By Austen Smith, Heritage Newspapers

When it comes to abused children, it's never easy.

There are horror stories of kids who have come from family backgrounds filled with neglect only to be shuffled through impersonal foster-care programs that do not provide the support necessary for children with behavioral problems.

There are, however, many success stories and the Girlstown Foundation, located in Belleville, has been a shining example for more than 50 years providing a comprehensive range of therapy, social work, residential and foster-care placement services for kids whom have come from terrible situations.
The longtime nonprofit organization at first featured just the residential program for troubled girls, but has blossomed to include foster care and Supervised Independent Living, with approximately 50 kids involved with those two programs alone.

With a little more than 50 employees spread throughout the residential facility, called Loch Rio, and administrative offices located on East Huron River Drive, the program provides services to hundreds of children each year. Most of the staff at Girlstown includes social workers with backgrounds in psychology and criminal justice.

Assistant Director Maria Lessnau does not have an easy job.

Starting out as a certification worker in 1995, she has experienced nearly every type of heartbreaking and exhilarating scenario that passes through Girlstown.

"The big push right now is licensing relatives. There are a lot of kids right now who are living with relatives who are not licensed as foster-care parents," Lessnau says. "The state's goal is to have only 10 percent of the parents in the home not licensed."