About House of the Good Shepherd – Utica
The House of the Good Shepherd in Utica, New York, offers multiple programs and services to support children, youth, and families. Intensive treatment, residential programs, short-term and diagnostic inpatient treatment, non-secure detention and pivot programs as well as a Raise the Age program. Children and youth in the foster care program, and the families who foster them, also have many services and programs available to them.
The Sanctuary trauma-informed care model is used at The House of the Good Shepherd. This is a therapy and healing model that focuses on experience rather than one of blame or personal defect. A child is responding to stress and trauma rather than “being bad”. Therapy attempts to find the source cause of the behavior rather than just discipline someone acting out.
Whether a child needs a little extra support, or they require a whole new environment that can provide 24/7 psychiatric, behavioral, or physical support, The House of the Good Shepherd has programs and staff to provide support and resources. Programs such as Families Forward helps youth who are at-risk stay at home and receive community support to help them thrive in their home environment and community. Foster care is available in the unfortunate situation where children can’t stay at home.
Behavioral, developmental, and emotional support is offered through the residential and Tilton school programs. Tilton School has two programs divided from kindergarten to grade 8 with Tilton West providing mental health and education services to high school youth between grades 9 and 12. Teachers use the NYSED curriculum and there are extra classes such as computer lab, health and physical education, music, home and careers, and library. There are close to 100 staff providing care and support to the youth at Tilton School. These include teachers, counselors, psychologists, guidance counselors, social workers, and support staff.
Goals oriented and incentive-based programs are available to help children and youth learn to set life goals, strive to reach them, and obtain them in healthy ways. Life and coping skills are developed as each individual learns to identify and overcome challenges in their lives.