Transforming Adolescent Residential Services: The New Hope Case Study
1:00 – 2:00 pm ET
Provider organizations operating psychiatric residential treatment facilities (PRTFs) face two persistent challenges. First, a significant portion of the daily rate is allocated to overhead—necessary for operations, but not always tied to improved outcomes. Second, many programs default to a “boarding” model, where maintaining safety takes precedence over delivering individualized, therapeutic care—often at the expense of family integration, long-term outcomes, and community reintegration.
In this one-hour live presentation, Matt Simon, Chief Operating Officer, Xavier Dunbar, North Carolina State Director, and Shannon Bragg, West Virginia State Director of New Hope Treatment Centers, will share why they believe that the conversation needs to move away from “more treatment centers” to “better treatment centers.”
The session will include a deep dive into its Bridge Program, which embeds mental health staff in the homes of youth and families for up to 90 days post-discharge, supporting successful transition back to the community. The speakers will outline how they have expanded this approach to three new states (North Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia) in the past three years through a unique form of residential care and how it has allowed them to keep more consumers in the community while dedicating more of the daily rate to increased staff ratios, direct care pay, and direct care quality.
What This Case Study Explores
- Dismantling the “boarding” mentality to focus on high-acuity, short-term community-integrated services instead of merely counting beds.
- Shifting investments away from “brick and mortar” overhead to staff
- Serving youth at the intersection of juvenile justice, social services, and mental health systems
- Building treatment plans where the family is the primary “therapeutic agent”
- Developing robust “step-down” innovations that ensure the transition from residential care is a bridge to the community
What Executive Attendees Will Learn
- How to turn systems challenges into opportunities
- How to create safe, innovative, short-term, therapeutic programs for challenging populations
- Why family involvement is the best return on investment (ROI)
Featured Speakers
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Matt Simon, Chief Operating Officer, New Hope Treatment CentersPrior to joining New Hope in March of 2022, Matt Simon served as the Chief Program Officer (CPO) at Thompson Child and Family Focus. As CPO, he oversaw the provision of more than a dozen programs targeting youth and families. Matt was integral in bringing Multisystemic Therapy to the Midlands and Upstate regions of South Carolina through a partnership with SC-DJJ. In North Carolina, he helped lead efforts to launch, grow, and scale outpatient and school-based therapy, intensive in-home therapy, family-centered treatment, and high-fidelity wraparound. Matt has previously served as VP of Clinical Services and clinical director at both for-profit and non-profit organizations in the behavioral health arena. -
Xavier Dunbar, North Carolina State Director, New Hope Treatment CentersXavier Dunbar is originally from Greenville, South Carolina. He received a Bachelor of Psychology from Winthrop University and a Master of Arts in Counseling from Webster University. Xavier was a member of the New Hope team when the agency first launched the Learning Enriched Autism Program (LEAP) unit. Xavier is excited to return in his new role as the NC State Director and lead the charge in establishing a North Carolina footprint. Prior to returning to the New Hope team, Xavier served as the executive director of residential services at Alexander Youth Network. Additionally, Xavier has worked with Mecklenburg County Child Protective Services; Sante Affiliated as a Community Crisis Clinician; and Inlivian (formerly Charlotte Housing Authority) as a Program Coordinator. Xavier is also an adjunct professor at Johnson and Wales University. -
Shannon Bragg, West Virginia State Director, New Hope Treatment CentersShannon Bragg joined New Hope in February of 2024. She began her career at Genesis Youth Crisis Center, Inc., where she took on many roles from direct care to administration in emergency children’s shelters. She’s a certified trainer in Therapeutic Crisis Intervention and successfully mentored hundreds of staff and young people over the years. Shannon also spent time as the executive director of Alliance for Children, where she worked to collaborate with programs throughout WV, providing advocacy for West Virginia’s most vulnerable youth. Shannon holds a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Fairmont State University in Fairmont, West Virginia.
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