What does "structured environment" mean?

Very firm boundaries, lots of supervision, regular routine, not many choices.

Agree with Lorraine's definition. Limitations, rules, and follow through.

I agree with other posters. Structured environment means always knowing what will happen next and that covers everything from what time to get up in the morning to what the consequences are for misbehavior. Many children in care come from homes where they had no guidance, no routine and sometimes even become a parent themselves to either their own parents or to other children in the house. It takes structure to give them the knowledge that they are safe, there are no surprises(which are a scary proposition to them) and they know what to expect. It takes time for them to unlearn what they learned in their past as survival techniques. Because some of the children can have ADD Autism,or other conditions a routine helps them stay focused and can help eliminate behavior problems caused by such conditions.

It can also mean line of sight supervison for the forseeable future...Think Rigid Boot Camp type of schedule. Everything must be very exact and all boundaries mantained strictly at all cost.

As my social worker put it:Be ready to run the show. Or you will be run OVER

LOL, Amy! That's just too funny!