Children's Home & Aid Blog & News
Amy Leichtenberg on our Family Visitation Center and Abuse Awareness
Amy Leichtenberg is a dedicated advocate of prevention services and works tirelessly to raise awareness of child abuse. She is a mother who was part of the Children’s Home & Aid Family Visitation Center (FVC) program with her two children, Duncan and Jack, ages nine and seven. The Children’s Home & Aid FVC provides a safe, neutral environment for […]
Prevention with a Purpose: An Interview with Dorothy Davis of Parents Care & Share
In April we recognize National Child Abuse Prevention Month. This year’s theme of Thriving Children and Families: Prevention with Purpose is bringing light to the immense pressure families are under from increased responsibilities and unforeseen challenges due to COVID. Through our Blue Bow Campaign, Parents Care & Share program, and other services, we offer resources and tools for managing these stressors and share steps that everyone can […]
Celebrating Patty York
This Friday is Patty York’s last day with Children’s Home & Aid. She is retiring after 16 years with the agency – but Patty has been involved with Children’s Home & Aid for over 25 years. Patty is a licensing coordinator in Rockford – she has truly lived the values of Children’s Home & Aid through her career. The many staff and families […]
Legacy of Love: Your Gifts At Work
Estate gifts and bequests help build our endowment, giving us a vitally important cushion against changing funding priorities. Bequest gifts come in all sizes, and each one helps ensure that our life-changing services will be available for generations of children and families to come. “A significant source of support for our work comes from donors […]
National Child Abuse Prevention Month: Ernestine Brown on Prevention with Purpose and Parents Care & Share
Children’s Home & Aid teams understand that being a parent is one of the toughest jobs there is. Our parenting support groups, such as Parents Care & Share, provide a setting to take a break, to feel safe to talk about painful issues, to laugh over our mistakes, and to learn from others. As Children’s Home & Aid takes the time to […]
Fathers are Essential to Children’s Well-Being: Working Together to Disrupt Inequality
This isn’t just about fatherhood. It’s about supporting dads as they strive to become better assets to their children, to their families and their communities…by becoming better men. ~ Ed Davies, Director of Community Initiatives, Children’s Home & Aid Research shows that non-residential fathers can play a role in ameliorating the circumstances that lead to […]
The Ellen Constance Caring Spirit Award
In the summer of 2020, Children’s Home & Aid lost an extremely valuable member of our team. Ellen Constance, Director of Child Welfare in the Southern Region, passed away after a short battle with an aggressive form of cancer. Her loss is deeply felt by her family and friends and her colleagues who loved and respected […]
One Year In: How Our Children and Families are Doing
Over the past year, we have seen firsthand the devastating impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the 30,000 children and families we partner with, many living in communities that have been disproportionately impacted by the virus. The pandemic not only exacerbated the issues that our families already face—including poverty, chronic stress and mental health […]
Standing with the Asian American and Pacific Islander Community
Children’s Home & Aid stands with the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community and our hearts go out to all those impacted by recent tragic events. This week’s violence in which eight individuals were killed, six of whom were women of Asian descent, is a display of white supremacy and a blatant act of racism and misogyny. Any attempt to excuse or cover it up as anything else only perpetuates harm. In paraphrasing journalist Sophia Li, “what happened in Atlanta is the […]
Foster Care Spotlight: Nick & Chris
“We want what’s best for this little boy which is reunification with his family,” Chris said, “but he is a part of our life, it will be hard.” Chris, and his husband Nick, are currently fostering a young boy in the Chicagoland area, and their complicated feelings reveal a common challenge for foster parents: […]
The Butterfly Project
The boy was angry. He had witnessed his father commit unimaginable violence against his mother before the two separated. The boy would attack his mother, had fits of anger and suffered night terrors especially after visiting his father. But when you’re only 3-years-old, talk therapy isn’t as effective, and coping skills have yet to be […]
Introducing the 2021 Ahlquist Center Policy Agenda
Since our founding 138 years ago, Children’s Home & Aid has been a strong advocate for children and their families. Our 2021 policy agenda, released today, continues that commitment. If we have learned anything from the events of the past year, it is the direct threat poverty and scarce resources are to child and family […]
Looking back at the 2020 Holiday Season
It was a holiday circle of love! Hundreds of generous Children’s Home & Aid donors from across the state came together, despite COVID and the economic challenges, to make the holidays brighter for thousands of Illinois children and families. In the Chicago area, companies and individuals that normally provide gifts for more than 3,000 children […]
Creating a Safe Space for Children
Going to a court hearing is stressful for anyone. Whether it’s for an unpaid speeding ticket or sitting on a jury, entering the immense authority of the building can be nerve wracking. The experience for children can be even more challenging. Thanks to generous Children’s Home & Aid donors and partners, families who must bring […]
Ready to Serve
For months now, we have witnessed moments that will be forever etched into our collective consciousness and history. Even more recently, we saw an assault on the very heart of our democracy, followed by a strikingly resilient Congress committed to resume their Constitutional duties before the day had even ended, laboring well into the wee […]
A Message from Children’s Home & Aid President and CEO Mike Shaver
It’s a new year, but this is not the “Happy New Year” message I had planned. Last week, a violent mob laid bare for the entire world the divided and fragile state of our democracy by attempting to halt the faithful execution of the Constitution. As if this wasn’t enough reason to be alarmed, the […]
Making Holidays Brighter in Chicago
This holiday season has been undoubtedly difficult for many families across Illinois. With COVID-19 continuing to spread, hardships have continued to increase, especially for families who were already experiencing crisis. At Children’s Home & Aid, we are grateful for the opportunity to alleviate some of the stress families and children face during the pandemic. Thanks […]
MotherHouse Crisis Nursery Provides Support in Tough Times
“Sometimes without MotherHouse Crisis Nursery I think I would be lost.” Charanda is a mother who uses MotherHouse Crisis Nursery while she gets treatment for polymyositis, a disease that causes painful muscle inflammation, severely restricting her ability bend over, rise from a seated position, and even walk. Her treatment occurs every two weeks and she […]
Helping Families from the Start: Children’s Home & Aid Doula Program
After escaping a violent relationship in a neighboring community, Noelle (who was five months pregnant) and her children arrived in Rockford in the middle of a cold December night. With no family or friends to turn to, Noelle contacted Children’s Home & Aid for help, as the local shelter didn’t have room for all of […]
How are the Children at the Rice Center? An update:
It was a perfect fall Halloween afternoon when the staff at the Daniel F. and Ada L. Rice Child & Family Center hosted a “Trunk or Treat” event for the children. “It’s been a hard few months for the children living at the Rice Center, and we wanted do something fun to celebrate Halloween, since […]