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FAQ's About Ranch Ehrlo Society

What is Ranch Ehrlo?
Ranch Ehrlo Society is a non-profit, registered charitable organization dedicated to providing a range of quality assessment, treatment, education and support services that improves the social and emotional functioning of children and youth referred to our program. Ranch Ehrlo operates in a warm, nurturing environment that promotes dignity and self-respect offsetting problems created by poverty, neglect, addictions, violence and racism. Basic to this approach is sensitivity to the culture of the child and an awareness that differences need to be celebrated. The Ranch has residential and educational programs at the Pilot Butte campus, in the City of Regina, in the City of Prince Albert, at its Buckland campus outside of Prince Albert and at its Corman Park campus outside the City of Saskatoon.

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How is the Ranch Governed?
The Ranch has a volunteer Board of Directors, comprised of citizens representing various constituencies within Saskatchewan. The role of the Board is to set policy, establish direction and set short and long-term goals.

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How are children referred?
Social workers refer children to the Ranch who require intensive care and treatment for specific problems. Referral sources include Saskatchewan Department of Community Resources, First Nations Child & Family agencies, as well as some out-of-province referrals. Each referral source pays the cost of residency for the child that is placed at the Ranch.

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What is the treatment process?
The Ranch provides social treatment based on five cornerstones, including:

• specialized assessments and counselling which are provided by caseworkers with graduate degrees in social work, psychology, educational psychology, or group care administration, utilizing both individual and group sessions, for the purpose of resolving inter-personal problems and building self esteem;
• special education which is directed toward stabilizing behaviour and upgrading academic skills;
• residential care which involves 24-hour supervision by qualified staff who are trained in life skills, life-space interviews, therapeutic controls, and the use of relationships to establish structure and to teach a variety of needed skills to the residents;
• recreation involving individual interest in crafts, music, and team sports, all of which are designed to teach values (sportsmanship, team play, achievement through effort) and to build a sense of well-being;
• work involving both individual and group projects that are considered expectations of group living for which there is no compensation, and those projects for which young people are paid, in order to create understanding that work can bring monetary rewards.

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How long do residents stay at the Ranch?
The Ranch is a long-term resource for young people with a variety of personal issues, and depending on the problems being addressed, the length of residency can vary from a few months up to several years.

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What are the ages of the residents?
The Ranch serves three age groups of young people:

• 12 years of age and under form about 10% of the population. It is the position of the agency that, unless serious problems are identified requiring a group-treatment environment, younger children are better served in a family setting rather than group care;
• 13 to 18 years of age constitute 70% of the population;
• Over 18 years of age comprise about 20% of residents. These young adults usually display emotional problems in combination with mental challenges.
  

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What about education?
The Independent Schools Branch of Saskatchewan Learning accredits the educational programs of the Ranch. Payment for the service is provided by the referral agency, except for wards of the Province, whose education is paid for by Saskatchewan Learning through the "Students of the Province" program.

The Ranch operates the following school programs:

• Pilot Butte Campus: Schaller Education Centre offers educational assessment and stabilization primarily for the youth new to Ranch Ehrlo. The youth attend classes at Schaller School, including one program that works with severely developmentally disabled youth. In addition, one satellite program is offered as a pre-vocational opportunity to a small group of youth.
• Prince Albert: Youth from the Buckland Campus and Prince Albert unit are enrolled in education programs in Prince Albert. A Vice-Principal and Resource Teacher provide leadership and classroom support. There are classrooms within Prince Albert Public School facilities and in a private school, one pre-vocational work experience program, and a number of youth fully integrated into community schools in the Prince Albert Public School System.
• Regina Classes: The majority of Ranch students attend classes that are located in Regina Public and Regina Catholic schools. A number of classrooms are integrated into elementary schools while other programs operate at the high school level. Students are placed in these programs appropriate to their age, academic capabilities, and specific treatment issues.
• Corman Park: Students from the Corman Park campus attend the Ellen Gunn Education Centre that is located on the campus outside the City of Saskatoon.
• Vocational Opportunities: The Community Vocational Education Program (CVEP) offers pre-employment vocational skills development. These learning opportunities range from supported group employment skills training through to independent employment. Job coaches are provided for on-site work experience.
• Schaller College: Offers the Essential 1 Computer Technical certification as a satellite program of SIAST.

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What type of behaviour management is used?
Behaviour management is central to the work of the Ranch. It is achieved without any form of corporal punishment. Expectations are clearly defined by highly competent teams, who utilize relationships to interact with each resident in a differential way. The environment that results from this type of involvement is warm, nurturing, and filled with exciting and learning-oriented activities. Basic to these involvements is sensitivity to the culture of the child and an awareness that differences need to be celebrated, in order to build pride and empower the resident.

Punishments are not used at the Ranch. Life-space interviews, group and individual counselling, proactive therapeutic interventions, and individualized approaches are used to help residents maintain control.

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What is the success rate?
While the young people are in residence, nearly all of them achieve the goals that have been established with their caseworkers, parents, residential workers, and teachers.

An annual client outcomes report is completed for each youth in the Ranch's treatment and education program. The report is an aggregate compilation of residents’ progress towards their goals and is available to the public.

At the time of discharge, most young people feel very positive about their achievements and staff usually rates their accomplishments very high at the completion of treatment. Two factors tend to influence the sustainability of this success: family support systems and community support systems.

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How are high standards of care assured?
The Ranch is accredited by the Council on Accreditation of Services for Families and Children, which is an international standard setting body in New York. As a former member of the Child Welfare League of America and a current member of the Child Welfare League of Canada, it has been necessary to maintain accreditation for all services provided by the Ranch Ehrlo Society. The Council has developed and maintains standards that are on the leading-edge of new technology and change. These standards have guided the work of the agency over the years in developing its services.

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What is the relationship between Ranch Ehrlo and Ehrlo Community Services?
The work of Ranch Ehrlo is rehabilitation. As the organization began to develop community services, it identified the need to create a separate non-profit corporation, which occurred in 1995 with the establishment of Ehrlo Community Services (Ehrlo). The Ranch and Ehrlo are legally connected as "associated charities", which allows each corporation to transfer financial and staff resources, without jeopardizing the organizational integrity and charitable status of either organization. This relationship has allowed Ehrlo to utilize staff from the Ranch for the purpose of carrying out its community mandate. The arrangement has also allowed the Ranch to use the family counselling and the sports and recreation resources of Ehrlo.

Since its inception in 1995, Ehrlo has developed the following programs:

• Lakeshore Village Apartment provides accommodation for low-income families;
• Washington Park Place provides supportive accommodations for single mothers;
• Sport Venture provides recreation for inner-city youth through programs such as the Dress-A-Champion hockey give-away, the Outdoor Hockey League, Monday Night Football, Ehrlo Soccer League, Ehrlo Basketball League, and Ehrlo Sports Lending library;
• Ehrlo Counselling Services provides counselling to children and families;
• Avant-Garde College offers esthetics and cosmetology classes.

The establishment of Ehrlo has created the opportunity to build prevention programs as part of a larger design for services to families, thereby complementing the work of the Ranch Ehrlo Society.

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