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Hephzibah offers a number of programs
to
help
families stay healthy.
Family Based Services
Hephzibah believes strongly that children should live in
families. And, whenever possible, their own family. Hephzibah
also believes that children should have a safe, nurturing environment,
free from abuse and neglect. Hephzibah works on solutions, with
the best interest of the child at heart. Whether its helping
to stabilize the child's own family, or finding a loving, caring
environment outside the home, Hephzibah combines social service
programs and community services to assist children and their
families through stressful times.
Family Support Program
The Family Support program was established in 1987 to prevent or reduce the number of incidents of child abuse and neglect in Oak Park and River Forest. Through this program, Hephzibah provides crisis intervention services, information and referrals, coordination of service providers, consultations, and assessments.
Support services provided to families through this program include respite care, substance abuse assessment and referral, homemaker services, day care, funding for family necessities in times of critical need, training in parenting skills, and even an in-home visitor program for families with preschool childen who are at high risk of abuse.
A Senior Social Worker provides community consultation,
training, networking and short term family assessments.
Intact Family Services
Sometimes, keeping a family together is the best way to help a child. When this is the case, Hephzibah provides a broad spectrum of Intact Family Services that are designed to help families in crisis as an alternative to removing the child from the home. These services include assistance with issues such as family stress, discipline problems, inadequate housing or homelessness, substance abuse, parenting skills, domestic skills, mental illness, and medical care.
Family Reunification Services
When it is in a child's best interests to return home, Hephzibah provides intensive assistance for parents to help them resolve the issues that led to the removal of a child, or children, from their home. Our Family Reunification Services are for parents who wish to regain custody of their children. Services offered to parents may include counseling; substance abuse programs; parenting classes; a homemaker program that helps parents develop skills in household budgeting, organization, and structure; and other services that parents need in order to form a successful family unit.
Foster Care
Helping a child may also mean finding a loving, caring, and safe environment outside of the home. When this is the case, our Foster Care program ensures that there are licensed family homes, on a temporary basis, for children in crisis. Sometimes, foster care is a temporary arrangement while the parents and children receive the counseling, services, and support that they need to succeed as a family unit. At other times, foster care can be a stepping stone to a warm and loving adoptive home.
Each year, Hephzibah foster parents open their homes -and their hearts- to children in need of loving homes. When returning home to their biological parents isn't an option, many of these children form permanent families with their foster parents through Hephzibah adoptions.
Hephzibah's foster care program is in need of loving homes to care for our children. For more information, please visit our Foster Care page.
Sibling Camp
Seventy-five percent of the children in the child welfare system are separated from their siblings, and many never resolve their feelings of loss that result from those broken bonds. Hephzibah's annual summer sibling camp, Camp HepSIBah, reunites siblings separated by the child welfare system through a summer camp experience.
Thanks to funding from individuals, corporations, and foundations, children can look forward to an unforgettable week reconnecting with their brothers and sisters, sharing childhood adventures, and creating memories they will cherish in the years to come. The week is filled with exciting activities, newly forged friendships, opportunities to discover hidden skills, and a chance to learn more about one's brothers and sisters in a safe and nurturing environment.
Day Care
Hephzibah's award-winning Day Care program provides 600 children, kindergarten
through 5th grade, with a warm, stimulating after-school day care program. The program is funded through parent
fees, community contributions and federal grants, and is located
at all Oak Park elementary schools.
For more information on Hephzibah's Day Care program, please call
708-649-7080 or download an application for Day Care.
For more information about any of these programs,
please
call us at 708-649-7100.
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