A real home where teens build lasting change.
Community Reintegration Program designed to help youth with complex behavioral health needs build stability, independence, and lasting success at home, in school, and in their communities.
Arkansas's first Community Reintegration Program for adolescents ages 12–17, designed to help prevent acute and sub-acute hospitalization. The program also serves as a step-down or transitional level of care, supporting youth as they move from intensive treatment to less restrictive, community-based services.
About Fostering Change
A true home — not an institution.
Fostering Change is Arkansas's first Community Reintegration Program (CRI) and remained the state's only program of its kind from its opening in 2018 through 2025. For more than seven years, we have served over 175 adolescents from across Arkansas, helping youth ages 12–17 successfully transition from institutional settings back into their homes, schools, and communities.
Our program serves adolescents with complex behavioral health needs who have often experienced multiple psychiatric hospitalizations, residential placements, foster homes, and other out-of-home settings. Fostering Change is designed to prevent acute and sub-acute hospitalization while also providing a supportive step-down or transitional level of care for youth moving from more intensive treatment settings.
Unlike traditional hospital or residential programs, Fostering Change operates as a true home environment. Youth attend public schools, participate in community activities, build healthy relationships, and develop the skills needed to navigate everyday life. With appropriate support and accountability, they have opportunities to earn privileges such as cell phones, computers, employment, and other age-appropriate experiences that promote independence and personal growth.
Each youth receives individualized, intensive services tailored to their unique needs, including therapy, medication management, behavioral support, therapeutic recreation, life skills development, and community integration activities. Care is coordinated through a multidisciplinary team consisting of a medical provider, behavioral analyst, nurse, therapists, and administrative leadership, ensuring every client receives comprehensive, collaborative, and person-centered treatment.
Many of the adolescents we serve have experienced 50, 60, or even more than 90 prior placements before entering our program. Our mission is to provide the stability, consistency, and therapeutic support necessary for lasting healing and growth. Through community-based treatment and meaningful relationships, we help youth build the skills and resilience needed to thrive, with the ultimate goal of preventing future returns to acute or sub-acute levels of care.
Healing happens in everyday moments — shared meals, real conversations, and the steady rhythm of a home that feels safe.
Location
2901 Rogers Avenue, Fort Smith, AR 72901
Insurance
Must be in Arkansas PASSE
Phone
479-910-0550Who It's For
Who Is This For?
Adolescents ages 12–17 with complex behavioral needs
Youth transitioning from higher levels of care
Youth in foster care or post-adoptive families
Families seeking specialist support for their child
Daily Life
What to Expect
Days look like a teenager's life should — school, activities, responsibility, and real support around every step.
A home environment — not an institution
Attending public school and normal teen activities
Opportunities to get a job and earn privileges
Intensive daily therapeutic support
Life skills training (ordering at restaurants, shopping, banking)
Family involvement and transition planning
Program Highlights
What's Included
Individualized, intensive services delivered by a multidisciplinary team — coordinated, collaborative, and built around each youth.
Community Reintegration
A guided path back into home, school, and community life — at a steady, supported pace.
Public School Attendance
Youth attend public schools and take part in everyday teen activities.
Real-World Life Skills
Hands-on practice with cooking, shopping, banking, and the basics of independent living.
Trauma-Focused Care
Individualized therapy and behavioral support from a multidisciplinary clinical team.
Family Services
Family involvement and transition planning so progress carries home with the youth.
Inside Fostering Change
A True Home Environment
Not a hospital or a residential facility — a home, with shared meals, comfortable spaces, and room to grow.
The Fostering Change home in Fort Smith, Arkansas.
Our coffee cafe — a warm spot for connection and conversation.
The girls' living room — built for gathering, not just sitting.
The boys' living room — space to unwind, play, and just be a kid.
The visitation room for families and guests.
Warm, comfortable bedrooms.
Warm, personal, and homey — every room.
A calm, comfortable place to rest.
Color and comfort that feel like home.
Room to move — therapeutic recreation built in.
Hallways brightened by hand-painted murals.
Start the journey
Ready to Take the First Step?
Complete a referral packet today and begin the path toward stability, healing, and lasting success for your child.