I was there from September of 1992 to April of 1996 the staff was very good and helpful when they were able to be the for me I had my up and down when I first started there but I knew that I had to change everything about myself so I am hoping to go back to visit there one day read more

I lived in Milhous from 1992 to 1993 or four not sure when I left milhous but it was around there. I was 12 when I went there. There was no fence around the lake on that first lake. There was a wood shop there where we built boats and we did a lot of catching fish and throwing them back in. We caught a lot of perch. I caught one with just a bare hook. It was a lot of fun but I was such a pain in the butt when I lived there. I remember a person named Dan Petrie who was there when I was living there. I guess he is still there. There were 54 kids there when I was there. Also all of the names of the buildings that I stayed at were Bunk house 1 and 2 Dick house halfway house Letterman house and Brunswick house. I went to every single one of them and ended up at close to a level 5. I was doing pretty good there until I messed up and then ended up in a new grouphome. They had a point chart for the kids. You could see all of your points for the next day. They had a dog there named tippy. She was a greyhound. They had a bear some buffalo and a spider monkey. That monkey loved me. Anyways I just wanted to say it was a fun place to be but I had a lot of problems and I wasn't listening to the staff there like I should have. read more

I Remember When,I Had To Go Here For 2 Months In '98,Because The Old Group Home,Cornerstone,I Came From,In Redding Closed Down.The People/Staff That Were There At The Time Were AWESOME. I LOVED Being Around All That Nature & Animals. Parents,If You're Considering Sending Your Child Here,I HIGHLY Recommend It.The City,People,& Staff Are AMAZING. read more

Milhous Children's Services - Just a Hard Working Man Now,With 3 AWESOME Kids - Child Care & Day Care Near Me - Nevada City, California

Our son was placed voluntarily at Milhous Children's Services in 2010, advised by our local Mental Health Dept. that Milhous was a good match for him. Our visit to the ranch showed an idyllic setting, homey ranch houses for the boys, lots of things to do and a caring staff. Milhous is a Level 14 facility, which means they are supposed to be staffed and trained to deal with children and adolescents who are severely mentally ill. Our son's experience was very different. Their complex system of behavior/rewards never allowed him to use any of the great thing they had for kids to do. They never rewarded, just punished. Worst of all they talked us into letting them use isolation as part of his treatment. We agreed but were uncomfortable with the decision. He was shown spread sheets that showed how his behavior was so poor that he didn't have any privileges. These spreadsheets were confusing to us, we know that our 12 year old son couldn't understand them. We arrived for one visit and found he had been in the isolation room, wearing soaking clothes for 3 hours (an empty room with a carpet on the floor and a window for observation at the door) When it was time for us to go he sobbed that he would be put back into the room. The law is very clear that isolation is only to be used as a last resort and only for an hour. Our county SELPA filed on our son's behalf that his rights were being abused. The response from Milhous was that he wasn't in isolation because the door was open and a staff member was sitting at the door. We also complained to Milhous administration about the over use of isolation. After our complaint staff was told not to tell us anything about our son's stays in isolation. We were called to a meeting and threatened that we'd be charged for all of his property damage (property damage is to be expected by children who are severely mentally ill) and that we needed to be angry with him for his behavior. His therapist said to us 'You're angry with us but never angry with him for what he does' Well...that's because he's a child, he's mentally ill and anger is not part of an effective treatment plan. While we were looking for another placement for our son we received a call that he was being discharged in 7 days per administration, specifically the Program and Therapeutic Services Directors. We were told at that time we'd be given time to find other placement, which is common for residential treatment facilities. We got a call the next day that again per the administration we would have to pick up our son in 6 days. They did not tell him until the night before that he was leaving. Most of his clothes were in quarantine because of a scabies outbreak and we lost quite a few of his things including a quilt we'd made for him so he knew he was loved when he was away from home. We picked up child who was devastated by being rejected by staff and a teacher he loved. He had been lead to believe that it was our choice so he was furious with us. Thankfully staff told him that it was a specific administrator who had made the decision and that the staff did not want him to leave. We would not recommend Milhous to any family. Their strict behavior modification program might work for kids who are not mentally ill but who have gotten into legal trouble because of their environment. Those type of kids are court placements and not voluntary placements. Our child's diagnosis is Reactive Attachment Disorder, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, ADD, High Functioning Autism. The first three years of his life were spent in a very chaotic environment with a mentally ill parent. It's very sad that this facility does not live up to it's promises. Of course not all of the staff was punishing and negative. There were some teachers, doctors and house staff who were loving and caring. When administration wasn't around some of them took our son out to enjoy some of the great things he saw on the ranch but couldn't do within their system. We'll be forever grateful for their kindness. We had been warned by one parent we knew that Milhous was not what it seems. We regret that we didn't listen. We regret that we didn't take our son home that first time we saw him cold, wet and upset in isolation. No child deserves that. If you google Milhous you'll find that they had trouble in the late 90's with being overly violent with a client who's arm was broken. All of the above was reported to both state and local agencies. read more

Hello All, well I'm finally getting around to sit and write a review about Milhous, and all they have done for my Grandson as of today. He has been at the Ranch now for about 2.5 months, and the caring staff has proven to be, a one of a kind place for my boy. He was off on the wrong track in life, and at 13 he was headed for destruction. Well we put him at the Ranch for a last resort type of thing, he was out of control, with no discipline, and really no rules of life. In just a short time of 2 mons. or so, they have him up and going, showering every am, up to go to school daily, and just molding him back to a regular young man. His med's are controlled, and he now can focus on getting back his life.. Tami, David, & Rich, they are life savers if you ask me :)) the proof is in the pudding with this group, they care ;)) and that's not an easy work load. I love this place, and cant thank it enough for all they are achieving with my Grandson, he will continue though the program for the 6 months, and I'm thrilled to see him growing into a responsible young man. I visit every 2 weeks, and really just like going up to the facility, and being in nature. City life kinda sucks after a while.. Anyways, I will write again when he is released back to us, and I know it will be a Fabulous Day in time.. Thank you guys for all you do, you are the real deal, and I pray the Good Lord Blesses you and yours. I'll be seeing you now. Aloha Monica read more

Selecting Milhous in Nevada City for our son has been one of the best decisions we have ever made as parents of a 15 year old. The staff have been exceptional in their understanding and patients with our son and family. His progress has been difficult but steady. When he made a home visit for a week at Christmas my friends and other family members were amazed at the changes in his behavior and appearance.Thanks to all the Milhous staff. read more

my name is Jonathan S. I spent a couple years as a client at Milhous and though life there felt empty because of the unemotional staff, the nature around was beautiful... when a kid goes "out of program", they (the staff) should walk at a distance from the kid and let him enjoy and de-stress in the near by nature. the animals were pretty cool. anyways, I used to be very troubled and now I'm a full time college student...milhous never had a positive affect on me but the nature and animals did. read more

We placed our son at Milhous in October 2013 in conjunction with our county mental health services and our school district. Our son's diagnosis is varied but the bottom line was that he was not attending school, was not successful at home and in interpersonal relationships with peers and was in a lot of distress due to severe anxiety and depression. His first 3 weeks at Milhous were a little rough for him, which is understandable, but once he settled in he also bought into the program at Milhous and he thrived! The biggest advantage of Milhous is their staff. The one thing he had always resisted at home was any kind of therapy. The therapists there are incredible! He had 3 different therapists while at Milhous and each one had a unique way in working with our son. Our son "graduated" two weeks ago and is adjusting to living at home, which overall, has been pretty smooth. He has matured tremendously during his stay at Milhous and we couldn't speak more highly of the teachers, staff and administrators. read more