The Effects of Providing Additional Supports for the Use of Therapeutic Crisis Intervention in Special Purpose Private School and Residential Settings

UMaine Alert

Posted: April 19, 2024 - 1:32 PM

At approximately 9:24 a.m. on Friday, April 19, a University of Maine graduate student was struck by a university vehicle on Long Road at the University of Maine campus in Orono. The student reports that they are at a local hospital with minor injuries.

Emergency services, including the Orono Fire Department, University Volunteer Ambulance Corps, University of Maine Police Department, Orono Police Department and Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene.

The university vehicle involved in the incident was a Chevrolet Express van. It was being operated by a university employee.

Counseling services and support are available for students, faculty or staff who may have been affected. The Counseling Center can be reached at 207-581-1392 and the Dean of Students Office can be reached at 207-581-1406.

The scene has been cleared and Long Road is now accessible. An investigation is being conducted by the University of Maine Police Department with assistance from the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office Crash Reconstruction Unit. Any witnesses to the incident are encouraged to contact Lt. Noel Santiago at noel.santiago@maine.edu.

The University of Maine Center for Community Inclusion and Disability Studies (CCIDS) is partnering with the Maine Developmental Disabilities Council on a research project, The Effects of Providing Additional Supports for the Use of Therapeutic Crisis Intervention in Special Purpose Private School and Residential Settings.

The primary purpose of this research is to measure changes in the frequency of incidents of restraint, seclusion, and isolation, resulting from increased support and training related to an agency’s existing crisis management program. This is a controlled study that will be conducted over two years in both residential and educational programs.

CCIDS researchers will compare the two groups of students, served by the same agency, to determine if there are significant changes over time in the use of restraints, seclusion, and isolation. For the intervention group, staff will receive additional training and supports in the use of Therapeutic Crisis Intervention (TCI) from a Cornell University team. The staff of the control group will receive no additional training during this time period. In addition, researchers will compare the intervention and control groups to determine if there are significant differences over time in workers’ compensation claims, work days lost to injury, job turnover, and job satisfaction of provider staff.

The research will contribute to a relatively small body of research on a specific comprehensive, trauma-informed model of residential care. More specifically, it will examine the effects of increased training and support in the use of this model on the use of isolation, restraint, and seclusion, as well a number of staff-related outcomes.

Photo credit: Study by vgnk (pixabay.com). Pixabay license.

Funding Source:

Maine Developmental Disabilities Council, Contract Number Contract #MDDC.20.CCIDS.Rest.Secl.2.2.

Funding Period:

October 2019 to March 31, 2022

Partners and Collaborators:

Cornell University is providing training to the agency.
An agency that provides residential and educational services for children and adolescents with significant mental health, behavioral, or emotional needs.
Maine Developmental Disabilities Council

Project Personnel:

Alan Kurtz, Ph.D., Principal Investigator
University of Maine
Center for Community Inclusion and Disability Studies
5717 Corbett Hall, Room 242
Orono, ME 04469-5717
207.581.1262
800.203.6957
TTY users call Maine Relay 711

Alan Cobo-Lewis, Ph.D., Co-Principal Investigator
University of Maine
Center for Community Inclusion and Disability Studies (UCEDD)
5717 Corbett Hall, Room 230
Orono, ME 04469-5717
207.581.1084
800.203.6957
TTY users call Maine Relay 711

NH-ME LEND Trainee with a minimum of a bachelor’s degree.
(One each project year.)

UMaine Alert

Center for Community Inclusion and Disability Studies