The Inaugural Conference of the Albert E. Trieschman Center took place at theHyatt Regency Hotel in Cambridge, Massachusetts, March 18-2 1, 1987. The Conference theme, "Whole Days, Whole Lives: Building Competence in the Child Caring Environment" was taken from the title of a book Dr. Trieschman never had time to finish.

Dr. Trieschman, although trained as a child psychologist, realized early on that the primary power of the therapeutic milieu rested in the day-to-day contact between child care workers and youth in care. In his writings and in the many speeches that Al Trieschman was to make, he became a spokesman for the importance of the child care worker. His stewardship of the Walker Home and School in Needham, Massachusetts, where he served as Executive Director from its founding in 1961 until his untimely death in 1984, also served as a model for his beliefs. At Walker, and in an ever-increasing number of settings, child and youth care workers serve as central members of the treatment team.

Dr. Trieschman believed in competence and wellness as the focus of residential treatment. He often said that the major goal of professional child care work is to help children learn to function as whole, competent individuals. This meant teaching life skills such as brushing teeth and tying shoes. It meant teaching to read and to subtract. It meant teaching self-control. It also meant teaching youngsters to take risks in developing relationships and in trying out new behavior. Dr. Trieschman’s idea of "treatment" was to help every child have a chance at a whole life.

The Albert E. Trieschman Center, a program of the Walker Home and School, was established in 1986, as a living memorial to Dr. Trieschman. This resource center is committed to helping practitioners and parents find better ways to care for children, youth, and families with special needs. The Inaugural Conference of the Center was planned as a tribute to Dr. Trieschman and a celebration of the creation of the Center.

A special magical something seemed to be in the air when more than 800 child care professionals gathered for this Inaugural Conference. These child care workers, supervisors, teachers, social workers, therapists, and administrators represented 40 states, five Canadian provinces, Australia, Israel, and several European countries at this event.

In the opening session, Nancy Trieschman suggested that the slogan, "find a better way", used often by Dr. Trieschman and the staff in the early days at Walker, might well describe the mission of the Trieschman Center. Her inspiring remarks helped set the tone for an upbeat gathering of professionals committed to excellence in the service of troubled children and their families.

Feedback from participants indicates that the 63 workshops and institutes were among the very best ever offered at a child care conference. The Trieschman Center is very grateful to the Journal of Child Care for this special opportunity to feature in this issue a selection of "proceedings" submitted by these workshop leaders.

The impressive, supportive response to the creation of the Trieschman Center and to its Inaugural Conference seems in large part due to the field’s desire to pay special tribute to Dr. Trieschman. What better way to thank a person for his work than to empower a Center whose primary mission is to assure that this work continues! This support of the Trieschman Center is also an empowerment of other training and resource centers which currently exist or which are being created to provide needed support services for those working with children, youth, and families with special needs.

Dr. Trieschman’s writings and speeches added sophistication and dignity to the very difficult role of the direct care worker. In a similar vein, the elegance of the Hyatt Regency and the enriched workshop program allowed Conference participants to bask with their colleagues in a somewhat idyllic atmosphere of professional acceptance. As practitioners, however, the dissonance between those special moments in March and the realities of our work settings motivates us to carry on the struggle to "find a better way."

The Editors wish to express special thanks to those members of the Trieschman Center staff who helped in making this special issue a reality. They are: Patricia Alwon, Dome Kanter, and Dorothy Webman.

Richard W. Small, is Executive Director of the Walker Home and School, a residential and day treatment center for emotionally troubled boys located in Needham, Massachusetts. Dr. Small has been working with troubled children and their families since 1967. His experience includes extensive work as a child care worker, administrator, trainer, consultant and researcher. As a professor, he taught many undergraduate and graduate courses in the area of group child care. Dr. Small has published many articles on the subject of residential care in the therapeutic milieu and is a member of several national child welfare associations.

Floyd J. Alwon, is Director of the Albert B. Trieschman Center, a program of the Walker Home and School in Needham, Massachusetts. Dr. Alwon has had more than twenty years experience as a child care worker, supervisor and administrator in residential and day treatment centers. Dr. Alwon also has extensive experience as a teacher, trainer and consultant and he has developed curricula for child care workers, supervisors and trainers. Dr. Alwon serves as editor and contributing editor for several child care newsletters and journals and has taught courses at the graduate and undergraduate levels. He is currently a member of the board of directors for several state and regional associations for child care workers and agencies.