Pathways Youth & Family Services

Pathways Youth & Family Services, Inc. was founded by Dan and Betty Johnson. Dan Johnson was inspired by his pastor at a men's conference in 1976. He committed 100 life goals to paper at the age of 21. One of those goals was to purchase a ranch and open a home for boys. This goal became a reality in May 1992, when Pathways Youth Home, Inc. began operations as a therapeutic foster home for 6 boys. In 1996, Pathways expanded services and began licensing and training other foster families. Due to their program's success, the State of Texas encouraged the Johnsons to begin licensing and developing homes in other parts of Texas. Today, Pathways serves children and families state-wide, with offices in Dallas/Fort Worth, Waco, Austin, Kerrville, Houston, Abilene, Odessa/Midland, Del Rio, the Rio Grande Valley, and San Antonio. In addition to licensing over 400 foster families, Pathways provides placement for children who require specialized care at 3H Wilderness Youth Ranch and for children with severe intellectual and/or developmental disabilities through our Habilitative Homes division. We also offer behavioral health services. Through our work with children and caregivers, Pathways saw that foster parents were struggling to access the therapeutic and psychiatric services necessary to help children address their history of abuse, neglect, and trauma. Seeking an innovative way to address this issue, Pathways created our Mosaic Consulting division in 1998 to ensure that caregivers could easily access quality behavioral health services for children in their care. Mosaic provides counseling, therapy, parenting classes, and psychiatry services. Mosaic makes it easy for children and families to access services. Our therapists and other mental health professionals work with children in our offices, in the home, or at school. In 2016, Pathways began providing crisis intervention and emergency psychiatric services to help support foster families and stabilize placement for children with acute needs. We are currently piloting telehealth services in the Dallas/Fort Worth area to make our services available to clients in a broader area. Pathways continues to seek out innovative ways to support the children and families we serve. We are committed to bettering the lives of children in foster care by ensuring that our caregivers have the training, support, and resources they need to promote safety and well-being for the children in our care.

Our Needs

Pathways is raising funds that will allow us to give the children we serve experiences that promote well-being and teach them valuable life skills. In addition to providing safe homes where children can heal, Pathways strives to help children and youth live as normal a life as possible while in foster care. Experiences like participating in club sports, going to prom, completing drivers-ed, or attending summer camp provide children with opportunities to establish healthy relationships with peers, form connections to supportive adults, feel connected to their community, build self-confidence, and prepare for adulthood. Children and youth in foster care often miss out on these important experiences. Additional financial support can help create opportunities for our kids in foster care to experience childhood to the fullest.