Wyoming Girls School (WGS) utilizes Trauma Informed Effective Reinforcement (TIER) throughout our entire programming that includes school, dormitories and behavioral health. TIER provides tools that help our residents learn to how to be emotionally and physically safe, build confidence and trust in themselves/others while contributing toward a healthy structured environment when living with others.

Trauma informed care is a strength-based way to understand behaviors and provide treatment for our residents, through the use of coping skills, while acknowledging past trauma. The WGS continues to implement gender-responsive programming by addressing female development and the exposure and response to their trauma.

The Mission of the Wyoming Girls School is to provide therapeutic and educational services for the development and treatment of girls in a safe, nurturing and trauma-responsive community and environment. In an effort to keep every resident and staff safe, we promote and practice therapeutic de-escalation techniques. All of our staff at the Wyoming Girls School are trained in therapeutic de-escalation strategies to include deployment of physical and mechanical restraints in the event that a resident is deemed to be a significant safety risk to themselves or others. In this circumstance, the least restrictive method of engagement shall be employed on a graduated continuum until the resident is no longer deemed to be in imminent danger. Our policies and standards allow for immediate and on-going medical and clinical assessment and consultation should an incident rise to this level.

Components of TIER

The TIER Behavioral Motivation System includes the following:

1. Residents create and work on daily goals in the areas of “Myself”, “My Relationships”, and “My Community”.

2. Each resident will be assigned a Personal Coach (mentor) to provide additional one-on-one support.

3. The resident’s day will be structured around prescriptive Daily Program Responsibilities.

4. Every resident will spend one-on-one time with a dormitory staff to complete a Daily Progress Review (DPR).

5. Based on their accomplishments of their Daily Program Responsibilities and the outcome of their Daily Progress Review (DPR), each student will earn a TIER membership level of either Contribute (C), Think (T) or Learn (L).

6. The privileges the residents earn will be based on their current membership status.

7. Each Community (i.e. dormitory) will determine a specific “Theme of the Week” as a goal for the residents to collectively work on.

8. Staff interventions to address challenging behaviors include Verbal Reminders, Coaching, a Client Assistance Plan (CAP), Temporary Privilege Restriction, and Temporary Community Restriction.

9. Each Community will conduct Gatherings to empower the residents to have a voice and enhance relationship building in a trauma- responsive environment.

10. Community Gatherings include Morning/Evening Gatherings; Community Support Gatherings; Greeting Gatherings; Farewell Gatherings and Community Improvement Gatherings.

11. Implementation and oversight of TIER at the WGS will be the responsibility of the each dormitory supervisor and members of the management team through the Internal Quality Review (IQR) process.