Program areas at Bald Ridge Lodge
Brls group home for teen boys. Our goal for residents of the group home is to experience normalcy/stability in their home environment and that they leave only for positive reasons (reunification with family, adoption, step down to foster home, transition to adult living). Our goal is that each calendar year at least 75% of youth experience successful discharges or remain successfully placed at brl. We have exceeded this goal for the past two years. During calendar year 2022, 94% (17 out of 18) of Bald Ridge Lodge residents placed in the facility for any length of time experienced successful discharges or remain successfully placed in the group home.
Independent living program (ilp) brl completed research and development of the ilp, developed policies and procedures, identified a location (rented housing) for the program and identified its first two residents. The launch of the program (i.e. Resident move in) will happen in fiscal year 2024.
Program service accomplishments aftercare program. Youth transitioning out of foster care are known to experience disturbingly high rates of homelessness, incarceration, early parenting, poor educational achievement, and unemployment. Brls aftercare program lowers these risks by supporting two types of former residents: young men living as adults after aging out of care and youth reunified with family. Our aftercare specialist supports young men to be responsible and contributing members of society. In working with reunified families, we support, coach, & train parents, prepare families for reunification, and follow up after. For youth living as adults, aftercare serves a role like that of parenting an adult child guiding,supporting, giving holiday gifts, and making connections for education and career success. Twenty-one (21) individuals were served through this program in 2022 including former group home residents and family members/caregivers of those former residents. Aftercare services are unique to each young adult and family involved. Services this year have ranged from setting up parental controls on a teens computer for non-tech savvy grandparents to helping a former resident access college benefits, for example. Our aftercare specialist, among other things, has coached parents through behavior management crises, referred for counseling, answered questions about adulting, offered holiday gifts, and assisted with navigating social services. Based on qualitative surveys conducted during both 2021 and 2022, our former residents who responded to surveys are for the most part doing well in the following areas: experiencing stable housing (i.e. No forced moves); experiencing supportive relationships; avoiding problematic interactions with law enforcement.
Our mission is to provide a safe haven and counseling in a therapeutic environment for boys who are in need of protection, direction and supervision, in a manner that nutures the child, strengthens family relationships and allows the community to care for their own.