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our history.1915The Church Women's Cooperative Home is chartered in Fort Worth, Texas, by women from various local churches. The Home is located at First and Taylor streets and is established to provide care for destitute women and children. 1918The Home moves to 410 West 2nd Street and serves additional women and children who have relatives in training at Camp Bowie in Fort Worth. 1922Seven years after its first opening, the Home moves to its third location at the corner of Pecan and Bluff streets in Fort Worth. 1932The Church Women's Cooperative Home is renamed the All Church Home for Children. 1937All Church Home for Children moves to the Samuel Burk Burnett mansion at 1424 Summit Avenue, its present location. 1954-1963Innovative thinking, a desire to best serve children, and strong support from the community lead to a change in program philosophy and expansion of services. Rather than housing all the children under one roof, the Home expands into four, more family-like residential group homes, each designed to house a smaller group of children. The four buildings are named Judge and Mrs. James C. Wilson Building, Mrs. B.S. (Alice) Walker Building, J. Garland Tillar Building and Eusebia S. Stonestreet Building. In 1962, the All Church Home Auxiliary is created, giving young women the opportunity to volunteer and provide support for the children in care. The Auxiliary continued to work diligently on behalf of All Church Home for more than 40 years and was instrumental in developing many future leaders for the organization. 1977The Annie Richardson Bass Library is built to provide space for educational support, offices and meetings. The building provides space for study hall, arts and crafts, meetings and recreational activities. 1982To better address the changing needs of youth and families, support services are developed including case management, therapy and psychiatric support. 1987All Church Home opens a Boys Ranch near Stephenville, Texas. The ranch is made possible through a special lease agreement with the Texas Youth Development Corporation. 1988The Annie Richardson Bass Library is expanded into a Family Education Center. In addition to providing space for therapy, education and training, the stunning building quickly becomes a favorite meeting place for local organizations. 1991The Jonathan Y. Ballard Group Home is opened in the Wedgwood area of Fort Worth. The home provides a family-like and neighborhood atmosphere for eight girls. 1999The Wrigley Way foster home is established to expand ACH's presence in the Wedgwood area of Fort Worth. The Behavioral Group Care Program is started to serve the unmet needs of children unable to live with their families due to moderate to severe behavior problems. 2000To more effectively meet the needs of children, youth and families, In-Home Services, Campus Respite Care, Foster Care and After-Care programs are developed. In-Home Services bring intervention into the homes of families in an effort to prevent placement. Campus Respite Services provide short-term placement. The Foster Care Program provides safe and nurturing homes for children while they are either temporarily or permanently unable to live with their own families. After-Care Services help families to be more successful after placement is complete. 2001The Temporary Loving Care collaboration project is started to develop respite capacity for area foster parents. The Board of Directors authorizes a facilities' analysis to determine if client needs could be met with our current program facilities. 2003ACH becomes nationally accredited by the Council on Accreditation. The Youth Care Professionals Training Institute is created, using ACH’s extensive experience in children and family services to develop excellence in the treatment and care of children and youth. The Board of Directors authorizes a $4.7 million capital campaign to relocate the children of the Residential Group Care Program from the now urban environment of the Summit Campus to a more family-like and neighborhood setting on the Wedgwood Campus. Some renovations to the Summit Campus are also included in the scope of this project. The Boys Ranch near Stephenville, Texas is transitioned into a foster home. 2004The Building Hope Campaign is launched. In-Home Respite Care is developed to offer relief to caregivers of children with mental health challenges and to provide temporary supervision of the children in their own home. The Families Together Program is started as a transitional living program that serves homeless single-parent families. This program operates out of the Jonathan Y. Ballard Group Home on the Wedgwood Campus. 2005In order to serve more clients, the Families Together Program is moved to the Garland J. Tillar Building on the Summit Campus. The boards of both the All Church Home for Children and the Bridge Youth and Family Services vote to combine operations under the All Church Home for Children, Inc. The first of three new family homes on the Wedgwood Campus is built and opened. The Amon G. Carter Family Home receives its first children on September 8, 2005. Family Group Conferencing, a program designed to facilitate positive and lasting solutions between Child Protective Services and families involved with the system, begins. ACH is accredited through 2008 by Praesidium Abuse Risk Management. 2006Sufficient funding in the Building Hope Campaign is obtained to begin the site work on the Wedgwood Campus in preparation for the construction of the Crystelle Waggoner Family Center, the Jack B. and Linda Morris Family Home, and the M.S. and Meek Lane Doss Family Home. The Emergency Youth Shelter, the Bridge is relocated from the Broadway Campus to the Summit Campus. The Jack B. and Linda Morris Family Home and the M.S. and Meek Lane Doss Family Home are completed and opened. 2007ACH is reaccredited through 2010 by the Council on Accreditation. ACH becomes a United Way of Tarrant County community partner and receives funding to support its emergency shelter services for youth. The Crystelle Waggoner Family Center is completed and opened on the Wedgwood Campus. The playground and park area of the Wedgwood Campus is completed and opened. The ACH Board of Directors unanimously approves new mission and vision statements for the organization. 2008ACH is licensed to provide adoption services to children in the custody of Child Protective Services (CPS). The Dub and Valerie Stocker Home, previously known as the Wrigley Way Family Home, is renovated and opened as a transitional living program for teenagers. The Foster Care and Adoption Department completes its first adoption. The groundbreaking ceremony is held for the Wichita Street Campus Project. 2009The Home Improvements Capital Campaign is launched. ACH begins work to establish a Family Support Center (FSC) in Arlington, Texas. The Foster Care and Adoption Department expands to include four staff members, 22 foster homes and 50 children formerly affiliated with the Lena Pope Home. ACH receives Family Based Safety Services (FBSS) Contract Expansion Award. The LIFE Project (Learning Independence from Experience), a housing program for homeless young adults ages 18-21, is opened. ACH launches its first social business venture, Belltower Chapel & Garden, with the goals of employing foster youth and generating a profit for ACH. 2010All Church Home for Children begins a new era of service with the debut of its new agency name: ACH Child and Family Services. Community Services staff members are relocated from the Broadway Campus to the Wichita Street Campus. A ribbon-cutting ceremony is held to commemorate the completion of the Program Services Building, one of the first of the Wichita Street Campus renovations. Belltower Chapel & Garden holds its first weddings and receptions. 2011ACH is again reaccredited by the Council on Accreditation. The chapel on the Wichita Street Campus is named the Julie and Glenn Davidson Family Chapel and is the site of ACH's wedding and reception business, Belltower Chapel & Garden. The Paul E. Andrews Family Welcome Center is completed and opened. Foster Care and Adoption staff members are relocated from the Summit Campus to the Wichita Street Campus. A dedication ceremony is held for the Julie and Glenn Davidson Family Chapel. Share this
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