Success and Self-Sufficiency for Children, Family and Community is the mission of Ruth Dykeman Children's Center.

Description:
RDCC is a non-profit social service agency with two broad areas of operation: 1) community-based services such as prevention and treatment of alcohol and other drug abuse, family counseling and youth development programs, and 2) residential treatment for abused, neglected and abandoned children ages 6 to 18.

Ruth Dykeman Youth and Family Services (YFS) offers families and individuals facing social, emotional and economic challenges, innovative and culturally sensitive programs that build on the individual’s own strengths. All YFS therapists are dually certified or cross-trained in mental health and chemical dependency treatment, which allows individuals and families to receive all the services they need from one agency. YFS offers services in the Highline and Tukwila schools, Burien Youth Health Center, in individual homes and at the YFS office. These services include:

State Certified Drug and Alcohol Outpatient Treatment and Prevention Programs.

Family Reconciliation and Preservation Services, Functional Family Therapy, Parent Child Interaction Therapy, and Aggression Replacement Training.

YFS also offers an emergency food assistance program which is available for people in immediate hunger crisis with no food available to them. Food packs are nutritionally balanced and may include foods for special needs.

RDCC’s residential-based services, known as Behavioral Rehabilitation Services (BRS), serve children and adolescents ages six to 17 with histories of abuse and neglect, and have emotional problems and behaviors that are so severe they can no longer safely live in their communities. The youth are referred to RDCC by the Department of Social and Health Services, insurance providers or families. These youth come from all areas of the state and from bordering states as well. On average, these high needs youth have been in seven prior placements, 30 percent have been in children’s psychiatric hospitals, 79 percent have a mental health diagnosis and 62 percent are on prescribed psychotropic medications. In three home-like settings, a highly structured set of services are tailored to each child and families’ needs. The average length of stay at RDCC for these youth is two months for short-term placement agreements and 11 months for long-term placement agreements, after which they are either returned home to the care of a parent or guardian or successfully placed in a permanent foster home.

RDCC also provides services to young women, aged 16 to 21, to teach them independent living skills in its Specialized Independent Living Services (SILS) program. SILS is a four-bed, group care facility that assists youth in transitioning to an independent, successful adulthood. Education and job-skills building are the two primary objectives of SILS.

History:
Founded in 1921, RDCC began its existence offering services to troubled, non-delinquent girls who were wards of the state. RDCC was founded by King Dykeman, the first judge of the Juvenile Justice system in Seattle and named after his daughter, Ruth. As society has changed over the past eighty-one years, RDCC has evolved to meet the changing needs of children and families.

Contact person: Susan Alotrico, Community Resources, Vice-President, (phone), (email)
Office fax number: (206) 243-5321

Address:

1033 SW 152nd Street Seattle, WA 98166 (See a map)

Web Site: http://www.rdcc.org

Directions:

From the North (Seattle) From I-5 southbound, take the SR 518 exit as though you are going to the airport. Continue west past SeaTac airport until the freeway ends at 1st Ave. South. At that point the street becomes SW 148th.. . . (more)

Miscellaneous Information

Liability
	Yes
Does your organization welcome court-ordered community service volunteers?
	Yes
Does your organization have volunteer positions for youth 12-18?
	Yes