from the University of Tennessee, as well as
a master’s of Divinity in Theology. Mr. Embry
worked as a social worker for ABCH in Mobile,
Alabama from 1985 until 1997 when he was
relocated to Calhoun County. “We wanted
to know what the greatest need for the area
was,” Mr. Embry explained to me. ‘There are
several different types of group homes from
short term crisis to permanent relocations. At
the time we were told that short term crisis
was the greatest need for Calhoun County,
so we built the Friendship house.” Short term
crisis involves immediately removing a child
from their primary guardian and relocating
them to a more stable place. The Friendship
house offers these children housing and care
until they are either reunited with a guardian
or placed in foster care. The home is licensed
for a maximum of 10 children at a time, and
Mr. Embry tells me that there are anywhere
between 6-10 children housed there on any
given day.
ABCH also focuses on training foster families
in Calhoun County. There are three different types of foster families: short term plan
respite, short term crisis care, and long term
(traditional) foster care. Short term planned
respite involves planned visit ́