1993 – St. Jude’s Ranch for Children-Nevada purchased St. Jude’s Home for Children, Bulverde, Texas. We operated in this manner until 2016. This campus continues to provide all of our therapeutic residential treatment services for children 0 to 21 years.

1997 – SJRC Texas added a second campus, the former Comal County Emergency Children’s Shelter in New Braunfels, Texas. The Emergency Shelter grew to house a Pregnant and Parenting Teen Program, meeting a great unmet need in the greater San Antonio community, in addition to providing Emergency Placement services.

2012 – We expanded to operate as a Child Placing Agency, allowing us to license foster homes in the community and to complete adoptions, providing forever families for our clients.

June 2016 – SJRC Texas received accreditation through the Council on Accreditation (COA). COA is a rigorous three-year process that evaluates all aspects of the operations. This distinguished accreditation sets us apart as a high quality program.

July 2016 – An exciting new chapter in our history began in July 2016. We underwent transformative changes to positively impact the future sustainability of SJRC Texas to ensure that we can continue to care for hundreds of children and families every year. The national board of St. Jude’s Ranch for Children decided to strategically separate operations in Nevada and Texas to allow each region to more efficiently serve foster children. The dissolution of the national board structure and business operations, effective July 1, 2016, allowed each state to continue forward separately with existing and future board members serving on localized boards designed to have a sharper focus on the specific and unique needs of the children in their corresponding communities. This has not only increased efficiency, but also has addressed the desires of donors who wish to see all their contributions go toward local efforts.

On January 1, 2020 SJRC Texas added an entire Community Enrichment Department focused on providing prevention and family preservation and support services to the community. As part of this expansion, the McKenna Foundation transitioned their nationally accredited Blue Ribbon Parents As Teachers (PAT) home visiting program over to SJRC Texas.

In March 2021, SJRC Texas was awarded a contract through the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) for its division Belong to serve as the lead provider for Community-Based Care (CBC) for Texas’ South Central and Hill Country Region.

Belong’s Community-Based Care program includes services to families that support the safety, permanency, and well-being of children in the conservatorship of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. As the lead provider for Community-Based Care, Belong ensures the full range of services, which includes foster and kinship care, case management and reunification services. Belong also fully engages the community to help achieve the best possible outcomes for the children. Since Belong’s inception in October 2021, Belong has cared for over 1,191 children and young adults, worked with over 1,000 volunteers, and employed 254 dedicated staff across 27 counties. Parent Educators conducted over 765 home and virtual visits and served 86 families and 103 children, and we served 233 kinship families.

In April of 2025, SJRC Texas was awarded a contract through DFPS to oversee Community-Based Care (CBC) for Bexar County (Region 8a), expanding their responsibility as a Single Source Continuum Contractor (SSCC) to encompass all of Region 8. Belong will begin Stage I (Intake and Placement) in the Fall of 2025. Belong delivers a community-based care model for youth and families by enacting systemic changes that expedite permanency and focus on child and family well-being. With a focus on family preservation and child well-being, the nonprofit delivers a comprehensive suite of evidence-based services, including therapeutic care, community-based support, and in-home interventions.