Residential Treatment Program in Flint, MI

At our Center, we strive to create a home-like environment for all the children that reside with us. Every staff member at the agency is trained in trauma-informed interventions as well as Therapeutic Crisis De-escalation and is required to be an active part of the lives of the children. There is 24-hour supervision and a 3:1 ratio for all children in our care.

We strive to provide an array of recreational activities on a daily basis that meets the interests of every child. Our on-campus recreational areas include a gym where we play a wide range of sports, a video game room, art room, a library, a zen room, a creative arts room, and a computer lab. The children also participate in community activities such as shopping, going to the movie theater, camp experiences, our annual trip to Michigan's Adventures and so much more.

Our Center includes one main living facility on our grounds, Mott Residence, and two group homes within miles from our Center.

The newly renovated Mott Residence has three separate cottages, McDonald, Vemco, and Johnson. Each cottage has newly renovated eight individual bedrooms, a kitchenette, a living room, a dining room, private bathrooms, and laundry areas. The Mott building also has a commercial kitchen, a Family Game Room for group activities, and a cafeteria for celebrations including birthdays and goodbye parties.

Many of our children also reside in two different group homes that are located throughout the Flint community. Each newly renovated home houses six children with individual bedrooms, living rooms, dining room, and a full kitchen. These children come to our campus regularly and participate in all of the same activities that the children who live on the grounds do.

The Optimist Home was established in 1994 as a group home at Whaley Children’s Center. This home was founded by several different Optimist Clubs including Flint Breakfast Club and Davison Optimists.

The Zonta Home was founded in 1991 with support from Zonta I and Zonta II Clubs of Flint.

Learn more about Optimist International,Zonta International.

Throughout our campus our staff model the Circle of Courage. The Circle of Courage® (CoC) is a philosophy supported by Reclaiming Youth International and used as a foundation for the residential and clinical programs and services at Whaley Children’s Center.

According to Reclaiming Youth International, “The Circle of Courage® is a model of positive youth development based on the universal principle that to be emotionally healthy all youth need a sense of belonging, mastery, independence and generosity. This unique model integrates the cultural wisdom of tribal peoples, the practice wisdom of professional pioneers with troubled youth and findings of modern youth development research.”

When children possess the universal human needs of belonging, mastery, independence and generosity, they are prepared to grow into strong, resilient and proactive citizens.

Whaley Children's Center utilizes a point system to gauge the overall participation and growth of the youth serviced within our program. We believe in giving each youth a starting point to success. Our point system is youth-focused, with the goal of each youth individually being given the chance to restart their day each day, as opposed to long periods of measurements and incentives. Our points system allows interventions to be instructional rather than disciplinary. It provides youth with an opportunity to think before they act and choose safe and responsible actions. Over time, the youth will begin to consistently utilize these alternative interventions when faced with the same circumstances. This leads to a measurable increase in the ability to problem solve through crisis.