FRONTENAC AVE.

The Residential program at 331 Frontenac Ave., Oshawa offers support and assistance to male or female adolescents 12-18 years of age, who are experiencing severe difficulty within the home environment (eg. aggressive, withdrawn, depressed, suicidal).

Adolescents admitted to the Residential Program are priorized each month at the D.R.A.P. (Durham Region Admission Process) Committee. 

 

Through a controlled therapeutic environment, the adolescent can develop effective problem solving skills.  Goals of the Residential Program are:

a)  to help the adolescent understand and change his/her behaviour in an effort to develop
better interpersonal living skills
b)  to assist the family in supporting a healthy change in their adolescent
c)  to return the adolescent to the family or to other suitable living arrangement
d)  to alleviate any overt psychiatric/emotional/behavioural symptoms which would prevent
the adolescent from living at home or in the community.

 

The treatment approach for the program is varied and eclectic.  Essentially, the staff will try to modify everything they do for the purposes of meeting the particular needs of each adolescent in order to find the correct or most helpful prescriptive approach.  This initial and continuing effort attempts to gain in-depth comprehensive evaluation of an adolescent's total functioning. 

 

When there is an idea of what the adolescent’s needs are, the staff strives to achieve optimal psycho-social functioning through the therapeutic use of daily events, the teaching of living skills and other treatment approaches.  This could include academic programming in one of our Day Treatment Programs or a community school, planned community activities such as swimming, bowling and fishing as well as other events planned within the community or the use of group discussions to resolve specific residential problems.

 

The Agency essentially provides a therapeutic milieu or living environment for those adolescents deemed to need twenty-four hour a day support due to their personal difficulties and conflicts at home that would prevent them from learning and growing within their own home or community environment.

 

The Residence is licensed for eight beds. Staffing of the Residential Program is provided twenty four hours a day seven days a week as follows: day shift (one staff) and overnight shift (two staff); evenings shifts (three staff).  Changes to this ratio can be made according to particular situations.

 

Adolescents are encouraged to spend weekends at home but this is decided individually.  If weekend visits become difficult, parents are encouraged to return the adolescent to the Residence.

 

WATERSDOWN CRESCENT


 The Residential program at 42 Watersdown Crescent, Whitby  provides long term treatment for eight adolescents (age 12-18) from the Central East Region of the Ministry of Children and Youth Services.  Priority for placements is determined by the Durham Region Admission Process (D.R.A.P.).  Six beds are funded by the Ministry of Community and Social Services, Ministry of Children and Youth Services.  The other four are available to other regions (including Durham) based on priority need.

 

Adolescents admitted to this program are considered Complex Care (at least two serious problem areas) and unable to manage within a family or community setting.  It is presumed all available “in-home” resources will have been tried and have not been successful.

 

The Watersdown Residence is therefore designed so that the residents see it as their home, a place where they can remain until they are 18 years of age, if indicated.

 

If they are then still in need of further care/supervision, they will be transferred to the T.A.Y. (Transitional Age Youth) system after careful planning with family/guardians and other appropriate community agencies.

 

Staff ratio to adolescents is 1 to every 2.5 adolescents.


MARTA RD.

 

The Marta Road Residence is a long/short term Residential program for children/adolescents (ages 10-18) who have become involved with the Children’s Aid Society and who have been unable to adjust in regular foster/group home placement.  In addition some have previously had to be placed a considerable distance from their home (family) as such, there has been little opportunity for the possibility of families reuniting.

 

All of the children/adolescents admitted to the Marta Road Residence will have some type of clinical needs that require resolution e.g.:  some have severe emotional/behavioural/ psychological problems; some do not relate to others; still others continually “act out” and  often demand extraordinary time from others.

 

The treatment home is co-educational, licensed for 8 beds.  Through a structured, but therapeutic program the children/adolescents can hopefully not only learn to control their behaviour but also to relate to others (both adults and their peer group) and to develop more mature problem solving skills.

 

Individual treatment plans will be prepared for each child/adolescent.  Planning for discharge to either another community placement or to the family is considered a strong goal of the program. 
 

Treatment approaches will be varied – depending on the needs of the child/adolescent.  When the child/adolescent is better understood by modifying different aspects of their environment, the staff will hope to help the adolescent achieve optimal functioning through the teaching of social and basic skills, helping the child/adolescent do better academically and develop more confidence and independence as they grow older.

 

Close contact will be maintained with the Children’s Aid Society as well as families (wherever possible) so that the child/adolescent does not begin to think of the treatment home as their permanent home.

 

Staff ratio to adolescents is 1 to every 2.5 adolescents.

 

All placements in the Marta Road Residence will be done through the Children’s Aid Society.

 

Overall goals of all of the residential programs are:

  • to help the child/adolescent change his/her behaviour so that they can utilize more healthy living skills
  • to attempt (if at all possible) some type of change between the child/adolescent and his/her family
  • eventually return the child/adolescent to a less restrictive community living placement