FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 20, 2010
Contact: Sharon
McCarthy 800-25-PEACE
KIDSPEACE OPENS
THERAPEUTIC FOSTER CARE
AND COMMUNITY PROGRAMS IN CHAPEL HILL/DURHAM
DURHAM, N.C. July 20, 2010 – KidsPeace Inc., the national
children’s charity dedicated to serving the behavioral and mental health needs
of children, families and communities, announced today that it has opened a new
Foster Care and Community Programs office, in Durham. Since 2000, KidsPeace has
operated foster care services in Raleigh, Fayetteville and Aberdeen, serving
more than 1,000 children. The
128-year-old nonprofit also provides foster care and community services in the
states of Pennsylvania, Indiana, Maryland, Maine, Nevada, New York, New Jersey,
Virginia and the District of Columbia.
With offices located at 1804
Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway, Sts. 112, Durham, the center will serve
children from Durham, Person, Orange and Chatham Counties.
To celebrate the opening of the
new services, KidsPeace will host a program and free training July 29 from 1
p.m. to 4 p.m. at Homewood Suites by Hilton, 3600 Mt. Moriah Road, Durham. Members of the public, elected
officials and community and civic leaders are invited to join health care
professionals for this presentation. Tom Culver, KidsPeace North Carolina State
Manager, will provide a brief summary of the mission and goals of the new
office. Dr. J. Eric Vance, chief
psychiatric consultant, New Hampshire Division of Juvenile Justice Services and
former clinical consultant with the mental health office of the North Carolina
Department of Health and Human Services, will present “Practical Applications
of Resiliency Theory in Treatment Foster Care and Intensive In-Home
Services.” This training is
designed to assist anyone whose job involves providing assistance and support
to at-risk children and families.
The KidsPeace therapeutic foster care model recruits
families who are then trained and licensed to provide a home to troubled
children who often have histories of trauma and/or suffer from mental health
challenges such as depression and anxiety. With the four-county population of
approximately 494,000 people, recent statistic indicate 4,986 cases of reported
child abuse and neglect, 460 juvenile court
complaints, 515 children in child welfare foster care, with more than 95% of
those having needed more than two placements before achieving placement
stability.
The federal government estimates that $14 is
saved in court and corrections system costs annually for every $1 spent on
therapeutic foster care.
“KidsPeace is proud to launch this effort here in
the Chapel Hill/Durham area that will license qualified families to provide
loving homes to children with mental and behavioral issues,” said Culver. “This
approach helps foster children heal and eventually leads to permanent living
situations with birth families, other relatives, adoptive families or to
independent living situations when they age out of the system.”
The KidsPeace care model includes a focus on
increasing the child’s ability to demonstrate “resilience” to overcome the risk
and adversity they face. The
program will also utilize the skills curriculum “Together Facing the Challenge”
to train both foster parents and staff.
Developed by The Services Effectiveness Research Program at Duke
University’s School of Medicine, this curriculum has shown promise in improved
outcomes for children served in treatment foster care.
Initial startup funding for the new KidsPeace
program was provided through a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice Office
of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, secured by NC State Rep. David
Price, (D-4th District).
Joining Culver in the new offices are: Leslie Ann Jackson, Program Manager;
Anna Bagnulo, Family Consultant; Ashley Tyndall, Family Resource Specialist and
Colleen Craig, Administrative Assistant.
To register for the Open House or for more
information about North Carolina Foster Care and Community Programs, call (919)
872-6447 or www.kidspeace.org
About
KidsPeaceFounded in 1882,
KidsPeace is dedicated to serving the behavioral and mental health needs of
children, preadolescents, teens and young adults, offering a comprehensive
range of residential treatment programs; accredited educational services, and a
variety of foster care and community-based programs to give hope, help and
healing to children, families and communities. KidsPeace offers services in Georgia, Indiana, Maine,
Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina,
Pennsylvania, Virginia and the District of Columbia