View/Print a Full Timeline of El Pueblo's History

El Pueblo …an Adolescent Treatment Community was originally called the Pueblo Youth Center and was founded in 1960 by the Pueblo County Commissioners out of concern for the rising number of boys who were homeless and in need of a structured and supervised living environment.  The private, non-profit organization was located at the old County Farm, or Poor Farm.

By 1969, the Pueblo Youth Center provided services for boys throughout the state and the name was changed to El Pueblo Boys’ Ranch.  A fire destroyed the youth center in 1978 and a new facility was designed to accomodate up to 48 boys, which was built at Taos Avenue.  The name was changed again in 1996 to El Pueblo Boys’ & Girls’ Ranch, to reflect the addition of a girls' treatment program.

Throughout the years, El Pueblo accomplished major milestones in working toward its master plan and goal of treating more children.   In response to the needs of its residents, the Leadership Team developed a model of residential treatment that focused on positive reinforcement rather than punitive consequences.  The model promotes accountability, self-awareness, self-improvement, civic stewardship, and leadership.  This model, the El Pueblo Performance Program for Youth©, is a positive cognitive behavioral approach to deal with the biological, psychological, intellectual, spiritual and social needs of the children entrusted to El Pueblo.

The organization continued its commitment to service Colorado’s children and augmented its capacity by 50% since 2003.  In 2009, a report published by the Colorado Department of Human Services, stated that El Pueblo served an average of 25% more of Colorado’s youth than any other therapeutic residential childcare facility during the 2007 – 2009 time period.

Infrastructure development continued and El Pueblo’s asset base increased from $8.8 million in 1999 to $18 million in 2010.

In late 2009, El Pueblo stepped up its efforts to be better stewards of the environment.  A generous donor installed 20 solar collection panels on the two campuses, thus decreasing El Pueblo’s carbon footprint and reducing its energy bills by approximately 25%.  The panels will be fully operational in 2010.

El Pueblo has responded to changes within the child welfare industry and weathered the outcomes of a declining economy and unstable funding base by emerging as a more responsive, efficient and fiscally responsible organization.

El Pueblo has evolved into a center of excellence, providing a high quality of care in the delivery of a continuum of services, both residential and non-residential, for adolescents at risk of, or suffering from, mental, addictive or other behavioral health disorders.

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