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An
Integrated Comprehensive Program for
Youth in Residential Care
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The
Building Blocks For Life program aligns with key
elements of the New Haven Mission and Core Beliefs.
New Haven and Its staff believe that all individuals
have the:
-
Power to transform and change
- Ability
to form relationships
- Ability
to problem solve
- Ability
to develop a sense of identity
- Ability
to plan and hope
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Treatment
Philosophy
The
Building Blocks For Life Program uses a psycho-educational
approach which embraces three harmonious theoretical
models as its philosophical foundation. These include:
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Assessment
& Evidence-Based Treatment Planning
Assessment
& Evidence-Based Treatment Planning has several
goals:
- To
provide a comprehensive picture of the youth
- To
provide a system of ongoing review of youth treatment
progress
- To
establish a Master Treatment Plan (MTP) that defines
the long and short term goals for the resident.
- To
move the youth to a less restrictive environment after
six months of treatment.
- To
provide ongoing assessment of treatment program effectiveness.
- To
provide information for continuous improvement.
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Program
Description
New Haven’s Basic Program Framework
Includes:
- Therapeutic Milieu with clinically
trained oversight
- Group Therapy
- Individual Therapy
- Family Therapy
- Special Education
- Vocational Training Program
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Reeducation
Reeducation
uses concepts and procedures derived largely from education,
but cast in an ecological framework and informed by
the insights of the mental health disciplines. It asserts
that no single approach holds all the answers, and thus
seeks to bridge various concepts of education and treatment
in order to facilitate the best opportunity for creating
positive change.
Reeducation
believes that constructing a truly powerful learning
environment requires a holistic synergistic practice
model that harmonizes a wide variety of factors which
places the quality of a youth’s total experience at
the center. Its tenants include:
- Relationship
is primary
- Assessment
is ecological
- Behavior
is holistic
- Teaching
is humanistic
- Crisis
is opportunity
- Practice
is pragmatic
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Reclaiming
Youth
Reclaiming
Youth, as a concept, was first articulated by Martin
Wolins, a sociologist at the University of California,
Berkeley. He advocated the creation of “Reclaiming Environments”,
which bring changes to meet both the needs of the young
person and of society. To reclaim is to recover, redeem,
and restore value to something that has been devalued.
Characteristics of a reclaiming environment include:
- Experiencing
belonging in a supportive community
- Meeting
one’s need for mastery
- Involving
youth in determining their own future while recognizing
society’s need to control harmful behavior
- Expecting
youth to be caregivers, not just passive recipients.
Reclaiming
Youth also stands in contrast to the Ecological Hazards
of modern society, including:
- Discouragement
and alienation
- Destructive
relationships
- Climates
of futility
- Learned
irresponsibility
- Loss
of Purpose or values
Fostering
high self-esteem is the primary goal of reclaiming environments.
Children and youth lacking a sense of self-worth are
vulnerable to a host of social, psychological, and learning
problems. Stanley Coopersmith in his definitive work
on self-concept identified four universal components
of self-esteem:
- Sense
of Significance/Acceptance by others (Belonging)
- Sense
of Competence/Self-Efficacy (Mastery)
- Sense
of Ability to Control Behavior and Gain Respect (Independence)
- Sense
of Virtue/Worthiness; Spiritual Fulfillment (Generosity)
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Resiliency
Resiliency
research refers to a body of international cross-cultural,
lifespan developmental studies that followed children
born into seriously high-risk conditions such as families
where parents were mentally ill, alcoholic, abusive,
or criminal, or in communities that were poverty-stricken
or war-torn. The astounding finding from these long
term studies was that at least 50% -- and often closer
to 70% -- of youth growing up in these high-risk conditions
did develop social competence despite exposure to severe
stress and did overcome the odds to lead successful
lives. These studies identified:
- The
characteristics of the resilient youth
- The
qualities of community systems and supports
- The
family environment
- The
school or educational setting, practices, and climate
Hence,
the more risk factors that can be reduced and the more
protective factors we can increase, the greater the
likelihood that the young person will be resilient and
weather the impact of severe stress and lead productive
lives.
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Assessment
& Evidence-Based Treatment Planning
Assessment and Evidence-Based
Treatment Planning has two primary goals.
- First, it provides a comprehensive
picture of the youth, with hard data with which to
develop a treatment plan.
- It also is a system of ongoing
review of treatment progress and a method of critically
examining the effectiveness of what we do.
Over time, the data collected
demonstrates just how effective our program is in achieving
our mission.
Evidence-Based Treatment Planning
consists of two parts
- Assessment
- Face-to-Face Consultation
Within the first two weeks after
placement, four assessments are conducted, as follows:
- Academic KTEA II or other
tool
- Clinical Child Adolescent
Functional Assessment Survey Vocational
- Ansell-Casey Life Skills
- Residential Behavioral Assessment
Form (BASC)
This data is brought to the Master
Treatment Plan Meeting, at which time the assessment
data is shared, discussed and the Master Treatment Plan
(MTP) is drafted, outlining the long and short term
goals for the resident. The fundamental goal of the
team is to move the youth to a less restrictive environment
after six months of treatment.
After the Master Treatment Plan,
the Treatment Team reconvene every 90 days to review
progress and discuss new goals and interventions. It
is expected that at the first quarterly Treatment Plan
Review Meeting (four months after intake), the team
will already have noted trends that indicate the likelihood
of achieving the 6-month discharge target. An Individualized
Service Plan Report (ISPR) is generated with progress
update and new goals and objectives.
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