Over the last several years, Cumberland Presbyterian Children's Home has seen a shift in the type of youths placed in our care. Child Protective Services is seeking placements at CPCH for older children, primarily pre-teens and teenagers. These young people have often been in multiple foster placements due to emotional and behavioral issues, and they are harder to place in foster homes than younger children.While some foster care youths may be adopted or reunited with their families, according to information from the United States General Accounting Office, each year approximately 20,000 youths exit or "age out" of the foster care... Read Entire Entry
CPCH Programs Offer Solutions to Prevent Child AbuseApril is Child Abuse Prevention Month, a month devoted to transforming communities into places that care about - and actively support - children and families. In a recent poll, 89 percent of Americans reported that child abuse was a "very important" moral issue to them. But, it's not enough to just care about the problem. It's not enough to address the consequences of the problem. We all have to work together to prevent the problem.The majority of child abuse cases stem from situations and conditions that are preventable. Ensuring that parents have resources... Read Entire Entry
As we have been hearing constantly in the news (end experiencing in our own lives), the U.S. economy is in dire shape. People are experiencing unexpected hardships in their lives, and all of us are struggling to deal with a new reality. Times like this often cause folks to reflect on their lives - their wants versus needs, what they place priority on, what is meaningful to them. I know I've been pondering these things, both personally and professionally. Since this is a CPCH blog, though, I'll confine my comments to the professional! Something that is meaningful to all... Read Entire Entry
CPCH is blessed to have generous donors supporting our programs for children, teens and families. Our ability to help vulnerable people depends on the generosity of those who give to us. Because of that, we know it is critically important that our donors have full confidence in CPCH as an agency. I'd like to share the following Donor Bill of Rights, which was developed by several national fundraising associations and is endorsed by many local, state, national and international non-profits. We believe all donors have these rights:To be informed of CPCH's mission, the way CPCH intends to use donated resources,... Read Entire Entry
I am sorry to have to tell you that one of CPCH's donkeys, Buster Brown, passed away on December 8, 2008. Buster was a good donkey and brought joy to our residents and members of the community. We will miss him.With Buster gone, we had to make some decisions about his companion donkey, Ozella. We did not want her to be lonely, and we were concerned about her safety alone in the pasture next to Interstate 35. So, we decided to find a new home for Ozella.Thankfully, we had recently became acquainted with Bob Williams and Marty Polasko of American... Read Entire Entry
In today's wired world, communicating online is a crucial aspect of many people's lives. While Cumberland Presbyterian Children's Home has had a Web site for many years, we were not making use of the great interactive features now available to Web users - until now! Since summer 2008, we have been working with Produce Marketing to develop this brand new site for CPCH, one that includes features that are in-demand by our staff, friends, donors and volunteers. Some of my favorites are:• Online sign-up for monthly campus tours and classes• A virtual tour of CPCH's campus• A space for visitors... Read Entire Entry
