Miss-Delectable
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'We just don't give up'
Children who commit crimes, run wild or suffer from abuse or neglect can all end up at Wyoming residential treatment centers through the state's juvenile court system.
Robin Haas, executive director of the Cathedral Home in Laramie, said they can be difficult to tell apart once they arrive.
"You wouldn't know who was who," Haas said. "Most have been abused."
The Cathedral Home started as an orphanage nearly 100 years ago, and it now has space to treat, house and educate about 60 children.
Even though the last orphan left decades ago, stays at the Cathedral Home are still longer than those at other residential treatment centers. In 2003, the average length of stay at all such facilities in the state was nearly a year. The Cathedral Home reported an average at the same time of nearly 17 months for most Wyoming children.
Haas flipped through a new contract from the Wyoming Department of Family Services as she spoke about mounting pressure to send kids home faster. The contract will pay $154 per day for the first six months of a child's stay. The rate goes down to $130 for the next three months, then $91 after that.
"The pressure, really, is to have nine-month placements," Haas said. "Which we're resisting, by the way."
About half of the Cathedral Home's residents come from Wyoming. Many of the others come from out of state, including 11 who are in a special program for deaf children.
The average length of stay for deaf children is well over two years.
On average, children arriving at the Cathedral Home have been sent to nearly four different out-of-home placements. Some have been through as many as 20.
"We have some extremely unattached kids here, and it would be easy to give up," Haas said. "We just don't give up."
Children who commit crimes, run wild or suffer from abuse or neglect can all end up at Wyoming residential treatment centers through the state's juvenile court system.
Robin Haas, executive director of the Cathedral Home in Laramie, said they can be difficult to tell apart once they arrive.
"You wouldn't know who was who," Haas said. "Most have been abused."
The Cathedral Home started as an orphanage nearly 100 years ago, and it now has space to treat, house and educate about 60 children.
Even though the last orphan left decades ago, stays at the Cathedral Home are still longer than those at other residential treatment centers. In 2003, the average length of stay at all such facilities in the state was nearly a year. The Cathedral Home reported an average at the same time of nearly 17 months for most Wyoming children.
Haas flipped through a new contract from the Wyoming Department of Family Services as she spoke about mounting pressure to send kids home faster. The contract will pay $154 per day for the first six months of a child's stay. The rate goes down to $130 for the next three months, then $91 after that.
"The pressure, really, is to have nine-month placements," Haas said. "Which we're resisting, by the way."
About half of the Cathedral Home's residents come from Wyoming. Many of the others come from out of state, including 11 who are in a special program for deaf children.
The average length of stay for deaf children is well over two years.
On average, children arriving at the Cathedral Home have been sent to nearly four different out-of-home placements. Some have been through as many as 20.
"We have some extremely unattached kids here, and it would be easy to give up," Haas said. "We just don't give up."
