Thanks to our donors who, with their donation of $1000 or more, are making a significant difference for the children we serve by supporting a classroom in early childhood, education, or mental health. These donors affect the daily lives of vulnerable children and become a partner in their transformation. Students see the signs with the names of individuals and companies over their classrooms and realize, sometimes for the first time, that people other than our staff care about them and are investing in their future.

Thanks to donors who gave $2,500 or more to support a classroom:  J.R. and Kadi Anderson, AXA Advisors, Randy N.Brooks, Cricket Communications, Michael and Tucker Coombe, Directions Research, Sharon Williams Frisbie, Fusite, Lawrence and Joy Glassmann, Milt and Karen Hendricks, The Marnick Foundation, Johnathan Mason, Mason Schilling & Mason, Molina Healthcare of Ohio, David and Karen O’Maley, James and Ann Monroe, Judge Louis Moore, Dr. and Mrs. Robert Preston, Joelle and Nick Ragland, Toyota Financial Services, and Barb Stumpf who donated in memory of Janine Westercamp.

     About a year ago, Young Professionals Board member Mandy Peck and her husband J were searching for better ways to deal with their son Jax’s behavior. Mandy describes Jax as a kid with a lot of energy and creativity who loves playing outside. “He’s a pretty typical kid—sweet, loving, and playful.” But Jax started having meltdowns and tantrums that seemed to come out of nowhere. “J and I came to a point where we didn’t know what else to do,” says Mandy, “we were concerned because we couldn’t seem to prevent these meltdowns.” Techniques like “time-out” to manage behavior were sometimes helpful, but didn’t prevent meltdowns in the long term. The Pecks saw their son becoming increasingly unhappy and knew they needed to do something to help Jax.

     Around that time, Mandy learned about Common Sense Parenting®, an off-shoot of The Teaching Family Model®, which is an evidence-based behavior modification practice that teaches children to improve their behavior and social skills. The Children’s Home is one of only 16 sites in North America to have completed the rigorous Teaching Family Model® certification process. The Common Sense Parenting® program takes the school-based behavior modification techniques of The Teaching Family Model® and applies them to the family structure. It provides parents with a menu of proven techniques to help prevent and correct misbehavior by teaching self-control and establishing behavioral expectations.

     Common Sense Parenting® helped Mandy and J to get on the same page as far as parenting styles which has eliminated a lot of stress. They observed a clear, quick change in Jax’s day-to-day behavior, and they’ve noticed that since they set up consistent behavioral expectations, he rarely has a meltdown. “We’re all happier,” says Mandy. The Children’s Home recently received a $35,000 grant from the Marge and Charles J Schott Foundation to expand the Common Sense Parenting® program. For more information, contact Jen Powers at jpowers@thechildrenshomecinti.org or 513-272-2800.

    From holiday gifts to donated gingerbread houses, we thank all the donors who brought holiday cheer to The Children’s Home! Local companies, organizations, and individuals provided hundreds of gifts and donations for children that we serve-- many of whom may not have received gifts this season without such generous support. Many individuals also volunteered their time sorting gifts or providing children with the opportunity to pick out gifts for their family members. We are enormously grateful to all who contributed, including:

Ellen Katz, President and CEO of The Children’s Home was recently named a finalist in the Vistage International 2011 Member Leadership Awards! The awards honor the inspiring business and community achievements of members who best exemplify Vistage’s values and its six cultural imperatives of Collaboration, Courage, Impact, Innovation, Judgment, and Passion. Vistage International is the world’s leading chief executive organization, serving nearly 15,000 members in 15 countries.

On December 16, three outstanding employees were given the Presidential Award for their role modeling of our values of compassion, commitment, collaboration, innovation, and excellence. The winners were Suzanne Vann, Early Childhood Day Treatment; Laura Short, Upper School; and Mike Riehle, Facilities.

 The Children’s Home was recently named one of six Greater Cincinnati nonprofit organizations to be recognized for our systems performance  by the Organizations of Noteworthy Excellence (ONE) program. The evaluation process for the ONE award is based on the Baldridge Criteria for Performance Excellence, a highly rigorous, self-evaluation and external examination. This award recognizes business best practices among tax-exempt charitable organizations.  Honorees are recognized for performance in the specific categories of people, principles, and process, and for their overall performance at a reception on January 26, 2012.

     This year, an Upper School Student graduates with job prospects, thanks to the Landscaping Program that’s part of the job-readiness training offered at The Children’s Home. While on a Landscaping Class field trip to Spring Grove Cemetery with teacher Tim Daugherty, Jerome stood out by asking lots of questions and showing great interest while on the grounds-keeping focused tour.            
     He has worked hard on his behavior and managing his emotions while at The Children’s Home and his effort paid off when a manager at Spring Grove noticed his keen interest and thoughtful questions. The manager offered Jerome an application for a summer internship. Jerome’s internship application was accepted and he spent his summer building his knowledge base and his resume while working with staff at the cemetery. With a newfound sense of confidence and successful internship under his belt, he returned to The Children’s Home this fall to finish his final credits toward graduation.             
     Jerome also earned the opportunity to showcase the skills learned in his internship class when Madison Tree Care and Landscaping offered to donate time and materials for a landscaping project at The Children’s Home in honor of their 65th Anniversary. Jerome joined in on the project to beautify the area by the flagpoles at the Madison Road entrance. Thanks to his hard work in the job-readiness training program, Jerome has developed the skills and gained experience that will help him secure employment after graduation.