How to Work With Behavioral Children in Group Homes

Working in a group home with children can be a difficult but rewarding experience. Learning how to set up tools and tricks to help kids follow rules and be successful will create a environment of growth for both the children and employees.

Things You'll Need

• Paper/cardstock
• Posterboard
• White board
• Regular markers
• White board markers
• Meeting space with comfortable seating

Show More

Instructions

Setting up a Behavior Modification System

• 1

  When working in a group home, there is usually a specific population that lives there. The word "behavioral" usually implies children with mental health issues that play out in behavioral ways, but some group homes are also for children with developmental disorders or mental retardation.

  When you start working in a group home, find out what population it serves and do as much reading as possible. The book "Working with Aggressive Youth: A Sourcebook for Childcare Providers" is a helpful resource. Published by Boystown Press, the book provides some practical tools and approaches to working with aggressive children.

• 2

  Choose or design a behavior modification system that will work best for the population in the group home. The Psychoeducational Treatment Model (PEM) was designed by Boys and Girls Town. This system is based off goals of varying difficulty to help children learn important social and adaptive skills.

  Implementing a behavior modification system can be difficult, especially if you build your own. Make sure it is simple and has realistic, tangible goals for the children to reach. For example, set up a system that relies on varying levels determining what privileges a child has in the program. Keep the number of levels low; having up to five levels is ideal as it allows kids to move up and down the system and experience success.

• 3

  Implement consequences, which are just as important in developing or using a pre-made behavioral system. Determining appropriate consequences can be difficult, especially when not all consequences are made equal. No matter the consequence, make sure it is appropriate and given immediately; do not wait one week to announce a consequence as children are much less likely to connect it to the negative behavior.

• 4

  Ensure that all employees are trained in the behavioral modification system. Furthermore, make sure the kids living in the house understand what it is asking them to do. Once you have done this, you can implement your behavioral system.

• 5

  Draft a couple copies of a manual if your behavioral system is of your own design: one for employees, one for the residents. Keep an electronic copy for easy editing; you may find that certain privileges no longer apply and you need to revise the handbook.

Working with Kids in Crisis

• 6

  Working with children in crisis is far different from normal tasks. Having a specific approach and protocol to follow will help ensure consistency and fairness. If where you work does not already have a protocol in place, here are some things to consider: age of children in the home, whether the facility is hands-off (meaning no use of therapeutic restraints on children), whether you should call the police in times of crisis, and what the procedures for protecting the other children in the home are.

• 7

  Develop or research a crisis plan to follow with the residents. A system like PEM also includes a crisis plan designed to help de-escalate children. There are other crisis models as well--Cornell University developed Therapeutic Crisis Intervention (TCI), which provides a step-by-step method to use when children get aggressive to help deter the crisis.

  TCI and PEM both include hands-on components, but those do not have to be used to successfully work with aggressive children.

• 8

  If you decide to use or already use a hands-off program, make sure you have a specific protocol that is followed when police involvement is required.

  Make sure the residents understand that the police can and will be called if they get out of control. Have phone numbers readily accessible should it be needed.

• 9

  Post the rules, consequences and protocols throughout the building. This is essential for the kids to be successful. It is unrealistic to expect them to remember everything, so have posters to remind the kids of the rules and expectations.

  Use a whiteboard to track levels for everyone in the house. That way the levels are clearly visible and there is no question of a resident trying to finagle her way into privileges for a higher level.

• 10

  Hold house meetings. This is a chance for residents and staff alike to address any relevant issues in the house. If a few specific kids are struggling, the house can come together as a whole to strategize how to help them.

  House meetings are also a great time to introduce level changes. That way children have a specific day and time to anticipate hearing their level change.