The Group Homes

Sometimes, despite all attempts to the contrary, families crumble.  When that happens, children can be caught in a web of circumstances that they did not create and cannot control.

Some of the children who arrive at Hephzibah’s Group Homes have lost parents through addiction, chronic illness, or mental instability. Some have been neglected, some physically or sexually abused.  Many have endured an emotional roller coaster ride of multiple placements with relatives or foster families.

At Hephzibah, these children can find a safe haven and a place to heal. Because many have suffered from heartbreaking emotional and physical traumas, they do not trust easily. The world as they perceive it is a hostile and dangerous place. Hephzibah’s mission is to provide a safe, supportive, stable, and structured environment and the intensive therapy that these children need to begin the healing process.

After these children have lived at Hephzibah for a while, they begin to form trusting relationships with other children and the staff members who care for them. Once this happens, many begin to relax and enjoy life. Children who were once reserved and wary become outgoing and gregarious. A visit to Hephzibah confirms this: on any weekday afternoon when the children arrive home from school, the house is filled with excited chatter and peals of childish laughter.

Watching these youngsters begin to thrive confirms our commitment to our mission. We know we’ve made a difference when a former resident comes back to visit as an adult and tells us: “Hephzibah marked an important turning point in my life.”

The Diagnostic Treatment Center

A child’s journey through Hephzibah’s Group Homes begins at the Diagnostic Treatment Center. The majority of youngsters who arrive at our Diagnostic program have not been able to remain in foster care because of emotional or behavioral problems. During their short but turbulent lives, many have already experienced numerous failed foster care placements or the particularly keen disappointment of a failed adoption.  Many have suffered from chronic abuse or neglect.

A typical child staying at our Diagnostic Treatment Center has been abused and neglected, placed unsuccessfully in multiple foster homes, and suffers from depression, anxiety, and/or aggression.

Because Hephzibah is one of the few group homes that accepts children after in-patient psychiatric treatment, up to 80 percent of our young residents now enter the Diagnostic Treatment Center after stays in pediatric psychiatric hospitals. Many of the children suffer from the effects of malnutrition - and many have been medically neglected as well. Many have limited social skills or self-care skills such as basic hygiene. Some are seven or eight years old and have never been to school. Nearly all have academic deficiencies due to inconsistent schooling and require comprehensive educational evaluations.

Our initial objectives are to provide safety, structure, consistency, and a warm, loving environment for these children. After a child is stabilized, Hephzibah’s social workers conduct comprehensive diagnostic evaluations to determine the child’s emotional, physical, and psychological state, the type of placement that will be most beneficial, and the support services that will help ensure the long-term success of that placement.

Children generally live at the Diagnostic Treatment Center for a minimum of three months. It is Hephzibah’s goal to complete all psychological, social, educational, and medical assessments within the first 60 days, so that staff members can spend the next 30 days planning an appropriate placement for each child.

During this time, the children attend local schools, participate in community activities, and benefit from local mental health services, including individual psychotherapy. After the 90-day diagnostic period, many children go on to less restrictive settings such as biological families, foster homes, or pre-adoptive homes.

The Residence

Sometimes children have been so traumatized by past events that they are unable to make the transition to a family setting after their stay in Hephzibah’s Diagnostic Treatment Center. Some of these children have spent their lives moving from one relative or foster family to another and cannot cope with the idea of living in a family again because they are afraid that it will end in yet another rejection.  Others need more time to heal and develop the skills that they need to succeed in a family setting. These children require the stability of a long-term group home placement.

The Residence at Hephzibah established in 1992 to meet this need. Designed to house up to 10 children, the Residence offers a continuation of the emotionally supportive care and therapeutic supports that were put in place for each child in the Diagnostic Treatment Center.