Boys & Girls Town Central Missouri Campus in Columbia
Doubles Service to Children and Families in 2008
Columbia, Mo. (September 9, 2009) – The Boys & Girls Town Central Missouri Region Campus in Columbia served 1,089 children and family members in 2008 – almost doubling the number served compared to 2007. Boone County was the leading referral source among Missouri counties for children and families served by Boys & Girls Town’s Columbia campus.
Need for Services Remains
Figures from the Citizens for Missouri’s Children’s 2008 Missouri Kids Count Data Book Online indicate 2,732 children in counties contiguous to and including Boone County were identified as abused or neglected – an average of 38.5 children per 1,000 population. In 2007, the average for Missouri was 32.6. Numbers are likely much higher than this as not all abuse or neglect is reported.
Where do children treated at the Central Missouri Region campus come from?
In 2008, more than 50 percent of children served at the Central Missouri Region campus in Columbia originated from one of the seven counties served by the Heart of Missouri United Way.
In 2008, Boys & Girls Town helped children from 95 of Missouri’s 114 counties representing 83 percent of the state, plus the City of St. Louis and other states. Greene County is the primary source of origin for children in Boys & Girls Town treatment programs followed by St. Louis City and St. Louis County.
Programs Expand and New Programs Implemented
Boys & Girls Town is the only local agency providing intensive residential treatment services, also known as Level IV services, for children with severe behavioral and emotional problems. The number of children in residence on the campus doubled from 24 to 48 as a result of a capital campaign which supported the renovation of two residential cottages.
The Transitional Living Group Home program which helps young adults transition to living on their own served 26 youth in 2008.
The agency initiated three new programs in 2008.
- Chafee Foster Care Independence Program serves older youth residing in a 27-county area in northwest Missouri and is designed to help older youth in the state child welfare system with academic achievement, job readiness, youth leadership, independent living skills and developing a natural support system within their home communities. Aftercare services for youth who have “aged out” of the state’s foster care system includes job training and employment assistance through community resources plus assistance with food, emergency shelter or rent, security and utility deposits, and emergency auto repairs.
- Intensive In-Home Services provides parents with the services and support they need to maintain a safe and nurturing environment for their children and keep the family together. IIS services are available in eight counties in northeast Missouri.
- Boys & Girls Town of Missouri, in partnership with Presbyterian Children’s Services, Missouri Baptist Children’s Home Children & Family Ministries and the Missouri Alliance for Children and Families, formed the Central Children’s Coalition to provide foster care case management services for the 13th & 14th Judicial Circuits which includes Boone, Callaway, Howard and Randolph counties.
Where do Boys & Girls Town children go?
Of the youth leaving Boys & Girls Town residential care in 2008, more than 80 percent returned to live with a parent or family member, or transitioned into foster care or independent living services, or other less restrictive environment.
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Columbia Region
