Adolescent Alternatives

If you are looking at Adolescent Alternatives in Redwood City, CA, the basics worth knowing up front: The facility's programming is outpatient (Outpatient, Dual Dx), not residential. This page walks through the questions that tend to matter most to families weighing a specific program.

Care levels at Adolescent Alternatives

On care levels specifically: Adolescent Alternatives is an outpatient-focused program (Outpatient, Dual Dx) — patients live at home or in sober living and attend treatment sessions. This level of care is clinically appropriate for mild-to-moderate substance use disorder, or for patients stepping down from residential. What that means in practice is that matching Adolescent Alternatives to the right clinical situation depends on whether you or a loved one needs the level of care this facility actually offers — which is a clinician's judgment, not a facility's sales pitch.

Insurance and payment

On insurance specifically: Payment and insurance specifics for Adolescent Alternatives are not fully documented in the SAMHSA registry — a direct admissions conversation is the reliable way to confirm what forms of payment are accepted and at what network-contract level. Before admission, ask the facility's utilization-review team for a written Verification of Benefits — not verbal assurance, which is where most post-treatment financial surprises come from. Also ask for specific plan-level confirmation, not carrier-level (e.g., "your Aetna PPO plan" not just "Aetna").

Specialty programming

The facility's documented specialty programming includes: Young adults, Criminal justice (other than DUI/DWI)/Forensic clients, Clients with co-occurring mental and substance use disorders. Specialty programming varies substantially by facility — some facilities offer "dual diagnosis" as a marketing category but not a clinical differentiator. Ask for the specific clinical-team credentials and the actual hours of specialty-specific content per week.

Before you call

Three questions to put to Adolescent Alternatives before admission: the specific ASAM level the facility is billing; the written Verification of Benefits for your specific plan product; the MAT policy (continuation of buprenorphine or methadone during residential, specifically). If the clinical situation involves opioid use disorder, confirm explicitly whether Adolescent Alternatives offers medication-assisted treatment — buprenorphine, methadone, or naltrexone. Programs that do not are operating outside the current standard of care. Getting answers in writing protects against the downstream surprises.