Our Mission
The Center for Resilience is the only therapeutic day treatment program in Louisiana. We provide educational and intensive mental health supports in an innovative partnership with the Tulane University Medical School Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry to ensure the emotional well-being and academic readiness of children with behavioral health needs in the Greater New Orleans region. Children with behavioral health and autism or related spectrum diagnoses receive instructional, medical, and therapeutic services at our day program site with the goal of building the skills necessary to successfully transition back to the traditional school setting. Our mission is to improve the emotional well-being and academic readiness of children by delivering high-quality, interdisciplinary care, and collaborating with partners to develop new programs that meet the needs of our region’s children and families.
“The kids that come to us are often mistrustful of new relationships, and so when we get to a point where we see them being joyful and being kids then we know we are getting somewhere.”
— Monica Stevens
Our Work
Nationally, one in five children and adolescents has had a serious mental health disorder, and one in sixty-eight children is diagnosed with an Autism or Related Spectrum Disorder, double the 2000 diagnosis rate.
Studies suggest that approximately 60 percent of children in New Orleans suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and New Orleans children are 4.5 times as likely as their peers nationwide to demonstrate signs of Serious Emotional Disturbance. And, although approximately 10 percent of students with behavioral disabilities are served outside of typical school settings nationwide, just 0.4 percent of students in Louisiana are served in alternative settings, highlighting the absence of appropriate placement and intervention options.
Locally and nationally, diagnoses among children for autism spectrum and related disorders (ASRD) is on the rise. In New Orleans, between just 2011 and 2013 the number of children diagnosed with ASRD increased by 70 percent, and numbers continue to rise. However, no citywide specialized programs exist to address the unique communication, social, and behavioral needs of children with moderate to significant ASRD and behavioral challenges who may require a higher degree of specialization and a more controlled environment than a typical school may be able to provide.
To address these unmet needs, CfR provides a caring, non-punitive, therapeutic milieu with positive behavioral supports, trauma-informed approaches, evidence-based mental health practices, small-group classroom instruction, and therapeutic recreation activities. Our Prism Program also provides one-on-one ABA therapy. We also offer itinerant homebound instruction and counseling services, and school-based consultations on request.
Referrals
The Center for Resilience provides services to for children who are challenged by significant emotional health problems that interfere with learning and functioning in a traditional school setting.
Children best served by CfR are those who:
Have not experienced success in response to the appropriate RTI or MTSS process; and
Qualify for special education services for behavioral reasons (typically categorized as Emotional Disturbance or Other Health Impairment); and
Are a significant disruption to the school environment despite a well-implemented intervention plan; and/or
Are experiencing a major mental illness or crisis (as diagnosed by a licensed mental health professional) that impairs learning in a traditional setting (e.g., severe depression, psychosis, Bipolar Disorder, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder).
CfR is an ideal placement option for children who have not consistently and meaningfully participated in learning despite access to maximum supports available within the school building. Children with intellectual disabilities will be considered on a case-by-case basis as well, dependent on the child’s ability to understand and participate in therapeutic interventions.
To make a referral, click HERE.
History
The New Orleans Therapeutic Day Program launched in 2015 in response to the lack of adequate services and placements for children with moderate to severe mental and/or behavioral health needs in New Orleans. Studies suggest that approximately 60 percent of children in New Orleans suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and New Orleans children are 4.5 times as likely as their peers nationwide to demonstrate signs of Serious Emotional Disturbance.[1] And, although approximately 10 percent of students with behavioral disabilities are served outside of typical school settings nationwide, just 0.4 percent of students in Louisiana are served in alternative settings, highlighting the absence of appropriate placement and intervention options.[2] To address these unmet needs, NOTDP provides a caring, non-punitive, therapeutic milieu with positive behavioral supports, trauma-informed approaches, evidence-based mental health practices, small-group classroom instruction, and therapeutic recreation activities.
NOTDP was launched as an innovative partnership among the Recovery School District, Orleans Parish School Board, and Tulane Medical School’s Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.
In 2018, NOTDP transitioned from operating as an agency of the Louisiana Department of Education to the non-profit Center for Resilience. The Center provides day treatment services to children with significant behavioral health disabilities whose needs cannot be met in a traditional school. We work with students to build the skills necessary to be successful in a less restrictive, school setting so they can one day transition back to their home schools.
[1] Children’s Health Fund and Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. Legacy of Katrina: The Impact of a Flawed Recovery on Vulnerable Children of the Gulf Coast, A Five-Year Status Report. Retrieved June 6, 2016, from http://www.childrenshealthfund.org/sites/default/files/files/Five-Years-After-Katrina-Web.pdf.
[2] Calculated from data drawn from the 38th Annual Report to Congress and United States Department of Education, https://www2.ed.gov/programs/osepidea/618-data/static-tables/index.html.
Values
Love:
We love ourselves and show empathy and understanding for others.
Integrity and ethical behavior guide our practices: we do what we say we’re going to do. We actively prioritize the physical and emotional safety of children and adults. We act with compassion, care, and kindness as we situate healthy relationships as the foundation for our work.
Community:
We care for, respect, and love our CfR and outside community.
We care for our CfR community by approaching our work from a place of collaboration. We seek positive and reciprocal partnerships with our children’s home schools and our community partners. We work with parents, families, and our children’s extended support networks to increase capacity to provide support.
Resilience:
We persevere despite hurdles or difficulties placed in front of us.
We approach our work with humility, appreciating its challenges, and engage in social learning, knowing we can learn from mistakes. We celebrate the small things. We set clear expectations and boundaries and take personal responsibility for the success of our program. We fall down, and we get back up.
Beliefs
A Therapeutic Milieu is Essential to Healing.
Our therapeutic environment is an intervention in itself which everyone contributes to. Therefore, throughout our environment, we implement strengths-based approaches that intentionally promote wellness and resilience. We have clear expectations with structure and routines and use consequences to teach through our core interventions of restorative practices and TCIS. We respect developmental differences when designing interventions, and recognize that one size does not fit all.
Kids are doing the best they can in the moment.
Children want to do well and feel successful and sometimes lack the skills in that moment. We believe they need support to acquire and practice emotional regulation, prosocial, and school readiness skills. We work with children and families to identify those specific skills and engage in individualized, evidence-based interventions to address them. We hold children to realistic expectations and we believe they are resilient and capable.
Our success is rooted in collaborative, trusting, healthy relationships among children, families, staff, and community members.
We believe healthy relationships include clear and consistent professional boundaries and are the cornerstone for the success of our program and the children we serve. We operate from a strengths-based stance and assume the best about others. We believe parents and schools want what is best for their children and students, respectively. We model healthy interactions between and among staff and students. We engage in direct, honest, caring communication.
Our work requires a commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice.
We promote and affirm principles of equity in relation to all intersections of race, age, color, exceptionality, faith, national origin, citizenship, sexual orientation, socioeconomic class, gender and gender expression. As a mental health organization we recognize neurodiversity and mental health as components of diversity and seek to acknowledge the intersectionality of the children we serve. We take action to ensure that all team members have a deep awareness of the dynamics of race, class, mental health stigma, and equity in school-like settings and society. We are able to leverage that awareness to be the best they can be for the children and communities we have the honor to serve.
Data and evidence-based interventions are at the forefront of our decision-making.
We do not have a one-size-fits-all approach to care. In addition to data and validated practices, we honor the voice and input of interdisciplinary stakeholders. We implement interventions with fidelity and flexibility and have a commitment to offering well-researched practices to children, families, and the greater community. We are also aware that most interventions have yet to be considered well-established for minority youth, and thus, we strive to thoughtfully consider the implications of adapting interventions to meet the needs of our populations.
Reports & Publications
The Center for Resilience is the only therapeutic day treatment program in Louisiana. We service children in grades K-12.
FAQ’s
Please see HERE for answers to some commonly asked questions.
If you seek information not included on our website or in our FAQ, please contact us at info@cfrla.org