St. Mary's Home for Children - Inpatient Programs

Residential Treatment Programs
The Residential Treatment Center combines a highly structured living environment with clinical, behavioral and educational components to provide comprehensive milieu treatment for boys, aged 6 to 13, and girls, aged 8 to 18, who are suffering from behavioral and emotional problems.

Fully trained direct care staff, a recreation specialist, certified teachers, and masters-level clinicians assist children in achieving success with individual treatment plans. The program includes registered nurses in the medical department; psychiatric and psychological consultation; and medication monitoring. The on-grounds, fully certified, special education school meets the individual education plans for all children in this residential treatment center.

While at St. Mary's, the children work on an individual, interdisciplinary treatment plan combining a highly structured environment with education and clinical components.

ARTS: Acute Residential Treatment Services
In the fall of 2004, St. Mary's Home for Children added a new component to its expanding continuum of services, an Acute Residential Treatment Service (ARTS) program, designed as a hospital 'step-down' for children no longer needing hospital-level care but not yet ready to return home, and/or for children able to be diverted from hospital admission but needing more intensive services than available in their home community. Length of stay is intended to be brief, with children 'graduating' back to their families if appropriate or to other facilities if needed.

The program consists of three units, Jodie's House for adolescent girls ages 12-17 and Harding House and Odell House, both for boys and girls ages 6-13. Each house offers intensive psychiatric evaluation and treatment in a 24-hour, highly structured, staff-secure, therapeutic environment that will allow residents with still-acute behaviors/psychiatric problems to continue to stabilize outside the hospital, a literal 'step down' before they move on to community-based care.

If a child needs additional support to manage the transition home, flexible day/partial programming is also available, short-term, in all three houses.

Recreational and academic services are also provided, together with daily individual, group, and milieu treatment.

Jodie's House at St. Mary's Home for Children

Click here to view and print our ARTS Program Brochure(PDF)

Referrals are made through hospital or other professional providers; this is an insurance-based program.

For more information, please contact:
Marjorie L. Lederer, LICSW
ARTS Program Coordinator
(401) 353-3900

or
Rita Higgins, M.Ed
St Mary's Intake Coordinator
(401) 353-3900

45-Day Diagnostic Assessment Program
The 45-Day Diagnostic Assessment Program, established in 1998, was developed to meet the diagnostic assessment needs of children while providing behavioral stabilization in residential, clinical and educational milieu treatment.

This program offers a safe residential/educational 'base' for a comprehensive 6-week evaluation of the child's and family's functioning. While stabilizing behavior, the 45-Day Diagnostic Assessment Program will identify issues and treatment needs, assess psychological, behavioral, social, educational, peer and family functioning, and provide a thorough assessment, treatment and aftercare plan at the conclusion of the 45-day placement period.

A Masters-level clinician conducts (or coordinates) various assessment / evaluation processes specific to the child's individual treatment and diagnostic needs within a safe, highly structured, highly supervised setting. Upon discharge from the program, recommendations are made based on the child's ongoing treatment and / or placement needs.

Evaluations that are performed include:

Educational Assessment
Behavioral Needs Assessment
Clinical/Psychiatric Assessment
Sexual Abuse Assessment (if clinically needed)
Speech & Language Assessment (if clinically needed)
Substance Abuse Assessment (if clinically needed)
Psychological Evaluation (if clinically needed)
Milieu Observations

To assist in this assessment, we request that the following information be provided:

Specific reason(s) for diagnostic referral
Current clinical needs
Current level of behaviors exhibited
History of previous interventions & placement
Past and current evaluations
Current IEP
Counseling/therapeutic services previously or currently provided
Releases of information forms signed by the child's parent or legal guardian.

For more information please contact:
Rita Higgins, MEd
(401)353-3900

Life Skills Assessment/Training: St. Mary's offers the Daniel Memorial "CLASS" program (Curriculum and Lessons for Attaining Self-Sufficiency) which, utilizing computer software, assesses each client's skills and provides an independent living plan tailored to each client's needs. Each adolescent in the St. Martha's House is required to complete the Daniel Memorial curriculum.

Abuse Reactive: The Mauran Unit

The Mauran Unit is designed to provide for the safety and rehabilitation needs of eight latency age boys, all of whom have exhibited chronic and developmentally abnormal abuse reactive sexualized behavior. For most of the Mauran residents, sexualized behavior has developed as a dysfunctional coping response in reaction to abuse and neglect exposure. Safety concerns are addressed by means of a higher than usual staff to child ratio.

The Mauran Unit at St. Mary's Home for Children

The unit is self contained, with a classroom housed within the building. A recreation specialist facilitates cooperative activities twenty hours each week. Family education, family therapy, individual therapy, and frequent group therapy are integral treatment components. Additionally, once each month family members join the staff and children for an evening of fun activities and refreshments. The Mauran Unit is organized to maximize the effects of a unified treatment approach. The program is contracted through the Department of Children, Youth and Families, and referrals must be processed through the DCYF Residential Review Team.

24-Hour Crisis Intervention
St. Mary's offers clients in all programs, including clinical outpatient, all home-based services with 24-hour emergency service utilizing a pager system. Each skilled staff member on call is backed up at all times by a Director or Program Coordinator. Additionally, the entire Residential Treatment Center staff team has 24-hour access via a pager to a senior staff member / clinician; to the Nursing Department; and to the maintenance team in order to assist with any issues which may arise after hours. The Assistant Executive Director backs up all on-call staff members at all times.

Therapeutic Respite
St. Mary's is on the Rhode Island Department for Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) provider's list for respite services. Respite services are provided for males and females in need of overnight shelter placement. Staff members are highly skilled and experienced in child care and behavior management.