Devereux Foundation

The Devereux Foundation is a nonprofit behavioral healthcare organization that operates a national network of programs and services to individuals of all ages who have emotional, developmental and behavioral needs. It is one of the oldest and largest nonprofit providers of behavioral healthcare in the United States and recently celebrated its 103rd anniversary.[1] Devereux currently has locations in 11 states. Services include psychiatric hospitals, residential treatment centers, community-based group homes, respite care programs, supervised apartments, foster care homes, special education day schools, and vocational and pre-vocational training.

History

The Devereux School was founded in 1912 by pioneer in special education Helena T. Devereux. In 1908 Devereux taught the first special education class formed in the School District of Philadelphia. The class began with forty-three students and after one year thirty-three of them were able to return to their regular grade work.[2] At the annual meeting of the American Academy of Political and Social Science in 1909, Lightner Witmer, known as the father of clinical psychology,[3] said the “record she has made in advancing some of these children I think is a very remarkable one”.[4] Helena Devereux’s talent was further recognized when in 1912 the School District of Philadelphia asked her to serve as the first director of special education.[5] She turned down the job and instead rented a house in Philadelphia which became her first private school, and this marked the beginning of the Devereux Schools.[6] By 1918, Devereux moved her operation to Devon, Pennsylvania and began acquiring properties throughout Chester County, Pennsylvania and along the Philadelphia Main Line to accommodate her rapidly expanding programs.[7]

In 1938, the State of Pennsylvania granted a nonprofit charter, and the Devereux Foundation was established.[8] As news of Helena Devereux's work spread, so did requests for admission from parents. Devereux was able to acquire additional properties and expand services largely through loans and donations from parents and benefactors.

California center's Devereux Hall in Santa Barbara County in 2010

The first major expansion of the organization to California was made possible with the help of Max Factor.[9] In 1945, the Devereux Foundation opened a school on the 500 acre Campbell Ranch in Santa Barbara County, which became a student residence hall with residential treatment. Eventually the manor house was renamed for the school’s founder, Helena T. Devereux. Devereux Hall was designated Historical Landmark No. 27 by the County of Santa Barbara on September 8, 1987.[10]

In 1956 Devereux was approved by the American Psychology Association (APA) to offer internships and is one of only ten pre-doctoral internship programs in Professional Psychology continuously accredited by the APA since the program’s inception Accredited Internship Programs in Professional Psychology.

Today the Devereux Foundation has centers in the following locations:

References

  1. ↑ Caroline Stewart, “Devereux celebrates its 100th anniversary at the Museum of Art”, December 13, 2012.
  2. ↑ Devereux, Helena (1909). "Report of a Year’s Work on Defectives in a Public School". The Psychological Clinic. 3: 45–48.
  3. ↑ Tulchin, Simon (1957). "Lightner Witmer, Ph.D.: June 28, 1867-July 19, 1956". American Journal of Orthopsychiatry. 27: 200–201.
  4. ↑ Witmer, Lightner (1909). "The clinical Study and Treatment of Normal and Abnormal Development: A Psychological clinic". The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. 34: 141–162.
  5. ↑ Dinger, Edward (2011). International Directory of Company Histories. Detroit: St. James Press. pp. 134–137.
  6. ↑ Brind, David (2011). Reaching the Mind, Touching the Spirt (PDF). Villanova: Devereux Foundation. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
  7. ↑ Post, J.B. (2004). "Devereux in Easttown and Tredyffrin Townships" (PDF). Devereux in Easttown and Tredyffrin Townships. 41: 131–134.
  8. ↑ "Recognizing the Devereux Foundation" (PDF). Congressional Record. 112th Congress. 2011–2012.
  9. ↑ Prost, Marlene (May 7, 1987). "Devereux: An Investment in Self-esteem". Philadelphia Inquirer.
  10. ↑ Coombs, Gary; Olsen, Phyllis (1987). In the Grand Manor: The Story of Devereux Hall. Goleta, California: Institute for American Research. ISBN 0911773053.
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