Dream.
Believe.
ACHIEVE.
The National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Program was established by Congress in 1993 to turn around the lives of young men and women between the ages of 16 and 18 who are experiencing difficulty in completing traditional high school. This is a free program open to Georgia residents.
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Georgia Youth ChalleNGe Program UPDATE (Dec. 4, 2020)
New Candidate/Cadet Screening & Testing Requirements
As prospective candidates prepare to enroll in our January 2021 classes at both Fort Stewart and Fort Gordon campuses, they must ensure that they follow appropriate guidelines to maintain the health and safety of the program participants and staff at each campus.
Per Georgia Governor’s executive guidance and recommendations from Georgia DPH and Georgia National Guard Command Surgeon, entry into the Georgia Youth ChalleNGe Program will require COVID-19 testing for candidates/cadets prior to and upon intake for a class.
- To be accepted for intake, the candidate/cadet must provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test taken not earlier than 12 days prior to intake. This proof must be provided at intake and may consist of an email or screenshot of the negative test result for the given candidates/cadet.
To be in compliance with this testing requirement, the following dates should be reviewed:
- The Fort Stewart YCA Intake Day is Sunday January 17, 2021, so your COVID-19 test should be taken after Monday January 5, 2021.
- The Fort Gordon YCA Intake Day is Monday January 25, 2021, so your COVID-19 test should be taken after Wednesday January 13, 2021.
You should arrange to have the test completed in time to have the results returned prior to the Intake Day of the campus at which you are scheduled to enroll.
You can find your nearest coronavirus testing location at the Department of Public Health website link below. These tests are free of charge.
https://dph.georgia.gov/covidtesting
- Candidates/Cadets testing will be confirmed by the academy during intake to further validate their COVID-19 status. If the candidate/cadet tests positive for COVID-19, they will be isolated at the academy for the required timeframe before integrating into their platoon. Positive cadets may be returned to their family and dismissed from the class at the discretion of the Academy Director if circumstance warrant.
- Upon arrival for intake, screen the candidates/cadet by taking their temperature and have them complete the COVID-19 screening questionnaire. If a candidates/cadet is flagged due to fever or response to the questionnaire, they will not proceed and must not be accepted for intake.
- Once accepted to the academy, candidates/cadets will be screened at least once daily for fever and symptoms with a temperature check and questions about symptoms.
- Recommend that candidates/cadets self-quarantine for 14 days prior to arrival to Youth Challenge.
- Recommend that candidates/cadets monitor their temperature and symptoms for 14 days prior to arrival.
Cadet Life
I personally volunteered for the Youth Challenge Program. I watched my brother skip a year of high school because of YCA and he graduated with his diploma in class #45 so I followed behind him in class #46. The first day wasn’t a fairy tale, they call the first two weeks hell weeks. Hell it ...
I went to YCA on my 17th birthday on July 19, 2015 and graduated on Dec 19, 2015. I was kicked out of my house and had nowhere else to turn to, so I ended up at YCA to try and finish high school to have more opportunities further in life. At first, it was very hard. I had trouble opening up to ...
My name is Kameryn Lavender. I graduated YCA in Milledgeville in April of 2019 Class 5. In the beginning, it was difficult. I say it was difficult because it’s a program for DIFFICULT KIDS! You go in not knowing what to expect. Sometimes there was arguing and fighting, sometimes things ...
Thanks to Youth ChalleNGe, Sharrieff feels that he certainly dodged the bullet of incarceration. Now he is a student at Atlanta Technical College taking an Avionics Bench Technician course, and will soon be transferring to Middle Georgia State University to finish obtaining his private ...
I graduated from Fort Stewart Youth ChalleNGe Academy in June 2005. I joined the US Army in September 2005, and served 12 years before getting out this past July. If it wasn't for attending YCA, I probably wouldn't be were I'm at right now. This was definitely one of ...
Since graduating from the Milledgeville Youth ChalleNGe Academy in October 2017, Devon has been a cook at Waffle House and has steadily increased his start pay of $7.25 to $10.25 per hour. Devon also just completed his first semester at West Georgia Tech studying welding. He has found his ...
My son was failing school, relationships, mostly himself. He was on a dangerous road heading for destruction. He went to Challenge when he was 16 years old. He learned and accomplished so much. He learned self-discipline, improved his self-esteem ten-fold, graduated high school with HONORS!! He ...
I love this place. My son was going to end up dead or in jail before attending YCA. Now, he is very respectful and thinking about his future. He has done a complete turn around. I'm so thankful for this program. So happy my child could take part in something truely this special.
This is an awesome place for kids who need structure in order to get themselves together. I saw my son for the 1st time in 6 weeks yesterday and he has changed so much. Best decision.
I am a YCA graduate; the program definitely did have challenges and hard times, but I feel like the program set me straight and prepared me to be a successful person later on in life.
I'm happy that my daughter agreed to go to YCA and be away from all family and friends. We miss her, but we know she is doing her best to succeed in the program!!!
This program has done such an amazing job with my son in just 30 days! I already see a change in not only his attitude, but his will to better himself as a young man. I'm a single mom who had done all I knew to do with minimum help and I refused to allow him to fail at life. I battled with ...