residential care center-how to get in??

MICHL

Member
What are the steps of getting him into a residential care center? Does the school have to recommend it, and his private counselor, or his psychiatrist?
 

Fran

Former desparate mom
Depends on who is paying for it. If it is a private pay, just call the program of your choice.

I would recommend having a doctors. suggestion or recommendation.
Finding the proper program is as important as a child going. The wrong Residential Treatment Center (RTC) can cause damage.
If you go to the "residential link" off of the home page, you will see the banner for Lon Woodbury's site. Click on it for a direct link to his site. It is highly recommended.

You will also want a list of questions to ask before going to a Residential Treatment Center (RTC). There is a link in the General archives and a list of questions on Lon's site regarding what to ask.
 

MICHL

Member
Thanks Fran! I'll check it out.

difficult child gets in more trouble (hitting others, screaming, etc) at home than at school. I would not be surprised if we get booted out by the apartment manager if difficult child keeps it up. I'm going to try & keep him inside from the moment he gets home, however, been there done that.. it doesn't work.

What would it take for the school to recommented Residential Treatment Center (RTC)? Today at school he actually said to another kid, "... bring me a gun and i'll shoot my way out of juvenile hall". Last week I called 911 on him because and the sheriff mentioned that if he keeps up his behavior (hitting me & others, etc) he would end up in juvenile hall one day.

Any advice is appreciated! Thanks!!
 

DeeRW

Active Member
To get a difficult child or any child into an Residential Treatment Center (RTC) and have the school or state pay takes almost an act of God. It does happen, but it takes an incredible amount of work, a lot of grief and pain and wears on everyone. In the end, it is worth it.

I did get adoption services to pay for an Residential Treatment Center (RTC) for my difficult child. It took two years, my threatening to disrupt the adoption, being accused of child abandonment, court and, finally, a social worker and a judge who actually heard what I was saying.

You're also talking about a much younger difficult child. Unless he has severe psychiatric disorders and has shown himself to be harmful to himself or others, it would be almost impossible. Your first step would be having him hospitalized and getting the social worker at the hospital involved. It would also help if his psychiatrist and therapist were on board and also recommended an Residential Treatment Center (RTC).

Good luck in your quest but I would honestly be looking at finding the right medication and behavior modification to help him at this point.
 

MICHL

Member
If school won't pay, and psychiatrist recommends it, just wondering how much insurance might pay?
 

Fran

Former desparate mom
I would call the insurance company that covers you. Your son has a Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) diagnosis which is considered medical. I'm not sure if it will be enough to get Residential Treatment Center (RTC) or special therapeutic boarding school for your son but it is worth a try.
 

wincha

New Member
get a copy of your insurance policy and what their terms are for Residential Treatment Center (RTC). even if they pay its hard to "qualify" and usually 30 days is the max. the best way when he is out of control is to get him admitted. also request for an evalauation for an iep from school. get help from the psychiatrist, hospital and school and work from there
 

kris

New Member
sorry things have gotten this bad. definitely check out struggling teens, talk to your ins co, talk to psychiatrist.

as dee said it's pretty much an act of god to get the school to pay...and then they generally only pay for the educational piece....you're still left with-the residential & therapeutic parts to deal with.

with-the school the process usually goes...regular classroom, contained classroom, DTP then residential....but they will generally fight you every step of the way ~~~ at least after self~contained class. once it goes to DTP they are paying tuition & extra bussing costs & it gets horrendously expensive for them. it doesn't hurt to talk to them however. ya never know.

also be sure to check MHMR services in your county to see if there is funding available through them. that's usually state funding so that's tight too.

good luck.

kris
 
O

OTE

Guest
Just to clarify... a SD will only pay if the Residential Treatment Center (RTC) is educationally necessary. That is, that difficult child cannot be educated in any other way. So the primary purpose is difficult child's education. That would be something like a boarding school. When we talk about Residential Treatment Center (RTC) here we're typically talking about something primarily psychologically therapeutic. So the primary purpose is therapy, not education. Thus the medical insurance, Medicaid or CPS would pay. The SD legally has to pay for the portion of the total fees determined to be related to education. And they will reimburse the primary payor. In my state the SD portion is something like 25%.

The reality that unless you live in a remote area chances are that there's some kind of day school that could meet any child's needs- or at least with accomodation make it work. It's highly unlikely that a SD is going to pay room and board and they'll fight long and hard to keep from paying room and board.

So in answer to your first question, it's the psychiatrist, not the SD that has to recommend it.

If your medical insur won't pay- and many won't for more than 30 days a year- then you need to find out how the process works in your state. As everyone said, it won't be easy but if your child is bad enough you'll find a way.
 

NicoleP

New Member
Just my .02 Unless the Residential Treatment Center (RTC) understand mental illness and medication, lots of kids are not helped. In such a young chlid, I'd look at the medications first. paxil has been warned against kids under 18. If there is any chance your child has bipolar or a mood disorder of any sort, Paxil can be the culprit cauging the child to be out of control. It could be a simple matter of switching to a mood stabilzier and removing the Paxil. I take Paxil for depression and it's a powerful medication which is VERY hard to wean from. If I had known that, when it was prescribed to me a long time ago, i wouldn't have taken it because the withdrawals make one far worse before better. You may want to look up Paxil Withdrawal Syndrome in your Google Search. It's too late for me. I've been on it for ten years and it helps me (but I'm not bipolar), but i would never go off of it; I dont think I could handle the withdrawals. I'd have to stay on at least a small amount. I wish psychiatrists would tell us these things, but often they don't. Lately, I do extensive research before I trust a psychiatrist's opinion or the medication he recommends. I've become so cynical, i don't trust therapists of any sort to be able to diagnose at all, as they don't have medical degrees. ADHD/ODD is often a code word(s) for bipolar; they were for my son. medications like stims and antidepressants make bipolar worse and can lead to hosopitalization and, yes, even Residential Treatment Center (RTC) placement. I'd go to a new psychiatrist, with a great rep, and get a second opinion before I'd put her in Residential Treatment Center (RTC), which may not help. I hope this isn't too preachy; we've just been thru a lot. Son was in Residential Treatment Center (RTC) and hospitals many times. now he is stable, a word I never thought I'd say. And it was all because the doctors kept treating him wrongly for ADHD/ODD. Hugs and good luck whichever route you take. I support you.
 
O

OTE

Guest
About Medicaid.. even though your child doesn't qualify for regular Medicaid there are special Medicaid plans that pay for Residential Treatment Center (RTC) in some states. They're called medicaid waivers for residential care or katie beckett waivers. In some states like mine it has to go through CPS and then medicaid pays it in the end anyway.

As the private psychiatrist said to me.. "they have to be in the system". I got mine "in the system" by getting him admitted to the hospital and refusing to take him out.

Other way to go is to get the court to order it as part of a criminal charge- by which point your child is well into CD territory and may be using drugs. So this isn't something I'd wait for!
 
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