Our Circle of Care
Maryvale had its origins in 1856, when the Daughters of Charity founded the first orphanage for the growing city of Los Angeles. From that humble beginning, the organization has grown and evolved for over 155 years to care for children in need.
Today it provides a circle of care for children and their families in four distinct ways.
- Early Education Centers
Two Maryvale Early Education Centers in the San Gabriel Valley help children develop their strengths and support parents to achieve healthy families. - Family Resource Center
The Maryvale Family Resource Center in Duarte supports youth and families to promote and achieve healthy communities. - Mental Health Services
Mental Health Services strengthen our area communities through prevention and intervention. - Residential Based Services
Maryvale’s Residential Program embraces deeply wounded girls who suffer from abuse, neglect, and crises – children placed by the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) and the Probation Department. - Transitional Housing & After Care
Transitional Housing and After Care programs support our young women aged out of the foster care system
Unmatched Residential Care
Maryvale is committed to providing loving residential and mental health services to girls and young women, who have been deeply wounded.
Our Vision is to see all of our girls grow to lead healthy fulfilling lives within the framework of a nurturing family.
Girls between the ages of 6 to 17 years are placed at Maryvale. Removed from their homes, they are wounded by sexual and physical abuse, neglect and abandonment, and often suffer from the effects of numerous failed placements in foster and other group home facilities. They are placed here by the courts and government agencies and are in desperate need of intensive residential based services.
The Daughters of Charity and all of Maryvale embrace the girls in an environment of stability, love, and respect. Along with the Sisters, they are surrounded by culturally diverse professional staff and volunteers who administer to their physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual needs. The goal is to stabilize their lives so they can develop a sense of dignity and self-esteem.
Situated on 15 park like acres, Maryvale provides a calming environment that nurtures healing and creates sanctuary.
Caring Staff
Maryvale provides a safe, supportive, structured environment and considerable care is taken to ensure girls have a smooth transition into communal living on their arrival. The girls reside in one of 6 structured living groups that are organized around the developmental and chronological needs of the residents. Maryvale’s highly professional onsite staff are organized into core teams for each of the groups of girls. The teams work with the girls to create a family like atmosphere where healthy relatedness can be taught, practiced, rewarded and celebrated and where the girls can learn to trust again.
Core teams consist of residential counselors and mental health therapists who operate within a family centered intervention model and provide clinical services that include individual, family, and group therapy.
Maryvale’s caring Associates number over 200. Of these, over half have been at Maryvale for more than 5 years demonstrating our low turn-over rate and overall sense of family.
All residential staff members are required to participate in 40 hours training upon employment at Maryvale. A dedicated full time training coordinator along with many of our professionals conducts on site trainings for our staff as well as staff from other facilities.
A Safe Nurturing Environment
Meals and Evenings
Meals are often prepared in the groups' fully-equipped kitchens, and whenever possible, the girls help as would happen in a family. At night, staff members are just outside bedroom doors to comfort girls when needed and provide a sense of safety and security.
PlayTime
Each group has its own play yard while Maryvale’s 15 park like acres provide plenty of outdoor room for bicycling, skating, picnicking, casual play or quiet time alone. In addition the campus includes an expansive pool area and natural wooded acreage for campouts and nature excursions. Outings to the beach, parks and other LA landmarks are planned and happen often.
Music, Art, Sewing, Gardening, Animals: A Club for Everyone
Girls in residence are encouraged to express themselves creatively through the positive avenues of extra-curricular activities through a variety of clubs. The clubs are organized around the age and interests of the girls in residence. In recent years, the Art Club has staged an “art gallery”, and the girls’ art is displayed throughout the Maryvale campus. Girls have produced and/or performed in their own special events through the Liturgy Club and the Music Club.
Reading Resource Center (library)
Maryvale’s Reading Resource Center is a state-of-the-art library for the residential girls, staffed by a dedicated professional who works to encourage a sense of exploration and discovery.
The Maryvale Chapel
Girls in residence are invited to attend services and programs at the Maryvale Chapel. Attendance is strictly voluntary. Yet, it is one of the most popular gatherings on the campus for the girls. The Roman Catholic Mass, liturgy and homily are geared for children who participate in questions and answers with the priests.
Review with Families, Guardians
The overall goal of the Residential Treatment Program is to establish consistent patterns of healthy living interactions intended to prepare the child to live successfully in a less structured environment. Individual therapeutic services are determined specifically for the child and include individual, family and group therapy as well as direct psychiatric and psychological services through the Mental Health Services Program. Case conferences with outside counselors, attorneys, and family members are conducted frequently to review the child’s and her family’s progress. These conferences allow for shared understanding of the child’s actions, needs, and goals by all those involved with her care and her family’s healthy development.
On-Site Health services
Maryvale provides unique on-site health services with a pediatrician, neurologists and psychiatrists on the campus. In addition, Maryvale houses a fully equipped dental office where a dentist visits regularly.
On-Site School
Special education services are provided by Logsdon School, a non-public school situated on Maryvale's campus and dedicated to serving Maryvale residents and community students qualified for special education. Residents that can attend the local public schools do so. Logsdon School is operated by a separate non-profit organization and is accredited by the California Association of Private Special Education Schools (CAPSES).
Transitional Housing & After Care Programs
Maryvale is committed to sustaining our young women through Transitional Housing and After Care programs providing a reliable support system for the successful transition to a stable, thriving adult.
Our Vision is to help alumni achieve and sustain life-long independence through self-sufficiency.
Studies of those aging out of the foster care system show over 40% will become homeless within three years without transition support. However, former foster youth provided with transition support are four times more likely to reach successful independence.
Maryvale’s Transitional Housing Program provides a supportive and structured independent living environment for Maryvale residents who have aged out of the system and elect to participate.
The Transitional Housing Program is a collaborative effort of Maryvale's Residential and Mental Health Departments. A small dedicated team of professionals extends the support of a safe, loving and therapeutic environment to former residents. Here, they can continue to grow in independence and self-sufficiency with the guidance to develop and maintain a healthy and productive lifestyle.
After Care services available to all former Maryvale residents include:
- Mental health therapy and psychiatric services when indicated.
- Substance abuse services, individual counseling, crisis intervention, and community-based activities.
- Case management services to assist in obtaining jobs, accessing education, and dealing with normal challenges associated with growing independence.
- Ongoing support to develop and maintain healthy independent living.
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