Teen Services
Group Home
Overview
Intermediate level residential care in Concord, NH. Serves youth 13-19 who can not live at home. Treatment includes milieu therapy, counseling, therapeutic recreation, and independent living preparation. Emergency overnight and short term crisis care are provided.
Areas served: Statewide
Eligibility: Court ordered
Contact: Ed Orlowski, LICSW, program director, orlowskie@cfsnh.org
Services Provided
- Daily group, individual and milieu counseling
- Therapeutic activity program
Educational support, monitoring of school performance and school advocacy
- Family and community meetings,
- Non-forensic drug testing with rapid drug screen
- Independent Living Skills assessment and planning
- Case management
- Community services arrangement and supervision
- Emergency overnight and Short term respite placement
- 24-hour accessibility
Clients we Serve
Bob is a 14 year old boy who was referred to Child and Family Services’ Group Home as a “step down’ from a more restricted setting. He had been placed at a residential program with a special ed. school nearly two years prior when his father went to prison and his mother couldn’t manage his behavior at home. Due to his psychological problems, he has always had school problems and fights with siblings, but the task of managing this without the support of Bob’s father was too much for his mother.
After two years in placement, Bob’s behavior has improved to the point that it was time to try a transition home. The team felt that Bob would do best with gradual steps. He was referred to CFS because we are a small program with strong ties to the local schools. It was felt that Bob would get the additional support he needed to continue to work on his behavioral goals and try a public school setting while taking part in regularly scheduled home visits.
Bob’s goal is to be able to move home at the end of the school year. His transition went well. Bob needed much support initially as he began in the local Junior High School. He hadn’t ridden a school bus or been in a “regular school” since elementary school and the size and complexity of the school was a bit overwhelming. He received individual counseling and group counseling at the Group Home to help continue the gains that he has already made. Bob visited his mother each weekend to demonstrate his progress and to begin the adjustment to moving home. Bob moved home in June as expected and receives in-home supports through the Intensive Home Based program since that time.
CFS Group Home - Short Term Program
Natalie is a 16 year old girl that was referred to the Group Home Short Term Program from an adolescent psychiatric hospital. This was her third recent hospitalization for suicidal ideation. The suicidal ideation was related to Natalie's feeling that she would never be able to live at home again like a "normal kid." The brief placement was to allow Natalie an opportunity to transition home.
Natalie's mother has a history of substance abuse, which prompted Natalie's initial placement years ago. She has lived in and out of the home since that time. Natalie has lived for the past several months in placement due to her behavior and her mother's inability to care for her. Her mother, now clean and sober, was ready to take on the responsibility of the care of her daughter. CFS Group Home was seen as the ideal option to allow for daily visits and the continuation of family counseling, which began in the hospital she was referred from.
In her brief stay, Natalie and her mother were in frequent contact. Their visits were positive and meaningful. Within a week of her arrival, Natalie left for home with hope for a new life with her family. Both were aware of the difficulties they face and that the CFS Group Home would be a resource to them in the future if needed.
Referral Process
Long term services must be court-ordered and the referral made by the youth’s Juvenile Probation & Parole Officer or Child Protective Social Worker. The initial assessment is 30 days. Length of stay varies depending on individual circumstances, but averages 6 – 9 months.
Emergency referrals come from local police, DJJS, DCYF and other agencies.
Fees: $161.19 per day
