The Howard School Library on the Ruston campus of Louisiana Methodist Children’s Home hosted its first reading challenge this spring. The challenge began April 4 and continued for 5 weeks. The challenge was held in honor of National Reading Month, D.E.A.R. (Drop Everything And Read) Month, and Get Caught Reading Month. There were a total…
You may recognize two of the greatest names in education in the Lincoln Parish area. Rick Sutton served as principal of Howard School on the Ruston campus of Louisiana Methodist Children’s Home for many years and again as interim principal for the past few months. Danny Bell, recently retired from his position as Superintendent of…
Among the holidays, there’s something unique about Thanksgiving Day. Unlike Easter and Christmas, it’s only almost a religious holiday. It’s celebrated across the country. It’s not a day off work to celebrate work like Labor Day. Nor is it a day in honor of what others may have done like Memorial Day or Veterans Day….
Methodist Children’s Home of Southwest Louisiana has the remarkable distinction of being Louisiana’s first licensed psychiatric residential treatment facility (PRTF). On Wednesday, October 3, 2012, Department of Health and Hospitals (DHH) surveyors conducted a site visit to study the facilities and treatment program. On October 4, license “001” was issued by the Health Standards Section…
More than 100 years ago Ruston’s citizens invited a small foster home in Bunkie, Louisiana to move to Ruston. Louisiana Methodist Children’s Home has been the recipient of Ruston’s grace and goodness for more than a century. With society’s changes, we have changed, too. We currently have more than 400 of the most remarkable staff…
Living a good life requires that we care well for children. “A nation’s greatness is measured by how it treats its weakest members.” – Mahatma Ghandi “The moral test of government is how it treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children …” – Hubert Humphrey “Pure religion and undefiled before God…
This is Homecoming weekend at Louisiana Methodist Children’s Home. Late this afternoon, our former residents will enjoy a fish fry and social at the OWL Center. This will be an informal time to enjoy each other and catch up on the past year. It’s also a time for our alumni to tell stories of their…
We provide residential care for children in four locations in Louisiana. Louisiana Methodist Children’s Home is in Ruston. Our Transitional Living Program is in Monroe. Methodist Home for Children of Greater New Orleans is in Mandeville and Methodist Children’s Home of Southwest Louisiana is in Sulphur. Our residential facilities cover the three corners of our…
In the future, as Louisiana’s Coordinated System of Care is developed, children and families will have access to an expanding array of services and supports to assist them with mental health needs. CSoC’s planners noticed early in the planning stage that many areas of Louisiana, especially rural areas, lack necessary local mental health and family…
Louisiana’s new Coordinated System of Care (CSoC) kicks off on March 1. One consequence of this new system of care is a change in the way our residential facilities in Ruston, Mandeville and Sulphur will be licensed. After March 1, our facilities will no longer be licensed by the Department of Children and Family Services….
Merry Christmas to you from all of us at Louisiana United Methodist Children and Family Services! From Ruston, Mandeville, Sulphur, Dubach, Shreveport, Monroe, Alexandria, Baton Rouge, Leesville, Natchitoches – wherever we are in ministry to Louisiana’s children and families – we wish you a very merry Christmas. We thank you for loving the Home and…
I remember well how I started my first day of work at Louisiana Methodist Children’s Home. Eager with anticipation, I arrived early and I waited in the lobby of the Family Development Center. As I waited, I noticed a ceramic nativity scene on the mantle above the fireplace. Looking more closely, it was obvious the…
Last week I had the pleasure of meeting another CASA volunteer on our campus in Ruston. CASA volunteers are Court-Appointed Special Advocates for children. This CASA volunteer had driven up from south Louisiana to visit one of the children for whom she advocates. As we chatted, I could tell she is passionate about what she…
This sad story is growing old. For the 10th consecutive year Louisiana is ranked as the 49th worst state in the nation – next to last – in terms of child well-being. 48 other states take better care of their children than we do in Louisiana. KIDS COUNT is the national and state-level effort of…
Let me begin by thanking Jody Levison-Johnson, Director of Louisiana’s new Coordinated System of Care (CSoC). She introduced me to the American Association of Children’s Residential Centers (AACRC). The American Association of Children’s Residential Centers brings professionals together to advance the frontiers of knowledge pertaining to the spectrum of therapeutic living environments for children and…
