Mountain States Children’s Home: 60 Years of Service

You may not notice it on your daily commute through Longmont on Highway 287, but Mountain States Children’s Home (MSCH) has been in operation here for 60 years. MSCH was founded in 1960 to help families and children in crisis, and on their 155-acre property, they do just that. Elevations Credit Union has been honored to sponsor events and volunteer hours of service to MSCH over the last 15 years.  

What does Mountain States Children’s Home offer? 

Parents or guardians of children experiencing emotional trauma and behavioral issues resulting from abuse, neglect or abandonment apply for their children to stay at MSCH. While more than 60% of the kids at MSCH are from Colorado, they accept children from across the United States. MSCH will accept any child regardless of their guardian’s ability to pay for services. At any given time, 20-24 kids are living on campus in one of five cottages. MSCH is licensed to care for children as young as 3 years old and up to 17. Most of the children are pre-teens and teens.  

Kids live in cottages on campus with house parents who serve as mother and father figures; they also attend an on-campus school and have on-campus counselors available. The counseling program works with the child and the child’s family to prepare the home for the child’s return. The goal of MSCH is to help children eliminate issues of concern so that they can return home, or to prepare them for independence. MSCH builds long-term relationships and becomes a second family for many children. 

“Before coming to MSCH, I had been placed in nine different homes until I was 16. I was eventually adopted, but my ADHD caused me to act out and get into trouble. Now that I live at MSCH, my house parents and house sisters make me feel like I have a real family. I get to go to counseling every week and do lots of fun things. I do not want to act up anymore and want to become a cardiologist someday.”  

– Hailey

Education at Mountain States Children’s Home 

MSCH’s on-campus school offers a place for kids to receive individualized attention to remediate anyacademic challenges. Children at MSCH improve an average of 4.1 grade levels of academic achievement in just one year. All of the children who remain in the program until their senior year graduate from high school. In addition to improving their formal education, kids can help on the property with cooking, gardening and farming. MSCH grows hay on the farm, and raises pigs and cows. These animals then help feed the kids living on campus, through the on-campus pantry. 

How has Mountain States Children’s Home continued for 60 years? 

MSCH is not funded by the federal or state government; it relies solely on donations and private grants.  

Through the years, Elevations and our employees have been honored to support MSCH by contributing our volunteer time off (VTO) to help with improvements on campus and hang Christmas lights. We are also honored to participate in their annual Sporting Clay Tournament each year.  

There are many ways you can help support MSCH, like volunteering, donating or shopping at the Mountain States Children’s Home Thrift Store on Coffman Street in Longmont. You can find all the ways to support Mountain States Children’s Home here to help ensure they can serve more kids for years to come.