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Two years ago, children who threatened to hurt themselves or others at the St. Catherine's Center for Children school in Albany may have been restrained by a few staff members. If a child broke a window, scaled a roof or threatened to damage a car, staff called the police, which happened at least once a week.

Today, teachers, teacher assistants and critical care aides avoid restraints by using strategies such as deep breathing, yoga and curriculum enrichment. And they only called the police once this fall.

St. Catherine's Center provides residential and day treatment programs for children who have been abused or neglected or are emotionally disturbed. After three years of training the entire staff of more than 300 people in a human services method called the "sanctuary model," the center has seen many improvements lately.

Instead of monitoring a child's behavioral flaws, the agency monitors a child's growth and change, said Joan Bender, director of training and professional development at St. Catherine's.

Instead of simply scolding children for repeating foul language heard on television or in their neighborhoods, a teacher may ask more about it or incorporate it into a classroom lesson or psycho-educational group.

Instead of accusing children of lying, staff members now consider that trauma can make children block out memories.

The sanctuary model stresses that trauma can delay development. It can also create pathways in the brain that lead to aggressive behavior, inability to manage emotions or post-traumatic stress disorder, Ms. Bender said.

Trauma such as homelessness can bring up hurt feelings, guilt, remorse and anxiety about being judged or scolded, said Veronica Branca, resident assistant supervisor at the Marillac Residence, a family homeless shelter in Albany under the umbrella of St. Catherine's.

When an incident occurs, families are assessed within 48 hours about what happened.

"Sanctuary seeks to identify the root, not necessarily place the blame on somebody," Ms. Branca explained.

Trauma can also take a toll on an agency and make staff members mirror the behavior of clients, noted David McCorkel, senior faculty member at the Sanctuary Institute in Yonkers, which certified St. Catherine's in use of the new model.

"You sort of catch the bug," Mr. McCorkel said. "You can't listen to the stories and not be affected."

To combat this, employees are reminded to use the available counseling sessions and stress management workshops, Ms. Bender said.

The cornerstone of the sanctuary model is the "seven commitments," which include nonviolence, open communication and social responsibility. For example, a staff member might ask a child to carry the toolbox to fix a window the child broke, Mr. McCorkel said. This teaches the child that his or her actions affect others.

Another feature of the model is daily community meetings, which touch on feelings, goals and deciding who the employee, child or adult will ask for help.

The meetings have become so effective that former residents often ask for these in their new foster homes, Ms. Bender said.

Children make their own safety plans in every program, decide what activities they would like to see on the homeless shelter schedule and make recipes for healing from loss. Adult residents can discuss behavioral issues or wishes for a playground, a basketball hoop or longer laundry room hours at the homeless shelter, Ms. Branca said.

The size of St. Catherine's - six programs scattered geographically in Albany - made it especially challenging to institute a system-wide change, Mr. McCorkel said.

About 45 people constituted the steering committee, as opposed to the usual 15 or 20. This made St. Catherine's the first agency worldwide to be certified for all of its programs, according to Mr. McCorkel; it is also the first Christian agency to be certified. Only five other agencies are certified in the U.S., though more than 100 use the model in some way.

A series of grants totaling $60,000 went to the Sanctuary Institute to cover St. Catherine's training sessions, in-person consultations, telephone consultations and certification process. The agency paid for its own staffers' transportation to Yonkers.

"It was remarkable that this agency just wanted to take that on - to change what they did and how they did it," Mr. McCorkel stated.

01/07/10
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