The Residential Treatment Program is a residential childcare program operated by Kenora-Rainy River Districts Child and Family Services. The program was implemented in 1994 to meet the special needs of children and youth. Children and youth who participate in this program are often described as “hard to serve”. The program is provided for children and youth whose emotional needs are so great that they cannot be met within the foster care system.

A Clinical Supervisor and a Program Coordinator administer the Residential Treatment Program. Child Care Workers are assigned to each residential unit, providing twenty-four hour supervision of the residents. In addition to the Child Care Workers, each resident has a Children’s Services Social Worker who is responsible for the provision of clinical services and case management. Other clinical supports, such as Tele-psychiatry, Children’s Mental Health and Psychological services are accessed according to the individual needs of the youth.

Programming is designed to meet the unique needs of each resident through individual treatment plans as defined in the resident’s individual plan of care. The goal of the program is to help each resident achieve a healthy sense of their own identity and feel connected in a positive way to their social world so that they become healthy contributors to society throughout their life.

The program attempts to utilize “Best Practices” as understood through the most current research in the field of child care, as well as the most relevant practice wisdom current within the field. To this end, the programs will emphasize the importance a child’s healthy development in the primary domains of self, family, peers, school, and community. Such programming is consistent with both best practices in treating “hard to serve children” (i.e. multi systemic treatment), as well as in the field of childcare (i.e. Looking After Children Model).

Our program works with young people who struggle with issues such as:

  • Attachment Disorder

  • Separation

  • Childhood Depression

  • Anxiety Disorders

  • Oppositional Behaviour

  • Attention Deficit Disorder/Hyperactivity

  • Running

 Unfortunately our Program is not configured to work with Young People who are/have:

  • Highly Aggressive

  • Acutely Addicted

  • Significant Developmental Issues

  • Beliefs firmly entrenched

These youth will require more intensive intervention than we can provide.

In Kenora, the Valley Drive Home can accommodate a total of 12 youth in side A & B. These units are co-ed. The Valley Drive Home is licensed by the Ministry of Child and Youth Services. The youth attend the regular school system or receive alternative education depending on the individual needs of the youth.  An off-site classroom is available in partnership with the Keewatin Patricia District School Board.

 

“There is a better way to service children, youth and families. But first we have to understand that the needs of children and young people have not changed from what they were 100 years ago. To be certain the pressures are different and therefore there are different areas in which young people should be educated. But despite the latest fad in youth care, young people simply require: safety, assistance in making sense of their often chaotic internal and external realities; they require our patience and our understanding that their behavior occurs within the context of their struggle to gain mastery of their environment. With our guidance and support they can begin to make the decisions that will see them grow into healthy adults”.         

William Leonard  -- Dec. 6, 1995

(Presentation to the Nfld – House of Assembly’s Select Committee on Children’s Issues.)