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grand opening
On October 7th, 2009 we commemorated our 25th anniversary with a milestone event -- the Grand Opening Celebration. Read all about it here.
images
View images of the new campus
View photos from the Grand Opening
capital campaign
Thanks to generous donors, our Capital Campaign raised $14.5 million to build the new campus.
read all about it!
Read the press coverage about the new campus.
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the expansion
After several years of extensive planning, the Austin Children's Shelter completed and moved into the new facility in East Austin in the fall of 2009 and held a Grand Opening Celebration on October 7th. Moving from two homes with 30 beds and a rented office for administrative staff, the new eight building facility offers the ability to not only care for more children and youth (ultimately 78 children at a time) but also to greatly expand programming. The new campus, built on 13 acres adjacent to the Meuller community, is designed with security to protect the children while allowing the public to visit certain areas of the campus.
The campus includes five "cottages," three of which are for emergency shelter and two additional "cottages" to provide longer term residential care for youth who need to stay longer than 90 days and up to 18 months. Initially, two of the three emergency shelter cottages are open to accept children and youth and the third will open early in 2010. The fourth cottage to open will be the long term cottage, or Therapeutic Living Center (TLC), for boys with plans to open it in the spring of 2010. The fifth will open later in the year as funding becomes available.
new programs:
Long Term Care: The expansion not only increased our ability to accept more children and youth but also expand our programs over time. For 25 years, ACS provided emergency shelter for children of all ages but only up to 90 days. Once the two TLC cottages are open, the Shelter will add long term care to its list of services, providing care for middle and high school aged youth who have not been successful in a home environment. These youth will receive the same quality care plus services to prepare them for living independently. Children in these homes can stay for as long as they need to be in our care.
Education: The Pat & Bill Munday Education and Recreation Building includes a gym and movement classroom for activities as well as a library and computer lab. Also located in this building are classrooms designed for an on-site school. Once the school is open, curriculum designed for this particular population of students will be offered in four classrooms, including one with a science lab.
ACS has begun providing credit recovery for our youth through the AISD DELTA program. The online program is offered on our campus for youth who are lagging behind in school credits. Targeted at students age 14-21 who have already dropped out or are at risk of dropping out of high school, DELTA provides students with an opportunity to earn the credits needed to graduate high school.
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