Child Welfare
& Well-being
Building Hearts & Homes
A common mantra of Crittenton Center, Better Care for Today’s Youth Means Better Outcomes for Tomorrow’s Adults. We believe that care for children is a long-term investment into the most important foundation…their lives! Building up for success means more than what kind of job you can get or how much money you can make. It means learning to love, having self-worth, wanting to take risks and adventure, finding joy in everything, and knowing it’s okay to make mistakes. We celebrate their accomplishments, cheer on their journeys, and embrace them when they need love.
Through our two programs, Supervised Apartment Living and our Transitional Therapeutic Home, we provide much-needed services for youth who are faced with complex trauma, substance use disorders, behavioral disorders, and other mental health needs.
Supervised Apartment Living
A foster care program in which young adults ages 16.5-21 live first in a group setting and then, as skills develop, live more independently in a housing setting of their choosing. While in the program, youth learn independent living skills, receive monthly stipends, and are supported in obtaining their high school diploma and/or gaining employment.
On our Crittenton Campus, we are building six tiny homes to serve as a gateway of independence for these young adults before they enter the world. Here, they will learn to maintain their household while having the safekeeping of their Crittenton Caseworker nearby, should they need assistance.
Looking for Help?
Looking for Help?
Transitional Therapeutic Home
Here, we provide emergency placement for Iowa children ages 0-18 who can no longer safely remain in their homes due to abuse and/or neglect. These children may be brought in by the police or referred by the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services, or the Iowa Juvenile Court System.
Upon arrival, children are met with compassionate and understanding Crittenton Center employees who can provide crisis intervention services, therapeutic supervised family visitation, aftercare case coordination, on-site education by certified teachers, medical care, mental health and substance use services, and other needed supportive services. Families of these children may also receive crisis intervention services, referral services, and supportive care during this challenging time.
Unfortunately, many of the youth in our care do not have family support, so our employees are also trained to work with foster families in understanding the complex individual needs of our children with the goal of successfully discharging the youth to a foster home.
Specialized Services
Recipients of both Federal and State grants, Crittenton Center is able to provide Mental Health Services to the youth residing in their care. These services include Substance Use Counseling, Trauma Therapy, Behavioral Therapy, and Therapeutic Supervised Visitations–a supervised interaction between adult and child under the lens of a Clinician. Our approach to the youth in our care is Trauma-Informed, which means that we understand and consider the nature of trauma and promote environments of healing and recovery.
Additionally, modifications are consistently being made to our center to allow for a more Therapeutic setting, such as calming rooms, art rooms, activity equipment, and more.