NILES Agency expands services for children

The agency, which employs 58 people, has moved into its third building.
By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
NILES -- A downtown business is expanding its services and increasing its presence in the community.
Homes for Kids, which opened in 1990 as a nonprofit therapeutic foster-care agency and occupies two buildings, at 43 N. Main St. and 31 N. Main St., has moved into a third building at 165 E. Park Ave., the former 2 North Park.
"We think by the end of March or in April, we'll be certified by the state in mental health," said Debra Wilson, executive director.
Staff members are moving into the upper floor of the East Park Avenue building while architects complete plans for the lower level which will accommodate mental health facilities.
Employees will remain in both Main Street buildings for foster care, adoption and education and training programs.
The agency also has a satellite office in Cleveland Heights.
"We want to be more family-friendly," Wilson said.
They hope to add a playground and other outdoor facilities for the children if they can raise the money through donations.
About the group: Homes for Kids employs nearly 60 people, making it one of the largest employers in the city's downtown, but many people don't know it's there.
"Some city officials have called us downtown Niles' best-kept secret," said John Goodall, agency spokesman. "We no longer want to be the best-kept secret. We think we can provide great services to the community, and the community can certainly help us."
When the new facility is fully operational, mental health counseling such as children's anger management and sexual abuse victim survivor groups will open to the community.
The new quarters and planned playground and outdoor facilities also would provide an atmosphere more conducive to children to connect with counselors more openly rather than in strictly an open setting.
The agency tries to treat the children to outings such as a trip to a Scrappers game and Six Flags last summer, but they hope for donations to cover that.
"Contracts with government cover the basics of a child's needs, but there are quality-of-life issues that they can't and won't address," Goodall said.
For many of those children, last summer's outings marked their first such activities.
Goal: HFK focuses on helping children become successful in families. Sometimes that means reunification with biological families if the families meet the court-ordered steps. Other times it could mean adoption.
The agency aims for a placement limit of one year, but Wilson acknowledges that doesn't always happen. That coincides with a state and national push in child foster care.
"Every child deserves a home," she said.
Staffers and foster families also work with teen-agers nearing age 18 to help them learn to live on their own.
The agency has contracts with local children services boards, and many of the children in their care have come from backgrounds of severe abuse.
Some have been severely beaten, sexually abused or neglected.
"When you have a 5-year-old who's neglected to the point where they're expected to care for a 2- or 1-year-old, that's severe neglect," Wilson said. "They feel like they can't be a kid themselves. They have to be a grown-up at 5."
Preparation: Some of the children have special medical needs. Foster parents working with the agency must have 40 hours of training, more than the requirements of other agencies.
"A lot of the kids have already had several placements before they come to us," Wilson said.
The agency generally has more than 100 children in its care and 96 licensed homes. It's working to increase that number.
"Unfortunately, there's never a shortage of children to place," Wilson said.
She's reminded of some of what the children have endured when they initially come to the agency.
"When a child comes to you with everything that means the most to them and everything they own in a garbage bag, that really tells you how lucky you are and how unlucky they are," Wilson said.
Wilson, of Austintown, took out second and third mortgages on her home to start the agency 12 years ago because she believed in its importance. She says the agency employees share that belief.
"We know we can't save the world, but maybe we can save one or two kids along the way," Wilson said. "That's important to us."
dick@vindy.com