Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Dover Children's Home
Dover Children’s Home, a non-profit intermediate-level, residential treatment program, is committed to improving the lives of abused, neglected, and delinquent children by offering an array of services, experiences, and opportunities that celebrate individual strengths and address individual needs.
The Home offers a wide array of programming including short-term stays; respite care; crisis stabilization; emergency beds; scholarship-funded placements; independent living programming in an apartment setting; and extended treatment.
Dover Children’s Home provides a structured living environment in which children are encouraged to develop and utilize alternative, appropriate behaviors; develop healthier community connections; and further enhance daily living and independent living skills. These strengths are taught through peer accountability meetings; planful visitation with supportive interventions; tutoring; recreational and therapeutic activities; behavior management techniques; individual treatment plans; group therapy sessions; independent living preparation; and the coordination of individual, family, and specialized counseling.
Dover Children’s Home utilizes a developmental model to understand and engage youth and provide interventions rooted in evidence-based practices to assist with their emotional and behavioral disruptions. Interventions at Dover Children’s Home are guided by evidence-based practices such as: Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavior Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, and Dialectic Behavior Therapy.
Community-based hobbies such as music lessons, athletics, employment, and volunteering are a highly encouraged part of the program for each child at the Home.
The Home accepts a wide-array of children with specific academic and vocational needs: children who are pursuing or have obtained a GED; youth who work during the day; children who wish to enroll in college courses or vocational programs; youth who engage in school-sponsored academic programs at the Home during the day; children who attend only partial days in a public school setting; and suspended children.
In order to prepare children for their ultimate transition to a less restrictive setting, the Home focuses on the development of independent living skills. As appropriate, children are encouraged to work in the community and engage in the state-certified independent living course (NH Trails).
Dover Children’s Home has a strong family component and encourages as much family contact as possible and appropriate. The Home offers a unique, private, on-site in-law apartment where families can engage in extended, overnight visits.
The ultimate goal of Dover Children’s Home is to reunify children permanently with their family as soon as possible and appropriate. If this goal is impossible, every attempt is made to transition children to less restrictive settings (e.g. kinship home, foster home, independent living setting, Job Corps).
PILOT House Independent Living Program
The PILOT House independent living program at Dover Children’s Home helps prepare older youth ages 16-20 for life as an adult by offering an environment rich with opportunity for independent living situations. The PILOT House is a 3-bedroom apartment in a separate building on the grounds of Dover Children’s Home, allowing youth to practice critical life skills and gain invaluable experience living independently while in a safe, supportive environment. The PILOT House program provides rehabilitative and restorative services for an older youth population, including individual and peer counseling; academic guidance; outreach case management; career guidance and employment opportunities; monthly progress reports; budget management; and health and dental services. The PILOT House provides opportunities for tenants to begin adjusting to adulthood by learning to balance work, home responsibilities, and education. The program also focuses on helping tenants develop good judgment around issues such as drug use, relationships, school attendance, and anger management. Each tenant has their own bedroom and shares a common living area, laundry, bathroom, and kitchen. Tenants learn to pay weekly rent; maintain savings and checking accounts; manage their time; food shop with a stipend; and use the public transportation system. A full-time independent living supervisor provides as much assistance and structure as necessary to the individual tenants of the apartment to do their own cooking, cleaning, food shopping, laundry, scheduling, and budgeting. The PILOT House also assists tenants with developing a solid working knowledge of available resources and services within their local and destination communities. The PILOT House independent living coordinator assists tenants with tasks and skills such as enrolling in an academic program; obtaining and maintaining paid employment; registering for driver education; learning to cook; maintaining a vehicle; attending to medical, dental, and psychiatric needs; shopping for food; scheduling appointments; preparing for job interviews; completing homework; banking; identifying hobbies and outlets; housekeeping; visiting with appropriate friends and family; preparing for transition to full independence; and learning to balance life’s responsibilities.
Where we work
Awards
Heart of Dover 2012
Citizens Bank & WMUR-TV
External reviews

Videos
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
1. In-Depth Research and Analysis to Better Understand the Changes Likely to Affect DCH in the Next Three Years
2. Build on Existing Strengths to Become Field Leader and Create Unique Opportunities for the Future
3. Develop/Review/Improve Current Fundraising Strategy and Plan
4. Develop a Comprehensive Marketing and Public Relations Plan
5. Prepare for a Broader Spectrum of Consumer Needs, Behaviors, and Opportunities
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
1. Administer a comparison of similar providers across the state that have gone out of business to try to determine what went wrong.
2. Continue to pursue opportunities to modify, expand, and/or customize consumer treatment plans based on partnerships with parents and consumers.
3. Invest in Dover Children's Home's current Executive Director.
4. Position Dover Children's Home's highly qualified clinicians to become third party providers.
5. Identify missing services and fill in the gaps.
6. Increase Board participation in fundraising efforts.
7. Hire a part-time Development Director and Community Relations.
8. Carefully review current fundraising events and consider reducing number and enhancing the remaining ones.
9. Build stronger ties to donors to support long-term investment in Dover Children's Home.
10. Continue building a strong and positive media image.
11. Review current marketing materials and evaluate their value.
12. Determine what additional marketing materials are needed.
13. Create public relations plan for the year.
14. Increase staff participation in training and education opportunities, particularly in relation to Dover Children's Home emerging and challenging consumer needs.
15. Hire a Master's level clinician for non-business hours.
16. Increase pay scale as needed to attract more qualified staff.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
All of the goals and strategies listed above are well within the capabilities of the Dover Children's Home Board of Director's and administration to achieve.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
1. Quarterly reviews have begun occurring of the Dover Children's Home program services and current trends in relation to other similar agencies as well as Department of Health and Human Services trends and goals.
2. Parent and consumer voice has been consistently sought-after through various methods and incorporate as appropriate into treatment plans and Dover Children's Home programs. A past consumer and a past parent of a consumer have been added to the Board of Directors.
3. A Development Director was hired in early November 2013 to divert some of the fundraising logistics away from the Executive Director.
4. LicSW licensure has been added as a preferred qualification to the current hiring criteria for the Program and Clinical Director positions.
5. Dover Children's Home has continued the existing momentum with media image and maintain monthly newspaper, radio, television, and eCommerce exposure.
6. Dover Children's Home has created and maintained collaborative working relationships with other area agencies to share in training opportunities and events to control associated training costs.
7. A feasibility assessment has been conducted for the FY 2014 budget and open positions are being filled with highly qualified candidates within budget constraints.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
-
How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve
-
Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
-
What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback
Financials
Unlock nonprofit financial insights that will help you make more informed decisions. Try our monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights?
Learn more
about GuideStar Pro.
Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
DOVER CHILDRENS HOME
Board of directorsas of 04/27/2022
Carolyn Mebert
University of New Hampshire
Term: 2018 - 2020
Stan Kaubris
Retired
Carolyn Mebert
University of New Hampshire
Trustee Matt Sylvia
Eastern Bank
1st VP Don Cichon
Cocheco Financial Group
Michael Murphy
Murphy, Powers, and Wilson, P.C.
Jim Horne
Beacon Business Coaching
Toby Arkwell
RW Health & Employee Benefits
Lin Tamulonis
Great Bay Community College
Trustee Paul Chamberlin
University of New Hampshire
Ann Lane
State Board of Education
2nd VP / Treasurer Doug Glennon
Glennon Consulting
John Kageleiry
Verium Planning & Asset Management
Esina Navarro
Federal Savings Bank
Candace McCloy
Measured Progress
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
-
Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
No data