Bosco Homes announced yesterday that it won’t be closing all its doors.
The organization reached an agreement with the Ministry of Children and Youth Services to continue operating its group homes for troubled youth in Edmonton, Stony Plain, Parkland County, Innisfail and Ponoka. Bosco Homes’ special-needs schools in Edmonton, Stony Plain and Parkland County will also remain open.
According to a release, the Strathcona County Ranch and the Wetaskiwin group home will stay open until December or January, when all the kids there complete their treatment. Then both facilities will be shut down and “assessed for other service uses.”
Just last week, Bosco Homes was preparing to close eight group facilities after claiming the government had stopped placing children in the homes.
“We convinced (the government),” said John Watson, president of Bosco Homes. “We locked them into discussion and we came to an agreement.”
Watson said he’s “very happy” with the agreement, even though the two closures will result in 100 jobs being lost.
