ERIC Number: EJ746392
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2006
Pages: 44
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1533-7731
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Level 3 Therapeutic Model Site
DeJong, Judith A.; Hektner, Joel M.
American Indian and Alaska Native Mental Health Research: The Journal of the National Center, v13 n2 p79-122 2006
L3 is an intertribal residential school enrolling approximately 200 students in grades 5-8 from tribes in the northern Midwest. As a result of successful grant-writing which espoused Circle of Courage and Asset-Building, the school built up an impressive configuration of programs funded by a variety of sources, including a cadre of mental health professionals, and began increasingly to rely on their assessments and services. First funded by the Therapeutic Residential Model program in the 2002-2003 school year, L3 used the funding that year primarily to increase professional-level services of a psychiatrist and psychologist, and to maintain or expand programs which would otherwise have been terminated as funding from short-term sources was running out. Evaluation of this project began in January 2003, when the site was assessed and determined to be strongly oriented toward provision of Level Three, or professional-level, psychiatric and medical mental health services. The initial evaluation report identified a low retention rate and raised concerns that the presence of more than 200 staff on campus had resulted in a diffusion of responsibility, lack of consistency, and duplication or redundancy of services; that elements of the environment appeared to be detrimental to social development and emotional stability; and that an unusually high proportion of students were receiving psychiatric diagnoses and medication. The site was asked to address these issues, and additional funding was provided to bolster lower levels of triage by adding paraprofessional case managers to advocate or students and coordinate provision of services for them. Retention remained low at this site throughout the course of funding, and there were a high number of assaults and psychiatric hospitalizations compared with other sites. (Contains 14 tables and 11 figures.)
Descriptors: Residential Schools, Tribes, Financial Support, Mental Health Workers, Professional Development, Psychiatry, Psychologists, Program Evaluation, Social Development, Therapeutic Environment, School Holding Power, Program Implementation, Elementary School Students, Elementary Schools
American Indian and Alaska Native Programs. University of Colorado Health Services Center, P.O. Box 6508, Mail Stop F800, Aurora, CO 80045-0508. Tel: 303-724-1414; Fax: 303-724-1474; Web site: http://www2.uchsc.edu/ai/ncaianmhr/journal_home.asp
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A