On a large, wooded campus in Gresham, and throughout the community, Kerr provides a range of intense psychiatric services for children and counseling for their families. Every program focuses on supporting and reuniting families when possible, creating new opportunities for children to become healthy, independent members of the larger community.
Crisis Psychiatric Care is short-term, extremely intensive care for children who need immediate safety, supervision and treatment. Here, they can take their first steps away from fear and pain; and toward trust, safety and well-being. Opened in 1997, it was the first program of its kind in Oregon.
Therapeutic Foster Care program trains and gives 24-hour support to specially qualified foster families who can offer short-term homes for children who have nowhere else to turn. Many of these children were removed from abusive homes and all have extreme mental health needs.
The Foster Family Network is an innovative partnership among Kerr and Morrison Child & Family Services. Together, the organizations recruit, train and certify the best possible foster parents.
Special Needs Foster Care provides skills training and long-term, extensive foster parent support for children who have both mental health needs and developmental disabilities.
KEIP, the Kerr Early Intervention Program, helps very young children with severe emotional issues and learning delays. A therapeutic school with one teacher for every three kids, KEIP makes it possible for children to enter kindergarten ready to learn.
Community-Based Outpatient Services provide mental health treatment, parenting skills training and support, helping families in the home and with regular counseling and follow-up in the community.
Kerr is the lead agent for Wraparound Oregon, an innovative new partnership that makes it possible for families, courts, public schools, child welfare and mental health organizations to work together, helping youth with very complex mental health needs. This pilot project began in January 2006. 200 high-risk youth will be helped in four years.