BCC’s Martinsburg campus is located just off Exit 20 of I-81 in West Virginia. The 50-bed residential program serves both males and females (ages 12 to 21) that need support coping with emotional and behavioral issues. The property offers extensive recreational, vocational, and educational facilities – all tucked behind a quiet neighborhood in Berkeley County. Also on campus are an indoor gymnasium, dining hall, and chapel.
HOUSING
Common living area
Youth reside in five cottages, each containing 10 individual bedrooms, a fully stocked kitchen, living room, and laundry room. Each cottage has a supervisor as well as assigned direct care staff who are with the residents during their daily programming. There is also an awake overnight staff in each unit should any of the youth need anything. Each cottage is also assigned a vehicle. During a resident’s stay, we handle all local transportation needs with our own cars and our own staff.
TREATMENT GOALS & NEXT STEPS
No matter how a child or teenager came to be in our care, our goal is to create an environment where they can grow to be successful members of their families and communities. It is important to note, however, that the programming for youth served by BCC’s residential program is designed around their ultimate plan for discharge. We know that our team can never replace a family, and we work very hard to structure programming to support whatever the appropriate next step is for that youth.
There are a wide variety of options the treatment team may consider as they craft the immediate therapeutic goals as well as the discharge plan. For example, some youth will ultimately be reunited with their families (either immediate or extended), while others will move from BCC’s residential program setting to another treatment setting. This could be a more intense treatment environment or a less intense one, such as placement in a group home or treatment foster care home.
FAMILY INVOLVEMENT & VISITS
The definition of ‘family ‘varies greatly from child to child. At BCC we define family as anyone who cares for the well being of the youth in our care. All of BCC’s social workers are trained to conduct family therapy sessions either via phone or, preferably, in person. The clinical building on campus has space specifically designed for family therapy. Depending on the discharge plan and treatment progress, weekend home visits can be scheduled for the residents.
Our clinical team works closely with the youth to determine who their sources of support are and make sure they are part of the treatment team. Each youth in care has an Individual Treatment Plan (ITP), and the ‘family’ is invited approximately every 90 days to progress meetings. Youth who successfully progress through their treatment plans have campus home visits scheduled (BCC provides transportation to and from the home).
SAMPLE PROGRAMING SCHEDULE
The programming schedule for each campus and group home is slightly different. Below is a sample outline of a day’s activities at our residential campus. During the summer months, the youth who are not in summer school can often be found volunteering, enjoying the summer camp experience on our campus, or finding an internship to gain work experience.
Salad bar for healthy choices
6:30am – Wake-Up and morning chores
7:00am – Personal Hygiene and Health Suite Appointments
7:30am – Breakfast
8:00am – School
2:45pm – Afternoon Snack
3:00pm – Group meetings
3:30pm – Therapy and/or Health Suite Appointments
4:00pm – Free time and/or recreation
4:30pm – Boys Dinner
5:00pm – Chores, Group activity, free time and/or therapy
5:30pm – Girls Dinner
6:00pm – Study Hour and/or Tutoring
7:00pm – Recreation / Spiritual Life / Therapy and/or Phone time
8:00pm – Evening snack
8:30pm – Bedtime Routine
Gym for basketball
RECREATION
Skate Park
The Martinsburg residential program provides structured sports, fitness, and community activities designed to increase self-esteem, physical health, and trust of peers and adults. The campus includes an indoor gymnasium, fitness room, baseball and soccer fields, tennis and basketball courts, a skateboard park, and a ropes course. Residents can also compete as a team against the BCC Baltimore campus youth in a variety of sports, including flag football, softball, indoor soccer, volleyball, and basketball.
The heated outdoor pool is open from May to September to teach residents proper swim techniques (some of our youth arrive having never received formal lessons), learn lifesaving skills, or to just enjoy the summer sun.
EDUCATION
All youth living on our Martinsburg campus receive their education through the on-grounds school. Smaller class sizes and the availability of both traditional (4 year) and non-traditional graduation paths (5 year, GED testing, etc.) provide a flexible route to a high school diploma for each student.
The school is operated in partnership with the West Virginia Department of Education (WVDOE). BCC constructed and maintains the building and provides some of the classroom support staff and vocational training staff. The school’s certified teachers, however, are employed by the WVDOE. It is through this partnership we are able to host and support an innovative educational model that focuses on career and technology education. There are currently two core areas of life skill training. The commercial kitchen in the basement hosts the culinary program, and the computer lab holds the event planning classes.
STAFF
A multi-disciplinary team of professionals provides behavioral health support and treatment to our residents. Martinsburg’s staff include master’s level licensed therapists, social workers, certified chemical dependency counselors, therapeutic recreational specialists, tutors, and registered nurses.
LICENSE INFORMATION
You can read a complete list of our operating licenses here.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
Our incredible volunteers provide the ‘touches from home’ to the youth living at the Board of Child Care. Everything from sending birthday cards, baking cookies, and knitting scarves, to sponsoring Christmas presents. Click here to learn more.
ADMISSIONS
To make a referral to the WV residential program, please use the WV Path Portal. For general admissions questions, email admissionswv@boardofchildcare.org.
Board of Child Care’s programs are open to any individual regardless of their religious beliefs. Read more about Spiritual Life programing and BCC’s affiliation with the United Methodist Church.
