How to get into Lighthouse

Intake process

The process of entry to the Lighthouse Foundation Live in Care Program is based on suitability. That is, once a vacancy is made available, the young people who are actively looking for accomodation at that time, are assessed on how suitable the particular vacancy is for them. Suitability factors considered include age; sex; risk and protective factors; sexuality; proximity factors - supports, employment, education; and the young person's presenting psychosocial challenges.

Entry is not strictly based upon order of request for support, although this is one of the factors considered in the overall determination of suitability. The aim of the 'suitability' process is to ensure that each home is manageable and young people entering the home do not threaten the safety or therapeutic process of any of the current residents.

The intake process consists of the following steps:

Referral
Referrals can be sent by mail (marked confidential) or faxed. It is important that all questions on the referral form be filled out in detail, and that all supporting documentation including psychological reports are included. The more accurate and detailed the information provided, the faster the process will be - this will prevent having to request more information later in the intake process.

Initial contact
This generally occurs through phone contact made by the Young Person's worker or advocate. The purpose of this stage is to gather summary information about the young person for basic demographic, holistic and clinical purposes and to provide a framework for the Intake interview. At the completion of the initial contact and if it is deemed that the program is in the best interest of the Young Person an intake interview is booked.

Intake Interview
The follow up interview involves an initial holistic assessment of the Young Person's presenting issues to assist determining suitability. This interview also provides detailed information regarding what support Lighthouse can offer and what it is like to live in one of the Lighthouse homes.

Potential Resident in waiting
On completion of the follow up interview, the young person is placed on a waiting list and asked to keep in regular contact with Lighthouse and communicate their ongoing need for a home. During this stage the Young Person may also be eligible for outreach support from Lighthouse which may consist of regular phone contacts, visits to the office, advocacy, education and employment assistance.

Vacancies
When a vacancy is made available in one of the homes, all the potential residents in waiting are reviewed and assessed to determine if they are suitable for that vacancy. Those which are suitable are contacted and a time is made for a psychological screening assessment.

Psycho-social Screen
The young person undergoes a comprehensive assessment of clinical and nonclinical risk factors, resilience capacities, historical data and specific support needs.

Gathering of Relevant Documentation
Prior to and following the screen, with the young person's consent, Lighthouse acquires relevant documentation from other service providers. This is a vital and comprehensive stage of Intake and entry cannot occur until the documentation has been received and reviewed.

Entry
Once all documentation on the Young Person has been acquired and assessed, and the Young Person is deemed suitable for the Lighthouse, the Young person is now ready to move into a Lighthouse home. The process from initial intake to final entry varies between 2 weeks and 6 months depending on various factors including access to relevant material, assessments, actual places available, initiative and specific needs of young people, choices of young people, cooperation of other services, dynamics in the home etc.

Note; LH will not move a young person into a home that is not stable. If a crisis or staffing change has recently occurred, the move into Lighthouse may be slightly delayed until the home is stable.