Aspire Youth Services Center

About Aspire Youth Services Center

Aspire Youth Services Center, located in Golden, is a secure facility providing treatment programming for up to 24 males who have been committed to the Division of Youth Services (DYS) by the court system. Aspire is one of three centers on the Lookout Mountain Campus and is designed to meet the needs of the highest-risk youth DYS accepts. The center also accepts state-wide referrals.

Aspire offers comprehensive services to youth through an environment that focuses on therapeutic and strength-based treatments. The approach focuses and builds upon the strengths of the individual youth and their efforts to persevere despite life’s challenges. 

Continue reading about Aspire's approach to serving youth

Each youth is provided weekly individual therapy, monthly family therapy or family-focused sessions, and group therapy four days a week. Groups focus on risk areas such as attitudes, values, beliefs, peer associations and personality characteristics that may influence the likelihood of the youth committing future crimes. Skill-building is incorporated across all areas of programming to include unit groups, level systems, treatment planning, and more. 

Behavioral health servicesare incorporated into programming and are developmentally appropriate. Treatments match individual needs and address learning styles, motivations and capacities of each youth. Additional services offered at Aspire are academic and career development opportunities, recreation, medical and dental care. Spiritual life and pastoral care are offered and provided through Youth for Christ and Straight Ahead Colorado. By addressing the needs of youth and individualizing treatments and services, Aspire works to reach the ultimate goal of reducing risk factors and recidivism for each youth in our care.

Aspire utilizes restorative community justice and is committed to creating a community that understands the Seven Sanctuary Commitments: nonviolence; emotional intelligence; social learning; communication; democracy; social responsibility; and growth and change.

Aspire utilizes a multi-disciplinary team approach. With this approach, the youth center collaborates with regional client managers, education, community members, medical, and behavioral health specialists, safety staff, administrators, and the youth's parent/guardian. The multi-disciplinary process facilitates the development of individualized treatment plans, treatment plan reviews, and case-specific decision-making. Each case plan and the individual treatment plan guide youth at Aspire by identifying goals, objectives and target interventions. Aspire provides effective transition services from admission through reintegration into the community by identifying and strengthening family and community support.