The National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs (NATSAP) was created in 1999 to serve as a national resource for programs and professionals assisting young people with emotional or behavioral difficulties. Since its inception we have grown from the 7 founding members to our current membership of more than 150 residential treatment centers, therapeutic boarding schools, wilderness programs, outdoor therapeutic programs, and young adult programs. Additionally, we number several hundred individual members encompassing allied professionals, educational consultants, and program staff members.
NATSAP was founded to provide opportunities for private therapeutic programs and schools to collaborate, share information, exchange ideas and develop collegial relationships. NATSAP is an organization comprised of professionals striving to uphold ethical and best practice standards.
NATSAP is not a referral or placement agency. We are a volunteer membership organization supporting professionals and programs in their efforts to help troubled young people. NATSAP does not provide oversight of our member programs, believing that responsibility lies with the licensing and accrediting agencies.
As we continue to lead our association with effective and innovative membership services, we are excited to announce that NATSAP’s Membership Committee and Board of Directors have widened our scope by creating several new membership categories.
These new categories will broaden our NATSAP family and expand the exchange of ideas and information.
Moving forward, we ask you to spread the word of all NATSAP membership categories throughout your professional community.
You can download the applications here:
- Program/School Membership
- Individual Professional Membership (Formerly Individual Affiliate Membership)
- Affiliate Membership
- Business Partner Membership
- Student Membership
Below you will find information on:
- Benefits of Membership
- Requirements for Membership
BENEFITS OF MEMBERSHIP
NATSAP was created in 1999 to serve as a national resource for programs and professionals assisting young people with emotional and behavioral difficulties. Since it’s inception we have grown from 7 founding member programs to our current membership of over 170 programs and many Individual Affiliates who support our work.
Excellence- NATSAP strives for excellence by requiring all member programs to be licensed by the appropriate state agency authorized to set and oversee standards of therapeutic and/or behavioral healthcare for children, or accredited by a nationally recognized behavioral health accreditation agency. NATSAP guides all programs to follow our high ethics and standards designed to keep all youth safe in treatment.
Public Outreach- Resources are spent to ensure our web site is current with available information for program staff, professionals, and parents. NATSAP prints an annual directory of all program members that is mailed to over 10,000 professionals in the field of adolescent treatment. NATSAP professional staff works closely with other national associations of like interest.
Education and Training- NATSAP’s commitment to education is apparent with the offering of a national conference annually followed by regional conferences held around the country. Conference sessions are presented by leaders in the field of child and adolescent therapeutic care and by experts in education and program administration. Networking and collegiality among members are highly encouraged.
Research- NATSAP supports a broad based outcome and effectiveness research program directed by an independent staff based at the University of New Hampshire. This staff also edits and assists in publishing a professional Journal of Therapeutic Schools and Programs (JTSP) designed to stimulate a professional exchange of information and data to improve practice in residential treatment.
Peer Networking- NATSAP offers program staff involvement with representatives from member programs through active committees such as Education, Membership, Member Services, Public Relations, and Public Policy.
Advocacy- NATSAP’s professional staff works closely with our Washington, DC based lobbying firm specializing in the area of government affairs. NATSAP member programs are guided through the process of making their voices heard with local, state and federal representatives to ensure safe residential treatment options remain in place.
REQUIREMENTS FOR MEMBERSHIP IN NATSAP
Effective May 1, 2007 all programs applying for membership in NATSAP must
* be licensed by the appropriate state agency authorized to set and oversee standards of therapeutic and/or behavioral healthcare for youth and adolescents or accredited by a nationally recognized behavioral health accreditation agency.
The four accrediting agencies we recognize are:
- Joint Commission
- COA
- CARF
- NIPSA – Therapeutic
* educational accreditation is not accepted as licensure.
* have therapeutic services with oversight by a qualified clinician
- Oversight by a licensed therapist from the state agency as well as oversight and licensure by a therapeutic agency within the state.
* aspire to NATSAP Ethical Principles and NATSAP Principles of Good Practice
A program with Full membership status will be required to be open for more than two years. Those programs not meeting this criteria will have Associate membership status.
Clarification:
Licensure: The NATSAP Board of Directors reserves the right to determine if the licensure meets the NATSAP membership requirements.
Therapeutic services with oversight by a qualified clinician: NATSAP members must have an independently state licensed mental health professional that is openly accessible to the students and has oversight responsibility for individual treatment/service plans.
NOTE: Current members of NATSAP will be required to be in full compliance with the new membership criteria by January 1, 2009.
