Children's Hospital of Wisconsin Community Services archived news releases

Home Run & Walk
Children's Hospital of Wisconsin Community Services kicks off its first annual Home Run & Walk, Covering the Bases for Foster Care, at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, May 1, at Miller Park in Milwaukee. Peggy Troy, MSN, RN, president and CEO of ChildrenÍs Hospital and Health System, Secretary Reggie Bicha of the Department of Children and Families, and Skip Robinson, Community Relations and Player Development for the Milwaukee Bucks, will speak at the event.

3,000 children find adoptive homes
Children's Hospital of Wisconsin Community Services has helped more than 3,000 children find forever homes through adoption in Milwaukee County. Read more.

More than a home
Read about one adoptive mom's experience and how her son has given her so much.

Agency offers incentives to help us recruit foster homes in Milwaukee County
In an effort to recruit more licensed foster parents, Children's Hospital of Wisconsin Community Services, in partnership with the Bureau of Milwaukee Child Welfare, is offering a recruitment bonus to community and faith-based organizations that encourage potential foster parents to attend a New Family Information Meeting and submit an application for licensing. An additional recruitment bonus will be paid when the referred individual becomes licensed and takes placement of a foster child. Read more.

New program helps Wood County families
Children and Disability Resource Center is a new program available to families in Wood County. This program helps families access the programs and services necessary to care for their children with special needs. 

Racine counseling office adds new staff member
Buddy, an animal-assisted therapy dog, joins the staff in Racine. Read Buddy's blog.

Marsha Connet retires from Racine advisory board
Long-time Children's Hospital of Wisconsin Community Services board member, Marsha Connet, retired from the agency's Racine advisory board Oct. 31, 2009. Connet has been serving as a board member and also volunteering in many different capacities for more than three decades. Read more.

Children's Hospital of Wisconsin Community Services receives $1.2 million grant
Children's Hospital of Wisconsin Community Services received a $1.2 million grant from the Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families - Children's Bureau. This grant will allow Community Services to expand its Family Finding program to serve all Wisconsin counties. Family Finding locates biological family members for children placed in out-of-home care. Studies show that children thrive when cared for by family members. Read more.

Foster child finds success
Jessica Holden has a story that doesn't seem like it would end with, and off she goes to college. Listen to Jessica's inspiring interview on WUWM.

Program aims to strengthen families.
The Wausau Family Resource Center and University of Wisconsin Extension will offer a free program for parents and youths ages 10 to 14 years old. Since the early 1990s, substance abuse and other behavioral problems have been increasing among America's youths. To counter these trends, we must strengthen prevention efforts.

Flags raised in memory of child abuse victims
Volunteers assemble flags in memory of children who lost their lives to chld abuse. The money raised from the flags will go to the Boys and Girls Club and Children's Hospital of Wisconsin Community Services. The flags are $30 and can be purchased through the Healing Fields website.

School supply drive
Children's Hospital of Wisconsin Community Services is collecting schools supplies for foster children located throughout Milwaukee County. Examples of supplies needed include: backpacks, pens, pencils, notebooks, folders, paper, hand sanitizer and Kleenex. Money donations also will be accepted and will be used to purchase school supplies.

Golf outing to benefit Children's Hospital of Wisconsin Community Services
Children's Hospital of Wisconsin Community Services fifteen annual Patrick Hardy Golf Outing will begin at noon on Thursday, July 16 at the Hillcrest Golf and Country Club, 2333 Hillcrest Parkway, Altoona, Wis.

New class on infant development coming to Lincoln County
A new program at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin Community Services Lincoln County Family Resource Center will help parents of newborns care for their "little wonders."

Jennifer Hammel, director of the Child Abuse Prevention Fund discusses Safe at Home and how you can help prevent child abuse on WFAW's Morning Magazine.

Preventing child sexual abuse is adults' job
Participation in sports, camps and music lessons is important and healthy for a child. Unfortunately, organizations sometimes inadvertently can provide an opportunity for a pedophile to molest children. The sexual abuse of a child is a parent's worst nightmare. It seems as though we hear about reports of abuse in the news every day. Parents don't like to talk about it, but studies show that they think about it a lot.

Children's Hospital and Health System launches innovative campaign to fight child abuse and neglect
On an average day in Wisconsin, 23 children are confirmed to be abused or neglected. Because Children's Hospital and Health System believes abuse is preventable, the organization is launching a community-wide campaign to raise money and awareness to fund prevention and intervention programs across Wisconsin. Safe at Home, Be an Advocate for Kids is a way for everyday people to stop the hand of abuse.

Pilot funds awarded to prevent child sexual abuse
Awareness to Action, a statewide initiative focused on the prevention of child sexual abuse, awarded The Sexual Assault Crisis Center, Appleton, Wis., and The Parenting Network, Milwaukee, funding to implement a community-wide pilot program that raises awareness about child sexual abuse.

Mother to many
She gave birth to two; the rest came into the home she built with her husband, John, for weeks, sometimes years, as foster children. The Sundees have been foster parents for 27 years, most of that time as treatment foster parents, caring for kids who have physical, emotional or cognitive disabilities as well as problems at home.

Classes give parents help in raising children
Have you ever heard someone say, "My parents never had parenting classes, and I turned out just fine"? Loving a child comes naturally to most parents, but everyone faces challenges during the course of a child's life. There will be times when your sweet baby will not sleep, your 2-year-old has his or her first tantrum, or your teen will not get up for school. It's times like these when parenting classes may be beneficial.

WUWM's Lake Effect
Cathy Swessel is the director of foster care and adoption services for Children's Hospital of Wisconsin Community Services. May is designated National Foster Care Month by the National Foster Care Coalition. Swessel tells Stephanie Lecci of WUWM's Lake Effect just what the needs are in Milwaukee for foster parents. 

Wisconsin Public Television's "In Wisconsin"  
features a couple who adopted a brother and sister just in time for the holidays. 

National Adoption Day, part of November's National Adoption Month, raises awareness for the importance of finding permanent, loving homes for children.

Children's Hospital of Wisconsin Community Services is the states largest private, not-for-profit provider of child welfare services. Learn more about the programs and services of Children's Service Society.

Abandoned baby finds safe haven in warm embrace of new family. Stephanie Weiler introduced her son by saying, "This is soon-to-be James." She and her husband, Ben, then walked into a courtroom at Milwaukee's Children's Court Center and legally adopted the smiley baby.