Ranch For Kids

They used to be JCICS-accredited. Last year when we blogged about the 400 possible Russian disruptions, they still were listed as a JCICS agency. Now they are no longer on the list.

The latest article on this unlicensed facility can be found at Eureka ranch gives children, many abandoned in Russia, second chance [Missoulian 2/4/12 by Tristan Scott]. Ranch for Kids Project is a nonprofit organization. It is an “is an adjunct ministry of a local church in the State of Montana. Ranch For Kids is a non-denominational ministry” according to their website. They developed from the Global Adoption Services Russian adoption agency.

Some excerpts:

“Bearing the scars of an invisible disorder, a lost generation of adopted children, most of them Russian, has come here to live on Joyce Sterkel’s ranch.

“You’re not bad. This isn’t your fault. This was done to you,” Sterkel, 65, frequently reminds them in a firm and maternal tone.

Their ages range from 5 to 18, but they have endured hidden horrors before taking their first breath, and were abandoned to the system before the consequences of their disease – permanent brain damage and behavioral problems as the result of fetal alcohol exposure – became evident.

Their adoptive families send them here in hopes of one day reconciling, and while many of the children are eager for a second chance, most have the implicit understanding that they are not ready to return home. Some may never be, and the bleakness of that reality stands in stark relief against the idyllic backdrop of the Ranch for Kids Project, a nonprofit, in-house respite care facility designed for adopted children who suffer from Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD).”

“Some of the children spend several weeks or months with Sterkel before returning to their families, and the outcomes are sometimes positive. Others, like Cole, require years of respite care just to develop basic life skills.”

“But until such a structured environment exists, Sterkel has taken to allowing some former clients to live and work at the ranch indefinitely. She is now the legal guardian of a 2-year-old girl whose mother left the ranch for the Job Corps, but became pregnant and could not care for the child.”

Sexual Abuse of Adoptive Sister

We want to mention again one of the risks that is taboo to discuss in the adoption community. We continue to hear people downplay this risk when adopting older children or any child for that matter.

“Gabe, a teenager whose adoptive family did not give permission to publish his last name, exhibits all of those physical features, and also recalls being abused by his biological father. He was placed at the ranch after sexually abusing his adoptive sister and, without the moral judgment to understand why those actions are wrong, is now working to correct the behaviors.”

Qualifications

Joyce Sterkel, though a nurse, does not hold any type of nursing license in the state of Montana. Their website does not list any licensed medical personnel.

PoundPup Files on Ranch for Kids can be found here.

REFORM Puzzle Piece

Though they refer to themselves as a “project” and “respite care,” please consider the advice of CAFETY before enrolling your child in any type of facility such as this.