Although youth with disabilities represent nearly a third of the population served in residential care, little is known about the functioning of these children as compared to their peers without disabilities at program entry, departure and six-month follow-up. This study sought to extend previous research by evaluating the behavioral, mental…

Charles Hall Youth Services (CHYS), a residential foster-care provider in Bismarck, North Dakota, desired to move from an adult-centered, punitive program model to a strength-based model with an emphasis on teaching critical life skills and behaviors to young clients. Through a partnership with the Teel Institute of Kansas City, Missouri, the…

Early adversity, for example poor caregiving, can have profound effects on emotional development. Orphanage rearing, even in the best circumstances, lies outside of the bounds of a species-typical caregiving environment. The long-term effects of this early adversity on the neurobiological development associated with socio-emotional behaviors are…

Traumatized youngsters are frequently admitted to psychiatric hospitals and residential treatment facilities (RFTs; Lawson, 1998). Institutionalization can be a traumatic event that involves an assault on personal autonomy and self-direction (Mohr, Mahon, & Noone, 1998). According to Visalli, McNasser, Johnstone, and Lazzaro, (1997) external…

We examined the differential outcomes in residential treatment for youths with conduct disorder (CD)--with special attention paid to interactions with age and gender--in a sample of children and adolescents in 50 residential treatment centers and group homes across Illinois. Multi-disciplinary teams rated youths ages 6-20 (N = 457) on measures of…

Young people with learning disabilities are significantly more at risk of developing mental health difficulties than their non-disabled peers, with prevalence rates of around 40% commonly reported. Nevertheless, high levels of mental health problems also exist among young people living in state care. However, few studies have examined the mental…

By examining specific examples of how teachers at an adolescent treatment centre interpret the day to day challenges that shape the lives of their students, insights can be gained about how schools can effectively re-connect even the most difficult students to a school environment. This article describes a story about an adolescent treatment…

Interviews with 61 adolescents in juvenile detention centers revealed a very high rate of emotional disorders, especially suicide thoughts and attempts. However, recent health care changes result in adolescents' longer stays in detention centers rather than in the residential treatment that they need. (SK)

Among professionals, the use of the time-out room for the control of disturbed children in residential centers evokes varied and sometimes opposing opinions. This study is based on a questionnaire submitted to 50 residential treatment centers. (Editor)

This paper examines the variety of ways in which psychotherapy and residential care are integrated in the concluding phase of an intensive short-term treatment program for severely disturbed adolescents. It considers the manner in which decisions are made about termination, approaches to discharge planning, typical issues encountered in the…

Play group therapy sessions were held in an attempt to improve impulse control; peer, social, and relationship skills; expression of repressed anger; feelings for self; and cooperative play among five latency-aged boys. Many of the goals set for the children in the group were reached. (Author/RH)

Discusses the complex problems concerning the rights of the incarcerated adolescent to control his own mind and body versus the rights of others and the requisites of effective treatment as defined by the clinician. (Author/SDH)

Discusses a treatment model that emphasizes the involvement of the child's own family in the undercare process and the development of mutual trust and respect among different members of the professional team. (SDH)

Presented are survey data from nursing homes and halfway houses on the costs associated with the provision of community-based residential care for the psychosocially disabled, along with an examination of the differences in those costs as they relate to characteristics of disability groups or types of facilities, and an analysis of the…