Click here to view The Marsh Foundation’s Residential Services brochure.
Nearly everything a child needs is located right on The Marsh Foundation’s expansive 1,400 acre campus. An administration building houses a school, brightly painted cafeteria and auditorium. Large, three-story brick group homes feature recreation rooms and private bedrooms. In addition, all group homes have recently been remodeled by the Marsh maintenance and carpentry staff. The campus also offers a gymnasium, farm, garden, pond, wooded areas and playgrounds.
Group homes are gender-specific. Clymer Hall is licensed to house up to 10 girls. Vance and Marsh Halls are licensed to house up to 10 boys. The homes are staffed 24-hours a day by highly trained staff who consistently provide behavioral treatment using the Teaching-Family Model. The homes are multi-staff secure. Foster Care is provided as a step-down service to children within The Marsh Foundation’s continuum of care. After meeting specific treatment goals within the group homes, children can transition to Foster Care with the ultimate goal of permanent placement or reunification with family.
The Marsh Foundation is a supportive member of the Teaching-Family Association and is committed to the Teaching-Family Model of care (TFM). TFM is a unique approach to human services characterized by clearly defined goals, integrated support systems and a set of essential elements. The model is not a punishment model or traditional counseling model. Programs emphasize the positive teaching of functional skills and behaviors. It is a combination of low tolerance for poor behaviors and high praise for good behaviors. TFM promotes the development of relationships with clients that are maintained through trust, respect and positive regard within professional boundaries. The Marsh Foundation has been using components of the Teaching-Family Model since 1991.
The Marsh Foundation provides a continuum of care that includes a Foster Care Program and adoption. The Marsh believes that all children have the right to love, protection and to be cared for by a committed family.
The Marsh Foundation’s Foster Care Program provides service to youth from birth to age 18. In Family Foster Care, trained foster parents provide care for youth of all ages in need of a safe placement. In addition, we dually license families as both foster and adoptive homes. These homes are then legally able to provide placement for both foster and adoptive children in case they are open to the possibility of adoption in the future.
The Marsh Foundation offers an array of clinical services to clients. Services can include individual counseling, group counseling, family services, community support programs and/or home-based services.
The Marsh Foundation employs a full-time activities coordinator to plan and coordinate events and projects for the youth. These activities are designed to contribute to a holistic treatment approach. Youth participate in team building, garden activities, community service projects, 4-H projects, nature study, an extensive horse program and athletics.
In addition to large, three-story brick group homes, The Marsh Foundation’s expansive 1,400 acre campus features an administration building, a school, auditorium, a greenhouse, gymnasium, pond and garden among other things. The homes all feature recreation rooms and private bedrooms. In recent years, they’ve also been remodeled.
Three of the group homes are gender-specific and licensed to house up to 10 children, ages 7-17. One of these is dedicated to The Marsh’s program for male juvenile sex offenders. The homes are staffed 24-hours a day by highly trained family teachers who consistently provide behavioral treatment using the Teaching Family Model. The homes are multi-staff secure, including awake overnight staffing.
A fourth home has a program geared toward independent living and is licensed for six males, ages
15 and older. The less-restrictive environment provides a great option for step-down care within our network. After meeting specific treatment goals within the group homes, children may be able to step down to a foster home within The Marsh Foundation’s continuum of care. Or, they may be ready to return home with their family.