Builders Care, the charitable arm of the Northeast Florida Builders Association (NEFBA), is set to begin renovations at AMIkids Jacksonville on Beach Boulevard near Hodges.

The project will include a complete interior and exterior makeover of the approximately 13,000-square-foot school building. Completion of the $1.2 million project is anticipated by December 2013.

“Builders Care is honored to be working on this very important project,” said Builders Care Executive Director Matt Wilford. “This is a nationally recognized program that has helped many troubled youth turn their lives around. The school is a tremendous asset to our community.”

Formerly the Jacksonville Marine Institute, AMIkids Jacksonville is a subsidiary program of AMIkids, an alternative educational and counseling program for at-risk youth ages 14-18. The youth who enter the program are often in the juvenile justice system or have failed the public school system.

The Jacksonville program was founded in 1973 and moved to the Beach Boulevard campus in the late 1970s. When the property was to be sold in 2007, the program relocated to a rented space at St. Andrew’s Church on Lone Star Road. However, when the sale fell through and the program had outgrown its rented space, the AMIkids board of trustees decided to renovate the Beach Boulevard property and return there.

“AMIkids Jacksonville is a part of an innovative national network of day treatment programs and has been serving the community for more than 40 years,” said David Hull of the AMIkids Board of Trustees. “The renovation of our Beach Boulevard facility will give the school a solid base from which to continue this valuable service.”

The county, state and federally funded program, which started in Ft. Lauderdale, combines education, counseling and behavior modification based on rewards rather than punishment to help turn around troubled youth. The AMIkids day treatment programs (including the Jacksonville program) are the only day treatment programs in the country that have been recognized by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention as model programs. There are currently 40 sites across the country. More information is available at www.amikids.org.