Peace of Mind for Parents .... ....Creative Growth for Kids

Children benefit immeasurably from high-quality day care programming - developing greater self-confidence, improved physical and social skills, increased respect for others, and enhanced cognitive and learning skills.

Since 1974, Hephzibah has provided quality day care for children whose parents are working, going to school, or completing career training. Our nationally recognized, award-winning Day Care Program offers a nurturing, enriching, and dynamic day care experience for Oak Park children from kindergarten to fifth grade. These children attend Hephzibah Day Care after school, on school holidays, and full time during the summer months. Hephzibah currently operates 16 day care programs at eight Oak Park elementary schools in cooperation with the school district. Our goal is to provide a day care experience that will help children achieve their full social, emotional, and intellectual potential. Day Care activities are designed to promote the well being of children by fostering the development of a wide variety of skills, as well as social competence and a positive self-image. Children gain experience in areas such as arts and crafts, group games, sports activities such as swimming and ice skating, movement and music, camps, and field trips. Each year, our Day Care program serves more than 600 school-aged children from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds. Our day care fees are assessed on a sliding scale and offset by financial aid when necessary to ensure that every family in our community has access to high-quality day care - regardless of income - and that children from low-income families have the same growth opportunities as their peers. Hephzibah's Day Care program is funded through parent fees, community contributions, the United Way of Oak Park, River Forest, and Forest Park, state and federal grants, the Oak Park-River Forest Community Foundation, and the Illinois Department of Human Services. Statistics: 450 Children in After School Day Care 245 Children in Summer Day Care Sixteen School Day Care sites One Summer Day Care Site 46 staff members Children from Oak Park and River Forest whose parents are working, in school or in training are eligibile for Hephzibah's Day Care program. Day care will begin accepting applications for the 2009-2010 Kindergarten program in January 2009. Please note - space will be limited. Download Day Care Application Here View Day Care Fee Schedule

Discovering Healthy Family Life When families are healthy, children flourish. But when families begin to fracture from social pressures such as joblessness, poverty, chronic illness, mental instability, domestic abuse, or substance abuse, children are often the first to suffer - and society ultimately pays the price. To help heal families that have reached the breaking point - so that they can raise their children in a positive, safe, and nurturing environment - Hephzibah established its Family Based Services program in 1987.

Since that time we have continued to expand our commitment to families. Today, Hephzibah provides a wide range of support and intervention services for families in need through the following programs. -Intact Family Services -Family Assessment Services -Family Reunification Services -Family Support Services -Foster Care & Adoption Services -Camp HepSIBah, Summer sibling reunification camp Last year, Family Based Services helped 194 families and 442 children by providing support and guidance to keep their families healthy. To learn more about our Family Based programs, please visit our Services page.

National Models of Shelter and Residential Care "The first thing I ask a child who comes to our Diagnostic Shelter is, 'Do you know why you are here?' I tell them it's because their parents can't take care of them - and it's not their fault." Sometimes, despite all attempts to the contrary, families crumble. When that happens, children can be caught in a web of circumstances that they did not create and cannot control. Some of the children who arrive at Hephzibah's Group Homes have lost parents through death or abandonment. Others come from loving families that are overwhelmed by poverty, addiction, illness, or mental instability.

Some have been neglected, some physically or sexually abused. Many have endured an emotional roller coaster ride of multiple placements with relatives or foster families. At Hephzibah, these children can find a safe haven and a place to heal. Because many have suffered from heartbreaking emotional and physical traumas, they do not trust easily. The world as they perceive it is a hostile and dangerous place. Hephzibah's mission is to provide a safe, supportive, stable, and structured environment and the intensive therapy that these children need to begin the healing process. The Diagnostic Shelter A child's journey through our Group Homes begins at the Diagnostic Shelter. The Shelter was established in 1985 as a short-term placement for neglected or abused children. Today, it is the only community based diagnostic program of its kind in Illinois for children between the ages of three and twelve. The Shelter can house up to 16 children at any given time. A typical child staying at our Disgnostic Shelter has been abused and neglected, placed unsuccessfully in multiple foster homes, and suffers from depression, anxiety, and/or agression. Because Hephzibah is one of the few group homes that accepts children after in-patient psychiatric treatment, up to 80 percent of our young residents now enter the Diagnostic Shelter after stays in pediatric psychiatric hospitals. All of the children entering our Shelter suffer from psychological and/or psychiatric problems. Some are suffering from the effects of malnutrition - and many have been medically neglected as well. Many have limited social skills or self-care skills such as basic hygiene. Some are seven or eight years old and have never been to school. Nearly all have academic deficiencies due to inconsistent schooling and require comprehensive educational evaluations. Our initial objectives are to provide safety, structure, consistency, and a warm, loving environment for these children -a safe haven where the healing can begin. After a child is stabilized, our social workers conduct comprehensive diagnostic evaluations to determine the child's emotional, physical, and psychological state, the type of placement that will be most beneficial, and the support services that will help ensure the long-term success of that placement. The Residence Sometimes children have been so traumatized by past events that they are unable to make the transition to a family setting after their stay in Hephzibah's Diagnostic Shelter. Some of these children have spent their lives moving from one relative or foster family to another and cannot cope with the idea of living in a family again because they are afraid that it will end in yet another rejection. Others need more time to heal and develop the skills that they need to succeed in a family setting. These children require the stability of a long-term group home placement. The Residence at Hephzibah was established in 1992 to meet this need. Designed to house up to 10 children, the Residence offers a continuation of the emotionally supportive care and therapeutic support that were put in place for each child in the Diagnostic Shelter.

A Year of Discovery "We started with a simple premise. Regardless of a child's trauma, it is imperative they have the opportunity to learn. This is their ticket to a full, promising life. Too often these children are recognized for behavior issues instead of academics. With Hephzibah's Academy programs, we saw an opportunity to create a program to help traumatized children learn and teachers learn how to teach them."
When a child's life is disrupted by abuse or neglect, one of the many aftershocks can be a drop in academic performance. After examining the standardized test scores of the children living in our Group Homes, we discovered that many were lagging far behind other children in their age groups. Despite the fact that nearly all of these children were of average or above-average intelligence, their test scores placed them in the nation's bottom 20th percentile. In 1999, Hephzibah piloted its first educational enrichment program - the Summer Reading Academy at Dominican - and launched the Educational Enrichment Initiative to help the children living in Hephzibah's Group Homes achieve their full academic potential. Today, through an intensive program of reading clinics, after-school tutoring, educational partnerships, and workshops in the arts, Hephzibah continues to expand the educational and cultural horizons of the children living in the Group Homes - so that they can begin to see themselves as talented, accomplished individuals.
Touching the lives of families grappling with serious illness Ryno Kid Care is an innovative program dedicated to enhancing the lives of children with serious medical conditions and their families, by providing supportive, compassionate and meaningful programming.
Ryno Kid Care impacts more than 700 individuals each month by offering our vast array of services to a wide variety of pediatric illness populations. It may be parents receiving a home cooked meal from someone they have never met, a child laughing for the first time in weeks from the antics of a CircEsteem M.D. entertainer, siblings gathering for a monthly creative art workshop, or several parents gathering for a weekly coffee support group. Children find reasons to smile and develop bonds through mentors and pen pals. Their siblings discover that there are other children out there facing the same issues of guilt, isolation, and anger by connecting with others in our monthly activities. Caregivers are able to reduce stress and anxiety through a variety of methods. And, most important, they are able to better focus on the well-being of the sick child because Ryno Kid Care is able to minimize their day-to-day stressors. To learn more about Ryno Kid Care, please visit www.RynoKidCare.org.
Are you or someone you know a Hephzibah Home Alumni? We are searching for former residents for our upcoming reunion weekend to be held October 17-19, 2008. Please contact us! E-mail us or call Ellen Prus at 708-649-7100. Interested in employment or training opportunities at Hephzibah? Please visit our Employment page for current opportunities.