Today, the St. John’s Home is a family centered social service agency that operates an eight-bed Residential group home for preadolescent boys, aged eight to fourteen years, with presenting DSM-IV-TR diagnosis such as conduct disorders, affective disorders, attention deficit disorders, and disorders of impulse control.  We also have a heavy programmatic emphasis on working with families. The St. John's Home does not discriminate service delivery to consumers based on race, color, national origin or creed.

      The St. John’s Home for Children embraces an ecological approach to treatment that recognizes a child’s “problem” behavior as a manifestation of disturbed interactions within the family.  A child in residence is not viewed as “the problem”, but always seen in the context of a hurting, troubled family system.  Therefore, to be truly effective, the St. John’s Home for Children has adopted the belief that any changes learned by the child while in placement must be transferable to the child’s natural home and community.  It is for this reason that the family must be an integral part of the treatment.  In essence, the family is an equal partner in the treatment process.  Family involvement is ensured through regularly scheduled family therapy sessions, twenty-four hour phone call availability, and on-grounds visits with the child, and through weekend home visits.  The ultimate goal of the St. John’s Home for Children is to return the child to his family and community.  Situations in which family re-unification is not possible (e.g. parental rights have been terminated) result in the St. John’s Home for Children advocating for the least restrictive environment possible (e.g. other family members, foster homes, etc.) for the child.

     A basic therapeutic aim is to provide a setting and a structure which help reverse earlier trauma and emotional problems by getting the message across to each child and family that staff care about them and will help take care of them; staff are willing and able to manage the child and his difficulties; and staff will teach, and the child and family learn, the skills they need to “make it”.  It is of extreme importance that the St. John’s Home provides a well-defined residential milieu that provides a consistent and nurturing environment.

      An objective of the St. John’s Home for Children is to foster a consistency among the total staff as to the philosophy of treatment.  Involved in this objective is a recognition that each staff person is of equal importance in the therapeutic milieu.  Skills are different, but every contribution is viewed as being important.  Staff must believe that regardless of their position or their particular job assignment, they may be the one person in the life of a given resident who becomes critical to the trust and growth of that particular resident.  Therefore, all staff is involved in the treatment design and implementation under supervision of the clinical staff.

     The St. John’s Home for Children program is based on a Re-Ed philosophy developed by Nicholas Hobbs at George Peabody College for Teachers in Nashville, Tennessee.  Re-Ed stands for the re-education of emotionally disturbed children and youth.  It is predicated on a systems theory base.  Hence, the derived treatment model is based less on the concept of intrapsychic conflict as the source of emotional disturbance and more on a definition that emphasizes emotional conflict that derives from interpersonal conflicts and systems (or service delivery defects). 

      A primary goal of the St. John’s Home is to provide experiences that facilitate and enhance the reunification of the child and his family.  Therefore, the participation of the child’s parents in tasks, activities, treatment, and the decision making process throughout the child’s stay is seen as critical to the attainment of this goal.  Parents are strongly encouraged to maintain an active role through specific means, such as regular visits during placement, participating in school conferences, attend treatment planning and case review meetings, participate in their child’s birthday party and other special events, write to and call their child.

      The St. John’s Home for Children has been designated and licensed by the WV Office of Health Facility, Licensure, and Certification (OHFLAC) as a Residential Children’s Services Level II facility, which provides the following types of services:

• Clinical Evaluation

• Treatment Plans

• Case Management

• Behavior Management

• Therapy

• Supportive Counseling

• Case consultation

• Recreation Services

      Children placed at the St. John’s Home attend a local, neighborhood school.  It is believed that a school-based educational component is a critical element in creating a normal environment for children and in facilitating the process of mainstreaming and full inclusion.  It is anticipated that most of the children placed with the St. John’s Home will require special education services, and that these children may already have an Individualized Education Plan (I.E.P.) prior to entering our program and the local school.   The St. John’s Home maintains close communication with the school to promote the success of the children and to intervene as quickly as possible to deal with problems arising at school with the child.

DISCHARGE

      It is the hope of the St. John’s Home that the vast majority of children we serve return to their natural families.  To facilitate this, the goal and objective for each child and his family are clearly established in the beginning.  Consequently, the child knows what he, his family, and any other significant others need to accomplish in order to return home.  This approach of involving parents serves to make them partners in their child’s progress throughout the treatment process.

      We approximate that the average length of stay will usually range from six to nine months.  Program staff work closely with families, school personnel, WVDHHR caseworkers/probation officers, and other community professionals and systems to help assist in smooth transition to the community. 

      For those children unable to return to their natural families, an aftercare plan is coordinated with the child’s WVDHHR caseworker.

EVIDENCE OF EFFICACY

      The St. John’s Home considers its efforts a short-term success when the following outcomes can be observed as based on the agency’s Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) logic model:

1. The treatment team (child, parents, WVDHHR caseworker/probation officer, Case Manager, therapists, Assistant Director, Youth Care Worker staff, and any other community professionals involved with the child - e.g. guardian ad litems, attorneys, child advocates, psychologist, etc.) determine that sufficient functional and/or clinical progress has been made and individual treatment goals/objectives have been reached.
    

2. An increased, demonstrated functional ability on the part of the family to resolve their own problems is determined by the treatment team to have been attained.
    

3. The child demonstrates academic and behavioral progress in school.