Philosophy and History

Philosophy

We believe every child deserves a home. At Above the Line we support and aggressively seek every possible solution for the children we serve.

History

Above the Line was started in 1994 by Kimberly Carter to effectively respond to the needs of increasing numbers of at-risk youth in Santa Cruz County, California. Its name reflects the founders’ belief that certain situations, such as teen homelessness, are below the line of acceptability in our community.

Group Home Society was an established group home for girls with a long-standing history for success in Santa Cruz County. Group Home Society provided housing and services to court referred teenaged girls who came through the Child Welfare System.

In August of 2001, these two organizations joined forces to achieve a more efficient, less costly way of providing the same services to at-risk youth within Santa Cruz County. The merger produced the ability to separate literate and non-literate children in our schools and to separate youth by gender when appropriate.

Now, Above the Line has transformed into an agency which serves at-risk girls, operates and all-girls school in conjunction with the County Office of Education, runs two foster care programs, Homes for Kids and Intensive Treatment Foster Care and has opened the Kashtan Educational building on its consolidated campus in Corralitos.

From its modest roots, Above the Line has expanded its services to be an inclusive, full-service agency to at-risk children and youth in Santa Cruz County.