Youth Challenge

The Alabama National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Academy is a program designed for at-risk youth between the ages of 16 and 18. It targets participants who did not finish high school, are unemployed or under-employed; and, the teens are free from use of illegal drugs or substances. Further, participants are only accepted into the program if they are not on parole or probation and do not have other juvenile status offenses.

The Youth Challenge Program is the opportunity these individuals need to acquire focused skills training and to assist them in mastering academic skills so they can successfully function in the real world.

Participants live and work in a controlled military environment at Fort McClellen and are monitored full-time by IIF Data Solutions staff members for a period of five months. Following the residential phase, the participants enter a post-residential phase where they receive mentoring from a specially trained member of the local community.  The academy is structured as a military boarding school to promote an academic environment focusing on the core components of:

• Leadership / Followership
• Citizenship
• Academic Excellence (GED / High school diploma attainment)
• Job Skills
• Life Coping Skills
• Health and Hygiene 
• Service to Community
• Physical Fitness

The staff includes over 50 IIF employees dedicated to improving the lives of these teens. These highly skilled staff include: a full-time nurse; case managers; counselors; team leaders; admissions staff; maintenance and supply personnel; shift supervisors; instructors; recruiters and coordinators; management information specialists; and program managers.