One cottage is now open. In 1991 the Presbyterian Child Welfare Agency established the Buckhorn Children's Foundation, to promote and support its mission work, and the Children's Property Company, to manage its real property and capital assets. The Residential Treatment Program serves both boys and girls, ages 10 to 18, who have histories of emotional and behavioral disturbance. Forty children live on the Buckhorn Campus and another forty on the Dessie Scott Campus. These are children who have failed in a variety of placements prior to their arrival at Buckhorn or at Dessie Scott.
Meals are prepared and served in each cottage in an effort to create a family type environment.
An atmosphere of trust where feelings can be shared is an important part of the program. These programs, now serving nearly 90 young people, offer them long term, stable settings in which to practice positive behaviors and to confirm recently gained insights. Transitional Residential Treatment Counselors and Supervisors are trained to teach specific skills of independent living to 16-19 year olds. Four single mothers and their children live in the Transitional Living for Homeless Youth and Children units in Lexington. The home is a temporary source of housing while the mothers, with the help of Transitional Living Supervisors, seek permanent housing, work, educational opportunities, and public assistance.