Seattle Children's Home Programs
McGraw Residential Treatment Program
The McGraw Residential Treatment Program (McGraw) is an intensive 24-hour residential and psychiatric program for youth age 11 to 18. McGraw treats children with diagnosed mental health issues including bi-polar disorder, major depression, schizophrenia, and other significant mental health issues. The intensity of services provided are designed to help clients who have exhausted less-restrictive treatment options.
Family Counseling & Support Center
The Family Counseling & Support Center provides outpatient counseling and therapy for children and families. Therapy helps clients move toward recovery, learning to manage their own mental health issues and becoming more healthy and productive members of the community.
Behavior Support Team (BeST) / Home Program for Extended Support (HoPES)
The BeST and HoPES programs provide intervention and intensive services for the families of children with developmental disabilities in connection with a behavioral or mental health issue. Services help families to improve school attendance and develop strategies to deal with unique behavioral issues, reducing the chance of the child being removed from the home. SCH’s BeST program is the only one of its kind in Washington State, and HoPES is a new program that was established in late 2010.
Recent Successes and Current Challenges
Megan’s story is typical of many of the children served at Seattle Children’s Home (SCH). At an early age Megan had to witness the abuse of her brother by her dad and step mother. When her brother was removed from the home, Megan became the target. Megan was 10 years old when she ran away from home, and was placed into the foster care system. During her high school years, having returned to her biological mom, she fell into a deep depression and last year during spring break while other kids were hanging out with friends or enjoying a family vacation, Megan attempted suicide.
Megan was admitted to the McGraw Residential Treatment Program at SCH. At McGraw, she was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and depression and received the psychiatric treatment she needed to learn to manage her mental health. After nine months of intensive treatment including group and individual therapy, Megan was successfully discharged from McGraw, and returned home to live with her mother. Megan has a great future ahead of her with ambitions to attend the University of WA, to pursue a degree in psychology.
SCH is experiencing the impact of the economy in foundation, corporate, and individual donor giving, and the gifts that we do receive tend to be smaller than previous years. The services SCH provides are critical for the children and families in our community. We are the oldest children’s charity in Washington State, and greatly appreciate the continued support from our community.