Pressley Ridge’s Vision for Family-Centered Child Welfare
Over the past two centuries, child welfare has shifted dramatically – from institutional orphanages in the 1800s to residential treatment facilities and, eventually, to the more family-like setting of foster care. Today, the field is focused on keeping families together, recognizing the importance of preserving familial bonds and strengthening family units.
To remain relevant in this evolving landscape, human services organizations like Pittsburgh-based Pressley Ridge must continually adapt. Founded nearly 200 years ago as an orphanage, Pressley Ridge is now a national leader in child welfare and among the top non-profit organizations in Pittsburgh. They operate over 70 programs across seven states and serve vulnerable children and families through a wide range of services.
In 2024, thanks to a generous gift from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott, Pressley Ridge launched a transformative five-year strategic plan that focuses on growing services to meet the ever-changing needs of families and prepares the organization for future innovation.
The plan reflects a commitment to building a responsive, inclusive system that keeps families intact and helps children thrive within their communities. To preserve the organization’s legacy of success, Pressley Ridge is committed to continuously assessing their broad portfolio of programs for impact and relevancy while investing in infrastructure that includes advancing systems, technology and processes to strengthen efficiency, resilience and long-term sustainability.
“We recognize that for all children to thrive, our impact must extend far beyond the current scope of Pressley Ridge programs and services,” said President and CEO Susanne Cole. “This strategic plan allows us to educate, advocate and champion initiatives that enhance the system of care for all children, youth and families.”
A key initiative is expanding access to high-quality family preservation services. Pressley Ridge now operates 21 programs focused on keeping families together, including family-based therapy and short-term in-home crisis support. The organization recently introduced the nationally recognized Family Centered Treatment model. Family Centered Treatment (FCT) is an evidence-based and well-supported trauma treatment model of home-based family therapy. Pressley Ridge has plans to expand this service in Ohio, Texas, Virginia and other states within their footprint, as well as new geographic areas.
When children cannot safely remain at home, the leaders at Pressley Ridge are experts in caring for youth with complex behavioral health needs, particularly within the foster care system. The agency is recognized for developing one of the nation’s first and most influential treatment foster care models in the early 1980s. Their evidence-based treatment foster care pre-service training curriculum is utilized by 225 agencies in 38 states to train and certify foster parents to support a child’s emotional and developmental needs. This curriculum is also being implemented statewide in Kansas, Colorado and Alaska.
Nearly 50 years of expertise in treatment foster care has proven that children thrive when placed with family or close relatives – known as kinship care – but these grandparents, aunts and uncles still need support when caring for youth who have experienced trauma. Pressley Ridge is actively working to help kinship caregivers become certified, which offers advocacy tools, system navigation support and trauma-informed caregiving resources.
Pressley Ridge is leading kinship care efforts while also developing a training curriculum and model for kinship care aimed at supporting caregiving and outcomes for children. Within the past year, Pressley Ridge has adopted a technology to streamline recruitment and certification of foster parents, and they are currently developing an AI-powered app aligned with the PR-TFC training to provide real-time support for foster and kinship parents.
Pressley Ridge recently expanded into Texas, supporting the state’s shift to a community-based care model. Through the Texas Family Care Network (TFCN) division, the organization manages child welfare services in 15 counties in the deep east region of Texas. This approach emphasizes localized support and community interventions, helping children remain close to home. In its first year of operations, TFCN served over 1,000 youth, with 625 successfully discharged into family care or adoption.
In the past year, Pressley Ridge received a 98% satisfaction score from clients who completed services –reflecting a deep level of trust and effectiveness in the organization’s services. If their strategic plan reaches its full potential by 2029, Pressley Ridge will be a national leader in family preservation and foster care services, positively impacting up to tens of thousands more children and families. This is transformative, not just for those individuals but for entire communities.
This forward-looking plan underscores Pressley Ridge’s commitment to adaptability and innovation. As the child welfare system continues to evolve, the organization aims to lead by example, creating a more equitable, family-centered approach to care that strengthens communities and supports lasting connections.
I began my career as an Accounts Payable Clerk working with WV and MD. I transitioned to a Financial Manager/Accountant and was responsible for reconciling various accounts, managing credit cards for the agency, posting cash receipts and various other duties. Last year, I was promoted to the Controller position which oversees the Accounting Department.
We have likely all given to and know the importance of monetary donations to non-profit organizations. However, donations, particularly grants from foundations and corporations, often come with strict guidelines as to how and by when the funds must be utilized. Grant applications typically require organizations to specify certain programs or initiatives the funding is needed for, as well as the precise budget and timeline for the project.
For nearly two centuries, Pressley Ridge has been a cornerstone of support and transformation in the Pittsburgh region. Since its inception, Pressley Ridge has been driven by a singular mission: to help children and families in need. Over the years, the organization has evolved to meet the growing and complex needs of the community, offering a range of services including foster and kinship care, mental health support, residential treatment and educational programs. Through all of this, the organization has remained focused on one core principle—creating a positive, lasting impact on the lives of the children and families it serves.
The Pressley Ridge family has lost a true friend with the passing of long-time board member Fay Mosle, who passed away on Sunday, June 29th surrounded by her family.
Fueled by a passion to serve vulnerable children and families, Susanne Cole, President and CEO of Pittsburgh-based social services non-profit Pressley Ridge, has devoted her life to helping kids overcome challenges and reach their full potential.
In March 2022, Susanne Cole, President and CEO of Pittsburgh-based non-profit Pressley Ridge, received what she thought was a SPAM e-mail stating that the organization was being awarded a $10 million gift from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott. Thankfully, Cole followed up on the message and learned that Pressley Ridge would be receiving the largest gift in their nearly 200-year history, completely unsolicited.
By Jeremy Tepper, Allegheny Intermediate Unit
We are proud to announce that Pressley Ridge has been named a 2023 Top Workplace by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette! In addition, our President & CEO Susanne Cole was honored with the 
Hannah’s desire to help others came at a very young age, but her foster care journey began six years ago. In 2014, during the border crisis, she and her husband knew they wanted to help. Hannah’s husband, Jesús, is bilingual. When they became certified foster parents, they wanted to serve all children in need, especially unaccompanied immigrant minors who needed a bilingual family. The Origel family went on to foster a Hispanic youth from Guatemala and more than 15 other children over the last six years. 
Now, the Glovers are a beautiful family with three children – two are biological, a boy and a girl, and their newest addition. “We knew we wanted to have him as part of our family, but we also knew that the first goal was to try to help him go home,” said Sara. “The Pressley Ridge Treatment Foster Care training helped prepare us for both, and kept us informed through the process. We are a multicultural family living in a wonderful Pittsburgh neighborhood reflecting our diversity, and we feel very blessed”, said Sara Glover.
Many of our students have unique needs that require additional problem solving to ensure their health and safety. At the Pressley Ridge School for the Deaf, we are offering clear face masks for both students and teachers so that facial expressions are visible when communicating. At the Pressley Ridge School for Autism, in addition to traditional masks and face shields, we are also offering face shields that clip onto the brim of a baseball cap for those students unable to tolerate anything on their faces. Disposable hospital gowns and latex gloves are available for staff who need to assist students with feeding, toileting, or other physical tasks that they are unable to complete on their own.
Pressley Ridge Delaware recently received a generous donation from the Redd Heart Foundation. The staff were able to deliver boxes of food to all 47 treatment foster families as a small gesture of gratitude for their dedication to our children during this challenging time.
Teachers and staff from Pressley Ridge School for Autism celebrated student Tony’s birthday with a drive-by parade. Seeing so many familiar faces brought joy to Tony and his family and to the staff members, as well. PRSA is looking forward to creatively celebrating more birthdays, graduation and the last day of school throughout the next month.
