The Settlement Club

“The settlement club is organized as a non-stock, nonprofit corporation with members. There are three membership categories, of which one (active members) has voting rights.”

“All officers and members of the board of directors are elected by the active membership of the settlement club.”

“Certain actions of the board of directors, such as approval of the annual operating budget, amendment of the club's governing documents, and dissolution of the organization, require a vote of the active membership.”

“The board of directors has delegated primary responsibility for review of the club's annual form 990 to the club's executive director. However, the club's annual form 990 is also reviewed by the finance committee of the board of directors.”

“Conflict of interest statements are signed by all board members annually. The policy requires timely disclosure of all potential conflicts of interest.”

“Executive director compensation is approved by the human resources committee, which is comprised of members of the board of directors.”

“Documents are provided to the public upon request”

“To operate the settlement home for children, which provides quality programs for the care and treatment of children, young adults, and families that have experienced abuse and neglect. The settlement home is a private, licensed nonprofit organization that cares for children who come from abusive and neglectful backgrounds. Our mission is to promote healing and growth in children, young adults, and families by providing a continuum of care, support and resources. We serve individuals who have experienced severe emotional trauma, abuse and neglect. Through a variety of services and programs, we are able to meet the specific needs of each individual we serve. We have residential programs that provide a therapeutic, structured environment for adolescent girls. In addition, we have a transitional living program for young women. These programs provide residents with the tools, resources and life skills they need to live healthy, productive lives. We also have a foster and adoption program that trains and verifies families in the austin community to provide a safe, therapeutic family setting for boys and girls.”

“Residential programs: the residential programs serve girls in need of 24-hour supervised care to ensure safety and a sense of security. Our primary referral source is child protective services (cps), which is part of texas department of family and protective services (tdfps). The youth that we serve have a history of abuse, neglect and severe emotional trauma and are in need of healing. Each cottage is agency-staffed and run by a licensed therapist who provides individual, group and family therapy, as well as treatment planning and consultation. Aside from therapeutic services, some residents also learn and practice skills to promote independence to prepare for adulthood. Other residents are working toward moving into a family setting, which could be their biological family, a foster family or an adoptive family. While our license allows us to serve girls as young as the age of 7, typically our youngest residents are 12 years old. The transitional living program serves young women between the ages of 18 and 21 who are in extended foster care and working to be self-sufficient. Twelve furnished efficiency apartments house one young woman each and include utilities and basic cable/internet service. These residents have earned a high school diploma or ged. To be eligible, residents must be employed or enrolled in post-secondary education. The primary focus of the program is to allow residents the opportunities to learn basic independent skills, including financial literacy, job readiness and culinary skills. Residents meet regularly with a therapist who helps them set goals toward independence and provides after care services.”

“Foster and adoption program: the foster and adoption program works with child protective services (cps) case workers, court appointed special advocates (casa), attorneys, and families to provide either a temporary or permanent stable home for children who can no longer remain in the care of their biological family. The goal of the program is to be the last place a child lives before achieving what cps calls "permanence," which included reunification with family, kinship placement or adoption. We aim to provide safety, stability and well-being for children in foster care. We support both foster and adoptive families as they provide children with a sense of belonging and connection to the larger world.”

“The settlement club prepares audited financial statements on a combined basis with the settlement club endowment fund. The process in place during the current year is the same as that was in effect in prior years.”