The Sanctuary Model at KidsPeace
By Leslie Ten Broeck, LCSW, KidsPeace Sanctuary
Coordinator
KidsPeace is totally
committed to implementing the Sanctuary Model at all levels of care, with
implementation beginning in residential programs in Pennsylvania. Sanctuary is
a model of trauma-informed care and organizational change that is important to
the care and treatment of all clients. The Core Team for Sanctuary at KidsPeace
numbers 37 members and includes seven subcommittees (called “Action Groups”),
which address different aspects of Sanctuary at KidsPeace.
The Sanctuary Institute in
New York has developed a certification process, which includes a published list
of standards that need to be met in order to be certified. KidsPeace is working
toward SI certification in 2012. The certification process is lengthy and
culminates in representatives from the Sanctuary Institute spending several
days at our site reviewing records and practices, observing the daily
functioning of all departments of the organization and interviewing staff,
administration and clients.
What is the Sanctuary
Model?
Sanctuary represents a
trauma-informed method for changing an organizational culture in order to
provide an ideal therapeutic environment for everyone who is a part of that
environment. This model reflects the understanding that trauma can be
experienced by all members of an organization, staff and clients, and that the
agency as a whole is dynamic and can be negatively impacted by experiences
within the organization. Thus, Sanctuary seeks to create a culture of physical,
psychological, social and moral safety for all who are part of the
organization.
The Aims
of Sanctuary:
•
Increased perceived sense of
community through the creation of a nonviolent environment
•
Increased degree of “social
immunity” to the spread of violence
•
Increased capacity for “social
learning”
•
Increased democratic
decision-making and shared responsibility in problem-solving and conflict
resolution
•
Ability to deal with
complexity
•
Opportunity for all clients
and staff to experience a truly safe and connected community
•
Opportunity for troubled
clients to have corrective emotional, relational and environmental experiences
•
Reduced episodes of violence
including verbal, physical and sexual forms of harassment, bullying and
violence on part of staff and clients
•
Reduced critical incidents
•
Improved job satisfaction
•
Reduced staff turnover
•
Improved client satisfaction
•
The promotion of collective
recovery, healing and growth.
The goals
of Sanctuary are to guide an organization in the development of a
trauma-sensitive culture with seven dominant characteristics, all of which
serve goals related to trauma resolution and model good relational and
parenting skills. These are known
as the Seven Commitments:
o Commitment to Nonviolence: to understand what
different forms of violence do to children and adults
o Commitment to Emotional Intelligence: to promote an
increase in emotional self-awareness
o Commitment to Social Learning: to promote a
therapeutic teaching and learning environment where we learn from past
experience
o Commitment to Shared Governance: to develop a
community of shared decision-making and discussion
o Commitment to Open Communication: to be courageous
enough to speak openly, honestly and respectfully, in order to resolve problems
in a supportive manner
o Commitment to Social Responsibility: to develop a
therapeutic community of justice, fair play and responsibility
o Commitment to Growth and Change: to help develop a
community of creativity, imagination and hope for a better future.