The ARK (Adults Relating to Kids) Program is based upon research conducted by the ARKGroup in cooperation with the University of Texas School of Public Health. This ground-breaking research revealed a new paradigm for creating self-esteem in children. Rather than being a product of performance, high self-esteem is generated by a child’s receiving unconditional love from an adult (parent, teacher, counselor, etc.) who is central in the child’s life.

ARK helps adults learn how to discipline inappropriate behavior while still affirming the worth of the child. In enabling children to value themselves in spite of their imperfections, it provides young people with the ego strength to say “no” to negative peer pressure.

ARK for Parents and ARK for Teens
The ARK for Parents and ARK for Teens programs have been received with great enthusiasm in the Texas Juvenile Justice system. The ARK for Parents Program gives adults tools for conveying the unconditional love that conveys high self-esteem. The ARK for Teens Program (for thirteen to nineteen year-old youth) provide young people a forum for talking about subjects that are of interest to them (drugs, bully-proofing, anger management, etc.) and for learning communication skills that will enable them to have better relationships with their parents. There are two primary components of ARK’s Juvenile Justice program:

County and Municipal Courts Handling Misdemeanor Cases
Thirteen to nineteen year-old teens who are guilty of Class C misdemeanors (truancy, fighting, curfew violations, etc.) and their parents are referred to the ARK Program by the judges. The families come to the program together—once a week for ten weeks—and the parents participate in the ARK for Parents Program while the teens take the ARK for Teens Program. The endorsements from the participating families, in regard to improved behavior and increased communication, have been exceptional. A doctoral candidate at Sam Houston State University is doing her dissertation on how the ARK Program affects recidivism upon the part of court-ordered teens who have participated in the program.

District Juvenile Courts Handling Felony Offenses
In Texas, the District Courts handle the cases of juveniles who are charged with felonies. The District judges, in cooperation with the County Juvenile Probation Department, have invited the ARKGroup to offer the ARK Program to the families of children who have been given “deferred prosecution.” While these children have committed serious acts of criminality, the judges feel that they should be given another chance before being prosecuted by the county. The ARK Program has been given rave reviews by many of these families.