Sunnybrook Childrens Home Inc

Sunnybrook seeks to improve the typical outcome for many youth exiting the foster care system. Completion of our program occurs when residents successfully set, navigate, and achieve the mission and goals for their lives. Mission and goals must include the areas of Education, Personal Development, Professional Development, and Financial Competency.

Desired outcomes will include youth graduating program with sustainable housing (when not returning to family), drivers license, a reliable means of transportation, a monthly minimum of savings based on financial goals, college certificates or degrees when applicable, and full-time employment that is retainable. Residents who do not achieve graduation status in the optimal timeline are nevertheless empowered to achieve vocational endeavors through invested time with Vocational Trainers, internships, as well as receiving work skills and hands-on life-skills training.

The majority of residential referrals will come from Child Protection Services or private placements. Upon entrance to the program each youth receives an assessment and individualized treatment plan. Each specialized plan includes the areas of Personal, Educational, and Professional Development, as well as Financial Competency.

Participants live in a shared home setting full time, receiving housing, meals, individual, group and career counseling, personal development classes/coaching, individual education tutors, financial competency classes/coaching, and spiritual support. Houses are located in Ridgeland, Mississippi, overseen in the evenings by live-in houseparents.

Program Components:
• Living in Community – Residents live in a stable home community alongside other residents with the guidance of houseparents.
• Personal Development - Residents participate in a variety of sessions that are focused on their mental, emotional, financial and spiritual frameworks, so that they better understand who they are and how to make the best decisions for themselves.
• Educational Advancement – Residents pursue completing their GED/HS Diploma or furthering their education with post-secondary school or career training.
• Professional Development – Prior to obtaining off campus employment residents are a part of Sunnybrook’s internal and external internship programs.
• Case Management and Counseling – Residents participate in their own case management by attending scheduled appointments, counseling sessions, group counseling, and family team meetings.
• Independent Living Skills Training – Residents learn skills in both living independently in a home and also how to live interdependently while caring for others.
• Personal Care – Residents are guided in learning how to care for themselves through their Case Management, Personal Development Sessions and Living in Community.

Sunnybrook is not new to caring for at-risk children and youth; for over 60 years we have provided homes for the children of Mississippi. Because of our work, tens of thousands of children were provided with a loving Christian family and given hope for their future. The staff at Sunnybrook have decades of experience working with disadvantaged youth and children and display a lifelong commitment to serving these populations. In addition to real world experience, our direct care staff are required to complete a minimum standard for continuing education annually, which always includes Trauma Informed Care certification.
With this combined experience and training, Sunnybrook has designed a program that is focused on results and growth, moving youth through incremental phases of development. After an evaluation and goal setting period, youth are given specific processes, training, and experiences to move them through the program, which result in their living independently. Sunnybrook uses the Work Life Training and the Faith and Finance curriculum produced by the Chalmers Center, which is taught by certified instructors. We partner with First Place for Youth, Child Protection Services, Central Mississippi Planning and Development District, Think of Us, the Mississippi Association of Child Care Agencies, dozens of churches, and private businesses to provide complete care for every youth and after-care for our graduated young adults. Our unique partnerships and contiguous location to Holmes Community College make pursuing a college degree easy for a population that often has no reliable form of transportation.

Live-in houseparents provide evening and weekend support, life skills training, mentoring, and a sense of family to every resident. Our spacious and well-equipped homes provide the correct balance of support and privacy that are required for youth transitioning into adulthood. Houses are located in the heart of Ridgeland, MS, conveniently located to the capital city of Jackson, job opportunities, schools, and our local business partners.

The landscape and guidelines for our referring partners will change over the next several years. Our priority is to continue to adjust the specifics of our programming in order to meet the most pressing needs of our residents, and their referring agencies. While our desired outcomes will change very little, we will see a greater percentage of residents meeting their goals. Upon graduation they will continue to meet these goals for longer periods of time.