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Your interest in Boysville is welcome and appreciated. Here are some of the questions we're often asked about the place our boys and girls call "home."
We have boys and girls of all racial, religious and socioeconomic backgrounds, from all over South Texas. Children come to Boysville because of abuse, neglect, abandonment or family disruption. They are basically good kids who have gotten some hard knocks in life. Since Boysville first opened its doors in 1943, we have provided a safe, structured and family-like home for wayward boys. Since 1986 that same care has been extended to girls. Our main concern when considering a child for placement is this: Are we capable of meeting this child’s needs?
Most often a parent or relative has determined that a child would be better off living at Boysville than in his or her current situation in the family's home. In about half of the cases, a child is referred through a social services agency. About one in four of our children is placed by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services or the court system.
Depends. We work with the parents and the child to reunite the family. Once goals are met, we recommend that the child return to the parent, if the parent and child is ready. Of course privately placed children may leave at any time upon the request of the parent.
While Boysville is, and always has been, a non-sectarian home for children, we believe that spiritual development is vital to healing the wounds of abuse and neglect. Our children attend church and Sunday School with their cottage family each week. Also, prayers are spoken at every meal and devotions are given every morning. For special services, we gather in a small, non-denominational chapel on campus.
All of our long-term residents attend public schools nearby in the acclaimed Judson Independent School District. Boysville has enjoyed a strong and positive relationship with district faculty and administrators for over 40 years. We also have tutors available in our Spencer Library for students needing additional help with their school work. Children in our Emergency Shelter attend school daily in the Thompson Learning Center at Boysville, which is an official campus of the Judson School District, and staffed by full-time district educators.
Some Boysville alumni join the work force directly, some acquire additional vocational training, some enter military service, and others enter college on scholarship assistance from Boysville.
Children who have exhibited gang affiliation, drug or alcohol abuse, have a history of chronic runaway or extreme aggressive behavior or inability to work within limits set by an appropriate caregiver or have a history of fire setting or cruelty to animals cannot live at Boysville.
Children are normally ages five through 18 (kindergarten through high school). However, occasionally Boysville accepts younger children when they have older siblings here. Typically, brothers may live together in a boys' cottage, or sisters may live together in a girls' cottage-this is one of the advantages of our family-based care environment.
The parent or court-appointed person or agency that place the child at Boysville is the guardian. The courts, exercising their power, often directly place children at Boysville.
Our pastoral campus setting is centered around nine residential cottages. Recreational facilities include our Chrysanthemum Gymnasium with the Holden Basketball Court, weight room and game room; a swimming pool; and several outdoor recreation areas, including ball fields and play structures. Educational facilities include the Thompson Learning Center with a library, computer lab and classroom. We have a Chapel, an Arts & Crafts room and a 4-H Building. We also have an Administration Building, a Commissary, a Barn and Farm Buildings, two Greenhouses, and a Picnic Pavilion. In addition, the Thompson Emergency Shelter & Counseling Center was built in 1995 to provide a safe haven to children in immediate danger, as well as assessment services for all referrals.
A family arrangement is maintained in each cottage. The cottage family is headed by Houseparents-a married couple who serve as the primary provider for the children's daily needs. The Houseparents form a warm, caring family with their youth as they guide and instruct them on a 24-hour basis, seeing that their physical, spiritual, social and emotional needs are met. It's a full-time vocation, and while they are assisted in their work by other child care professionals, the Houseparents are responsible for the majority of basic behavioral, disciplinary and living skills that are taught to each boy or girl. Many of our Houseparents also have their own children living with them. Cottage homes are single gender and each has a group of eight to twelve boys or girls.
No. Being a positive adult role model, counseling, teaching, loving and caring for up to twelve troubled youngsters is challenging career in itself. However, some of our Houseparents have additional responsibilities on campus during the time their children are at school.
Boysville has its sole campus northeast of San Antonio, Texas in the city limits of Converse. It's located at 8555 East Loop 1604 North, across from Randolph AFB and just up the road from Judson High School. (Boysville is not affiliated with any national or international children's home.)
- Therapeutic Counseling including Individual, Group, Family
- Mentoring (in conjunction with the Southwest Winners Foundation)
- 4-H Club
- Bexar County Junior Livestock
- Horticulture
- Arts & Crafts
- Compensatory Education: Tutoring, Study hall, Daily & weekly academic progress monitoring, Summer School
- Athletic & Sports activities
- Basketball
- Volleyball
- BMX bike racing
- Little League Baseball
- National Home Olympics Games
- Camp Wildbeast
- Boy Scouts/Girl Scouts
- Therapeutic Horse Program
- Life Skills Training through P.A.L. (Preparation for Adult Living)
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