Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch Headquarters Address

6301 19th Ave. NW
Minot, ND 58701 (view in map)

Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch Photos

About Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch

Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch is a residential treatment and educational center for youth and their families, a place where we look the most troubled, complex and amazing kids in the eye, walk with them and help them become their best selves in this world and in Christ.

The Ranch is a place of healing and hope unlike any you’ve known, a place where troubled kids and their families find professional care, compassionate expertise, and new possibilities. We help children that no one else can. We provide unparalleled care, expertise, and presence in the name of Christ to keep today’s troubled kids from becoming tomorrow’s troubled adults.

Established in 1952, Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch is the largest Lutheran social service agency in North Dakota. Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch provides exceptional and innovative, trauma-informed care to kids and families through Residential Treatment Facilities, Outpatient Psychiatric and Psychological Services, and Spiritual Life Programs. In addition, Dakota Memorial School (DMS) provides a quality education for kids who have special learning needs because of psychiatric, behavioral and trauma issues.

Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch is a Recognized Service Organization of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS) and a founding member of Lutheran Services in America (LSA), through which it is an Affiliated Social Ministry Organization of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). We are also a Mission Partner for Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ (LCMC) and a Partner Ministry of the North American Lutheran Church (NALC). We adhere to our founding body of members, the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, for its doctrine of beliefs within its Spiritual Life program.

Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch: Helping children and their families succeed in the name of Christ

Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch is a Christian residential treatment and educational center for children and their families. We help the most troubled, complicated and amazing kids by providing best-in-class psychiatric therapy and trauma-informed care, where we look kids in the eye, walk with them, and help them become their best selves.

Sustainable Excellence

Each day, children ages 10-18 and their families find new futures as they seek healing, hope, and new beginnings at the Ranch. On campuses in Minot, Bismarck, and Fargo, North Dakota, the Ranch combines best-in-class psychiatric care with Christ-centered spiritual care unlike any other organization in the nation; through residential, educational, clinical, and outpatient services. Our children work with best-in-class Ranch professionals to overcome severe issues like conduct disorder, autism spectrum disorders, borderline personality disorders, depression, anxiety disorders, chemical dependency, and other severe issues related to trauma, abuse and neglect.

Dakota Memorial School

At Dakota Memorial School, we surround each child with the tools they need to succeed and engage them in the areas that fit their unique needs. Operating in Minot, Bismarck, and Fargo, Dakota Memorial School (DMS) provides individualized educational programming for students ages 10 –18 who have been admitted to Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch for residential treatment, or who live in the surrounding community and attend the day school. DMS is a K-12 accredited private school district staffed by North Dakota-certified teachers and administrators, para-educators, and support personnel. The school is accredited by both the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction and Cognia.

Horse Program

The Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch Horse Program "rewires" kids' brains, helping them overcome physical and emotional abuse, violence, multiple placements, and other traumas that make it difficult for them to succeed in school and at home. The bond between child and horse can help children develop trust, respect, affection, empathy, unconditional acceptance, confidence, responsibility, assertiveness, communication skills and self-control.

Spiritual Life

Our success in serving children and families is attributed in great part to our Spiritual Life Program. We walk side-by-side with children on their spiritual journey—in many cases introducing them to Christianity for the first time. The teachings and love of Christ are at the very core of all we do, and all we stand for. While not all of our staff, kids, or donors are Christian, Christianity is the foundation of our social mission. We serve God by serving others—with a non-judgmental, accepting, tolerant, and loving approach.

Dakota Family Services: Outpatient Behavioral Health:

Dakota Family Services is a group of compassionate, practiced experts providing outpatient care—in a collaborative, multi-disciplinary setting—for children and adolescents with complex behavioral health issues.

Located in Minot, Fargo, and Bismarck, Dakota Family Services provides outpatient therapy, psychological testing, and medication management for children, adolescents, and adults. Our team of highly credentialed and multi-disciplinary providers includes a psychiatrist, psychologists, Nurse Practitioners, therapists, and social workers.

All are highly trained, Masters- or Doctorate-level professionals, carefully selected to provide best-in-class psychiatric care to children, adolescents, and adults. They are committed to providing individualized care for every client, one by one, and all receive outstanding marks and comments from their clients.

National Youth Program Using Minibikes (NYPUM)

Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch has been part of the National Youth Project Using Minibikes (NYPUM) Program since 1998. NYPUM is an innovative way to engage at-risk youth by connecting them to something positive, and increasing their opportunities to be successful.

Local Thrift Stores with a Local Mission

Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch operates nine thrift stores throughout the region—eight in North Dakota and one in Minnesota. In addition to the main purpose of providing an income source for the psychiatric and educational services provided to at-risk kids, Ranch thrift stores make a huge impact on the communities they serve, as well as the entire state.