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SERVICES
Child
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Cornerstones Day School
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Cornerstones Ipswich
Group Care Facility
Family Work and Involvement
Work with Family of Origin
The family is considered a vital part of the multi-disciplinary team and in fact are the child's treatment team. The professionals at Cornerstones are here to guide and support the family in making shifts in their family system and in helping the family make good treatment decisions about their child. A Family Treatment Contract is designed with the family prior to intake detailing the goals for the family and how the work will be done. This contract must be completed before an intake can be scheduled. Cornerstones offers an open door policy to caregivers where protective concerns do not exist. Parents and Caretakers may visit any time and without a scheduled appointment. They are encouraged to participate in activities in both the milieu and school including meal times which are a special time for the community to gather and share a meal. Clinicians work closely with families to set goals and provide treatment so that families are better able to manage the needs of a special needs child and live together with greater stability. Cornerstones will also facilitate supervised phone calls and visits so that families may have contact when contact must be closely monitored.
Work with pre-adoptive and Foster Families
Work with pre-adoptive and foster care families may also be facilitated by the Cornerstones Treatment Team allowing for the most appropriate discharge option when the student is ready. The therapist and childcare staff will work closely with the new family to help the child and family get to know each other and begin to establish a relationship. Key aspects of the child's treatment and ability to attach will be shared and explored with this new family unit. Cornerstones has experienced much success in completing this work with children whose case managers never thought could connect with a family. We are particularly skilled in doing this work quickly and efficiently while also understanding that the work must be done or the pre-adoptive home or foster home could fail.
Work with Adoptive families
More and more families are using our expertise to treat children who were adopted. Children from other countries whose early beginnings were spent without a primary caretaker and children who were adopted through state protective agency can experience great difficulty as they connect and try to bond with their adoptive family. Cornerstones has been successful in working with these families allowing children to only spend minimal time in residential care.
