by Alex Schuh, MA and Carmen Caneda
page 1-14
Responding to the widely recognized dismal prospects for success of socially and economically disadvantaged youth in America, this paper addresses two major questions: (1) Can residential schools increase the academic and social success of disadvantaged youth in America? and (2) What would be required to develop a successful academic residential school for those youth? Reviews of research and theoretical work support a positive answer to the first question. Additional analysis finds rich empirical and theoretical support for developing a model for a successful academic residential school. A brief description of one such model, Children's Academies for Achievement, is provided.
by Peter Tompkins-Rosenblatt, MSW
page 15-30
When we think of suicide we do not usually think of someone knowingly and willingly contracting HIV. This paper recommends expanding our understanding of suicide to include the intentional contraction of HIV. Reviewing the current evidence of this phenomenon and considering the complex reasons for intentional infection, recommendation for the implementation of a suicide assessment and elimination of those practices which are viewed as rewarding youth who are HIV positive are made better to assist the on-line child and youth care practitioner in his/her assessment and intervention regarding suicide for youth in care.
by David Kennard
page 31-32
by Hendrik C Seur
page 33-47
Many institutes of mental health care face threats to their existence, and this also applies to therapeutic communities in Britain and the Netherlands. The author of this article worked at four different institutions, before he started working in a centre for residential psychotherapy. Three of them did not succeed in staying alive in a changing environment, and the fourth one, an institute for outpatient mental health care, is still struggling to find its form. In this article, the history of the last institute is analysed, using psychodynamic, groupdynamic, and organisational points of view. The author extrapolates his experiences with organisation and reorganisation in the setting of residential psychotherapy and gives some recommendations, which are relevant to staying alive.
by Jay Smith, MD
page 49-51
by W R Cozens, PhD, MBA
page Abstract
This paper describes the results of a small, four-question survey of two RTCs regarding survival in today's atmosphere of shrinking resources, increased competition, greater accountability, and higher expectations. These two agencies were selected primarily because of the author's long-term, on-site knowledge of their capacity not only to succeed but thrive in this increasingly difficult environment. Also important in terms of criteria for surveying, with the diversity of these programs in terms of clients, location, size, clinical approach, and attitudes regarding managed care. The results of this survey are presented along with commentary regarding their implications for RTCs
by Kathleen J West, PhD
page 63-73
The purpose of this study was to investigate client characteristics along with related milieu variables that contribute to the vulnerability of being physically restrained in child-residential settings. The relationships between eleven client characteristics: Full Scale IQ, Verbal IQ, Performance IQ, verbal comprehension, reading level, age, weight, externalizing behavior, length of institutionalized time, and history of abuse, with regard to the frequency of physical restraints, were examined through the use of a one-way multi-analysis of variance, and followed up with a discriminant function analysis and individual F-tests. The experience of direct-care staff was also examined with regard to the frequency of physical restraints, through the employment of a Pearson product-moment correlation.
page 75-81
Transcribed by Angus Nicolson
3 June 1997