FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Frances Chamberlain (860) 868-7377 ext. 221

December, 2001

Hartford, CT….. The Department of Children and Families and two private residential treatment centers, the Glenholme School in Washington and Klingberg Family Centers in New Britain, will receive $850,610 over three years from the federal government to develop a training program intended to significantly reduce the use of physical restraint in mental health facilities.

The funding will be used to develop training and implement nationally consistent restraints procedures in residential treatment centers for children. The Connecticut Collaboration for Training Excellence, a partnership of the Department, the Glenholme School and Klingberg Family Centers, will develop, implement, test and evaluate a best practices training model for nationwide use. The model will address appropriate use of restraints, but will emphasize and teach a broad array of alternatives to restraint and seclusion in the treatment of severe behavior problems.

The Connecticut consortium is one of five national sites awarded this competitive grant. The Child Welfare League of America will serve as the national coordinating center of the three-year demonstration project.

The Department of Children and Families has already made substantial progress in cutting the use of restraints and seclusions at both private treatment centers and state-run facilities through a variety of means including new reporting requirements and safety procedures. In addition, new regulations are being developed to further reduce their use.

Marked progress has been made, for example, at Riverview Hospital, the Department's psychiatric facility for youth in Middletown. By focusing on alternative ways to intervene with children requiring behavior modification, Riverview has cut the use of restraints and seclusions by 48 percent in July through September 201 compared to the same period in 2000.

Department Commissioner Kristine D. Ragaglia, J.D., said the federal grant provided by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration (SAMSHA) promises to continue advances already underway in Connecticut and, ultimately, at other facilities across the nation.

The new federal funding will stimulate continued creativity as we advance toward a goal of eliminating the use of restraints at our mental health facilities over the next five years," Commissioner Ragaglia said.

"Restraints are frequently not the best form of intervention when a child is exhibiting difficulties," Commissioner Ragaglia said. "As the Department makes advances in children's behavioral health services in community-based settings, we also will continue improvements in treatment for youth in residential programs. This grant will promote better outcomes for kids.

The Glenholme School has also reduced the use of restraints more than 50 percent over the past two years. "Training of our people in Communities of Character and integrating this in a positive culture has produced these results," Glenholme Executive Director Gary Fitzherbert said.

"Klingberg Family Centers has also experienced a decrease in restraint and seclusion, owing in large part to quality enhanced training for direct care staff," Klingberg Vice President for Quality Improvement and Staff Development, Dr. Steve Girelli said. "This training emphasizes non-physical intervention techniques, active listening, problem-solving and relationship skills among staff."

The grant was established in legislation that resulted from the efforts of U.S. Senators Christpher Dodd and Joseph Lieberman and U.S. Congresswoman Nancy Johnson during the past year. The resulting Children's Health Act of 2000 provided funding for the development and training programs aimed at reducing the risks associated with the use of restraints and seclusions.

The proposed training model is designed to create an educated, experienced and committed professional workforce to successfully care for children and youth who exhibit a wide range of severe behavioral problems. The special needs of such children will be treated in an integrated system of care that minimizes the risk of aggression and violence, while being proactive and sensitive to the dynamic interplay between children and staff.

Once the three institutions have developed specific training modules and a written curriculum, and developed a delivery model, the plan can be implemented in similar organizations nationwide. There will be substantial detail offered to other residential treatment centers, including precise guidelines for designing, implementing and evaluating training programs so that agencies can intervene more effectively in the lives of children and youth to reduce and prevent their involvement in aggressive or violent acts, and help them internalize self-control and a sense of self-worth.