KidsPeace National Centers of North America

Kidspeace National Centers of North America's foster care programs provided community foster care for children and adolescents facing crisis ages 6-18. The average daily census for 2022 was 291.program services & accomplishments:in 2022, Kidspeace provided treatment to more than 881 clients across the Kidspeace continuum of care our offering of programming that is trauma-informed, evidence-based and supported by a commitment to clinical innovation.quality outcomes: Kidspeace conducts an annual outcomes survey to determine how well our programs are meeting the expectations of those we serve.continued on schedule "o". In 2022, our "model of care" survey showed that: 97% of clients report that they are taking steps toward making positive changes in their life as a result of Kidspeace. Kidspeace residential programs: Kidspeace offers a wide range of residential treatment programs at its three residential campuses in Pennsylvania, Georgia and Maine. The programming at the campuses features trauma-informed evidence-based clinical approaches, applied behavior analysis (aba), recreational and creative therapies, life skill enrichment and education services. Staffed by medical professionals, social workers, psychologists, nutritionists, therapists, and caring counselors, the programs help children heal while building confidence and competence to make healthy choices for brighter futures. These campuses strive to give the best to kids who have been through the worst, with world-class facilities including home-like living quarters, athletic fields, swimming pools, and state-of-the-art learning facilities. Kidspeace psychiatric hospital: this National resource, located in eastern Pennsylvania and convenient to new york, Washington, d.c. and philadelphia, helped 959 kids in 2022. The hospital is a private, not-for-profit facility, dedicated to addressing the needs of youth who are experiencing several mental and behavioral health crises. It specializes in caring for children, pre-adolescents, adolescents and young adults through programs custom-designed to meet each patient's specific needs, from severe trauma and depression to emotional challenges prompted by autism or lower intellectual functioning. Patients in the hospital benefit from on-site school services, which ensure that children maintain academic progress while they work to overcome their challenges.kidspeace foster care: 766 children found help in 2022 through Kidspeace's 16 foster care offices. Our therapeutic foster care program is specifically designed for children who have endured or face trauma in their birth homes. Unlike traditional foster care programs, our programs recruit, intensively train and support foster families to respond to the special needs of our children. Foster families receive 24-hour, seven-day-a-week assistance from on-call professionals. Some locations are licensed to provide adoption services to children of all ages. Educational services: children in emotional crisis, whether caused by trauma, problems in the family, or a personal issue, find it difficult to concentrate on learning. Kidspeace operates five licensed schools in three states to help keep youngsters on track in the single most important social and developmental area in their lives. The Kidspeace school system provides a complete education for children in our residential and hospital programs, from 1st through 12th grade. It guarantees all credits they would earn in a public or private school. Our school system professionals work closely with residential staff, parents, referral sources, and the child to ensure the most effective education and treatment possible. In 2020, Kidspeace schools again saw in 2022, Kidspeace schools again saw the vast majority of their students meet or exceed academic achievement standards in their respective states. Community programs: wherever possible, Kidspeace seeks to keep children close to home and the people who love them as they receive care for their mental and behavioral health challenges. In 2022, Kidspeace community-based programs offered a wide range of services to children and their families, including outpatient, family-based, and in-home therapies, as well as partial-hospitalization programs to rebuild lives weakened by crises. The goal is to keep children and families healthy and safe in their homes, schools and communities. In some areas, Kidspeace professionals bring services to children and families in their own homes in an effort to help them learn, grow and stay together. Services include therapy, life- and parenting-skills training, problem solving, education and self-esteem building. Kidspeace also partners with community organizations - like youth and family Centers and government agencies - to provide parenting and life-skills training and family education. We also help link families to community resources such as food banks and libraries. Prevention & public education: in addition to the direct help Kidspeace provides to thousands of youngsters each day, the nonprofit has invested considerable energy into helping the world's children avoid and overcome the common crises of growing up - a responsibility made even more important in the face of the covid-19 pandemic. We offer a helping hand to kids in all 50 states and in dozens of countries around the globe, giving them hope and powerful tools to help them navigate stresses and live more fulfilling lives. These efforts include: -a strong presence on social media (facebook, twitter, instagram and linkedin) with information and tips on helping children handle problems and crises in their lives people can talk about their issues and receive carefully crafted therapeutic support. - -kidspeace.org, a resource for parents and professionals.- blogs and podcasts focused on relaying expertise from professionals in the Kidspeace organization to a general public audience.- Kidspeace institute, training professionals in the field of mental and behavioral health for children.- healing magazine, a twice-a-year flagship publication, providing practical and clinical information and inspiration for parents, teachers, and children's professionals. Covid-19 pandemic, 2020: Kidspeace response in 1882 a group of civic leaders in south bethlehem, pa came together to consider how to respond to an outbreak of smallpox in their community, and established a home for children orphaned in the epidemic. Over the years that organization evolved ultimately focusing on mental and behavioral health care under its current name, "Kidspeace." In 2021 the covid-19 pandemic presented enormous challenges to Kidspeace's operations and people - but an organization with epidemic relief in its dna was well-positioned to respond appropriately.facing the threat:early in 2021 Kidspeace's risk management team identified the covid-19 outbreak as a potential disruptive event, and leaders activated a "pandemic plan" to assess impact on our operations. Relying on guidance from its medical leadership, the organization implemented significant mitigation efforts starting in march mask mandates, screening and visit limitations, required use of ppe, "work-from-home" policies for administrative staff, and enhanced communication with associates on infection control efforts. The Kidspeace pandemic plan identified the orchard hills campus congregate care programs as being at particular risk, and targeted additional mitigation efforts there. Space at Kidspeace children's hospital was repurposed for an isolation unit for clients diagnosed with or exposed to covid-19, and school and activity schedules were changed to prevent intermingling of clients from different residential units, further protecting against infection. (a similar approach was taken in residential programs in Georgia and Maine, and while both programs saw an increase in cases in the fall, the experience gained at orchard hills helped keep the incidence of infection at manageable levels. )stringent infection control practices also were put in place in our outpatient and community programs. In addition, Kidspeace expanded its use of telehealth to deliver treatment when clients could not attend in person. Kidspeace foster care staff also used telehealth capabilities to maintain connection with foster families; for example, several families were still able to complete their adoption process amid the pandemic using teleconferenced judicial proceedings.