1. The Residential Treatment Program serves girls and boys, ages 6-14, including sibling groups, who are in crisis. Most of the children have experienced emotional, physical or sexual abuse, or neglect. We are licensed to serve 40 children at a time.

2. The Therapeutic Foster Care and Adoption Program, established in 1996, serves girls and boys, ages newborn to 21 years old, from the residential program as well as those referred from the Kentucky Cabinet for Families and Children. The children have special needs which may be emotional, behavioral, medical, intellectual or developmental in nature. The program provides ongoing support and training for the special families who provide a temporary or adoptive home.

3. The Child Development Center, established in 1981, provides early childhood education for children six weeks to preschool, serving approximately 130 children weekly.

No. The children served in the residential and foster care programs are in the temporary legal custody of the state and have experienced considerable emotional, physical, or sexual abuse or neglect. St. Joseph provides our children with the clinical support that they require through individual, group and family therapy. In our program, Residential Youth Counselors and therapists work with the children on social grace, hygiene, attachment issues, self-control and other skills they need to be successful in the future. The children are involved with activities including educational, recreational, sports-related and cultural activities, including the visual and performing arts.

Our children attend a variety of local elementary and middle schools. Those who are not emotionally or psychologically able to attend mainstream schools are educated in a JCPS accredited school on site.

All of our children have different backgrounds and different stories of how they came to St. Joseph Children's Home. Some of our children will return home, or to a relative, if it is safe for them to do so. Some of our children will go into foster care and either stay in foster care or eventually go home. The rest of our children will go into foster care and eventually be adopted by their foster family. Wherever the child is, we want them to make sure that they have therapeutically dealt with their issues and feel safe no matter where they live.

No. St. Joseph Children's Home accepts children of any race and any religion.

The money that is raised at Friday Night Live and on Picnic day helps to fund our three programs and maintain our beautiful building and grounds where our children live and play. All proceeds are directed back to the children to further the agency's mission: Giving Children a Home.

The Bargain Barn is a thrift store that is located on the St. Joseph Children's Home campus. It is open to the public Monday and Thursday and the first Saturday of each month from 9 am until noon. They sell household items, books, furniture, clothing, and much more. All proceeds from the Bargain Barn come directly back into the Home.

We are grateful for the interest people show the children who live here. However, due to confidentiality and safety issues, we cannot let our children go home with volunteers. There are many other ways to help our children. Gifts of time, talent and treasure are always welcomed and appreciated.

St. Joseph Children's Home is different from other local facilities because we treat both boys and girls ranging in age from 6-14. We also take sibling groups in the residential and foster care programs.

Like most children, ours start out with completing their hygiene regimen and eating breakfast. They go to school, come home, eat a snack and do homework. After that, they go outside to play on the playground, ride bikes, or participate in other activities until dinnertime. Our Activities Program offers them opportunities in the performance and visual arts; a variety of sports, as well as fun in the Game Room (wii games, movies, Playstation II, pool, etc.) Then they eat supper, take their baths, play, watch TV, listen to music, read, eat an evening snack, brush their teeth, play in their rooms and go to bed. Various appointments, family visits and therapy sessions are scheduled throughout the month. Good behavior earns positive rewards such as tokens for the snack bar and time in the Game Room.

Helping the children at St. Joseph Children’s Home is easy. Your help can come in the form of time, talent or treasure. Financial gifts of all sizes are welcomed. We have an awesome activities program and are always looking for a donation of tickets to events that the children would enjoy, including the zoo, skating risk, Gattiland and Kentucky Kingdom. Groups have also sponsored pizza parties or movie nights for our children. Many companies and schools have also come to our Home to help with building projects or spruce up our grounds as their community service hours.

We have many volunteer opportunities including working with the residential children, with our foster families, in the CDC, in the sewing room, at the Bargain Barn, and the Annual Orphans’ Picnic. Interested persons are invited to apply online.

The first step in supporting the Home is membership in the St. Joseph Orphans Society. Membership is $12/per year and opens the door for your continued involvement through newsletters, volunteer opportunities and updates on the kids. Please join today.

For more information please call Barbara Dorf in the Development Office at 502-893-0241, ext 262. THANK YOU!!!