Residential Care
For children and youth who cannot live with their families, a residential setting provides a caring and structured home. Here, they learn to cope with their circumstances and learn new skills they will carry into their adulthood. They receive treatment and counseling that allows them to identify and appreciate healthy life situations and settings. The goal for each child is to help them return home to their birth family or to be placed in a new permanent home. Whenever possible, counselors work with each child’s family to help make this important transition.
At the Board of Child Care, children and youth can experience life as a child again because they know they will be taken care of and have plenty of opportunities for fun and personal enrichment.
The Board of Child Care’s residential campuses are located in Baltimore, Maryland and Falling Waters, West Virginia.
As part of the residential program, children and youth can participate in a variety of on-campus programs, including a spiritual life and recreational programs.
As an outreach ministry of The United Methodist Church, children are encouraged to:
- Grow in their knowledge and understanding of Jesus Christ
- Develop their own faith
- Develop an understanding and respect for religious faiths different from their own
Over the last decade, chapels were built on the Baltimore campus in 1997 and the Falling Waters, West Virginia site in 2002. A full-time spiritual life director coordinates a range of activities that invite youth to explore and develop their faith.
Worship services are available each week on campus, with transportation provided to those children who wish to attend other denominational services off campus. Youth choose their own level of involvement, from individual workshops to participation in group activities centered on values and morals.
Recreational activities are part of the overall residential care program. Children and youth participate in both individual and group planned activities that explore and develop their natural skills. As youth enjoy these recreational activities, staff also guide their experiences by helping them develop social skills and personal strengths, and learn how to develop leadership, teamwork, and communication skills.
