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| Founded | 1885 |
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| Type | Nonprofit |
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| Website | www |
Boys & Girls Aid (or Boys & Girls Aid Society of Oregon) is a non-profit organization that provides services to children in crisis in the state of Oregon, United States.
Boys & Girls Aid (formally The Boys & Girls Aid Society of Oregon) was founded in Portland, Oregon, in 1885 by a group of community and business leaders concerned with child welfare. [1] [2] This non-profit organization started as an orphanage and is considered by some as a pioneer in applying the foster care model instead of the typical orphanage model. [3] Later on, the services provided by the organization included a wider range of care for children in different age groups. The organization grew into several branches in different parts of the state of Oregon. [4] It is Oregon's oldest child welfare society. [5]
The organization's mission is to impact the well-being of children in need. This has been its primary goal since 1885. It has also evolved from an agency that takes care of adoption to a wider range of services for children in need that include residential facilities for at-risk populations and foster care. The organization's prospective is to be able to provide help to all children in their service area that require such care. [6]
Boys & Girls Aid has helped in more than 100,000 children since it was founded. The organization serves infants, children, teens and young adults, 0–23 years old, through infant adopt, foster care adoption, foster care or residential care. [7]
Boys & Girls Aid offers services including adoption, foster care, foster care adoption, and housing and shelter services. [8]
The agency offers adoption services for infants and children, including children in foster care who have mental and physical challenges, or are older, and spent a significant amount of time in the foster care system. [9]
Boys & Girls Aid offers foster care services for older youth under the care of the Oregon Department of Human Services. [8] The program serves both short and long-term foster care needs by placing children under the care of state certified foster homes. Boys & Girls Aid also has requirements for foster parents in addition to state requirements. [10] [11]
The agency offers shelter and housing services for youth 10 to 23 years old. The agency's programs include Safe Place for Homeless and Runaway Youth, [12] located in Washington County, STEP (Stabilization, Transition & Evaluation Program), located in Multnomah County, and the Transitional Living Program, [13] located in Washington County. Each program works with children and young adults who have experienced some form of abuse or neglect in their lifetime. [10]
In 2011, Boys & Girls Aid began the Permanency Initiative. The organization committed to a 20-year plan that would shift services toward identifying lifelong connections for all children exiting their services. The plan was implemented in response to a large number of young adults aging out of foster care without the necessary support as they enter adulthood. Boys & Girls Aid designed the Permanency Initiative to offset the high rates of unemployment, incarceration and unplanned pregnancy many foster youth experience compared to their peers. The initiative also focuses on the mental, emotional, social and physical health of youth without a primary caregiver. [14]
About 50% of the funding comes from contracts with the cities, counties and the state or federal government. The other half comes from donations and fundraising campaigns. [15] [16] Another source of support is the auxiliaries ran primarily by adoptive parents or any one who wants to support the organization. [17] The organization is part of many health care and social services associations like:
An orphanage is a residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared for by their biological families. The parents may be deceased, absent, or abusive. There may be substance abuse or mental illness in the biological home, or the parent may simply be unwilling to care for the child. The legal responsibility for the support of abandoned children differs from country to country, and within countries. Government-run orphanages have been phased out in most developed countries during the latter half of the 20th century but continue to operate in many other regions internationally. It is now generally accepted that orphanages are detrimental to the emotional wellbeing of children, and government support goes instead towards supporting the family unit.
Foster care is a system in which a minor has been placed into a ward, group home, or private home of a state-certified caregiver, referred to as a "foster parent", or with a family member approved by the state. The placement of a "foster child" is normally arranged through the government or a social service agency. The institution, group home, or foster parent is compensated for expenses unless with a family member.
The United States Children's Bureau is a federal agency founded in 1912, organized under the United States Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Children and Families. Today, the bureau's operations involve improving child abuse prevention, foster care, and adoption. Historically, its work was much broader, as shown by the 1912 act which created and funded it:
The said bureau shall investigate and report to [the Department of Commerce and Labor] upon all matters pertaining to the welfare of children and child life among all classes of our people, and shall especially investigate the questions of infant mortality, the birth-rate, orphanage, juvenile courts, desertion, dangerous occupations, accidents and diseases of children, employment, legislation affecting children in the several states and territories.
In the United States, adoption is the process of creating a legal parent–child relationship between a child and a parent who was not automatically recognized as the child's parent at birth.
The Adoption and Safe Families Act was signed into law by President Bill Clinton on November 19, 1997, after having been approved by the United States Congress earlier in the month.
Catholic Charities USA is the national voluntary membership organization for Catholic Charities agencies throughout the United States and its territories. Catholic Charities USA is a member of Caritas Internationalis, an international federation of Catholic social service organizations. Catholic Charities USA is the national office of 167 local Catholic Charities agencies nationwide.
Child protective services (CPS) is the name of an agency responsible for providing child protection, which includes responding to reports of child abuse or neglect. Some countries and US states use other names, often attempting to reflect more family-centered practices, such as department of children and family services (DCFS). CPS is also sometimes known by the name of department of social services, though these terms more often have a broader meaning.
Family preservation was the movement to help keep children at home with their families rather than in foster homes or institutions. This movement was a reaction to the earlier policy of family breakup, which pulled children out of unfit homes. Extreme poverty alone was seen as a justified reason to remove children. This new movement began in the 1890s, and in the 1909 White House Conference on Children it was the top ranked issue. In order to keep families together, the family would be given enough money so that the mother would not have to work a full-time job. The families that were given this assistance were usually headed by widows.
Families First is a non-profit family service agency that serves the State of Georgia and assists over 40,000 children and families each year with solutions that aim to improve child well-being and family self-sufficiency. The program dates to 1890, beginning as an orphanage for homeless girls.
In the United States, Child and Family Services Reviews (CFSR) are conducted by the federal Children's Bureau, within the United States Department of Health and Human Services, to help states improve safety, permanency and well-being outcomes for children and families who receive services through the child welfare system. The Bureau conducts the reviews to ensure conformity with federal child welfare requirements, to determine what is actually happening to children and families in child welfare services, and to assist states in helping children and families achieve positive outcomes. The CFSRs monitor States' conformity with the requirements of title IV-B of the Social Security Act. The first round of reviews took place between 2000 and 2004 and the second round took place between 2007 and 2010. In both rounds, all States were required to implement Program Improvement Plans (PIPs) as part of the review process. The third round of CFSRs took place between 2015 and 2018; a complete aggregate report of those findings has yet to be released.
The Foster Care Independence Act of 1999 aims to assist youth aging out of foster care in the United States in obtaining and maintaining independent living skills. Youth aging out of foster care, or transitioning out of the formal foster care system, are one of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged populations. As youth age out of the foster care system at age 18, they are expected to become self-sufficient immediately, even though on average youth in the United States are not expected to reach self-sufficiency until age 26.
DePelchin Children's Center, founded in 1892 in Houston, Texas, is a nonprofit organization focused on supporting and sustaining children and the families who care for them. DePelchin provides a range of services for children and families — it is an accredited foster care and adoption agency, and it also provides residential treatment for youth in foster care, as well as serving youth who are about to age out of foster care or have recently aged out of foster care. DePelchin’s services also include counseling, parenting classes, and other services focused on protecting children and keeping families strong. The center continues to be recognized at the state and federal level for cutting-edge programs, including a federal grant as a leading child trauma expert in Texas.
The Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 was an Act of Congress in the United States signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 7, 2008. It was previously unanimously passed in both the House of Representatives and in the Senate. The law made numerous changes to the child welfare system, mostly to Title IV-E of the Social Security Act, which covers federal payments to states for foster care and adoption assistance. According to child welfare experts and advocates, the law made the most significant federal improvements to the child welfare system in over a decade.
Foster care is the term used for a system in which a minor who has been made a ward or a non-minor, typically aged 18–21, who volunteers for placement, is placed in a relative placement, a non-related extended family (NREFM) placement, a community family home, an institution, a group home (residential child care community, residential treatment center, etc. Relative, NREFM, and community caregivers certified by the state are typically referred to as "foster parents," "kin caregivers," "resource parents," or other local terms. The placement of the child is usually arranged through state or county social services. The institution, group home, or caregiver is reimbursed for the expenses related to caring for the child. The state via the family court and child protection agency stand in loco parentis to the minor, making all legal decisions, while the caregiver is responsible for the day-to-day care of the minor. Even while their child is in Care, typically birth parents retain Education and Medical rights and the right to contact with their child unless parental rights are terminated by the Court.
National Foster Care Month is observed in the United States during the month of May every year. It began with President Ronald Reagan in 1988. Since 1988, National Foster Care Month continues to be recognized and celebrated.
The Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act is a US bill that would address federal adoption incentives and would amend the Social Security Act (SSA) to require the state plan for foster care and adoption assistance to demonstrate that the state agency has developed policies and procedures with respect to the children it is working, and which are (possibly) a victim of sex trafficking or a severe form of trafficking in persons. The bill furthermore requires states to implement the 2008 UIFSA version, which is required so the 2007 Hague Maintenance Convention can be ratified by the US.
The New York City Administration for Children's Services (ACS) is a New York City government agency that prosecutes parents, caregivers, and juveniles in child protective service and delinquency proceedings in New York City. ACS has been the subject of numerous civil rights lawsuits involving the wrongful removals and deaths of children as well as constitutional violations of both parents and children.
Gerald P. Mallon is an American writer and social worker who focuses on LGBTQ+ family issues. He is currently the Julia Lathrop Professor of Child Welfare and Former Associate Dean of Scholarship and Research at the Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College, City University of New York. He is also the director of the National Center for Child Welfare Excellence and an adoptive parent.
The Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980 (AACWA) was enacted by the US Government on June 17, 1980. Its purpose is to establish a program of adoption assistance; strengthen the program of foster care assistance for needy and dependent children; and improve the child welfare, social services, and aid to families with dependent children programs. This act amended titles IV-B and XX of the Social Security Act.
Spence-Chapin Services to Families and Children is a New York-based licensed and Hague-accredited non-profit providing adoption services, which includes the continuum of counseling and support services to members of the adoption triad: birth parents, adoptive families, and adoptees. They provide interim care for infants as the biological parents make a plan for the child's future, and also specialize in the adoption of older children, sibling groups and children with special needs.
