CROMWELL, CT (February 22, 2018) – Ädelbrook Behavioral & Developmental Services, a Covenant ministry that serves several hundred children and young adults on the autism spectrum, is the focus of a laudatory feature in Cromwell Today magazine.
Ädelbrook was founded in 1900 by the Swedish Evangelical Covenant Church and opened as the Swedish Christian Orphanage with a purpose to “provide a home for homeless and neglected children.” It later became the Children’s Home of Cromwell.
It was affiliated with the East Coast Conference of the ECC until 2000, when it became affiliated with Covenant Ministries of Benevolence.
Until 2010, clients were primarily status offenders and kids with mental illnesses. Nearly all lived on campus. When the state would no longer pay for most of the services, the school transitioned to serving mostly kids with autism spectrum disorder who live at home.
Those students are served at several campuses and other sites throughout the region. Only about 10 percent of the clients live in residential homes operated by Ädelbrook. Many of the services are paid by local school boards.
“We work with some really challenging kids,” says Sabrina Cameron, Ädelbrook’s chief operating officer of residential and community services. “But we’re able to see the benefits… It’s why we do what we do.”
