Every Child Deserves Support
Our Mission: Building a secure & hopeful today, so children facing health issues & poverty succeed tomorrow.
Serving Children & Parents since 1991.
Breaking the Cycle of Poverty, Illness, Violence & Racial Injustice
Childrenโs Place Association provides essential and comprehensive services that are lacking in disinvested neighborhoodsโearly education, trauma therapy, support groups, basic healthcareโby crafting personalized plans for a childโs and their familyโs well-being.
Our goal is to surmount the barriers to thriving that many children and families in impoverished areas experience, and to help them achieve the resiliency, health and knowledge they need to navigate lifeโs challenges successfully.
Every Child Deserves Support
Our Mission: Building a secure & hopeful today, so children facing health issues & poverty succeed tomorrow.
Our Equity-Based Framework for Systemic Change
Community Led
We believe people who live and work in underserved communities best understand their own needs and solutions, and, thus, we are guided by their goals and approaches.
Collaboration
We work alongside community members as equals, drawing on a shared vision while leveraging our unique strengths to make the greatest impact.
Strengths-based Approach
We strive to see the whole child, family, and community – not just their vulnerabilities. We avoid negative stereotypes and outdated โcharityโ models.
Sustainability
We strive to sustain projects until community goals are achieved, recognizing that real change takes time, commitment, and continued resourcing.
Helping Chicagoโs Children and Their Families
Since 1991, weโve been providing care for children and families facing extreme poverty, health issues, violence, housing insecurity and hunger.
What sets us apart:
- We focus on whole family support, knowing that the health of the family is the health of the child.
- We offer a comprehensive, evidence-based service model integrating needed trauma therapy, health services, social services, early education, after school programs, foster care/adoption, family support and supportive housing.
- Our approach is based on the conviction that the community, including its youth, is the expert on its own challenges and that community people are the most likely to propose and shape effective interventions.
- Our early learning program specializes in integrating comprehensive health services and enrolling children with special needs and disabilities other preschools canโt accommodate.
- We focus on neighborhoods challenged by violence, lack of investment, extreme poverty, and poor resources.
- Weโre able to be a resource for families without sufficient income – many earn less than $5000 annually.
- We actively hire people who reflect the community we serve. Persons of color make up 86% of our management team and 79% of direct service staff.
Imagine a future where every child has access to the developmental support they need to experience a quality of life that elevates their perception of who they are and creates a pathway of hope and resilience โ regardless of circumstances or zip code.
Help us keep Chicagoโs children safe and growing beautifully with the assistance of our Childrenโs Place programs.
OUR PROGRAMS AND SERVICES
Early Childhood Education and Care
Early education is vital for a childโs future achievement, yet low-income families often lack access to early learning opportunities, especially those with children facing illness or disabilities.
Child and Family Support Services
We work with families confronting serious health conditions, trauma and financial challenges to provide housing, summer camps, financial counseling, mental health services and case management.
Foster Care and Adoption
Our Foster Care & Adoption program matches children with capable, loving foster parents who are trained by our organization to care for each childโs specific needs.
Child Thrive
Concentrating on the West Humboldt Park neighborhood, Child Thrive is community-directed, providing education, counseling, mentoring, afterschool programs, and health services in a high-need area of Chicagoโs westside struggling with gun violence, economic uncertainty, and the impacts of structural racism.
From Surviving to Thriving
Personal Success Stories
Our Story
โChildrenโs Place made an incredible impact in my life. It gave me a childhood I didnโt expect I would ever haveโฆ and a foundation that has allowed me to grow.โ
Making a Real Impact on Children’s Lives since 1991
BE THERE FOR CHICAGO’S CHILDREN
Childrenโs Place Association needs you to help us build a secure and hopeful today so children facing health issues and poverty succeed tomorrow.
CHILDREN IN CHICAGO
Live with Gun Violence
Live in Poverty
CHILDREN’S PLACE IMPACT IN 2023
CHILDREN IN CHICAGO
Live with Gun Violence
Live in Poverty
CHILDREN’S PLACE IMPACT IN 2022
OUR CARING SPONSORS AND PARTNERS
CHILDREN’S PLACE ASSOCIATIONย NEWS
Meet Yadira
Meet Yadira Santoyo! ๐ Yadira has been our Youth Coordinator at Child Thrive for two wonderful years, and sheโs
Q4 Volunteer Newsletter
Welcome to the fourth quarter volunteer newsletter! Here, you'll find highlights of last quarter's volunteer efforts, new opportunities to get
September Pathways
What a month itโs been! With the start of the school year, all of our programs have been buzzing,
Meet Rachel
Meet Rachel Braun! ๐ Rachel has been a Family Support Specialist and MSW Intern at our Early Learning Center
