Children’s Home Society of South Dakota – Sioux Falls, SD
Established in 1893, the Children’s Home Society (CHS) is the oldest nonprofit human services organization in South Dakota. Its mission is to protect, support and enhance the lives of children, women, and families (Children’s Home Society of South Dakota, n.d.). CHS serves over 2000 abused and neglected children between the ages of 4-13 each year through residential assessment and treatment, education, prevention and training, nurse home visitation, foster care and adoption, and forensic interviews and physical exams. It also provides emergency shelter and counseling to women and children who are victims of domestic violence (Children’s Home Society of South Dakota, n.d.).
Residential Assessment and Treatment
CHS offers residential treatment for children of abuse and neglect. A detailed clinical assessment is performed to determine an individual treatment plan for each child. The treatment plan may include one or more of the following components: (1) special education; (2) individual therapy; (3) group therapy; (4) family therapy; (5) psychiatric services; (6) recreation therapy; (7) medical treatment; (8) nutrition; and (9) cultural awareness (Children’s Home Society of South Dakota, n.d.).
The philosophy for its residential treatment program is one of total care through therapeutic milieu. According to CHS, milieu therapy “creates an atmosphere in which every interaction throughout the day provides an opportunity to be therapeutic, while each person the child comes into contact with has an opportunity to contribute to the child’s life” (Beneath the Behavior, 2016).
In Treatment of Child Victims of Abuse and Neglect, the authors state that treatment of child abuse and neglect incorporates a variety of components like the ones offered by CHS. Treatment approaches may include cognitive-behavioral strategies, relaxation training, supportive strategies, and self-protective strategies (Lipovsky, n.d.). The authors argue that these strategies will aid in treating the effects of abuse and neglect, which may include aggression, anxiety, conduct disorder, negative parent-child interactions, poor interpersonal relationships and social skills, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and difficulty regulating emotional responses (Lipovsky, n.d.).
Education
CHS also offers educational services approved by the South Dakota Board of Education. There is a day school program serving children who live at home, and a residential program for children who live at CHS. All teachers employed by CHS are highly qualified in dealing with emotional and behavioral needs, and receive 40 hours of training annually to meet the needs of the children in each program.
In Treatment of Child Victims of Abuse and Neglect, the authors found that empirical and clinical findings suggest that treatment should include an educational component as it may help with the long-term problem of poor intellectual and academic functioning seen in abused or neglected children (Lipovsky, n.d.).
Emergency Shelter
Children’s Inn, another program offered by CHS, provides no cost emergency shelter services for women and children who are victims of family violence, child abuse, and neglect.
In the article titled Physiological Distress of Children and Mothers in Domestic Violence Emergency Shelters, the authors studied the physiological effects on children and their mothers who were previously victims of domestic violence. The children in the study were chosen because they had attempted to intervene and stop the violence within their homes. The mother-child relationships were studied once they were taken out of their homes to emergency shelters where they could feel safe. Common symptoms of the mothers in the shelters were depression, anxiety, and anger, whereas the children exhibited symptoms of PTSD related to the abuse (Jarvis, 2005). CHS offers emergency shelter to such families in an effort to help them put their lives back together and recover from the emotional damage. These emergency shelters are not the final destination for these children and mothers but a step in the right direction to help them on their path to recovery.
Nurse Home Visitation
Bright Start is another program offered by CHS. It offers home visitation services to families during pregnancy, after delivery, and up to the child’s third birthday. Services include nursing and mental health services (Children’s Home Society of South Dakota, n.d.).
In the article Building Healthy Children: Evidence-Based Home Visitation Integrated with Pediatric Medical Homes, the study integrated home visitation into primary care of infants born to young, low income mothers. The study participants were young mothers with a history of child abuse or neglect, symptoms of depression, and exposure to domestic violence. The goals of the study were to reduce or avoid child maltreatment, improve parent-child health, and improve family functioning (Paradis, 2013). Families remained enrolled in the program until the child reached the age of 3. Each participant received medical care, parenting education, maternal depression and therapy for parent-child trauma through home visitation. By providing these types of home visitations, the results demonstrated that it reduced child protective reports and foster placement in children (Paradis, 2013).
Prevention and Training
Another program offered by CHS provides child abuse, neglect, and domestic violence prevention and training events to professionals serving children, women, and the public.
In Youth Exposure to Violence Prevention Programs in a National Sample, the authors assessed the number of children who participated in violence prevention programs and their reaction to attending these programs. The study focused on children between the ages of 5-17 and found that about 65% of the children had been exposed to a violence prevention program in the past. The majority of children studied rated the programs to be very (39%) and somewhat (32%) helpful (Finkelhor, 2014). Close to half (45%) of the children in the study reported that they could recall a time when they applied what they learned in the program to help themselves or a friend (Finkelhor, 2014).
The study revealed the following important findings: (1) the younger the children attending the program, the lower the levels of peer victimization and perpetration; (2) prevention programs were very effective at preventing violence while also improving grades and attendance in school; and (3) it confirmed that graduation rates were higher due to decreasing violence and improving self-esteem (Finkelhor, 2014).
Conclusion
In summary, the evidence-based practice supports the approach taken by CHS in meeting its mission to provide refuge, nourishment, love, education, and counsel to children of abuse and neglect (Children’s Home Society of South Dakota, n.d.). A one-size-fits-all approach to the treatment of abused and neglected children is not effective. Success can be achieved through individualized assessments and carefully crafted treatment plans that may include one or more of the following programs: residential treatment, day or residential schooling, nurse home visitation, and emergency shelter.
Prevention and training events focused on the topics of domestic violence, child abuse, and neglect are also supported by the literature in preventing violence to children.