Progress House was originally opened in 1971 at the Camino Hotel, Camino, California, under the direction of the El Dorado Council on Alcoholism (now EDCA Lifeskills). In 1976, when the Gann Initiative (Prop113) was passed, funding for Progress House was cut from the county budget. Progress House closed for two months, and was reopened by a group of caring, concerned individuals who recognized the real need within the community. In August 1978, Progress House, Inc., was formed as a non-profit organization.

In 1981, Progress House moved from it's location in Camino to it's "new home" in Coloma, where we purchased a private home that was converted to a residential facility, housing 13 men and 7 women. Due to problems created by having a coeducational facility we converted this house to men only in 1986 with the intent of opening another house specifically for women. There was certainly a need for a house for women, but the coeducational environment was not working.

In April of 1990, the Women's Residential Facility was opened in Garden Valley. The idea of women's services was expanded and we opened a perinatal residential "Medi-Cal" licensed facility for women and women with children. At this point both of our facilities expanded their licensing to include drug treatment as well as recovery from alcoholism with all attendant Licensing and Certification from the California Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs (DADP) as well as Medi-Cal Licensing for the perinatal Facility.

In 1991, we responded to a need for alcohol and drug treatment in an outpatient setting to offer a better continuum of services in El Dorado County. On August 1, 1991, the Outpatient Services component began services. This was a DADP certified outpatient facility, which was also certified by Medi-Cal. Shortly after, the home office was relocated from Coloma to Placerville address, adjacent to the Outpatient facility.

Continuing with the success of perinatal services, our Placer County facility began operation in September 1995, with an 8-bed residential facility in Rocklin. Attempting to increase capacity this facility was moved to a location in Alta in September 1997. Due to local politics, this facility remained with a 6-bed capacity.

From July 2002 until June 2003, Progress House ventured into the realm of adolescent residential treatment. The continuing efforts to conform with Department of Social Services' stringent compliance regulations, while operating a remote location in Herlong, Lassen County, brought the organization to an emotional decision to relinquish our provisional license and proceed with these services at a future date and location.

Progress House has highly valued it's employees by providing growth opportunities through training time and funding. We have offered health benefits, vacations, mental health leaves and holidays, as well as a matching retirement account. As a courtesy , we have offered sick and/or personal leave days up to 12 days per year. In return for these benefits, Progress House expects that employees will act as examples of recovery both on and off duty. This is a business where our services are often misunderstood. Staff may be the only model a community member may have to determine the value of our services. We believe that good health and well being physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually are assets with developing.

The Organizational Chart outlines the agency's chain of command. The Board of Directors is the primary governing body, which authorizes policy development and revisions. Although ultimately responsible for the agency operations, the Board of Directors does not participate in the day-to-day management, but maintains knowledge of all operations through direct communication with the Executive Director, or designee. The Board of Directors routinely has made recommendations and annually evaluates the Executive Director in regard to programs development. The Executive Director supervises all other staff or designee as outlined in the organizational chart. This chart is subject to change at the discretion of the Executive Director with approval by the board.