IN HOME SUPPORT

For more than a decade, the In-Home Support program (DOE-DMR project) has provided services to children between the ages of 6-22 residing in the North Shore and surrounding areas.

The program was initially developed to provide clinical and educational supports for those children who were returning back to their home following a residential placement. Soon following, the DOE-DMR project expanded its mission to include home-based services for those children who were determined to be at risk of requiring an out-of-home residential placement due their challenging behavior and level of need.

The overall goal of this program is to strengthen the family’s capacity to meet their child’s challenging needs and allow that individual to remain at home and within his or her natural community. This is accomplished through:

• The provision of 1:1 clinical and educational support services by qualified staff.


• Training designed to support the family to be more capable of meeting the needs of their child. Parents receive training in behavior management, communication and skills training. Other services include support groups, research and information referral, community integration and life planning. Parents have the opportunity to observe staff working with their child and to collaborate and problem solve on particular areas of concern that they may experiencing during non service provision times. These collaborative opportunities help foster improved consistency, capacity building, and generalization of newly acquired skills. When direct observation is not possible, staff effectively communicates these service provision experiences with the family in order to promote those same efforts.


• Structured respite provides the family a much needed break from ongoing intensive supervision needs that their child often requires. Due to the nature of the child's behavior, typical support services often are not available. With adequate respite, family members can accomplish routine errands or spend uninterrupted time with their other children.