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5010 Pennsylvania Ave McDonough, GA 30253
Office: (800) 619-7450
Fax: (888) 450-2831

The Baptiste Group: Informational letter to Shelby County Schools
Mission: Reunifying unaccompanied children with their families while providing shelter and services in a
nurturing and therapeutic environment.

Our Program
The Baptiste Group is one of the providers of shelter services for unaccompanied children in the
United States and has been awarded a federal grant for a care provider facility in Tennessee. The
Baptiste Group’s mission is to provide humanitarian services to children in a nurturing
environment. The programs encourage the development of personal and academic skills and
offer an array of services, including case management, legal services, medical/dental, educational
(onsite), vocational, recreational, and religious services. These services are provided by trained
professionals. The staff is there 24 hours a day to both monitor and provide support for the needs
of the children during their stay.
Ideally, the children will live at The Baptiste Group’s facility for an average of 30 days until
arrangements are made to reunite the youth with relatives. On occasion, a child with a
complicated legal or reunification case may stay longer than the average, and The Baptiste Group
can readily accommodate a longer placement if it is determined to be in the best interest of the
child. Longer lengths of stay can range anywhere between 30 days to several months.
The Baptiste Group’s facility will be state licensed under the Tennessee Department of Human
Services and must meet federal requirements to ensure a high level of quality of care. The facility,
which operates under cooperative agreements and contracts, provide children with classroom
education, healthcare, socialization/recreation, family reunification, access to legal services, and
case management.
Not all unaccompanied children are eligible for placement in The Baptiste Group’s facility. For
example, The Baptiste Group does not take on children who require a higher level of care due to
a documented criminal history. Likewise, children with certain special needs (for example,
pregnant/parent, acute medical needs, mental health concerns) or who have no viable sponsor
with whom to reunite are placed in other programs, such as short and long-term foster care.

 Similarly, the department provides certain special programs that serve these children with acute
medical and mental health needs.
Those youth in our care for more than 20 days are provided with an in-debt Case
Summary/Individual Service Plan (CS/ISP), which is a multidisciplinary assessment completed by
case management, education, youth care, medical, and clinical staff. The CS/ISP will be
completed no more that 30 days of the child’s placement.
The facility will work in accordance with Tennessee licensing requirements and will consist of a
Director, Assistant Director, Administrative staff, Clinicians, Case Managers, Medical Coordinator,
Cooks, Security Guards, Custodians and Youth Care Workers (direct care staff). We strive to
design and maintain a child-friendly facility. For example, we will use accented colors throughout
the premises, whimsical décor, and comfortable furnishings that help to establish a rapport with
children.
Upon their entrance to the facility, we provide the children with a hot meal, shower, and a phone
call to their families. All children receive new sets of clothing, sleepwear, shoes, flip flops and
hygiene kits. Within 24 hours of arrival, we introduce children to their individual case manager
and provide them with a detailed orientation of the program and services offered. TBG staff ensure
that the children understand their rights and that they are treated fairly at all times.
All children at the facility will take part in daily structured activities and six hours of daily
educational classroom time. In accordance with federal requirements, The Baptiste Group also
provides recreation and leisure time that includes daily activities. Daily activities consist of a
minimum of one hour of structured leisure activities, such as recreational reading/viewing of
books, writing letters, board games, arts and crafts, or computer time. Daily activities also consist
of a minimum of one hour each weekday and three hours each weekend of structured large
muscle outdoor activity.
Security is a top priority at our facility. Our direct care staff provides 24-hour supervision and care
for the children with a staffing ratio of one staff to every eight children (1:8) during waking hours.
To ensure that children are appropriately supervised at all times, The Baptiste Group provides
extensive training to all of its staff, including 40 hours of new employee orientation, 40 hours of
on-the-job training, Youth Care Worker manual training, crisis prevention and intervention,
supervision and documentation, and more. The facility will also be staffed with security guards
24-hours a day along with controlled access to the building.
Economic Benefits to the Community

 The TBG facility will have a positive impact on the community. As currently budgeted, it would
infuse millions of dollars each year into the local economy and create approximately 120 new jobs
for local residents. In addition, The Baptiste Group budgets over $500,000 in start-up costs for
the acquisition of items such as furnishings, computers, and electronic equipment, office supplies,
kitchen supplies, and recreational equipment. Many of these goods and services will come from
the local community.
Furthermore, The Baptiste Group would purchase a number of tangible items needed to run the
program from local businesses (e.g., clothing for the children, medical supplies, educational
supplies, food) and contract with local vendors to provide ancillary services to the program
(plumbers, doctors, dentists, etc.)
For all these reasons, The Baptiste Group would be a good neighbor and valued member of the
community. Our program would bring new money and jobs to Shelby County and fit very well into
the surrounding neighborhood.

Best Regards,

Gretchen Baptiste
The Baptiste Group
Vice President