The Children's Shelter is the oldest and largest emergency shelter for children in the State of Texas. We specialize in care to infants and young children, serving newborn up to the age of twelve years. The shelter has the capacity to care for up to 56 children at one time. Child Protective Services and San Antonio Police Department bring children to the Shelter. The majority of the children have been removed from their homes due to abuse, abandonment, and/or neglect.

A Place to Heal

The children who walk through our doors at the shelter are often stressed beyond their years, having lived through and seen what no one, regardless of age, should have to. To them, childhood consisted of living to survive rather than living to laugh, learn, wiggle, and dance. They were often forced to take on the role of caregiver in order to be sure their siblings were even fed. These children come as exhausted, battered little souls who need a safe place to heal and be loved.

The shelter becomes home for these children, and the staff and other children become their family. The Children's Shelter is a place for them to heal physically and emotionally until safe haven or other permanent care can be secured. The children may remain at the shelter for a few hours or possibly even several weeks. Every child receives medical, eye, and dental exams to determine his/her medical care needs.

The Children's Shelter believes that education can be a strong salve for healing, giving the children the tools and confidence to excel once they move on from The Children's Shelter. Children in kindergarten through the fifth grade are showered with individualized attention and tutoring at the on-campus school, which is provided by the San Antonio Independent School District. Pre-school children participate in a child development program, and children under the age of three receive daily stimulation to foster development.

Complete Assessment Services

We are licensed by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services to provide assessment services. Children three years and older receive a psychological evaluation and a recommended level of care for post-shelter care.

The Children's Shelter provides 24-hour temporary emergency care for 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. At The Children's Shelter, children participate in classroom instruction in the Shelter's on-campus school, field trips, an array of activities in the Learning Center, and children under the age of three receive daily stimulation to foster development. All children are given assessments, which include 24-hour charting, complete medical, eye, and dental exams, a social history, a developmental history, and a psychological examination and interview.

Residential Treatment Services

The Children’s Shelter provides 24-hour residential treatment care for children, ages 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. The 36-bed KCI Servant’s Heart Residential Treatment program for children enables healing through individualized attention and therapeutic programming. Children reside at the Residential Treatment facility until significant emotional development has been achieved. They are then placed with their biological family or in a foster family setting.