Compassionate Care for Young Minds

I am a social worker at a children’s hospital and I work with children in residential treatment facilities, group homes, and therapeutic placements every day. As a social worker, I interact closely with group home staff in order to meet the needs of the children who come into the hospital. It is not often that I come across staff like the ones at Re-Jo. Recently I had a child from Rejo Helping Hands come into our emergency department after some behavioral issues which required further evaluations. It was very late into the night and the staff was available and at bedside into the very early hours of the morning. Despite the late hour, the staff remained responsive and supportive throughout the entire process. When I arrived to talk to the child, one of the Rejo Helping Hands direct care providers, Nicco, was present to offer emotional support and to ensure the child was never alone throughout the stressful (and sometimes scary) process of being in a hospital. Nicco was respectful and thoughtful of the child’s difficult situation while still encouraging the child to make be􀆩er choices. Throughout the discussion the child frequently referenced the Rejo Helping Hands staff as a source of emotional support and stated it was “the best placement” they had ever been to since coming into CPS custody. As I talked to the child I learned about the extensive supports in place at Re-jo and got a sense that this child truly felt cared for despite the difficulties related to his diagnosis. Group homes can sometimes be highly restrictive and punitive environments for children with behavior issues however, this child described an environment where he was allowed to still be a child. As social workers and clinicians we can sometimes normalize the experience of a child living in group settings, however I was so impressed by Nicco’s considerate responses and acknowledgment of this difficulty throughout our discussion. Sadly, many group homes do not send staff to bedside or they will wait outside while we talk with the child. In this case the child asked Nicco to stay and Nicco continued to encourage and support the child throughout the night. Nicco was so patient and sat and processed the incident with compassion and understanding and was instrumental in keeping the child calm and committed to behavioral changes. I am so impressed with Rejo Helping Hands and Nicco and I feel very encouraged that there are kind and caring group homes. A child’s home environment can have the power to hurt or heal, and I am confident that the staff at Rejo Helping Hands is doing healing work.