Partnerships of Caring . . . for Children
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2001-2002 ANNUAL REPORT Partnerships of Caring . for Children We’ve been building healthy families since 1894 Partnerships of Caring for Children Photo by Rona Talcott Partnerships of Caring for Children Partnerships work he Children’s Home Society of a chance to innovate critical new TNew Jersey is now entering its services that work, but are not yet 109th year of service, continuing our in the mainstream of government commitment to save children’s lives funding. and build healthy families in our Our fourth partnerships and community. This year’s annual report strongest support since 1894 has is centered on the theme of come from you, our concerned partnerships. Now more than ever, community donors. Your dollars are we are dealing with increasing the dollars that largely make up the numbers of at-risk infants, children, budgets for Birth Parent Counseling and parents. Helping our families to services, Infant Foster Care services, survive and thrive depends on Photo by Brenda Miranda and adoption services for our collaboration and integration of our children with special needs. It is your Donna C. Pressma, LCSW, and M. David Atkin, M.D., services with other effective social donated funds that allow the 2001-2002 Chairman of the Board service, health, mental health, job Children’s Home Society of New training programs, schools, faith- Jersey to prevent as well as treat child based institutions, and early preventative and supportive services abuse. It is your donor contributions childhood serving agencies. parents need in order to adequately that allow us to work with youth in Together we can best meet the often raise their children. Therefore, for school settings and ensure that our multiple needs of our clients. every $3 we receive from the youth do not get off track by There is also a second facet of government, we know we must try to becoming involved with alcohol, our partnerships. As you read our find an additional private dollar to drugs, and violence, dropping out of annual report, you will realize how guarantee that we have the resources school, or making poor sexual extensively we are partnering with that ensure quality outcomes for our decisions. federal, state, and local governments. clients. This money goes to direct Partnerships work to save Eighty-seven percent of our funding services and to fund all of the children’s lives and build healthy comes from this source, and we value resources needed for our children and families. This annual report is a our work together in so many their families. tribute to those of you who choose to programs. However, government Thirdly, our success depends on partner with us in our important agencies never have sufficient monies our participation and meaningful work and to those of you who help to fund us at a level that allows us to partnerships with the corporate us to continue our mission since hire the best, most highly trained staff world. When they donate their 1894 — to provide services to New for our services for at-risk children. technical services, their employees’ Jersey and Pennsylvania children and Government also rarely has sufficient time and expertise, their products, their families that help them grow up funds to fund many critical and their corporate funding, we have to become productive, healthy adults. “ It is your donated funds that allow The Children’s Home Society of New Jersey to prevent as well as treat child abuse. ” 1 Partnerships of Caring for Children CHS OF NJ SERVICES … EARLY CHILDHOOD pediatrician provides direct medical CLINICAL SERVICES TO Services for children in CHS of services to all infants in our agency CHILDREN AND FAMILIES NJ’s Ocean County, New Jersey office foster homes. We also provide foster Birth parent counseling, a free include childcare subsidy programs care to medically fragile infants and service for over 100 years, is provided for eligible welfare participants and toddlers who are referred by DYFS. to any expectant parent with an low-income families throughout the CHS of NJ foster parents are unplanned pregnancy, regardless of county. We develop child care extremely experienced, loving and their medical issues or proposed plan resources, including children with trained to handle special needs while for the child. Birth parents and their special needs, mandatory training for maintaining a family setting. families receive counseling on center directors and their staff, and Pregnant and parenting teen options and continued help whether family child care providers; referrals foster care focuses on helping teen they choose to parent the child, use to child care centers, summer camp moms learn skills to become our temporary foster care, or plan for programs, school-age child care responsible, caring parents. Our adoption. Post-adoption programs and family child care treatment homes offer supportive Counseling enables individuals and providers; and technical assistance to living arrangements for pregnant and families who are part of the adoption parents throughout Ocean County to parenting adolescents. The program triad to deal with the impact of help them select the child care that improves parenting skills, raises the adoption on their lives and to best meets the needs of their children. level of self-esteem of young mothers, overcome the social, psychological, Family and Children Early ensures medical care, and encourages and interpersonal issues that may Education Services (FACES) the completion of their education and interfere with their functioning. We prepares young children for a chance job training. provide in-home therapy to children for school success through family counseling, child health services, family literacy enrichment, parent education, and child care services CUNA, Spanish for crib, reaches out to the Latino community by offering culturally sensitive ways to learn prenatal and postnatal information, support, and resources. Services start in the prenatal stage and continue through pregnancy, delivery, and into early childhood. FOSTER CARE Our infant foster care program is offered free to parents to ensure safe loving care until there is a permanent plan for the infant’s future. Some babies return home and others become adopted. The agency 2 Photo by Rona Talcott Partnerships of Caring for Children in the New Jersey foster care system, focusing on behavioral problems and grief and loss. Counseling is provided to biological parents, foster parents in the process of adopting, adoptive parents, children who live with their biological parents, foster children, and adopted children. Intensive services counseling is provided to COMMUNITY/ make the earliest, most appropriate NEIGHBORHOOD-BASED permanent plans for children placed in the New Jersey foster care because A neighborhood-based facility of abuse and/or neglect, thereby provides preventive health services, avoiding the harmful effects of counseling, parent training, and unplanned long-term care. social services by helping parents and caregivers prevent a crisis situation SCHOOL-BASED from escalating into abuse or neglect. Coordinated services include crisis KIKS (Kids Intervention with intervention, counseling/referral Kids in School) is a school-based services, client support services, and youth development program that gets emergency respite to stabilize the at the root causes of youth problems family during an emergency situation Photo by Rona Talcott with a positive adolescent peer leader or period of inadequate parental CHILD WELFARE model working with younger functioning. Computer literacy PROVIDER SERVICES students. KIKS encourages training is offered to at-risk students We provide safe and stable home constructive decision-making, and their families. develops increased self-esteem and environments by offering services to income-eligible kinship caregivers shows constructive ways to handle ADOPTION stress and anger. The skills, values, and their relative children in order to and attitudes learned in KIKS should Domestic and international maintain safe and stable home enable children and youth to stay “on adoption options are designed to environments. Adoption child track” emotionally and socially, better place each child in the most suitable summary reports help place children cope with negative peer pressure and home and provide comprehensive from DYFS foster care into adoptive prevent harmful destructive behavior services to adoptive applicants and homes. Family Group Conferencing is while growing up. KIKS is a major adoptive families throughout the life a service to create an environment in substance abuse and teen pregnancy cycle. All children, regardless of race, which the family is empowered to prevention program. Other school- family history, medical background, develop and design a safe plan for based programs in elementary schools or current medical needs are eligible their child or children by using the offer violence prevention and for adoption. We provide domestic extended family and community supplemental counseling and infant and older child adoption, and supports. We provide assessment, crisis intervention. international adoption from Eastern training, and support services to Europe, China, and South America. DYFS foster families. 3 Partnerships of Caring for Children Partnerships of caring The Children’s Home Society of better carry out our mission on behalf New Jersey seeks, embraces, and of children. In 2002, People to People nurtures effective partnerships with International, which is dedicated to government, businesses, community enhancing