Mapletree
Group Home for Boys
What Kinds of Kids are at Mapletree?
Program Assistant (part time, overnights)
This Website Updated on 6-5-10
Helping at-risk teenagers to achieve personal competency and build self-esteem, through new challenges, guided experiences, and the development of social and independent living skills, in a community based setting.
What's Mapletree?
Mapletree is a group home for older teenage
boys, located in
Mapletree
is a member of the Minnesota Council of Child Caring
Agencies.
What Kinds of Kids are at Mapletree?
Mapletree
accepts referrals for boys who are 15-19 years of age. All of the boys at
Mapletree are on probation, under the supervision of a
Most of the boys at Mapletree have had problems living at home and have not been very successful in school. Many have had difficulty with drugs, and some have been through treatment. Most have also been in out-of-home placements including foster care, shelter programs, residential treatment centers, or correctional facilities. Often Mapletree is either the last opportunity for boys to stay out of a more secure correctional placement, or their first opportunity to re-enter the community after successfully completing a correctional placement or treatment program.
Typically, kids at Mapletree are unable to return to live with a parent, and because of their offense history or other issues are not good candidates for foster care. At 16 to 18, most of our boys are not looking for a traditional ma-n-pa foster family. Usually they just want support to finish their education, build some job skills, save some money, prepare for independent living, and finish growing up.
How Do Kids Get Placed at Mapletree?
Boys are typically referred to Mapletree by county probation officers or social workers. Although most boys are on probation or involved with county social services, sometimes a placement is the result of an inquiry from a residential treatment center, correctional program, mental health professional, guardian ad litem, court dispositional advisor, county attorney, or even from concerned parents. Kids are typically court-ordered into placement either through juvenile corrections or under a CHIPS petition.
Mapletree
can accept kids from counties throughout
Because
of the highly individual differences between residents, and individualized
treatment plan, length of placement for boys at Mapletree has varied
considerably, from a minimum of three months - extending to two years. Typical
length of placement is between five and 15 months. Most of the kids placed at
Mapletree meet their goals of placement, and graduate from the program
successfully. Many of the boys that have lived at Mapletree over the last
several years continue to keep in touch with the staff.
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To make a referral
Mapletree Program Highlights
Individual Treatment Plans: After residents are accepted and
evaluated, placement team members (the resident, parents, and professionals)
work together to complete screening, develop a treatment plan to address the
individual needs of each resident, and establish goals of placement.
Mapletree does psycho-social and vocational testing/assessments to help
identify strengths and areas for growth. Goals of placement are reviewed
at least quarterly in formal staffings with the placement team.
Therapeutic
Growth: Mapletree
staff maintain a "therapeutic milieu" in which issues are addressed
as they come up. The residents receive a daily flow of feedback to
improve social skills, problem solving, and conflict resolution. Each
resident participates in weekly reviews with the staff to discuss progress on
both short-term and long-term placement goals. Every Sunday evening, the
kids participate in a discussion group to strengthen social awareness and
social skills. On Thursday evenings the boys participate in traditional group
therapy under the supervision of a licensed mental health professional.
Topics around sexuality and chemical abuse are also addressed in weekly groups.
Some residents attend family therapy outside of Mapletree or participate in
programs to address specific issues (e.g. sexuality, anger, gangs, chemical 
abuse, etc.).
Social-Emotional
Growth: The boys are
supervised throughout the day, with staff on duty 24-7. There are many
opportunities for one-to-one time and the ability to confront and discuss
issues as they arise. Some of the boys attend AA meetings weekly, more or less
as they need support for sobriety. Helping kids to discover hobbies, sports,
and positive leisure time activities is an important part of adolescent
development. We encourage social growth through recreational
opportunities, and exposure to new experiences. Toward those goals,
Mapletree maintains a year-around wilderness retreat center on the Kettle River
near
The
Mapletree staff are active role models, and in the past have taken the boys on
many adventures including skiing, tubing, kayaking, canoeing, fishing, camping,
snowmobiling, white-water rafting, flying, scuba diving, and horseback riding,
to name a few. To encourage athletic participation, Mapletree
maintains a membership at the 
include a regional shopping center, tennis
courts, soccer fields, parks, a county library, and a variety of health care
facilities.
Educational
Growth: Many of the
boys at Mapletree have not had much academic or behavioral success at
school. Mapletree makes an extra effort to instill an appreciation for
learning. An annual event at 
Mapletree is a ten-day camping/road trip to
All of
the kids at Mapletree are expected to participate in an educational
program. Some attend high school at
Independent Living Skills: With all the boys at Mapletree rapidly approaching adulthood, ILS is a daily focus at Mapletree. The boys are expected to get themselves up in the morning, prepare their own breakfast and lunch (supper is family style), do their own laundry, keep their rooms clean, participate in yard care, and generally keep the house clean. On Tuesday evenings the boys participate in an ILS group with a broad range of topics including budgeting, checking account management, finding apartments, understanding leases, setting up utilities, living with roommates, grocery shopping, buying a car, sewing, doing taxes, maintaining a job, obtaining health care, understanding insurance, and many more. Some Mapletree graduates have access to a small two-bedroom apartment adjacent to the group home that can facilitate the transition to independent living.
Job
Skills: Mapletree
encourages employment, supports the development of job skills, and supervises
money management. Most residents find employment near the Maplewood Mall and
work 10-15 hours per week, while going to school. During the summer or
for those that are working on a GED or ALC program, the boys are usually able
to maintain full time employment. Residents that have court-ordered restitution
are usually able to completely pay-off restitution and community service
obligations during their placement. The boys are required to save most of their
earnings, toward moving out on their own. It is not unusual for residents
to graduate from Mapletree with more than $2,000 to start independent living.
Transitional Services - The Mapleaf
Mapletree provides transitional services for all residents but a lucky few have the opportunity to live in a small, but fully furnished two-bedroom apartment adjacent to the group home. The Mapleaf was added to Mapletree in 1997 to ease the transition to independent living. Residents that successfully complete at least three months at Mapletree are eligible to move into the Mapleaf. Residents continue to be part of Mapletree while living at the Mapleaf, but have more privileges, freedoms, expectations, and responsibilities than the boys at Mapletree. Residents must be at least 18 to be considered for the Mapleaf, and remain age-eligible until they turn 21. Some residents have lived in the Mapleaf from a few months to more than a year, depending on the educational, employment or independent living goals they need to complete. Residents of the Mapleaf are generally supported by county supervision and funding of their placement, and have a transitional services plan that includes educational goals, employment goals, therapeutic services, health care needs, a budgeting and finance plan, and projections for a successful transition to independent living.
Mapletree Staff
The Executive Director, Jon Brandt has been working with youth and families for more than 30 years. With an undergraduate degree in psychology (SCSU), and Master's degree (University of Wisconsin-Madison) in social work, Jon is nationally accredited by the Academy of Certified Social Workers, a licensed mental health professional (Minnesota LICSW), and a clinical member of ATSA. Jon has worked in shelter care, correctional programs, residential treatment, and supervised foster homes. He's been a child protection social worker, and has more than twenty-five years experience as a therapist with adolescent sex offenders. He has provided expert testimony in numerous juvenile court hearings, promoted new legislation and spoken on child welfare matters before the Minnesota Legislature. He has presented workshops on a wide range of topics including understanding anger, and working with sex offenders, at local, state, and national conferences, in addition to interviews on Twin Cities TV and radio. He is the founder, Executive Director and provides clinical supervision at Mapletree, does training and consulting, and provides individual, group, and family therapy in private practice. Jon can be reached at Mapletree or by e-mail at: jbrandt@mapletree.org
Mapletree's reputation and success
is due to great staff, both past and present. The Mapletree staff
currently includes the Executive Director, and Counseling Staff: Brian Hurt,
Tony Mayer, Mike LeMier, Amanda Abrizenski, Marcus Walker, Ali Briskey, Susan
Hauck, Rory Burton-Feeney, John Connolly, Mark Dubé, Jonny Briones; Staff
Psychologist Paul Sterlacci; Office Manager Carol Woulfe; Nursing Consultant
Monique Mayer; Mapledog Gilmore; Maplekitty Rico; and a very large extended
family!
College Internship
Mapletree
has been approved as a field placement for social work internships at the
University of Minnesota, Augsburg, and St. Thomas/St. Kate’s. We are only
accepting graduate students for internships at Mapletree. We have accepted two graduate students from
the MSW program at the University of Minnesota for the 2010-2011 school
year. Thanks to all the candidates that
interviewed or inquired about Mapletree as a field site. For information about future field placements
please see the internship coordinator at your college or contact the Executive
Director, Jon Brandt, MSW at Mapletree.
Career Opportunities
Mapletree has been working successfully with at-risk teenage boys, and building a good reputation in the professional communities of juvenile corrections, social services, and mental health since 1991. Mapletree can provide an excellent vantage point in which to learn about juvenile corrections, social services, child welfare, mental health, and the treatment of a wide range of maladjustments of adolescence. Most former Mapletree staff have found their experience at Mapletree to be excellent preparation for career advancement. No one gets rich working in the social services, but the experience and job satisfaction can be very rewarding. It's a chance to make a difference with kids that need a chance.
Mapletree is particularly interested in high energy, outgoing individuals that enjoy working as part of a team, understand teenagers (to the extent anyone can), and have the skills to develop rapport and command respect from at-risk teenage boys. Because we provide residential based services to kids who have a broad range of needs, the staff that we hire need to be able to accommodate a broad range of shifts and responsibilities. Successful candidates must be able to pass a background check conducted by the MN Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, as required by state law.
We
currently have a job opening:
A part time opening for a Program Assistant (one or two awake overnights
per week)
To Contact Us at Mapletree
Openings
for boys: Mapletree may
have openings!
Please
call about current or future openings. Referrals can be made by calling
and talking to any staff person.
Call us at: (651) 777-7722
Referral material may be faxed to 651-748-1284 or emailed to: mapletreestaff@gmail.com
General email may be sent to: mapletreestaff@gmail.com
Email the Executive Director: jbrandt@mapletree.org
Resumes can be emailed to: mapletreestaff@gmail.com or faxed to 651-748-1284
Correspondence may be mailed to:
Mapletree
Mapletree is a member of the Minnesota
Council of Child Caring Agencies.
Thanks
for taking the time to visit our Web site. We hope to hear from you!