Mission

To provide an environment where children, families and staff are able to heal and grow through caring relationships and unconditional love and acceptance.

Philosophy & Guiding Values in Keeping Children First

  • Children are our future, and therefore our first priority. Their needs guide decisions made, goals set, and program direction. The overriding principle is "What is in the best interest of the child?"
  • Children deserve nurturing relationships free from chaos, abuse and neglect.
  • A child without limits or direction is a neglected child. A child must be taught accountability and ownership of behavior, emotions, and life choices.
  • Children change through the context of relationships. Our aim is to surround children with the most dynamic, involved, committed, caring, and quality adults who provide the arena of relationships as an avenue for change. Our staff is provided with the tools, experiences, and expectations to profoundly and deeply effect the lives of children they are around.
  • Children are provided real life experiences and tools so they can reinvent their futures and sustain and achieve their own hopes and dreams.
  • New Horizons continually strives to build and maintain a culture of honesty, integrity, and caring - a culture that values others and holds healthy relationships as the most treasured gift.

New Horizons History

New Horizons Ranch and Center was founded as a residential treatment center for emotionally disturbed boys on April 16, 1971. It became incorporated several months later on June 23, 1971 and was originally called Camp Pecan Bayou. The name was changed to New Horizons in 1974 as the result of a group effort by the boys to decide on a name which better expressed the purpose and was easier to spell! New Horizons began as an out growth of Meridell Achievement Center. A number of boys at the Center had gone camping, on the land that is presently New Horizons, and had been so successful in the more open, individualistic environment that a decision was made to allow the boys to build a permanent residence. The boys responded well to the hard work and learned to take pride in what they had created. Del Barnett was the first Administrator and Director of Programs. In 1975, New Horizons became a nonprofit corporation allowing more Texas children to be eligible for treatment. As the Ranch developed, some gradual changes were made. On Valentines Day in 1978, the first girl was admitted to New Horizons. Because of the Ranches commitment to creating a family environment, girls were introduced to the program. The staff believed that the totally male environment was unrealistic and it would be best to teach children about the world in a more natural setting. Several months went into preparing both staff and students for the transition. Over the years, New Horizons’ appearance has changed considerably. Today New Horizons’ programs consist of residential treatment, emergency shelter/assessment center, group homes, therapeutic foster homes and in-home family preservation programs. New Horizons is committed to be ever changing, always adjusting itself to the needs of the individual children who live here. And, the feeling of being loved and truly cared for, perhaps for the first time in their life, is a feeling that all the children of New Horizons share. Perhaps one of the original boys from 1971 said it best when on returning to the Ranch after 14 years when he commented, "It looks a lot different but the feeling is still the same".

Statements of Ethical Practice

There is a determined effort on the part of the New Horizons Board and Staff to maintain a strong moral and ethical position as we continue to move toward a better managed system of services. While more responsible fiscal management can provide better opportunity for children, quality of care should not be compromised in the interest of finances. In an effort to maintain our philosophy and dedication to children, families, and communities, New Horizons is committed to the following values:

  1. Children are our first priority. Their needs guide decisions made, goals set, and direction of programs. The overriding principal is "What is in the best interest of the child?"
  2. Children will be placed in homes, families, communities, and school districts that are assessed to have the resources and support adequate to provide an opportunity for success:
  3. Facilities where children reside should be attractive, comfortable, clean, and of such condition that children feel good about their home environment.
  4. Foster families are expected to put the interest of the child first, before financial or other considerations.
  5. Contributing to a community is viewed as an essential step in the development of healthy children and families. As such, the expressed needs and desires of the community and school district will be strongly considered.
  6. Every reasonable effort will be employed to ensure that foster parents, staff members and other adults who have direct contact with children are of sound moral character and understand the importance of role modeling.
  7. When the needs of a child are assessed to require a more intensive level or a change in level of treatment, their needs, not finances, will be the basis for placement. This may require private funding to support such measures.
  8. The original family of the child is viewed as a resource for continued relationship when in the best interest of the child.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Copyright © 1999,2009  New Horizons