Renovations at Hephzibah Home

“Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.” – Barack Obama

This year marks the 125th anniversary of Hepzibah Children’s Association. Leading up to this wondrous anniversary, we have been asking ourselves how can we better meet the needs and help the children and families that we serve. The children that come into our care at Hephzibah Home, in particular, are frequently victims of extreme abuse and neglect, and suffer from complex trauma that requires specialized treatment and therapies. They desperately need a sense of safety and comfort and a level of care that only highly specialized caregivers can provide. Hephzibah Home is that place, and we wanted to make it better, safer and more comforting than ever before. 

Considering factors such as federal legislation with new requirements, decades of research revealing that severely traumatized children fare best in high-quality, short-term treatment and that returning to a family environment as soon as possible is the healthiest outcome for these children, we have made many thoughtful renovations to Hephzibah Home. Providing the children with a sense of stability, comfort and safety is paramount, and the modifications we have made since 2018 reflect that. 

Renovations to Hephzibah Home since 2018:

• New reception area (lobby, waiting area, front desk space)
• New gross motor therapy room
• New Executive Director’s office
• New visitor & meeting rooms
• New staff office areas
• New visitor & staff restroom
• Refreshed & painted dining room
• Refreshed children’s restrooms
• Refreshed staff break room
• Addition of central air
• New restrooms on children’s residential units
• New kitchen/dining areas in residential units
• Updated and refreshed playground and expanded garden
• Addition of gazebo to backyard
• Updated garden spaces
• Upgraded fencing to backyard

Main Goals of Renovation Project:

• Transform entryway into a comfortable, welcoming, and modern reception area with a comfortable feel
• Enhance security and confidentiality at the front desk for deliveries and visitors
• Enhance security throughout the entire first floor with upgraded fire doors and hard-wired security card access points
• Increase privacy and confidentiality for the children living in the home by reorienting our public space so fewer visitors (family/caseworkers/visitors) will enter living spaces
• Increase safety by creating a new backyard access door
• Provide a more comfortable space for staff to take breaks and eat meals
• Create a more suitable, safe, and accessible family visiting room
• Increase small conference confidential meeting room capacity
• Provide a space for indoor gross motor play
• Provide central air conditioning throughout the first floor of the home

Benefits of Newly Updated Bathrooms & Kitchen/Dining and Backyard Areas:

• Increased Privacy
• Improved Efficiency
• Enhanced Cleanliness
• Better Use of Communal Space to Better Promote Engagement and Connection
• Brighter, More Accessible Environment
• Improved Security & Safety

Program Transformation:

Our programming and services have grown and expanded to meet the changing needs of Hephzibah families. Following focused meetings and conversations with staff, and planning and negotiations with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, we have made exciting enhancements to Hephzibah Home, our therapeutic treatment program serving the State of Illinois’ youngest children. These upgrades will ensure that we are best positioned to meet the needs of the children residing in Hephzibah Home and that our therapeutic team, and residential counselors have the tools they need to effectively treat and safely care for the children we serve.

Program Enhancements:

• Formerly separate treatment programs (DTC & Residential) will now function as a single residential treatment program with two units: The Treehouse and The Clubhouse
• Enhanced committee-based intake process that includes a unique plan for each child
• Unit coordinators that will now exclusively provide trauma-informed supervision, on-going training & coaching of staff, and fulfill essential administrative duties
• Increased clinical care team that includes music, dance, and movement therapists
• Addition of occupational therapist, behavior analyst, and transition specialist to improve the therapeutic success of each child
• Training of staff in Sensory Motor Arousal Regulation Treatment Model (SMART), an innovative treatment helping children process complex trauma
• Focus placed on training staff in new and enhanced models that ensure child safety during outbursts, and de-escalation practices
• Increasing overall training of staff and support designed to improve environment & decrease caretaker affect
• Acceptance of referrals from new resources including Healthcare and Family Services for the Family Support Program and the Illinois State Board of Education for special education children who are in need of residential treatment