Grafton in Action – Winter 2020
Grafton has seen many changes over the last 60 years, but one thing has remained constant: our spirit of innovation.
Working with clients day in and day out continuously inspires us to develop solutions for the challenges facing today’s behavioral health care and education environments. Back in the 80’s we pioneered some of the first community-based group homes for clients with intellectual or developmental disabilities, or autism. Our inventive approach later led to the creation of Ukeru®, our patented “Goal Mastery” initiative, and key contributions related to the minimization of restraint and the application of trauma-informed principles.
Today I’m excited to share that a growing number of localities, both inside and outside of Virginia, are reaching out to learn how they can implement Grafton’s Clinical Model within their own organizations. The success of our model – which combines data collection, an integrated continuum of care, and a restraint-free philosophy of comfort versus control – is inspiring others to rethink how they approach behavioral health.
We are honored and humbled for the opportunity to share what we have learned with our peers. Grafton has begun sending experts into the field to teach our approach, called The Foundation of Care™, to others. Eventually we believe this model could follow in the footsteps of Ukeru, which is now used across the U.S. and in Canada by 180 organizations, including behavioral health providers and public and private schools.
At the end of the day, using a clinical model like the one developed at Grafton benefits everyone – from employees who experience a safer work environment to clients who learn skills to live more independently to families who are eager to see maximum results over the shortest possible length of stay. No one should have a monopoly on strategies that work, which is why we’re eager to share our expertise as we head into a new decade.
Read the full Winter newsletter here.