A secure setting creates a physical perimeter that prevents youth from leaving, which can provide safety for certain troubled youth. But in this totally closed environment, staff bear major responsibility for meeting a youth's developmental needs, a role normally fulfilled by parents. Secure settings often compromise goals of care when safety concerns produce a coercive, depersonalized environment. Such programs can be re-designed to meet developmental needs, including maintaining close bonds with the family. This article highlights the authors' experiences during several years when they managed and expanded their Case Planning Unit to include assessment and detention services at Starr Commonwealth in Albion, Michigan. The program had two residential areas and attached classrooms serving a total capacity of about 25 youth. One area provided short-term detention for youth from the Detroit area referred by Wayne County. Another served as a temporary respite for a few Starr Commonwealth residents who were in crisis and not able to function in the open cottages.