Group Home

A group home allows several unrelated children to live together in a home with a single set of parents or a rotating staff who provide support and guidance. The group home arrangement varies from a foster care arrangement where one child (or several children) lives with one family. Group homes also vary from an orphanage where a large number of children live together in a dormitory type setting.

According to the Department of Social Services, "Group homes can range from large institutional type environments which provide an intense therapeutic setting, often called residential treatment centers, to small home environments which incorporate a "house parent" model." Group homes can be customized to meet the various levels of structure, supervision and services which are needed for a particular group of children.

A group home may also provide specialized services to high needs children with more specialized staffing arrangements, allowing for the staff to be trained to support the needs of the children. Group homes which provide specialized care for children with emotional or behavioral problems are considered the most restrictive out-of-home placement options for children in foster care. The goal of the foster system and any program developed for a group home is to help with the reunification of children with their biological family. Other homes also focus on the emancipation process for older children.