Butler Hospital announced Thursday the creation of the Household Service Vocational Pathway, a twelve-week program that will train selected patients for employment in private domestic service.

The program is the first of its kind in the state. Graduates will receive a certificate in household management and be placed with participating families in Providence and on the East Side, with the hospital maintaining a placement relationship for the first ninety days.

"Employment outcomes are the strongest predictor we have," said Marguerite Oyelaran, who directs vocational services at the hospital. "This is about dignity and about a paycheck. We are not going to apologize for either."

The curriculum covers table service, linen and silver care, correspondence, discretion, and the management of a household calendar. Instruction takes place in a converted dayroom on the second floor of the Ray Conference Center, which has been fitted with a formal dining setting for eight.

Twelve patients were selected for the first cohort from thirty-one applicants. Selection criteria were not disclosed, though a hospital spokesperson said candidates were assessed for "reliability, comportment, and a demonstrated interest in service."

The hospital declined to say what the placements pay. Asked whether families would be informed of a graduate's treatment history, Oyelaran said the program follows all applicable privacy law and that "the certificate speaks for itself."

Rhode Island's Executive Office of Health and Human Services has not commented on the program. A spokesperson for the state's Behavioral Healthcare office said the office was "aware of the announcement."

Butler Hospital was founded in 1844 with an endowment from Cyrus Butler, a Providence merchant, and is the state's only private psychiatric hospital. It has operated on its Blackstone Boulevard campus since opening.

A uniform allowance of two hundred dollars is provided to each graduate.

The first cohort begins October 5.