Cost per bed/per day is $233 the State of Wyoming Department of Family Services (DFS) contracts for services at $141 per bed/per day.
The Group Home provides a safe and structured environment for youth where they can live temporarily while these problems and issues are addressed. Placement may help to ease the tensions and allow the resident and family to identify the problems, find ways to resolve them, and improve their relationships. The process begins in the Group Home but the majority of the work happens during home visits, during the transition period and when the youth returns home, to another living situation or independent living. The emphasis in the Group Home is on identifying skills that have worked, learning new skills, and practicing those new skills in the Group Home and with family and friends, at school and in the community. By experiencing competence, improved relationships and successes in school and the community, youth gain control over themselves and their own lives.
- • Orientation – Residents are oriented to the rules and expectations of the program. During this time the residents are always supervised by staff except when they are in school
• Identification – Residents begin to identify areas in which they could improve
• Application – Residents have identified areas for change and are practicing new skills and behaviors in the Group Home, school, family and community
• Transition – Residents will be integrating new skills into their daily lives
Expectations and privileges expand with each phase as the resident learns new skills and ways of coping. Components of the program include:
- • Individual and family therapy
• Individualized treatment plans that residents develop with their therapist and their parents – treatment plans are reviewed and updated as goals are met.
• Planned home visits that build on residents’ program phase and their progress in family therapy
• Regularly scheduled supervised activities Point sheets provide feedback to the resident on a daily basis – points are based on following rules and schedule, participation in program, respect for others and general behavior
• Monthly reports to parents, caseworkers and Guardian ad Litems that are compilations of point sheets and daily logs
• School monitoring and scheduled study time – residents attend public school
• Case Management with all those involved including parents, schools and other agencies
• Discharge planning and aftercare
Parents participate in family therapy. If a parent is not in Jackson, phone sessions are used. We encourage regular visits and phone calls with families. Home visits are an important part of the treatment process in order to practice new skills at home and evaluate progress.
When parents are involved, residents are motivated and complete the program in a shorter period of time while able to sustain long term improvement.
A referral may be made by a case worker or parent, or representative of the court. An initial screening will be conducted by the Program Manager, Therapist or Director regarding the reasons for the request and the appropriateness of the child for Group Home level of care. Psychological evaluations, social summaries, and other relevant documents are requested when available, but since some of our referrals are for those awaiting such assessments and evaluations, they are not required for admission.
Residents are usually placed at the Group Home by the Juvenile Court Judge. However, we also serve children placed for child protective custody (victims of abuse) and private placements can also be arranged.
Youths that are not appropriate for admission to the Group Home have:
- •Recent history of violent episodes
• Severe developmental limitations
• Less than 10 years of age
• Active suicidal tendencies
• Severe psychiatric conditions that have not been stabilized by medication
• Need for substance detoxification
• Major medical problems that have not been stabilized
Contact us at the Van Vleck House (307) 733-7946 for more information on our group home.
Continuum of Care
We always start with the least restrictive care and, if necessary, move on to more involved intervention.