Building Stronger Children THROUGH THERAPEUTIC TREATMENT
Having been with Hoyleton Youth & Family Services for 13 years, Summar
Apprehensive at first, Summar is now eager to share what she is
Maines has had the opportunity to change the lives of many of the girls
learning, and to help the children grow through this process.
who have called Hoyleton HOME! From her infectious smile, to the way she runs a tight ship, this mother of 2 relishes in the opportunities to assist in changing lives every day at Hoyleton. Hoyleton is presently putting into practice two programs developed and being implemented by Cornell University, Therapeutic Crisis Intervention (TCI) training and Children And Residential Experiences (CARE) program. Continuing education is being provided to staff as Hoyleton strives to provide the best care, therapeutic options and qualified staff for the children and families they assist in both the community based programs and for those who reside at Hoyleton full time. Shifting to this new approach, is allowing the staff to develop a new and better understanding of what each child/client needs from a
“Shifting our children into this new program is a little scary. We are opening up pathways of teaching kids to verbalize their feelings, rather than act out inappropriately. By training staff to key in on the triggers that cause children to act out is important in making this new program work cohesively between staff and clients. As we begin to remove the basic consequences structure, it will take time for a few of the residents to understand, but I’m excited to see how quickly they adapt to all the positive changes being implemented through this approach of therapeutic interaction.”
more holistic viewpoint. Having gone through many of the initial classes already, Summar is excited to see how changing to these new
“I am intrigued by the way the CARE Program is more client driven in
philosophies, and skill sets, prepare those who are under her care for
how we respond in any situation. For example, we have one particular
the outside world. “Presently we have a system in place in which there
girl within our residence that is a bit of a bully. Through this new training,
are distinct consequences for your actions, as the girls who reside in my
and the techniques we are learning, together we start to focus on her
cottage can attest. CARE is showing us a platform on how to change
“positive attributes”, one of which is Leadership. We suggested that
the “consequential” outlook to a more positive response educational
she focus on these “leadership abilities” and use these attributes, into
component. Thus allowing us to establish not only a different approach
making our home a better living environment for everyone involved.
with behaviors, but to make sure these children are best suited for what
We are early in the stages of this implementation to our new system
the outside world is truly all about.”
structure, but I definitely feel like these changes are positive for both our clients, and our staff.”
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Impact Report • 2017