Children and families served by St. Vincent Home for Children come to us with a variety of needs. All require an individualized plan focused on achieving the best outcomes possible. At St. Vincent, every child is special and each one has different obstacles to overcome as well as talents and skills to offer. We help our kids discover hope for a better tomorrow while developing the problem-solving skills necessary to have a better life. Through our residential programs, school services, or home-based services, children and families receive professional treatment proven to have a positive impact.
Below you will find some our recent program highlights.
For more information on each individual program, please click on the links above.
The Residential Treatment Program increased our licensed age to 21 years in 2009 to allow us to meet the needs of older youth who are not yet able to be independent. To meet a community need, we also added a secure Level IV Unit serving males and providing mental health treatment in a safe setting for youth ages 15 – 18.
St. Vincent School entered its second year of providing Vocation Education funded through Youth Opportunity Program tax credits. The program provided elective credit for high school students as well as after school in-house opportunities for students to gain work experience.
Home-Based Crisis Counseling, funded through the generosity of the Lutheran Foundation, provided services to children and their families in St. Louis City and County to prevent family disruptions and entry into the foster care and/or juvenile justice system.
In 2009, over 1,000 volunteers donated their time and talents helping with a variety of projects. Additionally, the United Way of Greater St. Louis recognized our agency for our outstanding volunteer manual and policies governing the use of volunteers in our programs.
In 2009, 69% of the children served in the Residential Treatment Program at St. Vincent Home for Children experienced a decrease in signs/symptoms that were barriers to mentally healthy, well adjusted functioning as measured by the Childhood Severity of Psychiatric Illness (CSPI) scale and 69% were discharged to less restrictive environments (home or foster homes.) Statistics compiled for Residential Treatment from mid-2009 through mid-2010 demonstrated a 68% decrease in verbal aggression, 75% decrease in physical aggression, 68% increase in problem-solving skills, 78% increase in self-esteem and a 73% decrease in stress and anxiety. 83% of students in St. Vincent School (an alternative school program serving students with severe emotional disturbance) in 2009 advanced at least one grade level in math and the average student advanced 1.5 grade levels. 84% of students advanced at least one grade level in reading with the average advancing 2 grade levels. 100% of our students made progress on their IEP goals and 40% of our students were returned to public school (compared to the benchmark of 20%.) |
