2005 Testimony

Testimony Before The House Human Services Committee

Clara Sue Price, Chairman

Regarding House Bill 1110 - Moratorium on expansion of residential treatment bed capacity

January 7, 2005

Chairman Price and members of the Human Services Committee, my name is Don Snyder, Administrator of the Foster Care Program for the Department of Human Services. I am here today to furnish you with information regarding three primary questions that were raised during the testimony on January 5, 2005.

Question #1: What is the occupancy rate for North Dakota residential child care facilities and residential treatment centers?

• Center Incorporated, Grand Forks 100%
• Charles Hall Youth Services, Bismarck 93.1%
• Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch, Minot/Fargo 90.9%
• Eckert Group Home, Williston 80.7%
• Harmony House, Devils Lake 76.5%
• Home on the Range, Sentinel Butte 89.2%
• Oppen Home, Minot 76.9%
• Prairie Harvest, Grand Forks 68.6%
• Prairie Learning Center, Raleigh 94.5%
• New Outlooks, Devils Lake 0
• Lake Oahe Group Home (Approved) 49.9%

The average occupancy rate for all residential child care facilities is 82.03%.

Occupancy for the North Dakota residential treatment centers:

• Pride Manchester 100%
• Ruth Meiers, Grand Forks 71.42%
• Luther Hall, Fargo 99.16%
• Dakota Boys Ranch, Minot 89.28%
• Dakota Boys Ranch, Fargo 77.35%
• Western Plains, Bismarck 89.85%

The overall state average occupancy rate for residential treatment centers is 87.84%.

Question #2: What is the overall average daily rate paid for out-of-state and in-state facilities? 1) The overall average daily rate for out-of-state placements is $192.00 per day. 2) The average daily rate for North Dakota residential treatment centers is $314.27. 3) The average daily rate for North Dakota residential child care facilities is $143.83.

Question #3: What is the definition of a residential treatment center and a residential child care facility in North Dakota?

Definition: Residential Treatment Center - NDAC § 75-03-17

Residential treatment center for children means a facility or a distinct part of a facility that provides to children and adolescents, a total, 24 hour, therapeutic environment integrating group living, educational, interdisciplinary clinical assessment and a individualized treatment plan that meets the needs of the child and family. The services are available to children in need of and able to respond to active psychotherapeutic intervention and who cannot be effectively treated in their own family, in another home, or in a less restrictive setting.

Definition: Residential Child Care Facility - NDCC § 50-11-00

Residential Child Care Facility for children means the provision of substitute parental child care for those children who are in need of care for which the child's parent, guardian, or custodian is unable, neglects, or refuses to provide, and includes the provision of food, shelter, security and safety, guidance, and comfort on a twenty-four-hour basis, to one or more children under twenty-one years of age to safeguard the child's growth and development and to minimize and counteract hazards to the child's emotional health inherent in the separation from the child's family. This may be provided in a family foster home, group home, or residential child care facility

 

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