Boys
PORT first began providing services for boys in 1972. Now the boys reside in a home designed and built for group home living in 1997 and serves up to 14 boys, ages 10-18. Boys Group Home is in south Brainerd with easy access to schools, medical and mental health appointments, work and recreation.
Girls
Girls at PORT, ages 10-18, may be placed at two sites. Girls Group Home, (10-12 girls), is located behind the Dairy Queen, just east of the Mississippi River bridge. Girls PORT South, GPS (6-8 girls) is a residential home located south of town on wooded acreage.
PORT residents work daily on five areas of behavior that will help them transition back to their home or community. We track these behaviors so as to identify destructive patterns, intervene and teach the appropriate skills. Another benefit of this system is that a referral agent can call for an updated version of the client’s Progress Report and receive an objective and accurate picture of the client’s behavior to date. The categories tracked include: peer relations; basic behavioral expectations; school, group and study hall participation; adult and authority figure relations and room cleanliness and personal hygiene throughout the day, staff observe and rate resident’s behavior awarding “productive days” when residents meet or exceed basic behavioral expectations and “unproductive” days when they don’t.
When clients reach individual goals, they advance in skill level. All skill levels have corresponding privileges that include T.V., phone calls, radio, off grounds recreation, passes and visits home.
Brainerd Public Schools provide PORT’s educational component. Residents begin with tutors and/or in-house special education services. Residents may attend an alternative program or mainstream classes as they progress behaviorally and academically. Program Directors meet weekly with school personnel to track resident’s progress.
- HOUSE CHORES/LIVING SKILLS
Residents are responsible for daily chores and personal laundry and earn an allowance based on positive behavior.
Through corrective programming, clients learn to connect their poor decisions with the natural consequences of their actions. Corrective programming also takes into consideration the client’s abuse history, development, culture, disability and gender needs.
RECREATION The Brainerd lakes area provides an abundance of recreation opportunities. PORT residents swim, play basketball, hike and bike on the Paul Bunyan Trail and attend plays at Central Lakes College as well as participate in team building activities.
With a diverse population, PORT provides cultural diversity training for our staff and residents and encourages all residents to respect their own and others’ culture.
Curriculums include: Anger management, pro-social skills, rational emotive therapy, independent living skills, project adventure, (team building activities), sexuality self-awareness, chemical dependency awareness, spirituality and Truthought.
With an eye to best practices, licensed psychologists oversee PORT’s clinical services and provide diagnostic assessments, individual counseling, and group therapy. Residents can be referred for diagnostic assessments or individual counseling to Lakes Area Counseling, Northern Pines Mental Health Services or C.O.R.E Psychological Services.
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