DFC#33467 34-900901

IV-E APPROVED

The Emergency Shelter Care Unit of the Robert J. Kinsey Youth Center opened in May of 1993 and combined two existing Shelter Care homes. Our Unit accepts non-violent youth that are able to function in a group setting. These youth may be alleged offenders or Children In Need of Services (CHINS). Out –of- County residents are accepted as space permits.

Shelter Care is a fourteen bed, non-secure, co-educational unit licensed by the Indiana Division of Family and Children Services. This highly structured environment provides residents with direct supervision and is staff secure. Residents attend their home schools whenever possible. Individualized assistance is available through the On-Site Classroom Program at the Youth Center for those that have work from their home school or residents can be transferred to Kokomo-Center School Corporation.

Our facility offers a classroom, library, and full-size gymnasium. In addition, the Shelter Care Unit has a fully equipped kitchen and utility area solely for the purpose of life skills activities, which included residents doing their own laundry and participating in cooking activities.

Licensing regulations limit a stay in Shelter Care to sixty days or a waiver must be pursued. We concurrently operate two level systems of behavior modification specifically designed to meet the individual needs of the children we serve.

Our staff offers a wealth of educational and life experiences. We seek positive role models that strive to keep the residents’ minds and bodies busy with positive learning experiences.

One of our goals is to encourage opportunities for family involvement during the child’s stay in Shelter Care through visitation, phone calls and passes when approved by the placing agency. We also provide assistance and encouragement to families to seek help from community resources to identify and intervene in problem areas. We monitor this process during this structured period with the goal of continuation after release.