Care Today began in 1991 with a single
unit in the Stockport area. Since then it has expanded geographically
to cover Greater Manchester, Merseyside, the Midlands and the West and South Yorkshire. We are currently expanding our provision for young people with complex and challenging behaviour by developing additional rural projects in Bury and Staffordshire. 10 of our curent 28 Homes are rated Outstanding by Ofsted.
We are a Developmental Member of 'Community of Communities' with in-house qualified and registered Therapists (Art Psychotherapist, Play Therapist and CBT Therapist and several staff under supervised therapeutic training.
Our Behaviour Modification Framework is BILD Accredited
Care Today offers :-
- Short-term assessments (with/without
psychological/psychiatric input).
- Planned and focussed work with abused
children.
- Medium/Long-term placement
(with/without family work).
- Preparation for fostering
- Remands.
- Family support service (to maintain
home base)
- One-to-one projects/tracking schemes.
- Education (supported by our
Residential Special School)
- Crisis respite, including programmes offered by our AALA Outdoor Pursuits Team
Philosophy
The major principles underlying the
Children Act about partnership with parents, involvement of children
and those with parental responsibility in decision making, proper
planning and review, the right to make representations and so on,
apply equally to residential situations.
We agree! We need to move away from
institutions populated by often disaffected children to family living
situations where individuals have value. Children in care should,
where possible, live as part of the community. Currently, too often,
the process of care excludes the child from home, school and the
Community.
A ‘systems’ approach will not work.
Individual support and relationship-building has more chance of
success. Children in care have a right to be seen as children first
and to have access to the same support systems as children in the
community. The emphasis must be on family, where possible, or an
appropriate substitute family. We must recognise the impact of
structures on the lives of children in care and not scapegoat the
child for a negative reaction to often inappropriate placements
dictated not by their needs but by other priorities e.g. resources.
We believe that effective therapeutic
intervention must be based on a secure and positive living situation.
Meaningful relationships and consistent support must be a priority.
Our aim is to:-
- Take the child’s perception as our
initial focus.
- Offer positive intervention and support
in addition to behaviour modification.
- Prioritise the maintenance or
reconstruction of family networks, where appropriate.
Range of provision
We see children and young people as
individuals. The placement should fit the child, not the other way
round. Therefore we provide an extensive network of placements to
meet the diverse needs of the individual.
Care Today's provision includes:-
