BEATRICE STATE DEVELOPMENTAL CENTER
Match Code - 141611
3000 Lincoln Street
Beatrice, Nebraska 68310
(402) 223-6600 1-800-430-5755
FAX (402) 223-7546
www.hhs.state.ne.us/dip/ded/bsdcindex.htm
Training Director
Lynn Bogart, Ph.D.
Phone: (402) 223-6182
E-mail: lbogart@nebraska.gov
About the Facility
Beatrice State Developmental Center (BSDC) is a 24-hour state and federally funded residential treatment facility dedicated to the provision of specialized psychological, medical, and developmental services to persons with mental retardation and other developmental disabilities. It serves individuals of all ages, although most are adults. The BSDC main campus is located in Beatrice, Nebraska, a rural town of about 13,000. Services are provided both in the residential treatment and outreach treatment services to families, schools, and community-based service providers throughout the state of Nebraska. Residential treatment provides services to approximately 200 individuals with mild, moderate, severe or profound mental retardation some of whom have coexisting conditions or issues including serious mental illness, behavior disorders, physical handicaps, and severe medical impairments.
Clinical Training
The Psychology Department consists of 4 licensed psychologists and 5 provisionally licensed pyschologists with various specialized training and interests. The Department utilizes a scientist/practitioner model with a behavioral orientation for service delivery. Client training and treatment programs are primarily cognitive behavioral and utilize operant and classical conditioning techniques. A licensed psychologist supervises interns. Each intern will have a primary supervisor with secondary supervision provided as deemed appropriate by virtue of specific internal placements. Supervision will be a minimum of 2 hours per week. The training orientation favors learning through observation, modeling, and supervised progressively responsible practice. These experiences occur in conjunction with exposure to special populations, problems and interventions through readings, seminars, and participation in applied research.
Two internship positions are available each calendar year with one beginning in July and one in August. Interns perform duties similar to those performed by staff psychologists, with increasing expectations and functions, as they become proficient in the specific service delivery methods. The intern begins by shadowing and observing their primary supervisor. They then move to more active participation in the interdisciplinary team process as they move toward independence. Major responsibilities for psychologists and interns include: clinical consultation on all therapeutic services, assessment of cognitive, learning, and behavioral skills, development and implementation of behavioral and functional assessments, design and implementation of behavioral interventions, and provision of direct therapeutic interventions and group or individual therapy.
An Interdisciplinary Treatment Team (IDT) approach is used at BSDC. Prior to treatment, professionals from various disciplines (e.g., medicine, psychology, education, psychiatry, speech/language pathology, physical/occupational therapy) complete evaluations in their area of expertise. These evaluations provide the basic information necessary for the IDT to develop and implement a comprehensive treatment program tailored to the needs of the client.
A psychology internship at BSDC typically involves assignment to a residential living unit and two major rotations. The assignment to the residential living unit provides interns an opportunity to work intimately with individuals whose needs are ongoing. These individuals have mental retardation and may have other coexisting medical, behavioral or psychiatric conditions. By the end of the internship year, the intern would function as the primary psychological service provider to this group of individuals. Short-term rotations are available in specific disability areas such as special population assessment techniques, developmentally appropriate intensive interventions, organizational/system approaches and varied consultation opportunities.
An intensive treatment rotation is available through the two programs in the Outreach and Intensive Treatment Services (OAITS) unit. The OATIS program has been serving individuals throughout the state of Nebraska since 1991.
Intensive Treatment Services (ITS) are provided on the BSDC campus and include short-term (90-120 day) treatment services to assess, design interventions, and teach service providers to facilitate the rapid transition and reintegration of the client into their home community.
The Outreach Treatment Services (OTS) component provides off-site, statewide consultation with families, schools and community-based service providers in the treatment of individuals with developmental disabilities. The Outreach Team is led by a clinical psychologist and provides intensive assessment, treatment, and staff/parent training in serving the acute needs of individuals with behavioral impairments and developmental disabilities. The goal is to serve the needs of the clients in their community with the secondary goal of reducing the need for institutional placement. The Outreach program is considered very successful, with 88% of the 170 individuals served to date having achieved significant behavioral improvement. All interns will participate in at least one outreach consultation.
Research Training
Each intern is required to develop a publishable research paper or presentation to a state, regional or national conference. This can be achieved through presentation at the local conferences available. If any ongoing research is currently under development by the psychology staff, the intern may wish to participate in the study and is encouraged to do so. Each intern is also expected to present a case study to the Psychology Department as part of their training experiences.
Benefits
The two BSDC interns share a large office and each have an individual computer with intranet and internet access. BSDC interns have access to on-line library search systems and e-mail. An on-campus library with professional journals and interlibrary loan services is also available. Interns receive a stipend of approximately $15.00 per hour for 40 hours per week. This figure is variable as it is determined by the state legislature in determination of staff salaries. Internships at BSDC are for 50 weeks (2000 clock hours) and interns are paid for only 50 weeks. Interns do not accumulate sick or vacation time and have no paid holidays, but may be able to adjust their schedules for days off. All additional benefits will be determined by the BSDC Human Resources Department. A small efficiency apartment on the BSDC campus is available for each intern.
Past Interns
Previous interns at BSDC have obtained positions in public schools, private practice, medical/hospital settings and academic departments. Several interns have accepted positions at BSDC. Following completion of the pre-doctoral internship, several interns have gone into post-doctoral fellowship programs.
