River Oak Center for Children: History

River Oak originated in 1966 as a group home for children who were not doing well in
treatment programs outside the home. Given changes in both need and clinical practice, River
Oak now offers a comprehensive array of traditional and innovative services through twelve
programs operating at four sites. The name of the organization was changed to River Oak
Center for Children in 1989.

In the mid-1980s, River Oak expanded beyond residential treatment to include day treatment,
foster family programs and outpatient counseling services for high-risk Sacramento County
families. In 1990, the Central Campus on Laurel Hills Drive was opened to provide all
residential, educational, and therapeutic services at one site.

In the 1990s, River Oak grew significantly and added five new sites throughout the
Sacramento area to keep families together in the community while they worked towards
healthier lives. In 1999, River Oak was selected to participate in a five-year Wraparound
project, which has since been extended.

River Oak realized a long-term dream to provide Early Intervention and Prevention
programs when, in the 1990s, it added the Therapeutic Preschool, after-school programs
and long-term home visiting services to parents at risk for child abuse in collaboration with
Sacramento Children's Home and Sutter Medical Center. River Oak was also selected as one of nine
providers of home visiting services in Sacramento through the Birth and Beyond Program.
Finally, River Oak established a Family Resource Center, which houses a broad array of
River Oak services.

In 2005, River Oak received funding from the Sacramento County Department of Health and
Human Services to provide child and adolescent interventions jointly with Child Protective
Services to families with children from birth to 18, where there is no safety risk for the child to
remain at home. This program, called Differential Response, operates out of the River Oak
Family Resource Center.

Over the next two years, the agency received funding from the Sacramento County
Department of Probation to provide the nationally acclaimed Multisystemic Therapy program
to area youth on probation, and added Teaching Prosocial Skills and Functional Family
Therapy.

Recognizing the change in clinical practice to place severely emotionally and behaviorally
challenged children with foster families, River Oak closed its Residential Treatment program
and Special Education School in 2008.

In 2009, we added three new effective research-based practices to our range of services:
Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Armstrong Substance Misuse, and
Parent-Child Interactive Therapy.

Also in 2009, River Oak partnered with the Sacramento County Probation Department and opened
the River Oak Youth Development and Education Center. The new center provides mental health
programs, social services, and residential treatment to teens - one of very few facilities in the Sacramento area to focus such services for youth transitioning into
independence.

In 2010, River Oak partnered with SETA Head Start to provide Early Head Start Home Visitation services to low-income pregnant women and families with children up to three years of age. Home visitors provide services that include development of individualized education plans, activities that promote child development, preschool readiness, referrals and access to health and mental health resources, assessment of atypical development and/or behavior problems, and others. The comprehensive services provided during these home visits strengthen and support families so that they, in turn, can provide the best possible support for their child.