Childrens Home of Reading – Reading

3 years later and i still haven’t healed from the trauma this place gave me. i still have flashbacks and i was even diagnosed with ptsd after i got out. almost all of staff that were there at the time were on a power… trip. the few staff that genuinely cared ended up leaving because of the environment. residential treatment causes lasting trauma, if treatment is absolutely necessary send your kids anywhere else except for this place. try alternative therapy. there is no reason a treatment facility should be 9-12 months, that’s a money grab not genuine help.

I was placed here March 14, 2023 and discharged March 14, 2024. This place was truly one of the best RTFs I have been in. The staff are AMAZING. There was one negative though, my clothes after being washed would come… back with stains or some of my socks would be missing but that is about it. Otherwise this place was great, I’m so happy with how much it helped me develop healthy coping skills.

If Kafka and a broken game of telephone had a child, it would be this facility—equal parts confusion, contradiction, and the uncanny ability to make you question reality while insisting everything is “clinically… appropriate.” This place markets itself as a therapeutic environment, but in practice it often feels like an immersive experience in how to professionally sideline parents while calling it best practice. You may arrive expecting to be part of your child’s treatment. That expectation will be gently, systematically, and very efficiently dismantled. Communication here deserves special recognition. It is not merely inconsistent—it is almost an art form. You will receive updates that are vague enough to say nothing, yet somehow structured in a way that suggests something important was said. Asking follow-up questions is a bit like chasing a shadow: you can try, but you won’t catch anything solid. Parental involvement appears to operate on a Schrödinger’s cat model—you are both included and excluded at the same time, depending on who you ask and what day it is. Legally responsible? Yes. Practically informed? That’s more of a philosophical concept. As for treatment, if the objective is to reinforce avoidance, escalate conflict, and create distance within a family unit, then the program is impressively consistent. If the goal is accountability, stability, and repair, those outcomes are… harder to locate. Perhaps they are kept in the same place as the clear answers. There is a uniquely unsettling experience in watching a system designed to help families instead function like a slow-motion exercise in separating them, all while maintaining a tone of calm professionalism. It’s almost admirable—like watching someone rearrange deck chairs and confidently call it navigation. To be fair, the staff may very well believe in what they are doing. But belief does not replace transparency, and process does not equal progress—no matter how many times it is repeated in meetings. Families come here in crisis, trusting they will be part of the solution. Instead, you may find yourself piecing together your child’s situation like a puzzle where half the pieces are missing and the other half come from a different box. And then there’s Act 147—the facility’s favorite magic trick. Not as a tool for collaboration, but as a convenient legal curtain to hide behind. It allows decisions to be made around families, over families, and despite families, all while maintaining the polished illusion that everything is above board. It’s not just a shield—it’s an exit strategy from accountability, wrapped in policy language and signed off as “best practice.” If you are considering this facility, ask yourself one question: Do you want to actively participate in your child’s care—or would you prefer the occasional vague reassurance that something, somewhere, is happening? Because here, those are very different experiences. And if their response to this sounds familiar, it should—it will likely be the same polished, empathetic non-answer families receive privately: appreciative in tone, meticulously worded, and carefully constructed to acknowledge everything while clarifying nothing.

At first I felt good about my child being here. They promote themselves on specializing in helping children who have been adopted and in and out of foster care. However, on several occasions, I have addressed that my… child is viewing movies and television shows that have inappropriate content. The facility uses the PG/PG13 rating without screening the cautions to the content. My child was exposed to a horror movie, a tv show that was rated tv14 with inappropriate content, a movie I found out about that was shown in group therapy that had very inappropriate material and scenes in it (the bigger question would be why aren’t they doing therapy in group therapy when they already watch too much tv), and probably a lot of other movies I don’t know about because they do not get parental consent before exposing your child with content that does not line up with your family values and morals. This is something I have addressed multiple times and they do nothing about it. I put my child to get help, not to be permitted to listen to music that can’t listen to at home, not to watch movies and shows he isn’t allowed at home, not to freely curse when he can’t at home, and not to refuse to go to school to only sit around and watch movies and television. There are so many other things children can do to occupy their time instead of letting the tv babysit them. They should be required to get parental consent before exposing them to whatever the child wants or doesn’t want but it’s on for them to see. I question this policy of letting the children choose their music and shows without screening the content. Garbage in, garbage out. I sent my child there to heal not deal with inappropriate content being shown to him. I am disappointed that CHOR chose to remove my review and their response when their response was an encouraging one.

I am a grandmother and my 14 yo boy is there. He hasn't been there long but I have no contact

I was 12 to 13 years old when I went to choir and I went there for personal reasons and I was supposed to be there for 6 months and sound of being there for 2 and a half years I got bullied me up Scottish treated me.… Now I am 21 years old have a job in State high strong one of the staff at choir said I would be back within a year but I haven't been back since. I recommend every parent to suggest other places than chor from personal experience

Hello, my name is Michael Riccio. I was placed here in March of 2023 and discharged February of 2024. I was originally in the shelter until, but moved up to the RTF a few months later. This program is excellent for… teens that struggle with mental health. My experience was amazing. Staff are polite, calm, understandable, etc. They do a lot of fun things, such as going to parks, going out to eat, baseball games, etc. They have helpful groups every weekday that impower clients to make a better version of themselves. I've done some stupid things while I was here like running away, but I was given a second chance and took advantage of it. I'm giving this place a 5 star rating because this placed changed me in a way that no where else could've. No placement is perfect, but this is one of the best placements in PA. Thank you to all the staff and clinicians who guided to become a better person

I am Carmelo caban I was 13 when I was at chor. When I first got there I didn't like it I was there for 2 and a half years over time I started to like it I loved the staff. Love the teachers, one of my favorite staff… was Mr Derek, and my favorite counselor was Miss Allison She helped me a lot. There is one thing I didn't like and that was that bullying what's a big thing staff should really get on top of that please but other that that chor is something I would recommend to other parents they really do help your kid they had some issues but like they worked to fix it I was there for two and a half years throw my time there I really learned a lot thank you Staff and counselors and teachers and every other person for helping me

Overall, we've had a decent experience working with CHOR. This is my son's third placement and the only one that seems to want to help him. However, I do have some major complaints and concerns that are not being… addressed. Security staffing is severely lacking. There have been times I have shown up for a scheduled visit and there is no one to let me in because there is no one working security. There have also been times I've tried to call to speak with my son and no one answers due to insufficient staffing in the security office. This is highly concerning. Every month there is one or more treatment meetings to discuss progress and changes or updates to the current treatment plan. I have no say in when these are scheduled, but I am expected to attend. These are often scheduled early on a weekday. I work a very dangerous and demanding job and would have to take an entire unpaid day off work to attend these. I have asked many times for these to be scheduled after 3 pm and I'm told it can not be done due to the doctor's schedule. My son's grandmother has been attending in my place, but she has no rights to make decisions and information then becomes lost through the middle man. I can not afford to take one or more unpaid days a month to attend these and I don't know how other parents do. Staff has also called me uncooperative because I refuse to risk my job for an hour long meeting. Outside of these concerns, I do feel this is the right place for my son. I do like the doctor and trust her. My son's clinician is also very kind and efficient.

My daughter had a very positive experiance the first time she was there but years later and we desperately needed help again and they do not return phone calls after calling numerous times. I sent insurance information… and never heard from them again. I was advised by school and therepist and hospital to enroll her again and had cps on my doorstep for not taking her in and i voiced this to childrens home and still no response

this place was disgusting. any time i had a panic attack nobody was there to help and they would claim i was “seeking attention” all but like 3 of the staff there were very rude. i would constantly get called out by… them. the food there was disgusting and the kitchen director was extremely rude. it was not clean AT ALL and i would wake up in the middle of the night to bugs on my pillow. i honestly do not recommend this place no matter how local it is. especially if your child will be placed on the girls unit. i do however want to thank Christian Crutchfeilds, Nayla Alfonso and Jovani (i never caught his last name) for helping our unit and treating us as individuals rather than a group. there are definitely weirdos who work there so watch out. -paityn meadows

I was 15-16 when I was there and it was the best rtf I was ever in I was up on the third floor in a single room having some serious issues when I decided to rip all the dry wall off the walls I also remember getting my… fingers shut in the door during a lockdown bc one of the other kids was having issues to and I didn't want to be in the group room so I tried to push my way out and the process got my fingers accidentally shut in the door horrible pain I also remember having a garden in between the north and west wing I was on the west wing my window looked over the back parking lot and my garden it was my happy place

At first I thought this place was wonderful until after my child being there a year and half she came home with 3 facial piercings and the excuse was she said they where there prior, hun they where not there when I just… seen here 6 months ago and they were not there when she showed up a year and a half ago! This also meant you did nothing knowing she pierced herself! We are now dealing with a boy claiming to be her boyfriend calling my husbands phone from the CHOR number and writing letters using an envelope with CHORS information and paid my CHOR. My husband also is getting texted messages from this boy on a Saturday. So clearly they do not follow their own rules that state NO Jewelry and NO Electronics, NO Romantic Relationships! I want someone to answer for these issues but I am sure they will just get brushed under the rug!

This is a really good rtf I was successfully discharged from chor about a year ago and now I feel like a whole different kid

I just recently got successfully discharged from chor and honestly it is probably one of the best residential treatment facilities you will find in pa. the majority of the staff really do care and try to make sure you… are safe, even though they don't get paid nearly enough. i will say that the grtf unit does not get nearly as much as the boys units (rtf, srtf, and clemente) do. for example, over the summer i witnessed the boys go to the pool every week like clockwork, while the grtf clients were told that “we didnt have the money.” the boys units were constantly going on outings while the girls were stuck on the unit doing nothing. the grtf staff did try to make the best of it and bring water balloons and other fun things to do. im pretty sure this is pretty common, but the food is absolute trash. (im kinda picky though) the only thing that i would really want to see change though is the staffs pay. they are so underpaid and they go through so much in this job. they have to deal with kids trying to get into fights and they can sometimes be attacked themselves. shoutout to ms. clara, ms. klarissa, ms. yami, and mr. jermaine, for always helping me out when i needed something :)

Don't send your kids here. Terribly understaffed. There is no air conditioning in the boys' unit. Staff will restrain and leave cuts and burns and abrasions on the children. I could go on for hours about this place.… Please do Not send your children here. Find another option!

There are some good direct care employees there however the children don’t appear to be the priority, money is. Staff is underpaid and there are consistently too few to keep them and the kids safe, the food provided for… the kids is literally cheap junk, upper management consistently lies and mainly worries about liability and their bottom line. Caseworkers, clinicians, all direct care staff, even housekeeping who laughably doubles as “security” are underpaid and falsely appreciated when they’re handed $20 food vouchers for Christmas for enduring some difficult situations that’s exacerbated by the continual lack of support. It’s not a good work environment. Turnover is high and morale is typically low. It may seem crazy but it really appears to be all about the insurance money the kids bring for those who run it. Why else would they add an entirely new unit when there isn’t sufficient staff to begin with? Non profit? Yeah, ok. Perhaps the owner is enriching his life on the equity of the real estate the facilities are operated in as he’s riding around in luxury vehicles while his full time employees who actually work with the troubled youth easily qualify for government assistance. Too much reliance on drugs to manage behaviors when things get bad, some kids have been zombified with medication in the past, bringing about a host of sad side effects. The occasional true success story is a result of certain caring employees and individuals/organizations who donate, not upper management.

I went there in 2020 love most of the staff but they did not get paid enough when we got granted our home passes we had to go to the empty floor because of Covid when we where up there we found countless dirty rags and… one day we found like 5 toothbrushes with poop on them from the boys unit and at that time a lot of staff where leaving because of pay cuts but other then that this place has put a big impact in my life with boundaries and self respect I want to thank all my staff that could talk to (at this time I was going by Conner) I hope this place got more staff and fixed the church and got better cleaning staff

The year 1992 I was in this home.And I remember a great man and mentor we called him pops.He help me along my way of life..I stayed here for a few months..I see the building was changed and updated..But I hope people… there are just like Pops was