Woodland Hills has become a state-licensed site for the Center for Alcohol & Drug Treatment services and expects to further increase success rates for youth graduating from its residential programs.

The Woodland Hills Adolescent Substance Abuse Program brings together the strength and talents of two respected agencies to provide an innovative solution to adolescent substance abuse. Woodland Hills is a private non-profit agency that operates five highly successful delinquency prevention, intervention and rehabilitation programs in Duluth. The agency works to instill values and build assets in the 1,100 youth and families it serves from Duluth, all of Minnesota and the surrounding states. All Woodland Hills programs promote positive peer cultures that empower young people to help each other learn new value systems and the skills to make appropriate choices. Students' success rates for the past five years average between 70 and 90 percent (success defined as those students who are not placed out of the home a year after completing the program). In fact, Woodland Hills is recognized as one of the finest peer culture agencies in the nation.

The Center for Alcohol & Drug Treatment is a non-profit substance abuse treatment provider founded in Duluth in 1961. It provides primary outpatient treatment, residential treatment, halfway house and detoxification services to Kenabec, Pine, Carlton, St. Louis, Lake and Cook counties in Minnesota. All the Center's programs are licensed by the State of Minnesota and staffed by licensed chemical dependency counselors and other qualified health professionals. In addition to highly individualized, variable length treatment programs, the Center specializes in the treatment of complex abuse and addiction issues, with special programs for women, mentally ill, chronic alcoholics and others.

The Woodland Hills Adolescent Substance Abuse Program integrates chemical dependency services with client behavior plans for youth in its Chisholm House, Residential Treatment Center and Community Transition programs. Treatment plans specific to each youth help them identify and understand how chemical use impacts other areas of their life and develop the skills needed to recover. They work toward achieving their goals, such as abstinence, no further legal involvement, good health and positive relationships. Youth meet four days per week for three hours each day and a young person can be in the program from four to six weeks, depending on his or her progress. Well-defined aftercare and continuing care services also are a part of the Adolescent Substance Abuse Program as a means of providing support for youth following treatment.