A few quesions for you............

[DenitaS]

I am sitting here reading the posts that you guys have written an I wonder about a couple of things!
How do you guys afford the Residential Treatment Center (RTC)'s??? Our insurance will only cover 30 days.
I have also seen someone whos child is in TFH. How do you go about that? When my daughter was involved with Social Services they told me that we would have to have dependency and neglect charges on us for them to place her?? Is that what you guys had to do?
Just curious. I guess I still wonder because she is not 18 yet.

Thanks for any answers you guys have!

 

[slsh]

Denita - it varies by state. Some states you have to "abandon" a kid to get them placed (or at the very least sign away parental rights). Other states are much more family friendly. And there's a lot of in between.

In our case, while IL is *not* the state to live in with a kiddo with a physical disability, it is most definitely the state to live in if you have a severely mentally ill child. They have a unique grant program that pays not only for Residential Treatment Center (RTC) but also community-based services if your child qualifies. They're pretty strict on qualifying criteria.

 

[Suz]

Because of Rob's longterm emotional problems he qualified for Medical Assistance. With MA, that got us a ton of services, including wraparound, Residential Treatment Center (RTC) placement.

I expect that since your daughter is almost 18 it is too late to pursue this. I was told on the sly that in PA if your child is 17 they won't consider placement.....Rob was 2 weeks short of being 17 when he was placed.

Call your local MHMR (Mental Health/Mental Rehabilitation) office to see what they say. With your daughter's diagnoses she might qualify for adult services. The question is--------will she use them if she does qualify?

Suz

 

[DenitaS]

That is kind of what they told me. That she was almost 18 and we needed to figure it out on our own! ARGH!!!
I will call the local MHMR and see if they have any services available. I doubt that she would be willing to actively participate in them!
Thanks for the info, I was just curious how it was done and if maybe I was missing something! LOL

 

[CrazyinVA]

I entered into a partial custody agreement with DSS to get funding for Residential Treatment Center (RTC). It took months and months of fighting to get there, though. Once she was under DSS, Medicaid paid for the Residential Treatment Center (RTC).

 

[judi]

I also live in IL and as SLSH states, the criteria for state funding is very strict. My son did not qualify. We were extremely fortunate that our insurance covers 20 weeks per year for Residential Treatment Center (RTC) until the age of 21. husband and I both worked extra.

I have to interject though that Residential Treatment Center (RTC) is not the cure-all. It isn't even a positive experience all the time. Some kids do not improve with Residential Treatment Center (RTC). Investigate all your resources and good luck with a very difficult decision.

 

[DenitaS]

We are under NO illusion that this would work!
I have been told by two professionals that she will probably be dignosed with a Personality Disorder when she is 18. She has no want to change her behavior.
I just can't have her back here and want to know what my options are! She has hit my youngest daughter 2 times since January! Can't have her here, it's not safe for ANY of us. No help will come from social services, she has a court date later this month for assault and battery I almost wish they would place her in the detention center for awhile! First charge though, so I am sure that will NOT happen!
Thanks for the directions to start searching in!!

 

[bran155]

Denita,

My daughter has Borderline Personality Disorder, among other things. But that is what is most prevelant. It is true, things will not get any better unless she wants them to. My daughter has been in 3 rtcs. The first one was through the Board of Ed, they paid for it. The other 2 the state paid for. She had gotten arrested while on one of her awols from her first placement. That's how we ended up in court. Here in ny when a child is arrested they are automatically given a Probation Officer. The po does an investigation into what the child needs to get back on track. If they have mental illness, abuse in the home, drug addiction......etc. If they are determined to have issues then the PO recommends to the judge that the child be placed into either an Residential Treatment Center (RTC) or day treatment. From there you are given a case manager from DSS. The PO hands the case over to DSS and the case manager finds an appropriate Residential Treatment Center (RTC) for the child. Depending on your income the state will either pay for all of it or sue you for child support. I got sued and owe NY state almost $4,000. Which really isnt much considering it costs the state $219 per day for the Residential Treatment Center (RTC). She was away for about 18 months. I still couldn't afford the child support though, they didn't seem to care.

Sad to say nothing worked for my daughter. She will be 18 in 2 weeks. She has been to jail twice and just keeps regressing. Her life will not get any better until she wants it to. I know how hard this is on you and that you want the best for her. At this point her age works against you. They probably won't do anything for her that she isn't willing to participate in. Try your best to detach as much as possible. You can only do so much.

Hang in there and God bless.