At Thompson, we believe that every child deserves a nurturing, supportive environment where they can heal, grow, and thrive. That’s why we adhere to the CARE Model, a research-based framework developed by the Residential Child Care Project at the Brofenbrenner Center for Translational Research at Cornell University, to foster meaningful and lasting change for children and families. There are six principles that form the foundation to the CARE model described below.
By integrating these principles into everything we do, we ensure that every child receives the compassionate care and support they need to build a brighter future.
The 6 Principles of CARE
Developmentally Focused
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All children have the same basic requirements for growth and development
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Children learn best when skills are within their zone of proximal development
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Children need support to engage their innate capacity to grow and develop
Family Involved
- Contact with the family is an indicator of successful treatment
- Planning for adequate community support is essential for a successful return
- The child’s ethnic and cultural identify is tied to the family
Relationship Based
- The ability to form relationships is associated with healthy development and life success
- Relationships are central to helping children build competencies
- Children respond to people they trust
Competence Centered
- Problem solving skills, flexibility, critical thinking and insight are necessary life skills
- All interactions and activities should be process – focused to teach life skills
- Increasing children’s motivations to learn new skills is a care worker’s task
Trauma Informed
- Trauma has a debilitating effect on children’s growth and development
- Maintaining an environment of safety & nonviolence is essential for children to learn new responses to stressful situations
- Challenging behavior is often pain-based behavior
Ecologically Oriented
- Children learn through interacting with their environment
- The environment is influenced by the interactions with the children and staff
- Children need opportunities to participate and interact in the environment in order to grow and develop
