The Excel Program is innovative and comprehensive and includes:

• Teen and Family Support. Home-visits and monthly phone contact by GDS staff provide support, guidance and encouragement to teens and their families.
  
• Crisis Intervention. In addition to ongoing teen and family support, in times of crisis, GDS staff provides support, counseling and referrals to mental health and/or social service agencies if necessary.
  
• Advocacy. GDS staff helps its families access other social service, mental health, educational and legal aid services and maintains ongoing communication with these professionals to provide comprehensive and effective care.
  
• Mentoring Program. Volunteer camp counselors from Camp Excel maintain weekly, supervised phone contact with a teen whom they bonded with at Camp. If appropriate, mentor days are arranged for the teen and volunteer.
  
• Reunions. Every three months, all of the campers, staff and volunteers gather in a nearby community to reinforce the bonding, support and learning that was experienced during the Camp week.
  
• After-School Program. The GDS staff facilitates weekly peer groups for teens that attended Camp Excel. These groups are held within the teens' communities.
  
• Topic Groups. In order to address specific adolescent issues in a peer setting, the GDS staff holds topic groups for teens who attended Camp Excel.
  
• Caretaker Groups. The GDS staff leads caretaker support groups for the parents and foster parents of the teens who attended Camp Excel.