| Director of NDYCC | Casey Traynor |
| Address | 701 16th Ave SW Mandan, ND 58554 |
| Phone and fax | Phone (701) 667-1408 Fax (701) 667-1414 |
| Visiting Hours | Question? Visit our visitation page. |
Mission Statement:
To provide professional, team-oriented juvenile correctional services to troubled adolescents within a safe and secure environment.
The Detention Program is designed to provide a short placement for those juveniles who have committed a crime in the community and need to be held in a secure facility pending a court hearing and disposition of their case. North Dakota Century Code: Chapter 27-20.4-06 — Detention of child — Juvenile Drug Court Exception
"If a child is participating in a juvenile drug court program, the drug court may order the child detained. The child may be detained twice during the child’s participation in the program but the total period of detention under this subsection may not exceed four days in a one-year period."
Recreational activities for juveniles housed at the North Dakota Youth Correctional Center are detailed in a weekly schedule prepared by the Recreation Therapist. All activities are aligned to the Physical Education and Health standards that all students will experience. At least 90 minutes of "major muscle group" activities are scheduled for each week day and two hours on weekends and holidays.
In addition, students who are in need of physical education credit towards their high school diploma will gain the hours and instruction needed for this credit during the physical education time scheduled within the students' day. Students are given a monthly fitness test to ensure they are maintaining or improving their general physical fitness. All activities are closely supervised, instructions of the rules are provided, and all participate in a supervised stretching and a warm-up prior to daily activity.
Both of these groups are designed in the evidence-based principles of Motivational Interviewing and Strengths-Based approaches that target resiliency and protective factors, in addition to stimulating and critical thinking and moral reasoning through experiential activities and guided discussions.
Girls Circle is a female-responsive program for girls 9-18 years of age regardless of risk factor. Girls Circle focuses on being responsive to adolescent female development rom a holistic perspective which takes into consideration the effects of a girl’s culture, gender, relationships and environment, as well as trauma by establishing a safe group experience that recognizes and fosters girls’ capacities for healthy relationships, empathy (being a primary and essential social skill), self-expression, the development of meaningful educational, career, and relationship goals and interpersonal skills.
Boys Council focuses on being responsive to adolescent male development from a holistic perspective, which takes into consideration the effects of trauma and violence, and on a boy’s culture and environment by establishing a safe group experience that fosters social-emotional development and empathy (being a primary and essential skill) while holding youth accountable and responsible for their behavior and choices. Additionally, it stimulates emotion management in a supportive way that establishes healthy and caring relationships with peers and adults and reconnects them to society in a pro-social capacity with the primary goal being a successful re-entry from correctional settings.
The North Dakota Youth Correctional Center (NDYCC) provides Intensive Outpatient Drug and Alcohol Treatment at Level II.1 for qualified juveniles placed at the NDYCC, as well as an aftercare program at Level I.
The current model of substance abuse treatment is Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for Substance Abuse or CBI-SA. The CBI-SA model provides a curriculum designed for individuals who are moderate to high risk and moderate to high need in the area of substance abuse. It relies on a cognitive-behavioral approach to teach participants strategies for avoiding substance abuse. The program places a heavy emphasis on skill-building activities to assist with cognitive, social, emotional and coping skills development.
It is a 10 to 12 week cognitive behavioral intervention that covers Seven Modules: Optional Pre-treatment Sessions, Motivational Engagements, Cognitive Restructuring, Emotional Regulation, Social Skill Development, Problem Solving Skill Development, and Relapse Prevention. The curriculum is designed for juveniles to receive 42 lessons, as well as numerous Advanced Practice sessions to continue implementing skills.
- The North Dakota Youth Correctional Center (NDYCC) contracts with a part-time Child Psychiatrist, who performs consultations and evaluations on juveniles with psychiatric needs.
- The NDYCC has a Nurse Practitioner on staff who oversees medication monitoring for juveniles who are on psychotropic medications.
- The NDYCC contracts with Sanford Health of Bismarck for one part-time Psychologist.
- The NDYCC has two licensed Mental Health Professional positions on staff, who provide individual, group, and family therapy, as well as manage the Suicide Prevention Programming.
PNF is a state-of-the-art resource including 100 one-hour lessons organized into five 20-session modules. These intensive interventions are based on cognitive-behavioral (CBT), motivational interviewing (MI), and social learning concepts. They are designed to reduce resistance to behavioral change and decrease anti-social behaviors, including gang activity, while increasing linkage to protective factors and pro-social elements.
These lessons help participants:
- Develop emotional intelligence and empathy.
- Identify specific protective factors, including a safety net of supportive people and programs.
- Master new thinking (CBT) and problem-solving skills.
- Develop coping skills and impulse control.
- Successfully reduce aggression and violence.
- Examine their choices and options about continuing gang activity.
- Prepare for a more successful future, including developing specific action plans – along with confidence and competence – to avoid their highest risk factors (people, places, things, and situations).
The North Dakota Youth Correctional Center offers education to all individuals who are eligible for schooling. All educational offerings are based on the individual’s own needs. This unique environment of small class sizes and more one-on-one opportunities can be very effective for the NDYCC students. The offerings are diverse and rich in variety and are offered following the Personalized Competency Based Learning (PCBL) initiative. The school is accredited by the Department of Public Instruction and Cognia. The students have the opportunity to participate in the following educational environments:
- Adult Basic Education Program working toward General Education Development (GED) diploma
- Career and Technical Educational Courses
- Core Subject Areas
- Elective Courses
- Junior High and High School Courses
- See Our Current Course Catalog in .pdf format. You must have Adobe Acrobat Reader to be able to view the catalog.
The North Dakota Youth Correctional Center provides counseling which meets individually and in small groups with all students. During these working sessions, students have the chance to explore interests as well as build a resume and resources to take with them upon leaving our facility.
- Career Plan
- College Related Services
- FAFSA (Financial Aid Applications)
- Scholarships
- College Applications
- Cover Letters
- Interests Inventory
- Interview Practice
- Resumes
- Testing Opportunities
- ACT
- ASVAB
The North Dakota Youth Correctional Library features over 1,500 volumes and 300 DVDs as well as newspapers and periodicals for the educational and recreational use of students, faculty and staff. We are a member of the ODIN consortium and participate in interlibrary loan with access to other North Dakota school, public, and academic libraries.
Orientation Program
Orientation is a requirement for all new students in their first week on campus. It familiarizes students to the expectations and procedures of the school at the NDYCC. The final element of orientation is a school tour to better transition the students smoothly into their first day of school.
Students, teachers, and campus case management meet monthly to review progress and learning. In preparation for this meeting, all educators grade the students in the areas provided below daily.
| Education Grading: Achievement: |
Cottage Grading Scale |
|---|---|
| 4 - A 94% - 100% | 1 - Needs Improvement |
| 3 - B 87% - 93% | 2 - Average |
| 2 - C 80% - 86% | 3 - Good |
| 1 - D 75% - 79% | 4 - Excellent |
Education Categories of Grading
- Effort/Attitude/Amount of Production
- Conduct/Behavior
In an effort to communicate effectively with the schools that will be receiving our students upon their discharge, a Transitions Packet is prepared and sent to the school main office or principal.
This packet offers:
- Teacher Observations
- Academic Ability
- Classroom Behavior
- Interventions
- Strengths
- Employability Skills
- Career Awareness/Exploration
- Academic Preparation
To request a transcript please call the School Administrative Assistant at 701-667-1403
Questions regarding Education:
- Director at 701-328-6707
- Principal at 701-667-1445
- Assistant Principal at 701-667-1481
Contact Us
| Department | Name | Phone |
|---|---|---|
| Education | Pfaff, Michelle L. | 701-667-1445 |
| Human Resources | Weising, Dan J. | 701-328-3963 |
| Medical | Weil, Donnette J. | 701-667-1410 |
| Physical Plant | Kuntz, Michael M. | 701-667-1406 |
| Training | Perdue, Tara R. | 701-667-1451 |
| Director of Resident Care Volunteer/Mentor Opportunities |
Friesz, Jess A. | 701-667-1476 |
| Director of Clinical Services | Klein, Joni R. | 701-667-1494 |