Connecting Families

Assisting children and families through meaningful
connections, family self-sufficiency and treatment programs.

Welcome to Providence House

Providence House, a Guerin Woods program, assists children and families through meaningful connections, family self-sufficiency and treatment programs, and transitional housing.

Providence House stands out as a unique family residential treatment program that reunites children with their parents, reduces the length of time they spend outside the home, and provides intensive case management, parenting, and mental health services.

It’s a supportive, family-centered environment that feels like a community, not an institution. Our campus, nestled among lush trees, grassy fields, and gentle hills in Georgetown, Indiana, provides a peaceful retreat for children and their parents to grow, learn, and heal.

Our Services

Providence House caters specifically to families actively involved with the Indiana Department of Child Services (DCS.) We accept up to ten Southern Indiana families at a time: single mothers, single fathers, and two-parent families and their children ages birth to eighteen.

Families reside on our campus for an average of six to nine months before transitioning into permanent, self-sufficient housing in the community, which often is the final step needed to close their DCS case.

Substance abuse, domestic violence, incarceration, chronic homelessness, and mental health struggles are common issues faced by the families we serve. Despite these commonalities, each individual and their personal experience is unique. Our team assesses each individual’s needs and tailors a care plan accordingly.

In addition to individual, group, and family therapy, parents develop life skills for time management, budgeting, and household maintenance. They learn new parenting techniques for discipline and building stronger relationships with their children. Specific services are as follows:

Providence House provides furnished housing and other essential needs, including basic household goods, food, limited transportation, and childcare.

Transportation is available Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., and childcare is provided during required programming and court. Parents are required to obtain childcare in the community while they work. The campus is supervised by staff Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. or later.

Providence House believes that parents do not set out to neglect their children intentionally. Many times, parents have endured their own neglectful and abusive childhoods and have histories of unresolved trauma. Through treatment, parents often discover that they are repeating patterns from their childhoods without even realizing it. Treatment at Providence House aims to strengthen emotional connections between parents and children, facilitate building new ways of connecting, and break the cycle of neglectful parenting.

Participation in therapy at Providence House is a program requirement for all adults and is essential to facilitate change. Adult clients typically participate in up to two hours of individual therapy and four to five therapy groups per week during their initial phase of the program. In addition to a client’s specific individualized treatment goals, therapy also includes psycho-education about Attachment Styles (emotional connections) and gaining insight into intergenerational patterns within families.

All parents complete the evidence-based, DCS-approved Systematic Training for Effective Parenting (STEP) curriculum. They also participate in a weekly parent education group that addresses common parenting issues. Additionally, parents have access to a parenting coach who can facilitate achieving specific parenting goals. Coaching includes both psycho-education and “live” parent coaching.

Our Case Management Department consists of one full-time Case Manager and one full-time Assistant Case Manager who provide case management services to all families. While case management is tailored to each family’s individual needs, they strongly emphasize time management and budgeting skills. Planning and following through with weekly schedules, as well as planning and monitoring family expenses and income, are standard requirements for all families.

Other common goals for self-sufficiency include obtaining employment, housing, and government assistance when necessary. Residents accomplish their self-sufficiency goals through participation in weekly case management groups and one-on-one case management meetings. As they advance through the program, adults are expected to become increasingly more independent as a marker of their progress.

We Are Here For You

Have questions? Reach out to our team, and we’ll ensure you get the information you need. We’re here to help!