How St. Ann s Can Help. The Children We Serve

Transcription

1 How St. Ann s Can Help When you stop and think about it, children need a lot to develop into healthy, happy, responsible adults: a home; a family; limits and boundaries; a good education; proper nutrition and health care; exercise; and above all, unconditional love. Though it s not always easy, most children receive these supports in a traditional family and school setting. For children and families struggling with chronic behavioral or emotional problems, learning or developmental disabilities, or mental illness, St. Ann s Home provides the specialized services needed to remediate significant issues and promote healthy growth. Established as an orphanage in 1925, today St. Ann s Home provides a broad range of services for vulnerable children and their families in the Merrimack Valley and throughout New England. St. Ann s serves children of all races and religions. They come to St. Ann s with difficulties in relationships with peers and adults learning disabilities history of trauma or abuse overwhelming anxiety depression behavioral problems or mental illness. Boys and girls kids from 5 to17 they come here to get the kind of care they simply can t get anywhere else. The Children We Serve Across all programs at St. Ann s Home, children have in common the need for intensive services due to social, emotional, mental health, developmental, or behavioral disabilities. The typical child entering one of our Residential programs comes with a background of multiple chronic problems which both derail healthy development now and threaten to produce destructive effects in the child s later life. These problems typically manifest themselves in the form of special emotional and behavioral needs accompanied by delays in their education. Children in our Day Treatment program are able to live within a family setting but have special educational needs that cannot currently be met within their public schools. Finally, children served in our Outpatient programs receive services designed to help support the child and family, with the intent of either preventing the need for a higher level of care or to facilitate a successful transition back into the family setting. My son started out as a shy and withdrawn child. With the help of St. Ann s, he has grown up into a very outgoing, happy young man. Parent S t. A n n s H o m e & s c h o o l

2 Staff are often role models for the children we serve. Having a sense of humor is a wonderful tool. S t. A n n s H o m e & s c h o o l

3 Our Programs All of our programs are designed to provide a continuum of services to assist very troubled youngsters who need intensive help for themselves and their families. Our goal is always to provide the appropriate level of intervention needed to return the child to a family environment whether the biological, adoptive, or foster family setting or to a public school setting. All of our programs feature a strengths-based approach designed to work collaboratively with families. We strive to provide culturally competent services and offer these, whenever possible, in families native languages. At St. Ann s, we work to empower families and children to develop effective coping strategies and strong, sustaining relationships. Educational Program St. Ann s Home operates an approved Chapter 766 special education school serving both residential and day students. Our school features small classroom settings which provide individualized educational programs designed to meet the specific needs of each student. Licensed special education teachers are supported by therapists (mental health, speech/language, and occupational), as well as specialists in reading and developmental disabilities and a team of behavior management counselors. Child psychiatric services are included for children in our Residential programs and are available through our outpatient clinic for day students. The Educational program focuses on meeting the academic needs of the child while also addressing the social, emotional, behavioral, developmental, or mental heath disability that is impeding the student s ability to succeed in a public school setting. The types of diagnoses of children entering our school include, but are not limited to, Asperger s Syndrome, bipolar disorder, reactive attachment disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, pervasive developmental disorder, ADHD, major depression, anxiety, or oppositional defiant disorder. The program works closely with the child s family (whether biological, adoptive, or foster) and with the child s school district to craft an intervention that will facilitate a successful return to a public school and community setting. Families of day and residential students participate in regular sessions with their child s therapist. These services can also be supplemented or continued after discharge from the Educational program through our outpatient mental health clinic, based on family interest and insurance accessibility. St. Ann s has had a positive impact on my son s life and a very positive effect on our family life. The structure, support (for both parent and child), and consistency has enabled my son to succeed and have confidence in himself. Parent S t. A n n s H o m e & s c h o o l

4 All of our programs offer an abundant amount of one-to-one support to address the needs of each individual child. S t. A n n s H o m e & s c h o o l

5 RESIDENCE AND EDUCATION PROGRAM For children and adolescents requiring the intensive support of a 24-hour therapeutic program, St. Ann s offers the Residence and Education program. Children reside on comfortable and homey dormitory units, or in one of two adolescent group homes in the community, and attend school at St. Ann s. Across all of our Residential programs, attention is paid to the holistic development of each child, supporting his or her emotional, social, and behavioral growth in a safe and nurturing setting. Family involvement is encouraged and strongly supported by the resources of St. Ann s clinical, child care, and behavior management staff. BEHAVIORAL TREATMENT RESIDENCE (BTR) Some children need the structured therapeutic and residential support that we offer but are able to attend public school in their hometown. These children live at St. Ann s and are transported daily to their community school. Given that we always seek to return children to a family setting and to the public school system, this program can serve as a steppingstone towards that goal or may be the level of service that best meets the needs of a particular child upon admission. As with the residential school, we work extensively with the family to facilitate the return home. When needed, we offer respite care and home-based services upon discharge from the BTR. COMMUNITY-BASED ACUTE TREATMENT (CBAT) Children in immediate crisis need a highly structured setting to keep them safe. In certain cases, admission to our CBAT program will serve as an alternative to an acute care hospital admission. While the service is clinically intense, the length of stay is brief, typically 14 days or less. The service is intended to stabilize the child, and either return the child home or transition the child to a different level of care. The child s discharge plan typically involves referral to a community-based mental health clinic or other identified resources. What I like about St. Ann s is that I have caring teachers. We have all these activities that we do. The stuff I like to do is math, science and art. Our art teacher is a good art teacher. Student S t. A n n s H o m e & s c h o o l

6 DIAGNOSTIC PROGRAMS There are times when a comprehensive assessment is necessary to determine the most appropriate level of care or treatment plan needed by a particular child. This may be the case for a child when there is a minimal amount of available background information or for whom the current treatment plan is not deemed to be effective. Diagnostic services are available through a short-term residential placement or on an outpatient basis. Depending on the needs and circumstances of each child, the following diagnostic assessments are provided: psychiatric Positive self-esteem is the pathway to achievement. assessment, child and family assessment, educational assessment, social/ behavioral and recreational assessment, independent living skills assessment, firesetting evaluation, trauma/sexual abuse evaluation, sexual behavior risk assessment, attachment study, substance abuse evaluation, psychological assessment, neuropsychological assessment, and neurological assessment. DAY TREATMENT PROGRAM Just as some youngsters live here and go to school in the community, other children live in the community and come to school at St. Ann s. Our Day Treatment program offers special education for children with special emotional needs, complemented by a strong therapeutic component as directed by their Individualized Education Programs. Children are transported to St. Ann s from more than 20 communities within a one hour radius of St. Ann s. Referrals to this program come from school districts seeking an academically focused, clinically supported school setting for students with significant emotional, developmental, behavioral, and learning needs. FAMILY OUTREACH AND OUTPATIENT SERVICES St. Ann s Home operates a licensed mental health clinic along with specialized Family Outreach programs. These programs are designed to provide services for at-risk families, most often in their homes. Services may include therapy, case management, mentoring, parent aide, behavior management counseling, psychiatric assessment and treatment, and information and referral. Our Family Outreach and Outpatient programs are designed to work with families to avert the need for a higher level of care or to provide aftercare support for children discharged from one of our other programs. For children being discharged from our residence, there are opportunities for staff from the child s residential unit to continue to offer support in the home. S t. A n n s H o m e & s c h o o l

7 Our goal is to build upon the strengths of each child. S t. A n n s H o m e

8 CONTINUUM OF CARE While some of our children s needs are met through one of our programs, many times children are served through the continuum represented by all of our programs. Our goal is always to meet the needs of children and their families using the least restrictive level of care. This often means that children will use the services of different programs at St. Ann s as they prepare to return to their families and/or the public school environment. St. Ann s Home is committed to providing a continuum of care that enables children to find success as they transition from one level of care to another. In addition to our own continuum, St. Ann s partners closely with other community agencies, working collaboratively to bring about lasting positive changes in the lives of the children and families we serve. S St. Ann s has helped me to get along better with my family. I have learned to take responsibility for my actions. Student t. A n n s H o m e & s c h o o l Admission St. Ann s accepts referrals from school districts, social workers, hospitals, clinicians and some insurance companies. Parents may also inquire about our services. Children considered for admission often present with a range of issues, including Asperger s Syndrome, ADHD, posttraumatic stress disorder, mood or anxiety disorders, reactive attachment disorder, other mental health or behavioral disorders, or learning disabilities. Depending on the program to which the child is admitted, funding may be provided by health insurance, Chapter 766 provisions, or a state agency. For more information on referrals and admissions to St. Ann s, please call us at (978) and ask for the admissions department. You may also access additional information about our programs at our web site: Robert Almy, grandfather/guardian Thank You My granddaughter has Bipolar Disorder Rapid Cycle which is a very serious diagnosis. She has been in special education ever since she started school. She has been hospitalized in state mental hospitals many times. She was very violent for a good number of years. We needed to put her into a residential environment where she could learn from peers and learn from a structural system we simply couldn t give her at home. What St. Ann s did for Chelsea is absolutely the best thing that could ever have happened to her in her life. I think that she is literally starting a new life, and as she turned into a teenager, St. Ann s enabled her to truly start a new life fresh. I can never thank St. Ann s enough.