings of her heart, but reminded her all too often that this was the situation that her son and the youth that she encountered on a daily basis faced. This program was developed to give youth the skills they need to better address life. Kainette Combs became intrigued by life skill training and anger management due to her experience as a survivor of an abusive relationship, the mother of an ex-gang member and a community advocate. She saw this program as a way to address the needs of the community in which she lived in a more tangible way and believes that all youth deserve a second chance and no youth should ever be forgotten.