Rutherford House for girls began operation in July of 1974 as a temporary home for status offenders and neglected children. Expansion into a second facility for girls occurred in 1977. The first male facility was opened in 1975 for short-term care. A second boys program was opened in 1978. A short and long term foster care component began in 1980. Extended Care Living apartments are available for older students. A fifth group home was opened in May of 1991. Rutherford House now operates four homes for boys and one for girls. The five homes are licensed as child residential programs and for child foster placement. Placement is open to children regardless of race or religion whose needs cannot be met through traditional community resources. All facilities are "open" and children are never locked into a facility. The program is governed by a fifteen member Board of Directors and is financed by the Louisiana Department of Corrections, Office of Community Services, both public and private grants, and the Department of Education. Private contributions are solicited to provide necessities above the state reimbursement level. Rutherford House is a non-profit organization and has been awarded tax exempt status. (501) (C) (3).

DESCRIPTION OF FACILITIES

Rutherford House I (basic) is located at 636 Herndon. It is a one story frame house (2245 square feet) built in 1900. The building houses a maximum of 13 boys. There are 6 bedrooms, 1 community bathroom, a living room, a dining room, a kitchen, a den, and an office. This facility is designed for boys just entering our program and for those who are having difficulty in adjusting to our agency.

Rutherford House II is located at 217 Rutherford Street and was built in the 1930's. It is a two-story frame house (2,800 square feet). The building houses a maximum of fourteen girls. There are six bedrooms, seven bathrooms, a living room, a dining room, a kitchen, a den and an office.

Rutherford House III (Intermediate) is located at 553 Stoner, and is a two-story wood frame building, approximately 4,500 square feet. It can house up to fourteen boys and was built in the 1930's. Along with a three room apartment, the building contains five large student bedrooms, one group bathroom and two small bathrooms, a kitchen, dining room, an office and hall reception area. This facility is designed for boys that have demonstrated their ability to abide by the rules of the agency and have spent at least four weeks in our basic program.

Rutherford House IV (Advanced) is located at 618 Herndon and is a three-story brick house with 5,000 square feet built in 1898. It can accommodate up to fourteen boys and contains a large Extended Care Living apartment. In addition, there are six bedrooms, one group and two small bathrooms, kitchen, a dining room, a den, and an office area in the house. This facility is designed for boys who are in the final stages of placement in Rutherford House and have demonstrated steady progress in our program.

Rutherford House V is located at 657 Wyandotte and is a one-story building with 2,000 square feet of living area and was built in 1929. There are three student bedrooms, large bath, kitchen, recreation room, dining room and staff offices. This facility is designed for intensive supervision of 6 to 9 boys.

Each house has its own laundry facilities, is climate controlled and all group homes are within walking distance of city bus routes, hospitals and our on-grounds school component.

The group homes are utilized basically for free time and sleeping. Most treatment, educational and recreational services occur at our main building, located at 1707 Line Avenue. This 40 year old facility has over 16,000 square feet of space and houses: Administrative offices, intake and treatment areas, six classrooms, a complete gymnasium, stage, a commercial kitchen, dining room, 3 bathrooms, staff offices and storage facilities. A side building is utilized for independent living and computer instruction.

In addition, our agency maintains a two-bedroom house that is currently utilized for a newly created Truancy Center. The building is also zoned for a four-bed group home if needed.

Within the last two years, our agency has launched a new vocational training effort. Our "new" vocational center now houses in its over 25,000 square feet of space carpentry, small engine, auto repair, welding, and drafting shops with a large computer lab for computer assisted instruction. Small appliance repair and an electronics program will be added during the 1998-99 academic year. Recent grants and donations have been used to purchase the latest in job training equipment.

TREATMENT/DISCHARGE POLICY/AFTER CARE

Upon entrance an Individual Treatment Plan is made for each student. This treatment plan is developed in conjunction with the OYD's plan and is devised to address the problem areas that the student has experienced. Methods are also shown that will hopefully remediate these deficiencies and allow each child to successfully reintegrate into his/her community.

Our program is designed with three levels to indicate the progression of each student through Rutherford House. The basic level is designed for new students and those that have shown severe problems such as fighting or running away.

The intermediate level is for students who have demonstrated the ability to abide by the rules of the courts and Rutherford House. Students who have had problems on the advance level may be demoted to this level.

The Advanced level is reserved for those students that are nearing successful completion of our program and are preparing to go home or to an independent living situation.

Daily evaluations along with bi-monthly staff meetings are held to note and discuss each student's progress within the program. Monthly reports and meetings between the OYD worker, student and agency staff are utilized to measure progress. Students are tested for academic placement, vocational interests, and self esteem levels when they are placed and when they complete our program.

Once a student has completed our treatment program, a letter is sent to the OYD office and to the court of original jurisdiction requesting a trial home placement. If requested by OYD, an aftercare plan will be presented which will involve the student and family in the continued services of our agency. (These services may be limited if the child involved lives a great distance from our agency)

Placement referrals may be made to Rutherford House by DOC/OYD for re-admission to our program. These requests are usually made for two reasons: Failure of the student to successfully re-integrate into the community or the student has been referred back to Rutherford House after an intervening placement.

Students are discharged prior to completing our program for two basic reasons: I) The student has reached his full term date and is discharged 2) Unsuccessful placement

Aftercare services will be provided for a minimum of 90 days after release from residence. These services include continued family counseling, individual counseling, evaluation of school progress and random drug screens. An after care worker is on call for any emergency problem. Upon completion of the after care program, a letter is sent to OYD and the courts requesting that the student be released from after care supervision.

Six months after successful completion of the Rutherford House program, our staff will contact the student and guardian to determine "successful placement."

1) The student will be in an educational program or employed.
2) He/she will not have had any new convictions for illegal activities other than minor traffic violations with either the juvenile or adult system