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Foundations For Choosing a Treatment Program
Foundations For Choosing a Treatment Program
Are Online Reviews Helpful? Some Things to Consider...
Are Online Reviews Helpful? Some Things to Consider...
The best way to validate your decision or gather genuine feedback is to speak directly with parents currently using the services. Ask the program for real-time parent references, seek professional insight into the program, and find testimonials from students who completed it.
Online reviews work both ways. They can sometimes be helpful, but they may also be unsubstantiated. Currently, there is a "victim movement" supporting incorrect narratives and often-unsubstantiated claims idealizing students placed into treatment as subjects of abuse, parents who place children into treatment programs as uncaring and abusive, and treatment programs are horrible. See the research refuting these claims from the following:
Online reviews work both ways. They can sometimes be helpful, but they may also be unsubstantiated. Currently, there is a "victim movement" supporting incorrect narratives and often-unsubstantiated claims idealizing students placed into treatment as subjects of abuse, parents who place children into treatment programs as uncaring and abusive, and treatment programs are horrible. See the research refuting these claims from the following:
The Radical Movement to Divest From Youth Residential Treatment
The Radical Movement to Divest From Youth Residential Treatment
by the Manhattan Institute, at the following website:
by the Manhattan Institute, at the following website:
What would your child write about you if given the chance to vent without any pushback right now?
What would your child write about you if given the chance to vent without any pushback right now?
Negative online reviews by former students often sound like horror stories. Negative reviews may be truthful and are entirely heartbreaking. But they could also be from something that occurred three decades ago involving people who haven't worked in the program for a very long time. State oversight of residential care is at a very high, even extreme, level.
Negative online reviews by former students often sound like horror stories. Negative reviews may be truthful and are entirely heartbreaking. But they could also be from something that occurred three decades ago involving people who haven't worked in the program for a very long time. State oversight of residential care is at a very high, even extreme, level.
Consider calling a local law enforcement agency to ask how many visits they make to the program you are considering and how they view the program's handling of disruptions.
Be mindful that not every review is genuine. Some positive and negative reviews are placed as competition.
A student or parent complaint may prompt an investigation at a program, but the investigation may be dismissed for lack of a substantive, credible basis. Programs listed as "investigated" by a State are also allowed by the state to correct any licensure or policy inequities. However, states may not report successful completions or program compliance.
At the very least, allow a program to respond to any online reviews that give you pause. They may provide more details than an online reviewer chose to include. Ask good questions at the time of your admissions inquiry, and don't just assume that everything you see online is truthful.
- Competency
Leadership: The program leaders and principals are qualified to operate the program and are well-rounded in their experience and training. The program leaders have or are pursuing management skills and training. The leadership has worked with children and demonstrates a passion to do so.
Methods: The methods used in the program are well tested and generally recognized as effective in addressing the problems children face. Evidence-based treatment, as well as methods that have weathered the test of time, are acceptable (structured environment, scriptural studies, emotional growth programs, etc.)
The staff members are well-adjusted, well-trained, and qualified to do their work. Each staff member is placed in the role for which they are trained and qualified.
2. Accountability
2. Accountability
Oversight: The program is accountable to some form of oversight, whether a board of directors, a governing body, a strong accrediting body, or state licensing. If the program is exempt from state licensing, it should have a robust governing and oversight body that includes more than family members or relatives.
Character: The program operates under ethical or moral principles that guide its decisions. The program has an ethical mandate to do the most good it possibly can.
Purpose: The program is accountable to its mission and vision, and strives to maintain its operations within the confines of that mission and vision.
Purpose: The program is accountable to its mission and vision, and strives to maintain its operations within the confines of that mission and vision.
3. Communication
3. Communication
Availability: The program has staff who are available to return phone calls from parents within a reasonable timeframe.
Consistency: The program is consistent in its communication with parents about how it works, its goals, what success looks like, what they can expect from their child, how problems are resolved, and how emergencies should be handled.
Clarity: The program is clear, to the point, and unambiguous in its communication with family members or case managers. The program continuously works to remove inconsistencies and unnecessary verbosity in its communications.
Empathy: The program has a common language and methods that convey empathy for the families who are part of the program. The program recognizes the position these families are in and works to give parents hope for the future, rather than criticizing them for perceived failings.
4. Consistency
4. Consistency
Method: The treatment methods are consistent with the measurable outcomes. Every student who enters the program follows the same process and must meet specific goals to move forward in their program or treatment plan.
Results: The program is consistent and strives to maintain or improve its current performance. The program knows what "success" looks like at the end of a student’s stay.
Training: The program maintains a regular training schedule and expects staff to be consistently trained to the point that they can become trainers themselves, ensuring program consistency.
5. Unity
5. Unity
Leadership: The program’s leaders are unified in purpose, work well together, and are fully aligned with the program’s vision and mission.
Staff: The program’s staff are in sync with leadership, as well as the heartbeat of the program, its purpose, mission, and vision, while at the same time bringing their own unique qualities and strengths for the betterment of the program.
Parents: The parents understand the program, how it works, and what to expect. Parents are unified with the program in providing a strong front for positive change in their child's life.
6. Planning
6. Planning
Acceptance Guidelines: The program has well-defined guidelines outlining the levels of care it offers and those it does not.
Acceptance Guidelines: The program has well-defined guidelines outlining the levels of care it offers and those it does not.
Contingency: The program has contingency plans for issues or emergencies. The program has a communication plan for situations that require parental intervention. When a new problem arises without a contingency plan, a new plan is documented.
Policies & Procedures: The program has a comprehensive handbook of policies and procedures for leadership and staff, available to parents upon request.
Policies & Procedures: The program has a comprehensive handbook of policies and procedures for leadership and staff, available to parents upon request.
7. Collaboration
7. Collaboration
Open Inquiry: The program leaders and staff are willing to ask others how to improve the program and are willing to admit that their current approach may need to change.
Open Inquiry: The program leaders and staff are willing to ask others how to improve the program and are willing to admit that their current approach may need to change.
Continual Improvement: The program operates on the assumption that it can continually improve, gain new knowledge, and learn from others’ experiences, successes, and failures.
Continual Improvement: The program operates on the assumption that it can continually improve, gain new knowledge, and learn from others’ experiences, successes, and failures.
Anti-Competitive: The program is willing to share methods and ideas and to collaborate with like-minded people to serve families. The program helps families find more appropriate placement suggestions when needed.
Anti-Competitive: The program is willing to share methods and ideas and to collaborate with like-minded people to serve families. The program helps families find more appropriate placement suggestions when needed.
Licensing and Accountability
Licensing and Accountability
Ensure that the program you are researching is either licensed or has a governing body recognized by the state. Be aware that some states have fewer licensing requirements than others.
If you are considering a therapeutic program, understand the program's legal oversight or licensure in the state. Some states offer licensing exemptions.
Ask for the state agency that licenses the program. Contact the agency to make sure their license is current. (Yes, programs operate on a lapsed or revoked license all the time.
If the program can’t name the state agency under which it is licensed or refuses to provide the information, don't engage.
If the program is not licensed and is operating in the state under an exemption, contact the state’s Attorney General and request information on any public complaints filed against the program.
Accreditations
Accreditations
Check whether an independent accreditation body accredits the program. While not necessarily an indicator of ethical operation or therapeutic effectiveness, accreditation can nonetheless provide parents with confidence that the program submits to a body of oversight intended to keep them accountable for policies, procedures, staffing, and safety.
Mental and behavioral health accrediting bodies, such as the Joint Commission, CARF, or COA, provide rigorous requirements for procedures and policies.
Teen Challenge may accredit its own locations. They act as a non-profit, religiously accredited organization with basic educational and operational requirements and a strong curriculum focused on emotional growth. They are not a safety, procedure, or policy accrediting body; they rely on state laws and regulations to ensure residents' safety.
Educational accrediting bodies such as AdvanceEd set requirements for a program's educational methods and practices to ensure that high school credits transfer in and out of the program properly.
If the program claims accreditation from any of these organizations (or any organization not listed here), contact the accrediting body and confirm
that their accreditation is current.
Criteria for Admission
Ensure that the program you are considering effectively addresses the problems your child is facing.
For neurodiverse children (ADHD, ASD, OCD, etc.), ask about the program's qualifications for treating neurodiverse needs.
Ask about the criteria for admission, what kinds of problems the program can address, and where it excels.
Ask what it will take for your teenager to be dismissed from the program.
Ask how many residents have been dismissed within the last six months.
Ask the program to describe the specific problems they had with the last resident they dismissed.
If the program will place your child without question or assessment, consider finding another program.
Discipline Policies
Discipline Policies
Ask how discipline is maintained, how safety is considered, and how it falls within state regulations.
Ask about the program's policies for a child who refuses to eat or drink.
Ask whether staff have been trained in safe restraint, when restraint may be used, and how restraint is reported to the state and parents.
Ask if isolation is used, when isolation may be used, how it is used, and how reporting of isolation is handled with the state and parents.
What About the Staff, Owners, and Leadership? Are Staff Qualified?
What About the Staff, Owners, and Leadership? Are Staff Qualified?
Request verification that the program has conducted background checks on all its staff members.
Ask about staff qualifications, their degrees, credentials, licenses, and experiences with residential care.
Look for programs that hire more than close family members. If close family members run the program, make sure they have the appropriate qualifications, training, and licensure in addition to their "boots on the ground" experiences.
Refund Policies
Refund Policies
Many programs require a substantial upfront investment. Be clear on what refunds, if any, apply to your contract if your child is dismissed or unenrolled by either you or the program.
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