About the Home
Loving & Caring for Vulnerable Youth Since 1970
Our Mission
To provide nurturing care and life changing services for youth and families in need.
Our Vision
To be a community leader that exceeds industry standards of care, pursues innovative practices, and equips youth and families to achieve healthy independence and sustainable success.
Our Values
- Consider others. We value every person’s strengths, abilities, and experiences. We treat everyone with dignity and consider how our actions and decisions affect those around us.
- Anticipate the need. We explore and evaluate opportunities to best serve our kids, organization, and community. We proactively adapt wherever needed and take action.
- Raise the bar. We lead by example, take individual responsibility, and embrace the challenge to be better. We reflect honestly, communicate candidly, and work intentionally to strengthen the process for next time.
- Encourage growth. We seek to uplift and support those around us. We realize the potential in others and help them achieve it. We see the big picture and work together to pursue common goals.
Who We Serve
Any child ages birth to 21 in custody of the S.C. Department of Social Services who does not require one-on-one care. Due to recent legislation and court mandates, most youth served by the Home are ages 13 and older, including pregnant and parenting teens and young adults transitioning to independence.
These children have been removed from their homes by the SC Department of Social Services because of abuse, abandonment and/or neglect they have experienced at home. Youth are placed in the Home’s care until a long-term solution is found.
Long-term placements for every child are determined by SCDSS and can range from:
- Reunification with their family
- Kinship care that makes it possible for the child to live with a blood relative rather than the parent
- Long-term foster care or residential care placement
- Termination of parental rights, which allows the child to enter the adoption process
- Preparation for life on their own
Youth who are homeless or at risk for becoming homeless are served through the Home’s Crossroads program. These teens may be staying with friends (“couch surfing”), living in a hotel/shelter, or living in an unsafe, uncertain or detrimental environment. Youth may be from North or South Carolina, or elsewhere.
We are committed to standing in the gap and providing these teens with home, hope and a future. This program gives youth someone to walk alongside them in their journey and give them an avenue to live a successful, independent life. Youth in the Crossroads program have the opportunity to stay at the Children’s Attention Home for up to two years.
During their time at the Home, these residents will work to achieve their personal goals, identify community resources and establish connections, and begin their path to independence.
Located in York County, we serve both of these populations, offering temporary shelter, compassionate support and individualized care for every child. Since its establishment by the Rock Hill Ministerial Association, the Home has provided temporary shelter for more than 8,500 children. The Home opened its doors in 1970 to serve victimized children and continues to serve children from all counties in South Carolina.
Every child who comes to the Children Attention Home is unique and receives resources and attention to meet their individual needs. Oftentimes, the Home is the first time a child has ever experienced love and affection. Our team of staff and volunteers provide a secure environment that meets both physical and emotional needs of these young victims.
The three cottages on our main campus are licensed by the South Carolina Department of Social Services and collectively serve up to 42 children at any one time. On average, children will remain with the Home for 3-6 months, although some have stayed for over 2 years.
During their stay, the Home provides holistic care to ensure youth can progress, begin to heal, and move forward from the trauma of their past. The children continue to work on their basic living skills, job skills and participate in local community sports and clubs.
All children who reside in the Children’s Attention Home are engaged in physical, educational, and recreational activities. With help from local donors and supporters, the Home is able to provide the children with exciting and unique experiences, such as professional football games, basketball games and baseball games, local restaurants, movies, museums, on camping and beach trips, and many other activities that they would normally not have the opportunity to attend if they were living at home.
If you are in need of Emergency Crisis Intervention with your child, please call 911, 1-800-4-A-CHILD, or 1-855-4-A-PARENT. To learn more about child abuse, reporting child abuse, or child abuse prevention, click here.
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