Matt Richardson
With the help of the local community, Edgewood Children’s Ranch provides support and hope for at-risk youth and their families.
For more than 50 years, Edgewood Children’s Ranch has rehabilitated youth-at-risk and has worked closely with their families, returning children to their homes and society as healthy, functioning young people.
Located on more than 100 acres across the lake from MetroWest Golf Club, the nonprofit, residential program helps boys and girls ages 7-17 address and overcome behavioral issues in a positive, safe environment. Today, the ranch is able to accommodate 60 students at a time. Yet, the methods and goals are the same as in 1966: structure, a loving home environment, academic remediation, behavioral training and a safety net for their troubled lives, along with love and prayer.
There may be many factors involved when a family turns to Edgewood Children’s Ranch for help: behavioral/disruptive issues either at home, school or both; behind in school; or an ADD, ADHD, ODD or OCD diagnosis. Many times, the ranch staff sees a child acting out as a result of the breakdown of the family unit, either through divorce, loss of a parent or the child being raised by another family member, adoption and other contributing factors.
The Edgewood Children’s Ranch program is voluntary, and the parent and child are asked to reach an agreement to work within the ranch’s guidelines. Children stay at the ranch for two years on average and are evaluated at the end of each school year to determine if they should return to the program. Parents must also participate in the program through parenting classes and attending weekly chapel.
Children live full time at the ranch in cottages and attend the accredited on-site school. The school maintains a ratio of one teacher for every eight to 10 students. The children have visitation with their parents each Sunday afternoon, go home on designated weekends throughout the school year, and have holidays and summer break at home.
Students are accepted on the basis of need and the desire to participate rather than the ability to pay. The ranch asks that families pay toward the monthly tuition, but most families are unable to afford the full amount. As a result, the ranch reaches out to the local community for support and holds several fundraisers throughout the year. Funding for Edgewood Children’s Ranch comes from community support in the form of donations, grants and in-kind gifts. The ranch does not take state or federal funding.
Find out more about Edgewood Children’s Ranch at edgewoodranch.com.
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