Residential Life:

The goal of the residential services program is to increase self-esteem, confidence, and life skills competencies as well as to ensure the emotional, mental, and physical well-being of the children residing here.  Staff members in residential services function as living skills counselors and mentors. They get to know each resident on a personal basis through the daily interaction that is incorporated into the schedules and the programming.

One of the main objectives of the residential services staff is to teach activities of daily living; skills that the residents will need to be successful after they are discharged.  Included in these skills are healthy eating habits, personal hygiene, respecting the personal space of others, maintaining clean and neat living areas, pro-social peer interactions, and assertive communication techniques. The counselors define the rules and regulations for the residents and enforce the consequences when infractions occur.

Much of the teaching that is accomplished comes through mentoring activities in which the staff share their own life experiences with schooling and employment as well as the wisdom they have gained just through daily living. In addition, "community groups" are facilitated by staff. These sessions identify residents who are having problems.  It also afford opportunities to celebrate the resident's  successes and allows the staff to assist with the attainment of goals that are set for each resident. Residential services staff members are in regular contact with the Human Services Professionals to keep them informed about behaviors displayed by the residents during any part of their routine daily experiences.

The staff at Windwood Farm is comprised of professionals who have diverse backgrounds but share in common many years of working with people, paticularly youth.  Windwood Farm actively recruits personnel to complement the diversity of the typical resident population and the communities from which the children come.  The majority of the staff are college graduates and about a third of these individuals have advanced degrees or certification in their area of expertise.  There is also a balance between the number of male and female staff.