Children's Home + Aid Blog & News
Upcoming Training Opportunities
CULTURAL COMPETENCY: Creating and Protecting Safe Spaces for Clients, Visitors, and Colleagues, and/or VIEW FROM THE TOP: Ethics and Integrity
Presenter: Krista Woods, MSW, LCSW
Date: Thursday, October 19, 2017
Time: 9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Where: Children’s Home + Aid Bloomington office
Free for…
Becoming a Foster Parent
The road to becoming a foster parent is extensive but can lead to incredibly rewarding experiences. Children’s Home + Aid’s Foster Home Licensing Manager, Kurt Kalas, stresses that potential foster parents must go into the process with an open mind…
Meet Taylor: Children’s Home + Aid Intern Turned Outreach Worker
Taylor Dichsen, a former Children’s Home + Aid intern, enjoyed her experience so much that she joined the team as a part-time Outreach Worker for Youth Services.
Taylor began her Youth Services Internship at Children’s Home + Aid while working towards…
Jimi Orange Recognized with Get IN Chicago S.T.A.R. Award
Photo courtesy of Harvey Tillis
Get IN Chicago recognized Children’s Home + Aid Director of Youth Services + Community Engagement Jimi Orange with its inaugural S.T.A.R. award. Jimi was one of two recipients to be presented with the award, which honors…
Race to Benefit Children’s Home + Aid
5Khaos is proud to return on August 19, 2017 for its sixth year of Mud, Fun, Music…Khaos.
The 5K course of rolling terrain and 25 obstacles will benefit Children’s Home + Aid. New obstacles are currently being built and we look…
Thank You from Redeploy Illinois
Participants from Children’s Home + Aid’s Madison County Redeploy Illinois program and the 20th Judicial Circuit Redeploy Illinois program recently gathered together to express their gratitude to local legislators for their votes to end the Illinois budget crisis. Redeploy Illinois is a…
From Luggage Drive to Everest
As the youngest of ten siblings, Terry Herr grew up surrounded by folks always willing to share their opinions, advice and suggestions.
“I always had someone around to help me, and I know a lot of foster kids don’t have that,”…
COA Re-accreditation
Children’s Home + Aid is proud to announce that the agency has been re-accredited by the Council on Accreditation (COA). The re-accreditation is the culmination of nearly 10 months of preparation. Children’s Home + Aid was first accredited by the…
Take Action Tuesday, June 27 – Demand of State Legislators a Full Budget with New Revenue
Illinois is in its final days of the special session and fiscal year. The state is currently poised to enter our third year without a full budget, increasing the damage to our communities, schools, human service and healthcare sectors. Lawmakers are…
Children’s Mental Health: Championing a System of Care
Over 43,000 children in Winnebago County alone rely on medical assistance programs, including Medicaid[1], to provide for their physical and mental health needs. In addition, children in foster care receive Medicaid benefits regardless of the income of their families. With…
The Power of Fathers: Jeremy’s Story
When Jeremy Kilpatrick walked across the stage at the University of Missouri-Columbia in 2012, he not only had two degrees in hand, but also his 11-month-old daughter, Jayde. Jeremy now works as an Advocate for Children’s Home + Aid’s new initiative,…
Partners in Philanthropy: A Conversation with Peter Thum and Cara Buono
Following Children’s Home + Aid’s Champions for Children Luncheon in Chicago this spring, we were given an exclusive opportunity for an in-depth conversation with For the Love of Children award recipients, Peter Thum and Cara Buono. Peter is an entrepreneur…
Celebrate Father’s Day and Support Children’s Home + Aid
Father’s Day is Sunday, June 18th! We’ve put together the below gift guide to help you show your love and appreciation for your father, or someone in your life who is like a father to you. These charitable gifts that give back will help Children’s…
New Family CARES Center Opens
On June 1st, Children’s Home + Aid joined Northwestern Settlement to officially open the new Family CARES Center. The clinic helps children and families make positive changes in their lives, maximize their potential, and improve their function in society. The…
Community Schools Show Promise As School Improvement Strategy
In 2006, the Federation for Community Schools was born out of the vision of the Chicago Campaign to Expand Community Schools and the Chicago Coalition for Community Schools in order to share best practices and advocate for community schools in…
Homeless and Hopeless
At 15-years-old, Kiara was hopeless and homeless. After her father suffered a medical emergency that left him in a coma, both her mother and grandmother turned her away. With nowhere to go, Kiara was referred to Children’s Home + Aid’s…
Becoming the Rumpsa Family
Margie Rumpsa has been through the adoption process twice. She’s the first to say: it’s not for the faint of heart.
But she wouldn’t change it for the world.
Margie is a single mom to two boys: Sean, 7-years-old and Jack, 5.…
Care in Crisis
“My mommy has been hurt,” a 3-year-old girl cried, as she sat on her mom’s lap in the cozy living room of Children’s Home + Aid’s Crisis Nursery.
Her mom had called the Crisis Nursery in a panic after her boyfriend…
From Help to Hope
After emerging from a series of physically and emotionally abusive relationships, 37-year-old Stacey found her five children, ages 3 to 17, struggling to cope. Stacey’s two oldest children often fought with each other, sometimes violently, and both lacked motivation to…
Celebrate Mother’s Day and Support Children’s Home + Aid
Mother’s Day is Sunday, May 14th! We’ve put together the below gift guide to help you show your love and appreciation for your mom, or a woman in your life who is like a mother to you. These charitable gifts that give…