The Methodist Home for Children, Inc.

We want to change the trajectory of children's lives.

We know this is not easy. The needs of those in our care extend far beyond the basics. Removing kids from bad situations is just the start; we want to break self-destructive cycles and point children and families toward a positive future. We rely on private gifts and grants to support the many programs that prepare children in crisis to reach their full, God-given potential.

Given the necessary resources, it is possible – and it creates multigenerational rewards by breaking long-running family cycles of abuse, neglect, trauma, or criminal behavior.

The children and families we serve are among the most vulnerable in our state. We meet their needs with evidence-based models of care and trained, skilled practitioners. Our wide range of programs are accredited by the Teaching-Family Association and the Council on Accreditation.

• Before employees ever begin their job duties, they go through a comprehensive core curriculum with rigorous training for direct-care and residential staff. The two-week training includes the cognitive behavioral treatment components, individualized service planning, skills curriculum, safety practices, behavior management, CPR, First Aid, and physical restraint training. Lecture, discussion, and role-play formats are incorporated throughout the curriculum.

• Quality is assured through management oversight. The Teaching Family Association maintains strict standards that ensure the fidelity of programs. All managers are trained in the techniques and observation skills necessary to coach and mentor staff to ensure that the most effective treatment is provided.

• Additionally, we have a rigorous certification process that assesses program managers, foster care specialists, foster care licensing specialists, family services specialists, teachers, and in-home supervisors. Known as Lighthouse Certification, this program recognizes the high performance and professional achievements of staff and foster parents as they seek to provide effective, quality services to children and families. Lighthouse Certification is contingent upon evaluations of professionalism, skills curriculum, therapeutic interactions, motivation systems, learning theory, documentation, feedback, counseling skills, diversity, working with families, crisis management, and individualization of treatment.

• Our Continuous Quality Improvement Plan provides feedback in programmatic and systematic areas to the employees and leaders of the organization. Service policies and practices are guided by the collection, interpretation, and integration of these data.

MHC’s success in its service delivery relies on three strategic points:

• Clarity from stakeholders – board of directors, operations, programs, finance
• Human resources – having the right people in the right positions
• Fiscal resources – understanding funding, seeking a reasonable rate of growth, and moving quickly to fix financial gaps.

Our longstanding, successful partnership with the state of North Carolina to serve juvenile offenders has resulted in an array of services that include specialized treatment in residential and therapeutic foster care settings as well as community-based family preservation services.

Our five-star early childhood program has become an international model for providing quality services to children and families from diverse backgrounds in inclusive classrooms. A second early childhood center opens in August 2019.

Our organization is administered by a five-member leadership team and employs a staff of 200, with a gender distribution of 18% men and 82% women and a racial distribution of 52% minorities and 48% caucasian. The board of directors represents counties throughout the state and enlists members’ expertise as nonprofit administrators, businesspeople, lawmakers, public employees, and pastors.

Methodist Orphanage was founded in 1899 to care for children in desperate circumstances. The first building was completed in late 1900 and by the end of 1901, the orphanage was home to 28 children. In the ensuing decades, the organization became a comprehensive residential facility and school as it expanded to serve a growing number of disadvantaged children. Enrollment peaked at 340 residents in 1931 during the height of the Depression.

By the 1970s, the name had been changed to Methodist Home for Children and a new direction was emerging. The organization developed outreach services with innovative counseling programs designed to help families in need stay together, and by 1979, MHC moved from a child-centered, campus-based program to a family-centered, community-based approach. Today it serves more than 1,300 children and family members each year.

Throughout its history, MHC has been intentional in broadening its continuum of care to serve individuals of all ages and to create programs that meet changing societal needs. Its annual budget has grown to $18 million, providing an array of services:

• Early Childhood (Jordan Child & Family Enrichment Center and Barbara H. Curtis Center)
• Foster Care
• Foster-to-Adopt
• Private Adoption
• Therapeutic Foster Care
• Family Preservation
• Mental Health Residential Group Homes
• Multipurpose Juvenile Homes
• Transitional Living Programs
• Community-Based Transition/Re-entry
• Vocational Education

MHC also sees the education of local and state partners in the needs of families as part of its mission. MHC maintains connections with groups including child welfare providers, mental health providers, juvenile justice providers, legislators, state and county agencies, and faith communities.