Benchmark Young Adult School® was founded in Southern California on September 9, 1993 by Jaynie Longnecker-Harper, M.Ed., who has long been considered to be a leader in the industry of special education for adolescents and transitional living programs for young adults. As a single parent of four children, Jaynie understood all too well that many young people, and their frustrated families, faced a lack of resources in their struggle for self-reliance. With her education, experience and first-hand understanding of addiction, Jaynie set out to provide a real-world setting where troubled teens and struggling young adults could learn to emerge into independence.