St. Catherine's Center for Children

First opening its doors in 1886 as a home for sick orphans, St. Catherine’s Center for Children has grown and evolved throughout its 130-plus years serving the Capital Region. We now offer a wide range of programs serving children, families, and individuals in need – and not just locally. As a regional human services provider, St. Catherine’s provides services in more than 20 counties in New York State. We remain a haven for hope in the Capital Region and beyond, aiding the most vulnerable among us. As a leading human services provider, our spectrum of services for children, families, and individuals suffering the lasting effects of abuse, neglect, mental illness, and other traumas continues to grow. We offer residential services for children ages five to thirteen, therapeutic foster care services, kinship support, special education schooling, homeless services, community-based prevention and outreach programs, and so much more. Our residential services provide a safe, stable environment for children who have been removed from their homes. Our foster care program places children in loving and supportive homes, while our Kinship Care program - recently honored with the 2023 CURA Award for Outstanding Organization - provides assistance and resources to those who have taken in a child from their own family, such as a niece or nephew, sibling, or a grandchild. The R & E May School provides a learning environment for students with special educational needs that cannot be met in a traditional school setting. Our homeless services include Albany County’s only shelter designed exclusively for families, as well as a supportive housing option with fully furnished apartments. Our dynamic, street outreach program, Pathways to Health – recognized as a 2022 Empire Whole Health Hero – goes out into the community to connect individuals in need with programs and services they would not ordinarily seek out on their own. These represent just some of the programs and services available to those in need.