The Children's Guild approach to group living is different than most other models of group care. We call our group-living program The Academy, because our program is more like a private boarding school than a family environment or home away from home.

The boarding school concept requires each staff member to view themselves as a teacher who needs to be prepared to teach the values and skills associated with successful living. Consequently, we refer to our group care staff as our "faculty" and call the members of the faculty youth life educators and the residents "students." We feel this is a good idea because it clarifies the direct care staff person's role and focus.

The youth life educator does not have the same authority as the parent and the student understands teachers come and go. The student further understands that they will graduate or learn enough in the boarding school to move to the next grade (placement). A family is forever; it is always there for the student. School is for now, and the group care facility will never be able to serve as the student's family.

Curriculum

The curriculum is the heart of the group living program. It is what gives credence to the private boarding school concept and provides guidance and structure to the faculty for how to utilize daily living in a way that fosters the students' growth and development. The areas of the curriculum include:

Character Development

Focuses on community involvement, leadership, volunteerism, service learning, worship, outdoor education, and caring for pets and plants.

Wellness Education

Includes stress management, physical fitness, family issues, peer relationships, healthy sexuality, nutrition, group and individual counseling, and family therapy.

Personal Styles

Teaches teens to cook their meals, decorate their living areas and improve their personal image.

Career Training

Helps adolescents explore paths to success in employment through job readiness and skill building.

Cultural Arts

Participation stresses drama, music, cultural traditions and the visual arts.

Citizenship Development

Teaches healthy and appropriate dissent, the importance of civic duties and how to advocate for community change.

Life Skills Training

Covers daily living, personal grooming, housekeeping, use of leisure time, and team and individual sports.

Study Skills

Teaches personal organization, ways to acquire and retain knowledge, and how to use libraries and computers for research.

Travel and Trips

Helps students broaden their horizon by exploring their community, state and region.

Group Living Academy Residents

Many of the boys and girls referred to The Children's Guild have survived much turmoil, such as multiple foster care placements; physical, emotional or sexual abuse; neglectful or dysfunctional families; social isolation or poor interpersonal relationships; and poverty. And many of them exhibit one or more of a constellation of troubling signs of emotional disability: behavior disorders, personality disorders, psychosis, aggression, truancy and/or delinquency.

The Academy serves students ages 12 to 18 with a minimum I.Q. of 70. The homes are community based so adolescents who are extremely violent or who are in need of incarceration are not accepted. The Guild also cannot offer programming for teens needing extensive medical care.

Group Living Academy Staff

The Academy has one faculty member for every three students during "awake" hours. Night supervision is also provided in each house.

A licensed counselor provides therapeutic and case management services for each teen and his or her family. Individual, group and family therapy is available as well. The Children's Guild's psychiatrists provide psychiatric consultation and medication management (monitored by a licensed nurse), and there is 24-hour on-call psychiatric coverage.

The team meets regularly to review a student's individual growth plan, outlining his or her individual goals. Growth plan meetings are held every 90 days.

Admissions

Where there are beds, all candidates will be considered for acceptance unless the application indicates any of the following disqualifying criteria:

• Primary diagnosis of alcoholism, drug addiction or severe brain damage
• Cognitive learning deficits severely limiting the individual's ability to benefit from the treatment modalities provided
• Assaultive, anti-social behavior presenting a danger to the life or safety of the individual and/or others
• Acute psychosis

Locations

Kanner House for Boys

6508 Armstrong Ave.
Baltimore, MD 21215
410-764-9750
410-358-2227 (Administrative Office)
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Debuskey House for Boys

6512 Armstrong Ave.
Baltimore, MD 21215
410-764-9752
410-358-2227 (Administrative Office)
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Staffa House for Girls

4808 Harford Road
Baltimore, MD 21214
410-254-3337
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Contact

For more information on Academy admissions, contact LaMar Williams at 410-808-2036 or e-mail her at williaml@childrensguild.org.