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The Harpst campus
residential treatment center is designed to serve children
or adolescents who have emotional and/or behavioral problems
that do not require intensive hospitalization but which are
too severe to permit a non-secure living environment and which
require specialized psychiatric and psychological evaluation,
assessment and intervention. Typical behaviors characteristic
of children needing residential treatment are aggressive behavior
(destruction of property and fighting with others), frequent
running away, severe depression, self-injurious behavior,
violent outbursts, severe panic attacks, severe school phobia,
and other behaviors serious enough to preclude continued functioning
in a family, at school, or in the community.
The Harpst campus residential treatment center does not serve
children who are considered medically fragile, are active
sexual predators, are actively suicidal or homicidal, have
moderate to severe mental retardation, or whose needs exceed
the resources of the organization.
The Harpst campus therapeutic
foster care program serves children who have completed
treatment and are now ready to live with a family. This means
that the severe nature of those behaviors described in the
paragraphs above has abated and the child can live with a
family IF the parents of that family have been adequately
trained to support and continue the gains made by the child
in treatment.
The Murphy group home is
designed to serve children who have completed treatment and
have now achieved a “Level 4” category, a rating
used by Georgia’s DFCS and DJJ caseworkers to designate
that the need for structured living is still present but not
so structured as to strictly limit the child’s ability
to live in a family-type environment or to be actively involved
in the community. They may still have some behavior difficulties
(quick temper, verbal lashing-out, somewhat depressed, difficulty
going to school, anxiety) but these behaviors are not as debilitating
as they were prior to treatment.
The SUCCESS Center assessment
program, currently in development, is designed for children
under 12 who are exhibiting acting-out behaviors (running
away, stealing, skipping school, destroying property, incorrigible
in the classroom, etc.) severe enough to bring them to the
attention of the juvenile court system but whose behavior
is very likely prompted by an underlying mental illness. Proper
assessment will assist in proper placement so that these children
will not have to go through a series of placements before
they are properly treated for their mental health problems.
This process will also rule out those children who have what
is called a “character disorder” and for whom
treatment probably will not be effective. If space permits,
this assessment program will be available for adolescents
with the same types of behaviors.
The eventual program for youth with substance abuse problems
will provide a structured, home-like environment for 8-10
youth who are being discharged from an acute treatment facility
and are now “dried out” but who need a continued
structured and closely-supervised environment in which to
internalize and strengthen the gains made in treatment. These
youth have likely used illegal substances to help them deal
with their anxiety, depression, self-doubt, fear, and other
painful emotions.
The eventual “home” for teenage girls will be
designed to provide a secure and nurturing environment for
those who have a history of sexual abuse, sexual acting-out
and/or running away frequently. The setting of Camp
SUCCESS is remote enough to discourage the action of running
away as the solution for dealing with one’s problems.
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