San Diego Center for Children - San Diego, California

Zoe G.

I don't usually do reviews but it needs an accurate description on how this place is.

I went in on May 17th and got discharged on June 20th of this year. And it was honestly the best thing for getting more help.

Yes, I did get exposed to some traumatic experiences but there are a lot of staff there who truly do care about you and the school side is absolutely amazing. Really all you need to do is actually be open to get better and then you'll all good to go.

There are obviously still staff members who enforce the rules too much or are mainly just rude in general, but there are so many good ones that I'll list below because they honestly deserve a pay raise.

The food here could honestly do better, debating that sometimes the chicken was undercooked, the food kids didn't like as much, and the pizza was always dowey in the middle. That was honestly the main issue when it came to this center, and you can report these issues and they take it into consideration really. The only thing is that it has to come from the kid, cause they don't listen to staff complaints as much. Also, when you ask for your prn, it can take up to an hour or two. But that's also why staff are there, to help you cope with it and hopefully find amazing staff members there (including the ones I list below)

If you're debating on sending your kid here, I would do it but obviously take everybody's words and concerns into consideration.

The nice staff members I met were: Mr. Joe, Mrs. Sandra, Mr. Finn, Mr. Vincente, Mrs. Shay, Mr. Greg (school side), Mrs. Marquez (school side), Mrs. Shelly, Mrs. Jamie, Mrs. Sophie, and Mrs. Grace

Rachel J.

This is one of the best facilities my daughter could have gone to when residential treatment becomes an option. The teachers here are amazing. They truly want their students to succeed. Our family therapist connected with my daughter so well that she was able to open up in a comfortable environment and be herself. The whole team did a phenomenal job in advocating for her needs and meeting us where we were at!

W

Abusive , neglectful outdated facility and practices. Bad long term impact and trauma and experiences of malnourishment and denied medical attention to the woman, they will even let you go hours without water in heat and beyond, this is basically like a detention center protocol all around and how it’s set up inside, and not mental health oriented staff, it’s a punishment place and another one of the worst troubled teen industry where you sign off a kids life and they cannot tell you if they’re ok on the other line make you sign a waiver about seeing things you can’t unsee .angry and ignoring , physically and psychologically they will do damage it’s not living conditions at all neglect and abuse, a lot of girls I lived with here are pregnant or on drugs just causes so much more trauma especially as a female to be neglected in certainways and affected. My health when I couldn’t even get real food or care and basic needs sometimes
Disgusting disguised as tough love when it’s really psychological trauma and a scary enviroment where I hallucinated from medication and self substance to cope and got diagnosed with ptsd and psychosis, I had bladder infections and horrible stuff happen and told I was worthless

Alice P.

Went to watch my nephew get an award and he also performed for the graduation ceremony. Very nice. I love the drumming. The staff are the best and really care about the students. My nephew is starting to love school and learning. I am very proud of him and I know this school is the reason he is doing so well.

Sol S.

Former foster youth that went there, horrible place for children looking for mental help. The kids that awol from there have a reason why they ran away or tried too, the staff likes to see how far they can push buttons until needing to be physical and restrain a child because they are responding to mistreatment. Not all the staff are bad , there are a small few that actually cares but as for the rest, they see the kids as doller signs. I remember a certain staff member that would harass me constantly for my spiritual beliefs at the time and she even threw a softball to my face when I was walking around the court, she said it was a accident but all the witnesses said she was playing catch with some one and saw me and threw the ball directly at behind her at me and I was behind her at the Time . That staff was miss. April (I’m not sure if she still works there) staff will also lie about the level up system. If you are minding your program and trying to get to the highest level, staff will lie to drop you to the lowest level and watch how you respond and then discipline you for reacting because you don’t understand why you are on the lowest level for no reason . The Clark side is the worse. There are better programs out there for children, this place will just traumatize them .

Antonio H.

My name is Anette and I’m 14. I was a patient here from April 18th to June 2nd. Most of the staff were so helpful. They treated us like “normal” mentally healthy kids. A few staff were a bit too stuck up on rules, but most of them were so kind and empathetic. The school there had such kind and understanding teachers, always ready to lend you coping mechanisms when needed. My therapist, Ms. Michelle, was so sweet and kind. She helped me so much in my recovery. She helped me learn that its okay to put myself first, and that it wasn’t my responsibility to help everyone else with their issues when I’m dealing with my own. She helped me learn the difference between caring and putting someone else before me. I had so many favorites when it came to staff. Ms. Bailey, Ms. Shelly, Ms. Jessa, Mr. Clarence, Ms. Yesenia, Mr. Joe, Ms. Neesha… it goes on and on. I wont say its the most perfect place, but it truly did help me. My parents had me in the waiting list for 3 residentials. They prayed that the best one would open up first, and it was this one. And God, their prayers worked. I met good and bad people, i made friends. I met great people, and they truly made me feel understood. I will never forget how this place quite literally saved my life. It isn’t perfect and the food sucked like 99% of the time, but it was perfect enough for me. It helped me. It saved me. I didnt even want to leave. When it was time for me to go, i sobbed and cried, begging to stay. I had so much fun here and it made me happy. But it wasn’t just fun of course, it was helpful. So so very helpful. I started eating again and i fixed my sleeping schedule. Its all ruined now because of how sudden my parents pulled me out, but this place had me feeling the most relieved, free, and happiest I’ve ever been. Thanks to you, i finally had a good happy summer. I haven’t felt this way in 4 years. I truly recommend this place. It had activities everyday, and those helped me a lot. It would distract me from bad thoughts. They werent always fun, but they were helpful. They had a gaming room with a nintendo switch, a ps4, two computers, and a tv. It was always the highlight of my weekend going there. The outings were so much fun. It helped me get used to the outside world a little more. I got passed so I could leave for a few hours and spend time with my family. But the people staying there were like a family to me. A big messed up family who was always there to help each other. Its different for everyone, but it was wonderful for me. Id recommend coming or sending someone here. But beware, the school has just as much drama as any other one. There were a few fights during my stay. Still had a hell of a good time. I miss the family I built there

Julian A.

My name is Julian Carter now and I was here 2 years ago, thus place was amazing. I made friends, I got along with staff and even though some of the staff were a bit strict, that
Was what made it fun. I totally recommend it but some kids can be a bit rude at the start but you warm up easily. I’ve gotten punched and my hair pulled but we were all joking around. I think things like this is what made everybody feel close and like a family. We’d get in argument but forgave afterwards. It’s super cool and i didnt even want to leave. This is my experience and it’s different for others but overall, I want to go back there believe it or not. There are also various activities during the day and they take peanut allergies seriously. There is also a gaming room with a couple Nintendo switches, a PlayStation, and various computers. I expect great thing for this place and it can help many other kids

Michelle R.

I normally don’t do this but I want to have an accurate review. I am not an employee, past employee and family member or friend of any employee. I do have a daughter there but have no alliances to anyone there. You probably think this is going to be a rant. It is not.
My child arrive approximately a month ago. She is nine. We have been struggling since the age of three with her. She has had counseling, many, many meds and even to Aurora. This is a last result. I cried and cried and even wanted to pull her out after the first night. Not because she was being hurt or mishandled there but because I felt guilty and a failure as a mother.
I will say that we have had many interactions with staff and all but one or two have been amazing. They follow up if your child has any type of incident, and try there best to help them.
The one incident that I will say was a small worry was when my daughter said one of the employees in her pod pushed her. Immediately they transferred him to a new pod and did an investigation. To that I will say, my daughter is in there for behavior issues and does tend to overreact and lie.
The school is amazing there. I wish we lived closer and she could just attend school there. Nine students to four teachers. She is praised constantly and loves going to school now. There are outings for good behavior and they get bucks to buy things with good behavior.
Her therapist, Christina is amazing. If I had enough money I would have her as our own personal therapist. She is helpful and never tells us, times up!
Our drive is an hour away so we visit once a week and now we are on weekend visits.
I started off unsure of this but now feel we did the best thing for our child.
I am hoping to get more services for home when she is discharged.
My one complaint if I had one is they didn’t tell us on enrollment that they would be taking her blood once a week. I am sure it was an over site but it needs to be made aware of for further kids.