For more than 60 years, Alliance for Children and Families member Secret Harbor, Burlington, Wash., was—as its name implies—one of Washington’s best-kept secrets in intensive residential treatment for boys with some of the most serious behavioral problems.
Located in the San Juan Islands off the northwestern coast of Washington, Secret Harbor’s remote campus offered an isolated, safe environment for providing effective individual treatment. Staff and residents arrived by private boat. When parent visitations took place, most often they occurred on the mainland.
The model worked well for most aspects of the organization. Operations, however, were costly.
When major infrastructure repairs became imminent and referrals from the state slowed due to evolving ideas about the role of residential treatment, the organization found itself at a critical juncture. Should it rebuild on its current site? Or should it pave a new path and reinvent itself in the process? The board of directors answered clearly: It was time for change. Continue reading.
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