Star House serves children who are able to go to school in the community and show signs of being ready to take part in the community. The child is assessed to see if they can be kept safe in a neighborhood home, safely interact with peers, participate in individual family and group therapy and prepare for a family or an identified family reunification such as foster placement or adoption. We also consider whether a child can live in a co-educational setting and is able to make progress towards documented and agreed upon treatment goals.

Star House collaborates with the Department of Social Services and the Department of Mental Health by contracting for services with both agencies in order to place children in the custody of these agencies in our program.

We work closely with case managers from both of these agencies to provide a continuum of quality care for children. Because of the current crisis in children's mental health care services there is a waiting list of children in need of placement in transitional homes. Star House assesses children ages 5-12, male and female from the north shore as well as greater Boston and Metro West who have all levels of intellectual capacity as well as those who have minimal physical or medical challenges.