Childrens Home & Aid Society of Illinois

Results: FY11 Outcomes: Family Centered Services--Protecting children from abuse, strengthening families and providing safe, permanent and loving homes. (1) Foster Care: 1006 abused and neglected children were kept safe in foster homes. (2) Adoption Services: 80 children were united with loving, adoptive parents. (3) Intact Family Services: 945 children and 418 parents and caregivers benefitted from services to stabilize families that have suffered abuse, neglect or extreme hardship. Early Childhood Services--Building a strong foundation for a lifetime of learning (1) 919 children at risk of academic failure received vital early care and education to promote school readiness and healthy development at our five Child + Family Centers. (2) 22,750 parents and children were helped to access affordable, high-quality early childhood care and education. Clinical and Community Services--Advancing the success of children, youth and families (1) Child and Family Counseling: 1,858 fragile children were strengthened through counseling. (2) Parent Support: 2,634 parents were helped to build their parenting skills and learn about their child’s development, benefitting 1,371 children. (3) Residential Services: 67 emotionally troubled children were helped to heal from abuse, neglect and other trauma through intensive 24/7 therapeutic residential care. (4) Youth Services: 2,802 at risk youth received help to ensure their success at home, in school and in their community.

Target demographics: Low-income, at-risk children and families throughout the state of Illinois.

Direct beneficiaries per year: 40,000+ children, youth and families

Geographic areas served: The entire state of Illinois with administrative offices in Chicago, Rockford, Bloomington and Granite City, Illinois.

Programs: Founded in 1883, Children’s Home + Aid is a leading child and family service agency in Illinois. Each year, it protects, educates and counsels more than 40,000 children, youth and families. For over 125 years, Children’s Home + Aid has been recognized for establishing best practices and achieving outstanding results through its programs and services that focus on child abuse prevention, healthy child development and strengthening families. Children’s Home + Aid’s mission is to give children help, hope and opportunity. Its vision is to build a better life for children, youth and families. Children’s Home + Aid programs are organized under three practice areas: Early Childhood Care and Education, Clinical and Community Services and Family-Centered Services. Early Childhood Care and Education is one of Children’s Home + Aid’s largest programs, serving over 1,200 low-income children each year. The agency operates five Early Childhood Centers located in Chicago, Palatine, Carpentersville, Schaumburg, and Bloomington. Each location provides priority enrollment to children considered at-risk, including children of adolescent parents, victims of child abuse and/or neglect, and children from very low-income households. Clinical and Community Services encompass youth services, residential services, parent support and child and family counseling. The agency’s Community Schools Initiative serves 1,500 K-8th grade children across ten schools through mental health and after school enrichment programs. In many cases, children served at the agency’s early childhood centers transition into the neighborhood schools where the agency is a partner. After-school programming emphasizes academic support, visual and performing arts, recreation, and leadership development. Children’s Home + Aid also provides community-based clinical counseling services to children and families. The agency addresses the mental health needs of youth in medically under-served communities where mental health and social-emotional problems frequently go undiagnosed and untreated. Family-Centered Services incorporate foster care, adoption and intact family services. Intact family services and adoption preservation keep families together through child protective services, family preservation and reunification and extended family support. Foster care serves children whose families are unable to care for them due to a crisis. The children are placed in a temporary safe haven until they may be returned to their biological families or until a permanent, loving home can be found. Children's Home + Aid provides foster care services to over 1,200 children each year.