Specifications include, but are not limited to:. The MYCA offers youth who are residents of Michigan between the ages of 16 through 18 the opportunity to improve their lives and make a brighter future for themselves and their families. The MYCA is voluntary 17-month residential, intervention program designed to provide life and academic skill building opportunities for 16 to 18-year-old high school dropouts who are identified as being at-risk and have decided to begin the process of improving their lives. The program incorporates eight core components that encourage physical, mental and moral development. The first two-weeks of the 22-week program is the Acclimation Phase, the objective of this phase is to subject program Cadets to physical, leadership, and mental challenges designed to assist and prepare Cadets to successfully complete the Program Residential Phase. During the next phase of the program, the Challenge Phase, the Cadet will attend traditional core educational curriculum classes culminating in the potential of earning 7 credit hours (or the contractor’s equivalent), an opportunity to take the GED examination, online high school and up to 18 articulated college credits. The last phase of the Challenge Academy is the Post-Residential phase and is conducted within the cadet’s community upon graduation from the Residential Phase. During this part of the program the MYCA graduate will be expected to be employed, continuing their education, meeting with a mentor once per week for twelve months and working to achieve goals established in their Post Residential Action Plan
