The Board of Child Care (BCC) serves a wide variety of youth in both its residential and educational program.
The domestic residential program serves children referred to BCC by the Department of Social Service (DSS), Department of Human Services (DHS), or the Department of Juvenile Services (DJS). The exact history and background of every child is unique.
However, they all unfortunately share a history of experiencing one or more incidents of childhood trauma. The campus has both male and female-specific programming, the average age for the domestic residential program is 16, and the average length of stay is 8-9 months. Diagnosis, treatment plan, family involvement, academic grade level proficiency (not the grade they are in by age but the grade level they are learning at) and a number of other factors influence length of stay.
On the education side, Strawbridge School is a non-public school that is currently serving approximately 40-50 students each year. A small number of those students live on BCC’s Baltimore campus or in one of its community group homes.
Most students are bussed in from their home counties – some riding as much as 90 min each way. The school serves grades Pre-K through age 21 with a wide variety of education tracks and vocational offerings. Referrals for admission come directly from the local county’s department of education.
BCC’s Baltimore campus also serves children who have crossed into the United States unaccompanied by an adult. This program, called Caminos at BCC, has been in the news heavily off and on the past four years.
