Psychiatric rehabilitation principles for re-engineering board and care facilities

Existing board and care facilities remain important for psychosocial rehabilitation because of scarcity of housing alternatives and advances in empowerment and skill transfer methods. Re-engineering board and care to mitigate the disadvantages of congregate housing requires a) a physical plant upgrade; b) home-like amenities; c) in-house programming; and d) collaboration with a psychiatric rehabilitation center. Continuing collaboration with the original owner of a commercial board and care home can be helpful, but requires careful coordination of the differing cultures. This article describes practical ways to convert an existing board and care facility.