Latest research shows the Sanctuary Model creates safer organizations for children and staff:

Restraints and Holds Document - added 3/9/09

Sanctuary in Schools Document - added 3/9/09

Archived Presentations:

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Creating Sanctuaries for Children
Brian Farragher, LMSW
Executive VP / COO
Andrus Children’s Center
Presented for COFCCA, Syracuse, NY, June 29, 2007
Click here to view the presentation.

Improving our Effectiveness: Shifting the Culture of the RTC to Collect and Use Meaningful Data
Lorelei A. Vargas, MPP, MA and Sonali Mishra, MSPPM
Presented at the 50 th Anniversary Meeting of the American Association of Residential Treatment Centers on Golden Opportunities: Building on Foundations to Enrich the Future, The Drake Hotel, Chicago, IL , November 2006.
Click here to view the presentation.

Parallel Process: Why is it So Important?
Brian J. Farragher, LMSW
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Andrus Children's Center
Presented at the Fifth Update on Residential Care: Beyond the Ivory Tower: What's working in the Community? Sponsored by The Comprehensive Assessment and Response Training System, Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago , April 2006.
Click here to view the presentation.

Creating Sanctuary: A Trauma Informed System of Care
Brian J. Farragher, LMSW
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Andrus Children's Center
Presented at the South Carolina Association of Children's Homes and Family Services, January 25, 2006 .
Click here to view the presentation.

A Systematic Approach to Restraint Reeducation
and Elimination
Brian J. Farragher, LMSW
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Andrus Children's Center
Presented at the South Carolina Association of Children's Homes and Family Services, January 25, 2006 .
Click here to view the presentation.

Loss, Hurt and Hope: The Complex Issues of Bereavement and Trauma in Children
A Symposium
October 5, 2005 , 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Andrus Children's Center
Yonkers , NY

What happens when a child experiences bereavement or trauma or both? Loss of self esteem? Loss of family? Loss of security? Loss of innocence? Loss of community? Loss of safety? Loss of trust?
The Andrus Center for Learning and Innovation hosted a full day symposium dedicated to illuminating how loss can shape a child's development. The primary goal of the symposium was to provide professionals with the tools necessary to help these children move from despair to hope and renewal.

To view portions of the conference click on the featured speaker below:

Dr. Kenneth V. Hardy

Dr. Terry Tafoya

Dr. Sandra L. Bloom

This conference was dedicated to the memories of Larry Jamal Warren and Peter Woodruff Ment, whose untimely passing have brought the Andrus Children's Center a deeper, more personal understanding of loss and bereavement.

Creating Sanctuary, A Cultural Approach
Sandra Bloom, MD
Distinguished Fellow, Andrus Center for Learning and Innovation
Brian J. Farragher, CSW
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Andrus Children's Center
Presented at the Mid-Year Technical Meeting of National Association for Children's Behavioral Health in San Diego, CA, December 1-2, 2005
Click here to view the presentation.

Differentiation in the Self-Contained Classroom
Michelle Danko
Lead Teacher at the Orchard School,
Andrus Children's Center
Presented at 29th Annual ASAH Conference in Atlantic City, NJ, November 4, 2005
Click here to view the presentation.

The principles of the "Sanctuary Model" in out-of-home care of young people who have experienced trauma
Brian J. Farragher, CSW
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Andrus Children's Center
Presented to the Child and Family Welfare Association of Australia in Sydney, Australia, October 14, 2005
Click here to view the presentation.

Research and Presentations

Banks, J.V. and Hogue, J. (2009). Trauma Informed Prevention and Recovery for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Disorders.  Presented at the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services’ 2nd Annual Institute on Mental Health and Substance Abuse Education and Training in Norman, OK. (Invited).

Banks, J. V. (2008). Sanctuary in Residential Care: Results from a Longitudinal Implementation Study. Presented at the American Association of Children’s Residential Centers 52nd Annual Meeting in San Diego, CA.

Yanosy, S and Banks, J. V. (2008). The Sanctuary Model: Environmental Change in Residential Settings. Presented at the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children’s 16th Annual Colloquium in Phoenix, AZ.

Banks, J. V. and Vargas, L.A. (2008). Trauma, Women and Children. Presented at the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Women’s Health in New York, NY. (Invited).

Banks, J. V. (2008). Managing Individual’s Culture to Create Sanctuary. Presented at the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services’ Best Practices Conference in Tulsa, OK. (Invited).

Vargas, L. A. and Banks, J. V. (2009). Creating Sanctuary: Resiliency and Support for Children and Families.  Presented at The Philadelphia Alliance Conference in Philadelphia, PA.

Besemer, D., Siler, J. and Vargas, L.A. (2008). Sanctuary Longitudinal Study:  Innovation, Collaboration and Frustration. Presented at the Alliance for Children and Families National Conference in Baltimore, MD.

Smith, C. and Vargas, L.A. (2008). Performance Management Without the Complexity of a Balanced Scorecard.  Presented at the Alliance for Children and Families National Conference in Baltimore, MD.

Vargas, L.A., Banks, J.V., Connally, A. and Daily, J. (2008). Sanctuary in Schools: Trauma and Student Experiences in Schools.  Panel presented at New York University’s Metropolitan Center for Urban Research Summer Institute in New York, NY. (Invited).

Click here to read these articles authored and co-authored by Andrus staff in the Spring 2005 edition of Therapeutic Communities, The International Journal for Therapeutic and Supportive Organizations.

Creating Sanctuary for kids: helping children to heal from violence - Sandra L. Bloom

The Sanctuary Model of organizational change for children’s residential treatment - Sandra L. Bloom

Preliminary results of a study examining the implementation and effects of trauma recovery framework for youths in residential treatment - Jeanne C. Rivard, Sandra L. Bloom, David McCorkle and Robert Abramovitz

Creating a trauma-sensitive culture in
residential treatment - Brian Farragher and Sarah Yanosy

Creative thinking and talking in residential care - Michael E. Thomas II

Trauma and the isms – a herd of elephants in the room: A training vignette - David McCorkle and Caroline Peacock

Parallel process between residential care staff
and young people
Brian J. Farragher, CSW
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Andrus Children's Center
Presented at Their Lives, Our Work: Critical questions for practice in child, youth and family services, in Melbourne, Australia, October 10-12, 2005
Click here to view the presentation.

Creating a Sanctuary for young people who have experienced trauma
Brian J. Farragher, CSW
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Andrus Children's Center
Presented at Their Lives, Our Work: Critical questions for practice in child, youth and family services, in Melbourne, Australia, October 10-12, 2005
Click here to view the presentation.

Adopting the principles of the "Sanctuary Model" in out-of-home care or young people who have experienced trauma
Brian J. Farragher, CSW
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Andrus Children's Center
Presented at Their Lives, Our Work: Critical questions for practice in child, youth and family services, in Melbourne, Australia, October 10-12, 2005
Click here to view the presentation.

Widening the Circle: How to bring people from many cultures to the table
Lorelei A. Vargas, MPP, MA
Director of Policy, Planning and Research,
Andrus Children's Center
Presented at Telling the Story of Democracy: The Study Circles Resource Center National Conference in Northbrook, IL, October 7-8, 2005
Click here to view notes from the presentation.

Creative Ways to Fund your Program
Lorelei A. Vargas, MPP, MA
Director of Policy, Planning and Research,
Andrus Children's Center
Presented at Telling the Story of Democracy: The Study Circles Resource Center National Conference in Northbrook, IL, October 7-8, 2005
Click here to view notes from the presentation.

Sanctuary Model of Shared Leadership
Sarah Yanosy, Vaughan Denton,
David McCorkle and Larry Warren
Workshop presented at the Council of Family and Child Caring Agencies (COFCA) Annual Child Welfare Training Conference in Syracuse, NY, June 17, 2005.
Click here to view the presentation.

Changing the Culture of Care: Restraint Reduction to a Trauma Sensitive Treatment Environment
Brian J. Farragher, CSW
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Andrus Children's Center
Presented at Achieving the Balance: Best Practice for Managing Challenging BehaviourSecond International Conference of the Residential Child Care Project, Cornell UniversityDublin, Ireland, April 26-28, 2005
Click here to view the presentation.

A Systematic Approach to Restraint Reduction and Elimination
Brian J. Farragher, CSW
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Andrus Children's Center
Presented at Achieving the Balance: Best Practice for Managing Challenging BehaviourSecond International Conference of the Residential Child Care Project, Cornell University Dublin, Ireland, April 26-28, 2005
Click here to view the presentation.

Community Responses to Traumatized Youth
John Rich, M.D., M.P.H.
Medical Director, Boston Public Health Commission
Followed by:
Make A Stand Project
Michael Thomas and Shawn Davis
March 11, 2005, 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Andrus Children's Center
Click here to view the presentation.
Click here to read the transcript of the presentation.

The S.E.L.F. Model of Trauma Treatment:
Creating Sanctuary for Traumatized Children and Adolescents in Residential Treatment
Sandra L. Bloom, M.D.
Distinguished Fellow
Andrus Center for Learning and Innovation
February 23, 2005, 9:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Andrus Children's Center
Click here to view the presentation.

Contact us with questions regarding a presentation.