RESIDENTS
Do you still have orphans?
What are some of the reasons children are placed in your care?
What are the ages of children in your care?
How long do residents stay at the Home?

PROGRAMS AND SERVICES
What programs does the Home offer to help meet the needs of children and their families?
Are children placed by the state?
Do you offer adoption services?
Do residents attend weekly church services?
Where do residents attend school?
Can residents go home or have contact with their families?
Do residents have jobs?
Can residents drive their own cars?
Does the Home provide clothes for residents?
What type of medical care does the Home provide residents?
Does the Home help residents pay for college?

ADMISSIONS
How are children placed into your care?
Do you have a waiting list?
Where do residents come from?
How many children receive care from Methodist Children's Home?
What does it cost to place a child at Methodist Children's Home?

SUPPORT
How is Methodist Children's Home financed?
Do you really need financial support?
What else can I give other than money?
Can my church help with a missions project at the Home?
How can my church find out more about Methodist Children's Home?
Does the Home still have its annual Christmas offering?
Can my church receive credit for my gift to the Home?

RESIDENTS
Do you still have orphans?
Methodist Children's Home was founded as an orphanage in 1890. Today, most of our residents have a living parent or parents. All of our children have legal guardians or managing conservators.

What are some of the reasons children are placed in your care?
Children and youth come to Methodist Children's Home for a variety of reasons. Some residents come from families where parents have made every effort to raise their child in a loving home, yet the child chooses to make poor decisions that result in problems at home and school. Some residents have experienced physical, sexual and/or emotional abuse, neglect or abandonment. Others come from families who experience death, unemployment, homelessness or incarceration.

What are the ages of children in your care?
Children ages 12-17 may be referred to the Home's residential program. Our foster care program provides services for children ages birth through 18.

How long do residents stay at the Home?
We recognize the importance of the family unit; therefore, our primary goal is to reunite children with their families as soon as possible. Although the average length of stay for residents is 18 months, some of our residents remain here for only a few months while others live at the Home for many years. Length of stay is determined on an individual basis, according to the needs of residents and their families.

top

PROGRAMS AND SERVICES

What programs does the Home offer to help meet the needs of children and their families?
Methodist Children's Home recognizes the challenges facing families today. As a result, we offer a wide range of programs and services, including residential care, a Boys Ranch and foster care to meet these needs. Community Services offers a family preservation program - Partnership in Parenting - designed to prevent placement of children and to support children who return to their home following care.

Are children placed by the state?
We do not accept state contracts for services. Children and youth are placed voluntarily by families or guardians.

Do you offer adoption services?
We do not offer adoption services. However, we do offer foster care for families interested in providing temporary care for children.

Do residents attend weekly church services?
Methodist Children's Home provides a comprehensive religious education program, including Sunday worship and Wednesday activities. The department sponsors a variety of activities, including choir, discipleship weekends, mission trips and camps. Residents from the Waco campus and Boys Ranch join together for Sunday worship.

Where do residents attend school?
The majority of residents on the Waco campus attend the on-campus charter school, while some residents attend Waco public schools. The Charter School is fully-accredited and is a part of the University of Texas Charter School System. MCH staff place students in the school program that best meets their educational needs. The Boys Ranch school is located at the Ranch.

Can residents go home or have contact with their families?
Residents and their caseworkers schedule home visits and contact with families as part of the overall program of care. Home visits are determined by residents' progress and earned privileges. Child care staff work with families to establish an approved list of contacts. Once approved, family and friends can write letters, send small gifts and communicate through telephone calls.

Do residents have jobs?
Residents who achieve independent status in the basic care program are eligible to gain part-time employment outside the Home. During the summer, many of our residents serve internships on and off campus.

Can residents drive their own cars?
Residents are eligible to take driver education while in our care. However, they cannot own or operate vehicles on the Methodist Children's Home campus.

What type of medical care does the Home provide residents?
Methodist Children's Home provides care through our on-campus medical clinic. The clinic is staffed with two RNs and an LVN. The clinic is staffed 10 hours per day and provides 24-hour on-call service. A medical doctor, dentist and dental hygienist come to the clinic on a regular basis.

Does the Home help residents pay for college?
Most residents who have a "C" average or better and a desire to continue their education can earn scholarships from Methodist Children's Home to attend a public college, university or vocational program in Texas. Residents must graduate from high school while under the care of the Home to be eligible for scholarships.

top

ADMISSIONS

How are children placed into your care?
Families may receive services by calling Methodist Children's Home directly or through referrals from ministers, counselors, social workers or psychologists familiar with the family's situation. When an inquiry is made, an application packet and additional information about the Home are mailed to the family. Once the Home receives the application, materials are reviewed to determine which program might best serve the child. If the Home is unable to assist the family with placement or services, efforts are made to refer the family to other sources of potential help.

Do you have a waiting list?
At times during the year there may be a waiting list. The length of the admissions process is determined by many factors, including thorough completion of application materials by families, and available space based on such factors as age, gender and specific needs of the applicant. An initial interview with the family is scheduled once our admissions office receives the completed application.

Where do residents come from?
Children who live in Texas or New Mexico are eligible for placement at Methodist Children's Home. The majority of residents come from the Dallas-Fort Worth area, the Houston area and Central Texas.

How many children receive care from Methodist Children's Home?
We serve more than 600 children daily through residential care, the Boys Ranch, the college program, foster care, Partnership-in-Parenting, aftercare and family preservation services.

What does it cost to place a child at Methodist Children's Home?
Methodist Children's Home is committed to serving children and families without regard to ethnicity, religion or financial status. Parents are asked to provide financial support on a sliding scale, based on their ability to pay. However, no child is ever denied services based on the family's financial situation.

top

SUPPORT

How is Methodist Children's Home financed?
Methodist Children's Home relies on the income from our permanent endowment to meet the needs of a $20 million annual budget. Established in the 1940s, the endowment is a trust for the children who will come to us in future generations. It has been built over the years by planned gifts that help to ensure the future of our ministry. All gifts made to this fund are invested, with only the income being used to care for children. We do not spend the principal of the endowment.

The seven annual conferences of Texas and New Mexico are encouraged each year to take up "free will" offerings to support the Home. The most important of these offerings is collected during the Christmas season.

Methodist Children's Home receives no monies from church apportionments and does not contract for state or federal services. Less than two percent of our budget comes from family payments - we accept children regardless of their family's ability to pay.

The care we provide for children is made possible by the support of individuals, church offerings, contributions from Sunday school classes and other church groups, as well as community organizations.

Do you really need financial support?
Methodist Children's Home is sometimes said to have "too much money." While the size of our endowment is large compared to some charitable organizations, it is necessary in order for us to provide the superior services we promise the children and youth in our care.

Without a strong endowment, we would not be able to raise the money needed each year to maintain the number of children and youth we serve. Even with the income from the endowment, we still need to raise close to $3 million annually for this ministry's general operations.

What else can I give other than money?
Often churches and community groups want to have a collection drive for the Home to support our children while also encouraging involvement from its membership. The Home welcomes such gifts. Click to view our special needs.

Methodist Children's Home does not accept used clothing. We believe in providing our children with new clothes upon arrival and throughout their stay at the Home. If you have an idea for a gift collection other than a financial gift, please contact the Office of Development.

Can my church help with a missions project at the Home?
We are blessed with a beautiful 130-acre campus in Waco. Unfortunately, we do not have any "hammer and nails" projects for missions groups. However, our residents perform more than 8,000 hours of community service annually. We could explore a project where your missions group partners with our residents to serve those in need in the greater Waco area.

How can my church find out more about Methodist Children's Home?
We are eager to supply your congregation with resources about our ministry. Contact us to request materials. Methodist Children's Home can provide a staff person and at times residents to share the story of the Home with your congregation. We offer a variety of programs for church worship services, Sunday school classes, service organizations and community events.

Does the Home still have its annual Christmas offering?
Yes. The Christmas offering continues to be our greatest source of annual donations. You can find out more about creative ways to promote the Christmas Offering at your church by calling us at (800) 853-1272 or 254-753-0181, or by e-mailing us at Development Office.

Can my church receive credit for my gift to the Home?
Our donor cards enable you to indicate your desire for "church credit." All Methodist churches in Texas and New Mexico have a church number assigned to them in our database. At the end of the month, we account for all the gifts that have a church number and send that report to the corresponding Conference office. Your name does not go to the Conference office but your gift amount with your church name does. This system allows you to send your gift directly to the Home - which allows us to process your gift immediately and give you the proper tax receipt - while still giving your church credit for your support.

top