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Show Utah's Unique Child Center rW i I LI i fit. II - - - Did you know? The Independent didn't until yesterday- -there is an .Adolescent Day Care Center in Salt Lake City for children who are emotionally disturbed. It is located at 933 East First South. Boys and girls between the ages of 10 and 14 needing psychiatric aid are here 'given assistance. At present there are nine children here. The maximum max-imum number is twelve. The young people are referrals from the courts, the schools, from private physicians, or from their families. Average length of stay is a year. Four of the youngsters who have had eleven months in the Center last year have made satisfactory satis-factory adjustments and have returned re-turned to public school life with good records being maintained. It is believed that a teen-ager older than fourteen will have a chronic personality problem by that time so these are not included in this program. The three-year Federal grant began in April, 1958 and will be ended in April, 1961. Many states are provided with Federal funds but Utah is unique in having a special projects grant from the National Institute of Mental Health for an exploratory program under the direction of Dr. Frank Rafferty, psychiatrist at the University of Utah. The area being explored is in the field of 'open' living in contrast to the around-the-clock care. This means the youngsters spend the day at the center but either go to their own home or to foster parents for the night. The above photograph shows the Adolescent Day Care Center at 933 East First South. This is maintained by a Federal grant from the National Institute of Mental Health and is used for emotionally disturbed children ages 10 to 14. I '! r 1 I I ET v . . I r ' 1 ; Ml! - ' ) ' ji " i J i i 4' 'wwpfjRiiw'fls?1"11-' ...... I I Above is shown the entrance hall at the Adolescent Day Care Center. ! " " .1. r XT "' T"--'" ''""W'-t f i i i i in i n in Kin m iimi I ' ' ! f m , ! ...' ICS I- . r. I . ; " ' "" -- ! ' tr ' I s' " I " ' -: . ' i- l t - 4 fcv 1 '4 i f ' J I I ' ' ' f '' - i;' I J Staff Photos Read editorial on page two. The only meal served is lunch, provided by the State Educational Distributive Fund through the Granite School District. Some financial fi-nancial assistance comes from the State Welfare Commission for the foster-home care. Readers of the Independent are familiar with the foster-care used by the Juvenile Courts sometimes twelve in one home with a dollar per day per child. For the child who is emotionally disturbed there can be only one to a foster-home and this home is hand-picked and constantly supervised to maintain the proper atmosphere for these highstrung boys and girls. Miss Margaret Morton, who received her degree in Social Work at the University of Utah, is in charge of this part of the program as psychiatric social worker. Others on the staff include two teachers, one in educational psychology and one in arts and crafts, and a social group worker. No attempt at formal education classes can be made immediately as the adolescent is hostile to all adults at his inception in. the Center, and, although of normal I Q, his attention span is short 'due to the problems which brought him here. Arts and crafts are. emphasized as group therapy to start him on the road to acceptance accep-tance of and by his peers before a greater receptivity can be attempted. at-tempted. Aims for the grant to reach are: new methods of developing a foster-care program for the emotionally disturbed child and study of diagnosis and treatment of the emotionally disturbed child. A few weeks ago this program was presented to the Salt Lake Community Welfare Council. The hope of the directors of the Center (Cont. on page two.) I The above picture shows part ot the Arts and Crafts quarters at the Center. Mr. Arthur Imber, shown in the photograph, is in charge 1 of this department. It has facilities for various group therapy projects 1 as well as for the development of individual interests. The emphasis I is on variety. fCont. from page one) is to interest the State of Utah in becoming involved in some type of program for the emotionally disturbed child, not necessarily the day-care explorational one that is being followed at the Center, tfhich has another year or so of research before particular legislation legis-lation can be suggested. We must remember that the Adolescent Day Care program is an exploratory project. Methods now being used to arrest juvenile delinquency de-linquency have not succeeded. This work done at the Center may bring a better answer to the problem confronting us all. It is too soon for a scientific evaluation. |