Family Participation

Tamarack views the family as a key member of our treatment team. You know your child better than anyone, and it is important that we gain the insights and experiences you have with your child and incorporate those into our treatment plan. Parents have their own section on your child’s treatment plan to ensure that your voice is being heard and that your opinions are being recognized. Each resident is assigned a Family Specialist at the time of admission; this staff follows the child till discharge. This gives the parents a point of contact regarding the child and their progress.

Weekly family therapy sessions are held during a resident’s treatment and the family is intently involved in developing such things as your child’s discharge criteria, pass criteria, behavior contracts, and treatment goals.

We also understand that it is difficult for any parent to have their child away from home. It is important to us that you have as much access and communication with your child as possible while not interrupting treatment modalities. To ensure this access each child has daily telephone times, each child is given an e-mail address, and Thursday evenings is open visiting times for families. Additionally,  as a child progresses in treatment, parents will work with their family specialist in looking at off campus passes.

Tamarack also provides the parents with access to our Parent Advocate if they would like to talk to a fellow parent who has experienced having a child in residential care.