About
Pinehaven Christian Children's Ranch is a faith-based youth ranch near St. Ignatius, Montana. Survivor-advocacy materials describe it as opening in 1976, with an associated school opening in 1984.
The ranch has long been associated with placements of young people described by the program and referral sources as struggling adolescents. A 2026 NBC Montana report described Pinehaven as a remote religious boarding school that had operated for decades outside ordinary state oversight because of religious exemptions.
NBC Montana reported that current leaders said Pinehaven had shifted away from its earlier residential treatment model for teenagers and into a faith-based gap program for young adults. The same report described decades of allegations by former residents and continuing concerns from advocates about religious-exemption carveouts in Montana oversight law.