100 years of helping Idaho's children
Maybe you've driven past the impressive stone building at 740 Warm Springs Ave. countless times, read the sobering inscription, "The Children's Home," etched into its edifice, and wondered, "If those walls could talk. ... "
This year, The Children's Home opens its doors to celebrate "100 years of hope" with a handful of events. You can get in on the festivities, reach into your pocket to help out – and take a peek inside those doors. Here's a little history to get you up to speed:
The cornerstone for The Children's Home was laid on May 14, 1908. The building was designed by architect Charles F. Hummel, and its stone walls came from the nearby Table Rock Quarry. When completed, its construction costs were about $42,700. During the time it was an orphanage, The Children's Home was the interim home for more than 2,500 adopted children. In 1966, the foster care system took over, and orphanages became obsolete. The Children's Home's last adoption was in 1968. The home then went through a period of transition. For a while in the early 1970s, troubled youth lived there.
Today, The Children's Home is focused on dispelling the myths of foster care and adoption. For instance, in many cases you don't have to be married, you don't have to be a homeowner and there is no age limit to be a foster parent as long as you're in good health.
The Children's Home Society of Idaho is also providing three branches of service to the community:
Since 1975, it has provided a counseling services center for mostly low-income families.
It houses a thriving training program that began in 1993 for intern counselors and social workers. The program is in the final stages of accreditation by the American Psychological Association.
It is headquarters for The Bridge, a program that provides housing, training and house-call counseling services for three Treasure Valley foster-care residences and the foster parents and children living in those homes. The licensed foster parents live there, free of charge, while taking care of the foster children.
"I believe we are developing one of the leading models in foster care reform," said Kara L. Craig, the CEO of The Children's Home Society of Idaho. "The integration of the counseling program and the foster care program helps children not only survive, but heal and thrive."
Jeanne Huff
10 June 2008
