The Children's Shelter is a private, non-profit, nationally accredited corporation that has been providing services to San Antonio and Bexar County since 1901. The mission of The Children's Shelter is to "Strengthen our community by providing safety, well-being and lasting families for children." Our core values are respect, compassion, optimism, integrity, team spirit, and excellence. The Children's Shelter's services have expanded from emergency shelter care to a continuum of care of emergency shelters, foster care, adoption, residential treatment care, child abuse prevention and teen pregnancy programs.

The Shelter is a United Way of San Antonio and Bexar County agency, and is affiliated with the Texas Alliance of Child and Family Services. The organization was the first locally based child service agency in South Texas to receive full accreditation by the nationally recognized Council on Accreditation for Services to Families and Children, Inc.

Temporary Emergency Shelter Care
The Children's Shelter provides 24-hour temporary emergency care to up to 56 children per day, aged birth to 14 years, who have been removed from their homes due to abuse, abandonment, and/or neglect. read more »

Therapeutic Foster Care
The Children's Shelter Foster Care Program provides children with 24-hour substitute therapeutic family care in private homes. These loving, warm, accepting and stable homes care for children who must be temporarily separated from their permanent home. The Foster Care Program recruits families from diverse backgrounds to fulfill each child's ethnic background. The Program provides training and support for potential parents. read more »

Adoption
The Shelter facilitates the adoption of children with special needs by recruiting, training, and representing prospective adoptive families to Child Protective Services in the hopes that the family is "matched" with children awaiting adoption. The Shelter provides support to children and adoptive families during every phase of the adoption process. read more »

Girls Inc. of San Antonio
Girls Inc. of San Antonio is an affiliate of Girls Incorporated, a national non-profit organization that "Inspires all girls to be strong, smart and bold." Girls Inc. develops research-based, highly evaluated identity programs for girls' ages 6-18 years. read more »

Project MAS
Project MAS (Mothers and Schools) provides support groups, parenting skills classes, and tutoring to pregnant teens. After giving birth, the girls are part of our homebound program where mother and child are transported to our learning center. read more »

Residential Treatment Center
The Children's Shelter provides 24-hour residential treatment care for children, aged 5-12 years, who have been victimized by abuse, neglect or abandonment, and, as a result, have emotional dilemmas that make it difficult for them to heal and thrive in a family-based setting. read more »

Compadre y Compadre
Compadre Y Compadre (Brother to Brother) is a United Way (Successful Children’s Issue Council) funded fathers only parenting program for residents in the 78207, 78228 and 78237 San Antonio zip codes. This program will make the difference in children’s lives by encouraging nurturing relationships between fathers and their children. read more »

Community Youth Development
As a Community Youth Development Fiscal Agent for the State of Texas, The Children's Shelter provides youth development programs and also subcontracts with community agencies to provide programs that prevent juvenile delinquency rate in the inner city 78207 zip code. Reducing the juvenile delinqency rate also impacts the teen pregnancy and drop out rate. The core of this program is the involvement of youth ages 12-18 and their families plus the businesses and other services that exist in this are. read more>>

Nurse-Family Partnership
This program serves first-time, low income mothers and families. The program requires that women served qualify for Medicaid, not be more than 28 weeks pregnant and voluntarily choose to participate in the program. Through 60 home visits, until the baby is two years old, Nurse Home Visitors bond with the family and provide support while that family moves to self-sufficiency. Nationally, prison rates, crime and othe anti-social behavior behavior with roots in poverty have been reduced as well as incidents of child abuse. read more>>

Funding
The Children's Shelter receives funding from the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services as partial reimbursement for the children who are brought to us by Child Protective Services. Other funding sources are the United Way of San Antonio and Bexar County, grants, corporate partners, local foundations, volunteer organizations, individual contributions and special events. Ninety-three percent of the Shelter's operating budget is expended on direct services to children.

2010 Form 990 TCS-Public Disclosure

2010 Form 990 GI-Public Disclosure

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Facility Photos - Artist Renderings

From the left: Zachry Cottage, Gymnasium and Playground.