Most of the children at ACH are placed through Child Protective Services (part of Texas Department of Family and Protective Services). We also typically have some children placed through probation services, and a few are privately placed.
ACH serves children and teens ages 5-18 with additional support for young adults ages 19-21. The majority of our children are in middle school or high school. There is a high need for places for teenagers in the foster care system, and ACH has been very successful with teens thanks to our independent living skills program.
Yes! ACH welcomes couples who are raising children of their own. To keep healthy adult/child ratios, and also due to the size and configuration of the House Parent’s apartment, a couple may have no more than 2 of their own biological children living with them.
Current policy allows that one small to medium-sized dog or one cat may live with the House Parent couple. Pets should be socialized to the extent that they can safely be around children.
House Parents live in an apartment attached to the home for the children. The unfurnished apartment has approximately 700 sq. ft. of living space, with two bedrooms, a full-sized kitchen, a living room, and one bath. Major appliances including a washer and dryer are provided.
House Parents work a schedule of 5 days on, 2 days off each week. The days off are every Monday and Tuesday, or every Thursday and Friday, based on the home. The 5/2 schedule is the normal workweek; additional paid leave days off including personal time and floating holidays are offered as benefits.
See the Benefits Page for a description of paid leave.
ACH supports a vibrant sense of community among House Parents and other staff through multiple avenues, including summer Family Camp trips, summer weekly dinner nights featuring praise and worship with games and meals, on-campus community events like outdoor concerts, team building activities, and mission activities.
Children attend local public schools in the Amarillo Independent School District, a strong partner for ACH.
ACH is a Christian organization. Since our beginnings, we have enjoyed strong support from Presbyterian churches and its members, who do everything from serving on our Board to baking birthday cakes for our children. As we grow, we have many new church partners across the Amarillo area. To honor these church relationships, and to keep consistency for our children, each home attends a specific church on Sunday mornings. This helps children keep stable church relationships independent of staff changes.
ACH encourages House Parents to lead home devotionals, prayers and study, and provides guidance and support for these activities.
Our campus includes 7 homes for children around a central administrative building situated on a 10 square acre site within a residential neighborhood in Amarillo.
ACH follows a program called the WE Program that is based on helping children identify and develop intrinsic motives to succeed, using positive reinforcement with accountability. For more on our program, follow this link:
ACH the WE Programe
