Youth Services

Welcome to Youth Services, a department committed to supporting children and families’ emotional and mental health since 1972. We provide a variety of high-quality programs and run groups on-site and in the community for Township youth and their families. All of our programs are designed with the Social Emotional Learning Goals of the Illinois State Learning Standards, and can be modified for multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS), or other specific school group needs.

All programs are designed for the purpose of enhancing learning and transferring acquired skills to achieve success: at school, at home, with friends, or with family. Contact Youth Services at (847) 981-0375 or youthservices@elkgrovetownship.com to discuss your group’s unique needs. We can create a customized experiential program for your team. Visit any of the links below for further information on our core programs. Please don’t hesitate to call us for any help with programming. We are full of ideas and passionate about what we do!

Department Directory

Renee Dorn, Youth Services Director

Jenn Hahn, Program Coordinator

Challenge Program

These group programs have been developed in conjunction with schools and community leaders using a strength-based approach to help group members achieve the following:

Set goals
Work together to solve problems
Accept responsibility
Communicate effectively
Support each other
Learn to ask for help
Manage emotions
Become responsible members for their
community

Informational Programs

The Township offers a variety of training and informational programs to support residents and help them develop valuable skills that are transferable to their lives and careers. Examples include:

Community presentations
Experiential education for teachers
Student government day
Student leadership training

Anxiety Management

The world, unfortunately, continues to present more and more challenges for all of us, especially our youth. This 6-week program helps young individuals manage their anxiety. Using mindfulness exercises and group discussion, students gain valuable knowledge about themselves and are empowered to choose strategies that are helpful in managing anxiety in their daily lives. Speciﬁc topics include:

Source of anxiety
Triggers
Automatic Negative Thoughts (ANTs)
Excellence vs. perfection
Social anxiety and social changes
Resiliency

Bullying Prevention

A student’s main responsibility is to learn, but what should the optimal learning environment look like? One of the best ways to create the learning environment you want is to set expectations early in the year, and ensure that the classroom and school are no place for bullying behavior. This program is designed with the following outcomes in mind:

Learning the common language of bullying vs. social conflict
Developing students’ skills to deal with bullying and social conﬂict
Building a sense of community
Proving students with a learning environment built upon mutual respect
Empowering all students to become UP-STANDERS

Girls Empowerment

Girls who are empowered with strategies that are helpful in managing their daily lives are more likely to become successful. Through this program of physical initiatives and group discussions, girls will be better able to socialize with their peers and gain valuable insight into themselves and others. The program focuses on the following topics:

Promoting self-esteem
Creating a positive self-image
Handling peer pressure
Becoming a positive role model

Social Skills

For students with social skills challenges, this unique program is designed to strengthen those skills as well as support social-emotional learning. The course combines physical activities and group discussions, with a focus on empowerment. In the process, individuals gain greater insights into themselves and others that will help them better manage their daily lives. Speciﬁc topics include:

Perspective taking
Communication
Social interactions
Reading situations

Future Leaders

Peer Mentoring

In this free program, younger students beneﬁt from positive peer mentoring relationships with older high school students. High school volunteers are carefully selected and screened, and all activities are directly supervised by Township staff. For students ages 8 – 13, this is a great opportunity for your child to have a positive older role model. Program goals include building confidence, increasing self-esteem, and enhancing social skills. Future Leaders typically meet at the Junior High School twice every month during the school year after school. Space is limited to 20 participants.

High School Mentors

Social Skills Group

Wed

25

30

6:30 pm - 7:45 pm

5:00 pm - 6:15 pm

Social Skills Group

Testimonials

This group has helped my child so much with her emotions and communication. I couldn't thank you enough if I tried!

My 9-year-old daughter has continued to learn new social skills and grows emotionally with each session attended. She is challenged to think about how other people might feel or perceive any given situation. Every session helps her mature into a more emotionally intelligent individual.

We love Renee and her staff at the Youth Groups! I love how Renee is relatable and cares for all the kids.

I found out about the groups after my son was diagnosed with ADHD. I'm very thankful we have something like this in our Township. Mrs. Renee and the whole team are awesome, and the kids love to participate in the meetings. We really appreciate what the team is doing for our kids. Thank you so much!!

Ms. Renee, Ms. Jill and Mr. Ed are AWESOME! I LOVE going to groups!!

Mrs. Renee and Girls Empowerment is AMAZING! The social skills, emotional strategies, and life skills that are taught in the classes really prepare the kids for real life. We are so happy that Elk Grove offers these classes for the youth to support our community. Thank you for making an impact on our youth!

Our child loves this program! She never drags her feet or refuses to go, she asks to sign up again & again! The program keeps her engaged and learning new things about herself and how to deal with challenging situations.