Causes:
Adoption,
Children & Youth,
Children & Youth Services,
Foster Care
Mission: Every day in this region, approximately 4 children enter foster care due to abuse or neglect, totalling more than 2400 each year. Approximately 50% of these children will never be reunited with their biological parents. Of these approximately 500 will need permanent, stable, safe, and loving homes. Due to a severe shortage of homes in this region (funds for county and FFA recuitment efforts are limited at best) more than 40% are removed to other counties. Foster and Kinship families need extra support to care for these emotionally wounded children. Help One Child supports them by recruiting volunteers who provide baby-sitting, tutoring, mentoring, transportation, etc. and providing relevant quarterly educational programs. The organization also sponsors seasonal family events and collection drives for much-needed clothing, household items, toys, computers, bicycles, computers, etc.
Programs: Help One Child's services include many program components of the three-pronged mission to recruit, train and support foster parents and volunteers:
Recruit:
Help One Child (1) holds twice-monthly orientations for those interested in learning more about fost-adopt or volunteer opportunities. (2) Foster Family Agencies (FFAs) refer in-process foster parents to the Help One Child network for free TB tests and health screens and alternative training, education and services. (3) Community services partnerships have been established with local schools to collect goods or volunteer at Help One Child events. (4) Ambassador Sites organize recruiting events to find foster families and volunteers which include Free TB Testing/low cost CPR 1st Aid.
Train:
Help One Child provides (1) monthly class for CPR/1st Aid certification, (2) Annual water safety course, (3) Quarterly seminars with cutting edge professionals on various children's developmental disorders and treatments, (4) Neurofeedback Training for parents who want to do in-home treatment, (5) Professionally-led one-week, residential camp for families with children suffering from attachment and other disorders, (6) Respite care training authored by HOC affiliated professionals familiar with attachment issues and behavior to offer to churches and individuals working with the oppositional child in a one-on-one or classroom setting, (7) Created To Belong, a therapeutic seminar that is spiritually inspiring and teaches the need for primary relationships. The CPR/1st Aid, respite care training and quarterly professional seminars, including Created To Belong, can be offered at Ambassador Sites.
Support:
Services that fulfill our mission to support families include (1) Foster Parent Hotline, available during business hours to answer questions, offer advice and provide resources through the foster parent licensing and adoption process as well as referrals to professionals for behavioral issues, (2) Arrangements for donated goods such as cribs, backpacks, used vehicles for emancipated teens, (3) Matching of volunteer services like babysitting, mentoring and tutoring, (4) the Parent Child Connection, a home office based monthly parent support group for families working with children's attachment issues, (5) advocacy, support and a website of resources for legal issues, (6) social events for foster families to come together.
In FY 05-06, HOC served 484 families.
