Not On My Turf: Therapeutic Day Treatment Roles and Concerns October 24, 2011 Angela Porter, LCSW State Director of Therapeutic Day Treatment

Plan for our hour….. What is TDT & What is it not? What are characteristics of a great TDT program How do we reach success?

Does your program work like this???? OR…….

What TDT Is & What It Isn’t

What is Therapeutic Day Treatment  History  Purpose  Who is this program really for  Mandated requirements  Cost of the program to the school

Why Do Schools Need TDT? Therapeutic Day Treatment Services are designed to focus on issues and behaviors that lead to decreasing:  discipline referrals  dropout rate of high school students  truancy rate  crime rate in communities  prevalence of substance abuse  teen age pregnancy rates Early assessment and intervention of violent behaviors Increasing school achievement for students both in the program and out of the program by eliminating classroom disruptions

Cost Saving  Therapeutic Day Treatment Services are a Medicaid funded service and are at zero cost to the school system as compared to the cost of alternative educational settings and services which include: Residential Treatment= average of $500 per child per day Private Day Educational Placements= average of $220 per child per day 1:1 in the school= average of $65 per child per day

Putting this in Perspective In a State Executive Council meeting on The Comprehensive Services Act on September 26, 2008 it was reported that “the most prevalent reasons given for placement in special education day programs were because the child’s behavioral needs could not be met in a public setting and the need for specialized services/expertise in private programs.” It went on to say: “Despite a 2.5% decrease in the overall special education population in Virginia over the past five years, there has been an increase of 13% in the number of CSA funded special education private day placements in that time period. She [Susie Cumbia, Office of Financial and Data Services, Division of Special Education and Student Services, Virginia Department of Education] reported that the number of special education private day schools increased 33% in the past five years, increasing from sixty-four in 2003 to eighty-five in Special education private day schools were filled to 70% of their licensed capacity for the past two years.

TDT myths  The counselors are there to critique teaching  The counselors are allowed to take clients out of the classrooms whenever they want to  Counselor should be helping in the classrooms, ie. Passing out papers, etc  Counselor are used to assist the school with layoffs  Counselors replace School Social Workers and Guidance Counselors What are other myths you have heard?

Characteristics of a Great Program

Understanding the Different Dynamics Public Providers- School System Private Providers – TDT Counselor  Closed System  Education Based  History  Culture & Traditions  Planned  Very Socially Based  Mental Health Focused  New to the school/families/etc  2 set of cultures to fit into  Crisis Driven

Planning  Who will your program serve?  What does the daily schedule look like?  Who handles crisis in the classroom?  When a child has to be restrained who does it?  Do you have room for your TDT workers?  Is the program client centered and client driven?  What are the roles of the SW and how can we work together for the benefit of the child?

Implementing  Who will handle referrals?  How will the TDT counselors be introduced to the faculty?  What is the plan for substitutes if the TDT counselor is out  How does supervision take place for the TDT counselor?  Do you have a manner in which to report concerns or problems?  Share in Behavior Modification

Matching with a Provider  Do they match your philosophies?  Do they give back to the school and or the community?  How do they integrate with families and parents of client?  How do they integrate with the school itself- ie. do they adapt the school culture?  What is the communication plan?  What type of clinical supervision do the staff receive?  Do you trust them?

Are you in sync?

How Do We Reach Success?

Tools for Success  Planning  Coordination  Acceptance  Acknowledgment of Problems  Creativity  Collaboration  Synergy  Excitement

Agree to Disagree

Thoughts on Teamwork Teamwork is a group of people with various complementary skills working together toward a common vision Members of a team create synergy with a strong sense of mutual commitment Teamwork is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results

Final Thought Coming together is the beginning……….. Keeping together is progress!!

THANK YOU!!! Angela Porter, LCSW