How Healing Happens at ACH
Trauma-informed care rooted in understanding, connection, and consistency.
Children who come to American Children’s Home often arrive having experienced significant loss, instability, neglect, or trauma. These experiences can deeply impact how a child thinks, feels, and behaves — especially when they are still developing the skills to understand and express their emotions.
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What may appear as challenging behavior is often a child’s way of coping with fear, grief, or uncertainty.
That’s why ACH follows the CARE model.
What is CARE?
CARE stands for Children And Residential Experiences, a trauma-informed model developed by the Residential Child Care Project at Cornell University.
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CARE is not a curriculum or a set of rules. It is a principle-based framework grounded in child development research that helps organizations create environments where children feel safe, understood, and supported — the essential conditions for healing.
Imagine this:
You are 15 years old.
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Through no fault of your own, a stranger comes into your home and tells you that you have 10 minutes to pack what you want to take with you — but it all has to fit inside one box.
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In a moment filled with confusion and fear, you gather what you can, without answers to the questions racing through your mind.
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You are guided out the door and into a car.
You don’t know where you’re going, how long you’ll be there, or when — or if — you’ll be coming back.
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After a long drive, you arrive somewhere unfamiliar. Someone you’ve never met begins explaining the rules and expectations.
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You are expected to listen. To behave. To adjust —
all while trying to process what you’ve just lost.
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This is the reality many children and teens experience before they ever arrive at ACH.
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CARE begins by recognizing how overwhelming this moment can be — and by responding with patience, consistency, and compassion.
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CARE in Daily Life at ACH
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Calm, predictable responses
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Consistent Routines
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Teaching, not punishing
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Supportive, caring staff
Our Commitment to Children
Implementing CARE is an ongoing, organization-wide commitment. From direct care staff to leadership, ACH works to ensure children experience consistency, understanding, and compassion at every level of care. Healing begins with safety.
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American Children’s Home has followed the CARE model since 2010 as part of our commitment to trauma- informed, child-centered care.