COMMUNITY SERVICES
Methodist Children's Home offers foster care and family preservation services through its Community Services Program. A variety of services designed to help children and their families is provided through outreach offices in Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, Lubbock, Tyler, Corpus Christi, El Paso and Albuquerque, New Mexico. Services are also provided through satellite offices in Crockett, Sulphur Springs and Abilene, and a foster care group home in Jayton.

Foster Care
Foster care enables families to open their hearts and homes to children who cannot live with their parents due to family circumstances. Foster families can make a positive, lifelong impact on children as they help them grow physically, spiritually, emotionally and intellectually. Foster care provides a temporary living arrangement - typically ranging from 6 to 18 months - until the parents are able to resume parenting. Children in care range from birth through 18 years of age. Very few babies or children have special needs, such as medication or counseling.

Foster families are licensed through Methodist Children's Home, which is licensed by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (TDFPS) and accredited by the Council on Accreditation (COA) and the EAGLE Program.

The foster care program at Methodist Children's Home is served by staff members who carefully plan for the child's care, monitor progress and adjustment to the foster home setting, support the foster family through frequent telephone calls and visits, and plan for the child's eventual return to the home.

Foster care through Methodist Children's Home is unique because parents or legal guardians place all children and youth voluntarily. The Home offers a per diem reimbursement for boarding care and day care for foster parents who work out of the home, along with complete medical and dental care for the foster children.

Families that are considering foster care should consider the following questions: Do you want to care for a child on a temporary basis? Are you financially able, with some assistance from Methodist Children's Home, to care for another child in your home? Do you have a stable, happy marriage? Does your home have room for an additional child? Are you ready for more activity in your home than there is now? If you have children, how are they doing now and have you talked with them about sharing you with another child?

Partnership in Parenting
Community Services offers a family preservation program, designed to prevent placement of children and to support children who return to their home following care at Methodist Children's Home. This program includes outpatient counseling, in-home services, parent training and aftercare.

The Partnership in Parenting program is designed to help at-risk families stay together. This program identifies family strengths and provides tangible services to help families become self-sustaining. The program includes: free counseling by a licensed social worker; training and development of parenting skills; employment counseling; assistance in locating and accessing community resources, such as food banks, clothing rooms, medical care and housing programs; development of daily living skills; and limited financial assistance when other sources are unavailable.

Foster Care Application
If you are interested in becoming a foster parent, click here to download a Foster Care application in PDF format. (Adobe Acrobat Reader required - see link at right). Complete the form and mail or fax to the outreach office located in your area.

For more information about Community Services programs, contact the office nearest you.

CENTRAL OFFICE
Community Services
Methodist Children's Home
1111 Herring Avenue
Waco, TX 76708
1-800-853-1270 or 254-750-1260
254-750-1300 (fax)

OUTREACH OFFICES

WESTERN REGION
Kelly Smith, Administrator
4601 50th Street, Ste. 109
Lubbock, TX 79414
877-289-0517 (toll-free)
806-792-0099 (office)
806-792-2608 (fax)
E-mail

Albuquerque, NM
Chris Mayton, Director
11816 Lomas Blvd. NE
Albuquerque, NM 87112
505-255-8740 (office)
505-255-4679 (fax)
E-mail

Dallas
Mary Wong Carpenter, Director
13140 Coit Road, Ste. 400
Dallas, TX 75240
972-480-8772 (office)
972-480-0467 (fax)
E-mail

El Paso
Jorge Soto, Director
5959 Gateway West Suite 670
El Paso, TX 79925
915-781-0005 (office)
915-781-0006 (fax)
Foster care information session: 2nd Monday each month, 6:00 p.m. (RSVP by e-mail below)
E-mail

Lubbock
Dana Bearden, Director
4601 50th Street, Ste. 109
Lubbock, TX 79414
877-289-0517 (toll-free)
806-792-0099 (office)
806-792-2608 (fax)
Foster care information session: 1st Tuesday each month, 6:00 p.m. (RSVP by e-mail below)
E-mail


EASTERN REGION
Jennifer Gregory, Administrator
125 E. South Town Drive
Tyler, TX 75703
903-509-1171 (office)
866-509-1171 (toll-free)
903-509-1199 (fax)
E-mail

Corpus Christi
Annie Rice, Director
3833 S. Staples Suite N 218
Corpus Christi, TX 78411
361-334-2255 (office)
361-334-2260 (fax)
E-mail

Houston
Veronica Whalon-Peters, Director
5005 Mitchelldale, Ste. 119
Houston, TX 77092
713-682-8911 (office)
713-682-4229 (fax)
E-mail

San Antonio
Brenda Gonzalez, Director
6800 Park Ten Blvd., Ste. 135 East
San Antonio, TX 78213
866-532-4453 (toll-free)
210-733-3904 (office)
210-733-1544 (fax)
E-mail

Tyler
Traci Wagner, Supervisor
125 E. South Town Drive
Tyler, TX 75703
903-509-1171 (office)
866-509-1171 (toll-free)
903-509-1199 (fax)
Foster care information session: 1st Thursday each month, 6:00 p.m. (RSVP by e-mail below)
E-mail

SATELLITE OFFICES

Abilene (Lubbock Outreach Office)
Theresa Wilson, Caseworker
500 Chestnut, Suite 1621
Abilene, TX 79602
325-672-9398
Foster care information session: 2nd Tuesday each month, 6:00 p.m. (RSVP by e-mail below)
E-mail

Bedford (Dallas Outreach Office)
George Theos, Caseworker
112 Bedford Road, Ste. 116
Bedford, TX 76022
214-686-3679
E-mail

Crockett (Tyler Outreach Office)
Traci Wagner, Supervisor, Tyler Office
701 E. Goliad or P.O. Box 592
Crockett, TX 75835
936-546-0646
Foster care information session: 3rd Tuesday each month, 6:30 p.m. (RSVP by e-mail below)
E-mail

Sulphur Springs (Tyler Outreach Office)
Crystal Little, Caseworker
903-438-0000
Foster care information session: 3rd Thursday each month, 6:00 p.m. (RSVP by e-mail below)
E-mail




If you experience problems with the e-mail links for the outreach offices, please send an e-mail to the public relations office.