Reprinted from reACH issue 2, 2011.

We recently held our annual celebration for the graduating seniors in our Wedgwood Residential and LIFE Project programs. There is nothing like a graduation ceremony to renew your hopes and dreams for the future. Learn more about these remarkable youth in our cover story. Camille’s speech about being “gifted with misfortune” reminded me of the strength of our youth and ACH’s role in helping them create bright futures for themselves. It’s an amazing process.

It is an exciting time to be part of ACH Child and Family Services. Not only are we doing many things today to help children and families overcome crisis, we are also involved in important planning for the future so that we can continue to improve and adapt to the changing needs in north Texas. Examples of this planning? Glad you asked!

• Trauma Informed Care. New research on healing trauma is showing to be very effective in helping children cope with abuse and neglect. ACH is partnering with the Trauma Center at the Justice Resource Institute in Brookline, MA to provide advanced training in healing trauma for all of our residential staff and foster parents by 2012. ACH has engaged Margaret Blaustein, Ph.D., co-author of ARC treatment framework to provide consultation and training during the implementation period. Our commitment to research-supported interventions allows ACH to provide effective ways to heal children using the most current knowledge.
• Wichita Campus. The campus is returning to vibrancy with the recent opening of the Paul E. Andrews Family Welcome Center and the restoration of three more buildings beginning in July. By summer of 2012 we will have completed the renovation of 5 buildings, the construction of one new building, and upgrades to most of the campus infrastructure. This beautiful 19 acre campus gives ACH a place to offer nurturing, professional services for decades to come.
• Transitional Living. Renovation of the Residential Services Building will allow ACH an opportunity to create a much-needed program for 16-24 year old boys. This program is designed to provide these boys with a supportive environment where they develop skills and resources to live successfully on their own.
• Foster Care Redesign. The State of Texas is moving toward a significantly changed method of overseeing foster care services. ACH staff and board have made several trips in the last six months to garner “lessons learned” from similar efforts in other states. ACH is working diligently to continue providing quality care once these new details are announced by the state this fall.

While ACH is preparing for the future, we are clear that the future is dependent upon children. I got a glimpse of the future for one little boy at a recent picnic for our foster and adoptive families. Our amazing group of foster parents and youth care workers have children in their homes and offer a loving, supportive environment for these youth who have had a bad start to life. At the picnic I met one of our foster/adopt couples. They have opened their home to a boy who just celebrated his second birthday. His first 18 months of life were tough. His mother had severe addiction issues, many boyfriends, and no place to live. His father was in prison. This young boy has been living with our couple for six months and they are hoping to adopt him as soon as the courts will allow. This caring, stable, energetic couple could not be more in love with this boy, and an adoption will give him a future that he could never had dreamt for in his previous circumstances. Now that’s a plan for the future to get excited about!

As always, we couldn’t do this without your support. Thank you for making ACH part of your life and your plans for the future.

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