A safe, comfortable place to live, combined with therapy, independent living skills, educational services, and mentorship allow each child to begin healing and making plans for moving back into the community as soon as possible.

Special efforts are made to identify family and community contacts that can provide ongoing support. Good Shepherd Children & Family Services will has the capacity to serve 12 girls and 12 boys, ages 12-21 and 6-8 pregnant and parenting teens. 

 
Click here to read about the recent successes of our residents.  

Residential Services

For children needing a higher level of structure and supervision than that offered in traditional foster care, Good Shepherd Children & Family Services offers residential services for boys and girls, ages 12 to 21, as well as pregnant and parenting girls.

As of February 2008, all residents will be located at a new site in University City, MO. Built to serve 12 girls and 12 boys at a time, the facility allows each resident their own room as well as common recreation and dining areas. Residents attend local public schools and participate in a variety of extracurricular activities.

Youth will be in our care for approximately six months, during which time they will be stabilized and a plan for their transition back into the community will be put in place. Upon leaving residential care, youth may reunite with family, enter a traditional or kinship foster home, move to a transitional living site or at age 18, leave foster care altogether. In any case, the youth will leave Good Shepherd Children & Family Services with a firm plan and a network of caring adults who will provide long-term support.

All Good Shepherd Children & Family Services residential programs offer:

• A highly structured routine and schedule of activities;

• Educational support targeting the completion of a high school diploma and further education in line with each youth's personal goals;

• Individual and group therapy that allows youth to understand their personal challenges (e.g. anger management, abandonment issues) and develop effective coping mechanisms;

• Opportunities to interact with family and resolve the issues that led to the child being removed from the home; * Facilities designed with the safety and comfort of children in mind;

• Staff trained to meet the unique needs of children in foster care;

• Mentors who sincerely care for each youth and model good decision making, a healthy lifestyle and responsibility to self and others. 

Pregnant/parenting teens and their children have unique needs so, in addition to the services above, these young women receive additional support in the areas of parenting skills, nurturing a child, and providing a safe home.