Kerr History
Since our founding in 1907, Albertina Kerr has been reaching out to, protecting, and caring for those who need us most. Over the decades, our services have evolved to meet the community’s needs. While these needs have changed, the values of our expert caregivers remain constant: compassion, partnership, advocacy, accountability, and innovation.
Today, Kerr empowers people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) and mental health challenges to lead self-determined lives in their communities. We provide crisis psychiatric care for youth and residential supports and programs for individuals with I/DD.
Kerr History
Kerr Career Club is established in 2020. The 12-week online program provides adults with I/DD the opportunity to remain connected with their community while strengthening their job skills.
Kerr’s Children’s Crisis Psychiatric Care and Outpatient Mental Health programs received a three-year accreditation—the highest level—from the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) International.
Kerr’s fully solar-powered, affordable, and universally accessible housing community—Wynne Watts Commons—opens on the northwest corner of Kerr’s Gresham campus. This innovative and inclusive community has received several prestigious awards, including the Urban Land Institute’s Terwilliger Center Award for Innovation in Attainable Housing.
Albertina Kerr and Exceed Enterprises merge under the name Albertina Kerr. With a combined 167 years of service, this strategic union was driven by a shared commitment to supporting people with I/DD and mental health challenges, enhancing programs and expanding Kerr’s reach for greater impact.
Kerr is the first organization on the West Coast to receive Quality Assurances Accreditation from CQL (The Council on Quality and Leadership), highlighting Kerr’s alignment with internationally recognized standards in human services.
Funding from the Oregon Health Authority initiates a Daul Diagnosis Pilot program to bring trauma-informed mental health care directly into Kerr’s youth group homes.
Albertina Kerr received a 2026 Social Impact Award from the Portland Business Journal (PBJ). This recognition reflects what’s happening across Kerr every day. Through person-centered supports, people with I/DD and mental health challenges are leading self-determined lives.
Kerr is committed to challenging and evolving the norms of how we care for children and teens facing mental health challenges and people with I/DD. Kerr strives to deliver the highest quality services to everyone we support, with a workforce of caring individuals dedicated to empowering people across our communities to lead self-determined lives.