The information in this program outline is provided by the program representative and edited by the CEBC staff. The Re-ED program has been reviewed by the CEBC in the area of: Higher Level of Placement, but lacks the necessary research evidence to be given a Scientific Rating.

• Types of Maltreatment: Does not target any specific kind of maltreatment
• Target Population: Boys and girls from birth to age 22. Adaptations are made to assure developmental appropriateness across exceptionality(s). The general descriptor most frequently used in the program is troubled and troubling because the term is considered least stigmatic and applies to children and youth along the range of needs from mild to most severe. Children who are eligible for service in other systems are often referred to the program because of their challenging behavior.

Re-ED is an ecological competence approach to helping the range of troubled and troubling children and youth entering child serving systems, with their families. This philosophy-based approach refined its beliefs and practices beginning in 1963, compiling research and evaluation studies. One recent study identified 6 elements seen as essential by Re-ED staff, significantly differing from the views of staff in more traditional programs:

• replace pathology with a wellness view
• use an ecological orientation
• focus on competence and learning
• values teaching and counseling roles
• build relationships
• encourage a culture of questioning and information-based decision-making.

Research originally tested the approach in short-term residential treatment and public school support services. Since then, agencies adapted Re-ED to a wide variety of community needs across the U.S. Some formed the American Re-Education Association; their 14 sponsoring and 11 associate members provide services in 19 states from coast to coast, in the District of Columbia and abroad.

Wellness and strength orientation, rather than pathology based

• Records indicate interventions build on strengths and resources.
• Goals aim to develop capacity for successful living.

Ecologically focused involvement

• Families or their surrogates are involved in assessment and treatment.
• Community members and resources are part of interventions.
• Children or youth stay in or prepare to return to usual community settings.

Competence-based interventions

• Learning and teaching goals direct many interventions.
• Skills in many domains are valued and developed.
• Any or all members of child’s ecology may be assisted in building skills.

Relationships seen as critical

• Children or youth learn to build and maintain relationships.
• Social learning goals are central for ecology members.

Natural agents in teaching and counseling roles valued and developed

• Teacher-counselors are primary treatment vehicles.
• Ecology members are helped to function in teaching and counseling roles.

Ongoing questioning and data-based decision making

• Basic tenets of the approach are explicit and valued.
• Application of those tenets can vary creatively, avoiding orthodoxy.
• Questioning is valued to improve interventions and program functions.
• Constant change in the field is expected and monitored through literature.

Re-ED was designed with a child component that addresses the following presenting problems and symptoms:

• Challenging behaviors, skill deficits or learning problems, difficulty interacting with adaptive peers, inability to function in usual child settings, own needs impacted by home and community needs, one or more concomitant problems may accompany the above requiring additional expertise.

Age range: 0 – 22

Developmental Delays:

This program was developed for children with developmental delays; but has not been tested for children with developmental delays.

Re-ED was designed with a parent/caregiver component that addresses the following presenting problems and symptoms:

• Parents of children, often considered "troubled or troubling," with challenging behaviors and possibly with commitment problems.

Re-ED was designed to be conducted in a group setting, and has been tested for use in a group setting.

Recommended group size:

8 to 10 children or youth.

Testing References:

Valore, T. G. (2002). Sharing adventure: The group is important. Reclaiming Children and Youth, 11(2), 90-94.

Recommended Intensity:

Children and youth with highly challenging needs are often in day or residential settings. Those with language functioning adequate for group interaction usually have multiple 15-minute to more than an hour-long group meetings daily, each held for specific purposes (planning, problem solving, evaluation, strengths focused meetings, etc.). Other groups formed for different purposes meet regularly on differing schedules.

Recommended Duration:

For services without group treatment formats, durations likewise vary from days to months. The intensity of these services varies, depending on the service type, and range from a matter of days (e.g., for assessment and referral) to the calendar or school year (e.g., day treatment or intensive home treatment).

This program is typically conducted in a(n):

• Adoptive Home
• Birth Family Home
• Community Agency
• Foster Home
• Outpatient Clinic
• Residential Care Facility
• School

Re-ED includes a homework component:

Both children or youth and parents often have behavioral goals to accomplish for themselves between meetings.

Re-ED does not have materials available in a language other than English.

The typical resources for implementing the program are:

No information was provided by the program representative.

Professional qualifications for the job held or sought, as required by the agency, service type, state and federal regulations (e.g., degrees, certifications, licenses, life experiences).

There is a manual that describes how to implement this program, and there is training available for this program.

Training Contact:

• Mark Freado, MA, Executive Director
  American Re-Education Association
  mdfreado@re-ed.org
  phone: (614) 818-0063

Training is obtained:

Training can be obtained on-site and provided regionally, but observations in programs with coordinated activities are recommended. Some programs regularly offer training institutes at their own sites for others interested in attending.

Number of days/hours:

The Introductory training modules usually require two days for a group unfamiliar with the program, but may be divided into 6 segments for programs needing different schedules. In general, training days/hours vary, depending on the needs of the agency, as indicated by their performance on the assessment factors, and on their own objectives for knowledge and implementation in what service type(s).

Additional Resources:

There currently are additional qualified resources for training:

• John Amato, MA
  FamilyLinks (Pittsburgh, PA)
• James Doncaster, MA
  Pressley Ridge (Pittsburgh, PA)
• Hughes Johnston, MA
  Youth Villages (Memphis, TN)
• Thomas Murdock, MA
  Centerstone (Nashville, TN)
• Thomas Valore, PhD
  Positive Education Program (Cleveland,OH)
• Bridget Walker, PhD
  Washington American Re-Education Association (Seattle, WA)

This program has been reviewed and it was determined that this program lacks the type of published, peer-reviewed research that meets the CEBC criteria for a scientific rating of 1 – 5. Therefore, the program has been given the classification of "NR - Not able to be Rated." It was reviewed because it was identified by the topic expert as a program being used in the field, or it is being marketed and/or used in California with children receiving services from child welfare or related systems and their parents/caregivers. Some programs that are not rated may have published, peer-reviewed research that does not meet the above stated criteria or may have eligible studies that have not yet been published in the peer-reviewed literature. For more information on the "NR - Not able to be Rated" classification, please see the Scientific Rating Scale.

Child Welfare Outcomes: Not Specified