LE BERCAIL

What LE BERCAIL does

Le Bercail (Association protestante évangélique Le Bercail) is a French non-profit child protection association founded in 1946 in Mulhouse and now based in Guebwiller, Alsace. The establishment operates a Maison d'Enfants à Caractère Social (MECS) housing 56 children and adolescents aged 3–18 across six pavilions on a wooded property, a SAAVA autonomy service with seven studios for adolescents aged 15–18, and a SEADR home-based educational support service created in 2020 serving 40 children remaining in their families. The facility is staffed by 60 interdisciplinary professionals organized around transversal roles including project coordinator, family referent, school referent, and family mediator.

The association is financed entirely through French public social protection budgets, primarily via the Aide Sociale à l'Enfance (ASE) of the Collectivité européenne d'Alsace, with children placed exclusively through judicial or administrative protection measures. It does not charge private fees and operates as a state-mandated facility under formal authorization (habilitation initiale 1986) and HAS evaluation. Revenue is not publicly disclosed. The establishment received near-maximum (predominantly 4/4) HAS evaluation scores in July 2024 and is recognized as a methodological model within the French child protection ecosystem.

The organization has no proprietary technology platform — its core offering is educational and social accompaniment delivered through a distinctive pavillonnaire (cottage-style) residential model. Cross-cutting programs include animal-assisted therapy, horticultural activities (recognized at the 2022 Prix Charles Gide), and structured partnerships with the Inspection Académique du Haut-Rhin, Praxis social work school, and departmental actors. The 2024–2029 establishment project centers on parental support and the maintenance of parent-child bonds during placement.

Name

LE BERCAIL

Legal name

Maison d'Enfants le Bercail

Website

https://lebercail.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1946

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Le Bercail is a French non-profit child protection association operating a MECS residence in Guebwiller, Alsace, serving 56 children aged 3–18, plus a home-based SEADR program for 40 children and adolescent autonomy studios, all publicly funded through the departmental Aide Sociale à l'Enfance.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Child Welfare Services

NAICS

Child and Youth Services (62411), Child and Youth Services (624110)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Child Day Care Services (8351)

akta.pro primary industry

Child Rights & Protection (BPADAGAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Early Childhood Development (ECD) & Pre-Primary Education (BPADAKAB), Child Protection & Child Rights (BPAGABAG)

Keywords

• Child protection services
• Residential child care
• Social welfare services
• Foster care support
• Youth welfare programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Guebwiller

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Public funding / Social protection budgets: Le Bercail is funded through French public social protection budgets, primarily via the Aide Sociale à l'Enfance (ASE) of the departmental council. Children are placed through judicial or administrative measures, and the cost of care is covered by public budgets. Revenue is not derived from private customers paying for services; it is a publicly funded medico-social establishment operating under authorization and funding agreements with the Collectivité européenne d'Alsace.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

LE BERCAIL is a publicly funded, faith-based child protection establishment (Maison d'Enfants à Caractère Social — MECS) operating a pavillonnaire residential model that hosts approximately 56 children and adolescents aged 3–18 across 6 differentiated living pavilions in Guebwiller, Alsace. It also runs the SEADR home-based educational support service for around 40 children remaining with their families and the SAAVA adolescent autonomy program providing semi-autonomous studios for young people aged 15–21, including bail glissant and Contrat Jeune Majeur extensions.

Product overview

LE BERCAIL is a pavillonnaire Maison d'Enfants à Caractère Social (MECS) providing child protection services. The organization operates a core residential care program (MECS) across 6 differentiated living pavillons (Barque, Pépinière, Sillon, La Boussole, La Source) accommodating 56 children aged 3-18, supplemented by the SEADR home-based support service for 40 children remaining with families, and the SAAVA adolescent autonomy program with studios for 7 young people. Transversal services including school coordination, family liaison, and project coordination support the core programs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• MECS (Maison d'Enfants à Caractère Social) — Residential Child Protection Residential child protection establishment hosting approximately 54 children aged 3–15 across 6 differentiated, vertical and mixed living pavilions, plus an autonomy studio service for 9 young people aged 16–18. Placements are ordered by the ASE (administrative) or by the children's judge (judicial) under French child protection measures.
• SEADR (Service Educatif d'Accompagnement à Domicile Renforcé) Intensive home-based educational support service attached to the MECS, providing 2–3 weekly visits to around 40 children who remain with their families as an alternative to out-of-home placement. Includes sequential/modular reception combining home-based and residential accompaniment, and 4 emergency 'repli' beds for acute crises up to 72 hours.
• SAAVA (Service d'Accompagnement des Adolescents à la Vie Autonome) Adolescent autonomy service providing semi-autonomous and autonomous living studios for young people aged 15–18 (7 places), with gradual transition to independent renting (bail glissant) and extension of ASE support up to age 21 via the Contrat Jeune Majeur (CJM).

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, supporting and minor.

• Praxis (École supérieure de travail social, Mulhouse)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 June 2024Le Bercail maintains an ongoing partnership with Praxis (École supérieure de Praxis Sociale de Mulhouse). Directors of the establishment contribute to initial training at Praxis, and the school provides ongoing professional development for Le Bercail's staff. Guy Hardy, associated with Praxis, trains all Le Bercail teams in parental competency methods.
• Réseau Parents 68 / Communauté des Communes de la région de Guebwiller / Les ImprociblessupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 April 2024A theatre-debate event titled 'Quand ma famille s'éclate' was organized by the network Parents 68, the intercommunal community of Guebwiller, and the Improcibles theatre troupe, hosted at Le Bercail. The event explored parentality themes and was supported by the establishment as part of its project centering on parental support for the 2024–2029 period.
• Ladies' Circle 38 MulhouseminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 February 202410 young people from Le Bercail were invited by the Ladies' Circle 38 Mulhouse to attend a basketball match at the Palais des Sports in Mulhouse. The group shared a convivial meal, received desserts, and had privileged moments with players after the match. This partnership demonstrates community solidarity and external engagement for the wellbeing of young people in care.
• RimlishofsupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Children from Le Bercail made visits to the Rimlishof (a local farm/establishment) as part of the annual project 'L'autre, c'est moi' (The other is me), which aims to sensitize children to mutual aid and sharing with people in need. Children prepared cakes and shared an afternoon of activities with Rimlishof visitors.
• Haut Conseil du Travail Social / Multiple French ministriescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 December 2023Le Bercail attended the presentation of the Livre Blanc du Travail Social at an event co-chaired by the president of the Haut Conseil du Travail Social (Mathieu Klein) and attended by five French ministers. The White Paper, developed with CLTSDS Grand Est, addresses current urgent needs and anticipates future challenges in social work. Le Bercail is featured prominently in the document.
• CLTSDS Grand Est (Comité Local du Travail Social et du Développement Social)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 October 2023Le Bercail participated in the first gathering of the CLTSDS Grand Est alongside professionals, accompanied persons, and training centers from across the region. The establishment contributed to the Livre Blanc du Travail Social and its youth served as 'grand témoins' (young witnesses) presenting on stage about the notion of engagement in social work. The CLTSDS is co-chaired with the president of the Haut Conseil du Travail Social.
• Multiple local safety and community partners (Auto-école Lamm, Gendarmerie, DDT, Ville de Guebwiller, Les deux roues de l'espoir)supportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2022Le Bercail organized a two-day road safety prevention event for the children and adolescents in its care, bringing together multiple local partners including a driving school, police/gendarmerie, the DDT (territorial directorate), the municipality, and a motorbike club (Les deux roues de l'espoir).
• Amel Bent (artist)minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 2 November 2022Singer Amel Bent publicly saluted the children of Le Bercail and the educational teams, recognizing their tenacity in achieving a brief but meaningful moment for the children in care.
• CIDFF (Centre d'Information sur les Droits des Femmes et des Familles)supportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 October 2022Marie Boschert, family mediator at Le Bercail, participated in a training day on domestic violence and its impact on children organized by CIDFF on 18 October 2022. This strengthened her practice with families and developed vigilance points and improvement axes for the establishment.
• Inspection Académique du Haut-RhincoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2022Le Bercail, along with two other children's homes in the Florival valley, signed a partnership protocol with the new inspection académique (school authority) for the new school year. The protocol aims to improve the integration and educational pathway of children under protection, define better collaboration between schools and the MECS, manage crisis situations in children, and better involve parents in the follow-up of their children.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Others

• ANMECS (Association Nationale des Maisons d'Enfants à Caractère Social): National trade association of French MECS facilities, of which Le Bercail is an active member and conference participant. Provides the regulatory, training, and advocacy layer around the MECS category that Le Bercail operates within, and is the natural counterpart for sector-level benchmarking and methodology sharing.
• Emmaüs France: French federation of Emmaüs social solidarity organizations addressing exclusion, poverty, and housing insecurity. Adjacent to Le Bercail in the broader French social-services/NGO ecosystem and in receiving public and donor funding, but focused on adult exclusion and housing rather than child protection.

Broad incumbents

• Secours Catholique: Catholic charitable organization delivering social assistance including child and family support programs throughout France. Comparable to Le Bercail in faith-rooted social welfare orientation and family/child focus, but at a national scale covering poverty, housing, and exclusion more broadly than residential protection.
• La Croix-Rouge française: Major French humanitarian organization operating child welfare programs alongside broader health, emergency, and social assistance services. Overlaps with Le Bercail in child protection (MECS-equivalent facilities and family support) but operates a much larger, multi-activity footprint across France.

Direct peers

• Apprentis d'Auteuil: Catholic faith-based French foundation operating residential care homes, educational programs, and family support services for vulnerable youth across France. Directly comparable to Le Bercail in mission (child protection + education) and model (MECS-like residential establishments with transversal professional teams), but at significantly greater national scale.
• SOS Villages d'Enfants France: French affiliate of SOS Children's Villages providing family-based residential care for siblings and children without parental care. Closely comparable to Le Bercail's SAAVA autonomy studios and pavillonnaire approach; both serve children under ASE placements with a 'family-like' rather than institutional ethos.

Regional players

• Fondation Abbé Pierre: Major French foundation working on housing access and homelessness for vulnerable populations including families and young adults leaving care. Comparable to Le Bercail at the intersection of child protection and young-adult autonomy (post-18 / Contrat Jeune Majeur), but anchored in housing rather than residential social care.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/sebastiendecoster1946
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/maison-d-enfants-le-bercail

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about LE BERCAIL