Childplace Inc.

A big thank you to our dedicated Childplace staff for spending a weekend earlier this month raising awareness about foster care! We’re grateful for their passion and to our local church partners for helping us share this important work with the community. If you would like information about how your church can become more involved with our work, or to learn more about foster care please reach out at info@childplace.org or you can visit our website at childplace.org.

Considering Foster Care? Come to our info session to learn more! You will be able to meet with one of our staff and ask questions about the process and find out where you fit in when it comes to helping foster children and families in our community.

As our Director of Information and Quality Assurance Kristi Peterson put it, the following is a testimony of God's faithfulness. May God be glorified! • After reviewing/creating over 600 documents for our self-study in July... • and uploading over 2,500 documents for our reviewers in September... • and COA reviewers conducting 27 interviews with our board, employees, clients from every program, and DCS... and touring our facilities... and reviewing 744 standards... the Council on Accreditation expedited Childplace's reaccreditation! In their email to our agency, COA stated, "COA’s program of quality improvement is designed to identify providers that have met high performance standards and have made a commitment to their stakeholders to deliver the very best quality services. COA is proud to recognize Childplace, Inc. as one of these outstanding providers, and we wish you the very best in your continuing work with the individuals you serve." We're so grateful for the hard work of our staff members AND to the clients who allow us to serve them as they do the hard work of healing and growing! As one clinician put it, our clients "allow us into their mess...and we all have a mess." God is redeeming our messes. We're also grateful for the chance to reflect on the work we do and to find opportunities to do better. For His glory! Share Hope. Encourage Healing.

Thinking about foster care? Come learn more about it! We would love to meet you and help you find out the best way you can make a difference in helping families and children in need!

Attention: Local businesses, organizations, groups & clubs... • Walnut Ridge Nursery and Garden Center is sponsoring a Pumpkin Decorating Contest to benefit the work we do! • What to do: Just paint or decorate a pumpkin with your group, and drop it off at Walnut Ridge by OCTOBER 19th! Each pumpkin will have a bucket to collect money as a way of voting for customers' favorites! The pumpkin that wins the most money votes will win a Walnut Ridge gift card for your creative crew! But the real winner is Childplace Family Services in Jeffersonville, which will receive all voting proceeds! • In-Store Voting: October 21st-31st! • Winner will be announced on October 31st at 5:30pm! • #pumpkins #walnutridge #childplace #contest #sharehope #encouragehealing

Working in the field of residential treatment is at times, challenging. The needs of our residents require us to be at our best every single day. Each shift presents uncertainties, and when a 13-year-old is yelling obscenities or struggling to handle frustrations appropriately, it’s clear that there’s much more going on beneath the surface. The children in our care face heavy realities daily, and Childplace strives to stand by them every step of the way. These truths were highlighted during our (now annual!) Back -to-School Bash last month. This event brought residents together with CASA, DCS workers, family members, and other support systems, for a day filled with fun. The festivities included a cook-out, inflatables, carnival games (complete with a prize store!), delicious sno-cones, and a refreshing splash from the local fire department. The kids eagerly anticipated seeing which staff member would brave the dunk tank, and every participant entered the tank dry only to leave thoroughly drenched 30 minutes later! A particular highlight was when residents managed to “out skill” or outscore staff members in games like magnetic darts, table pong, and inflatable ski-ball. As the day concluded and life returned to the usual routine on the Childplace campus, the Back-to-School Bash served as a reminder of the commitment to the residents here—both as staff and through additional support systems. Despite tough realities, challenging conversations, and uncertainties that lie ahead for each of the residents, we take pride in the joy found in shared experiences—whether it’s connecting clients to a local Pokémon league, helping them find employment, or engaging in their interests like “Swiftie” fandom. We cherish getting to know each resident and consider them part of our extended family during and beyond their time at Childplace.

🐾🐕🦺 Meet our newest coworker, Korra! 🐕🦺🐾 We’re excited to introduce Christian Miller’s 4-year-old German Shepherd, Korra, who has been part of the team since 2021. Christian, who has been around animals his whole life, adopted Korra from the shelter and saw an opportunity to make a positive impact. “It’s very common to hear from clients how they miss their pets or talk about stories from their past that involve pets or animals. I wanted to provide a way to fill that void,” says Christian. “For some clients, their experiences with dogs have been largely negative. And given how common dogs are, this could be a good chance to change that perspective for some kids.” In May, Korra began her journey to become a therapy dog. “The goal is that Korra is able to filter out intensive environments and still pay attention to me and follow commands,” Christian explains. Later this month, Korra will take the Canine Good Citizen exam. If she passes, she’ll earn the Good Citizen Award and start therapy-specific training. “One skill she will learn is soothe, in which Korra will know how to go and help make a child feel better: give kisses, sit in their lap, etc.” Christian believes Korra’s presence will help clients with high stress or anxiety. “Even the simple act of petting a dog can lower your stress and anxiety. Korra will be able to give kisses, shake, and other physical interactions with people. She knows how to play soccer and understands the difference between ‘work time’ and ‘play time.’” Childplace President and CEO Nathan Samuel sees Korra as a vital addition. “We work with kids at a very difficult time in their lives. Many times, they have walls and barriers up, and they push people away. It seems animals tend to break down those barriers,” Samuel says. “There is something about the unconditional love between a child and an animal that is special.” Christian adds, “Korra is a neutral party. She isn’t DCS, or Childplace, or any ‘system’; she’s just a dog. She cannot speak, she cannot judge you for what you tell her, she cannot share your secrets, and she always listens. There is some comfort in that.” We can’t wait to see the wonderful impact Korra will make! 🐾💙 #TherapyDog #Childplace

THANK YOU to our wonderful donors AND to OneVision Credit Union! • In August, One Vision Credit Union issued a gift challenge in celebration of National Non-Profit Day! They kindly donated $1500 to Childplace from money they collected from their amazing employees for participating in casual Fridays. • Our online supporters joined in for a grand total of just under $1900. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU to those who contributed to help our mission to support children and families as we share hope and encourage healing! • If you missed the deadline but still want to contribute financially, you can do so at: https://lnkd.in/gb-GnUw9 • If you want to support us, but finances are tight--we get it! Please share our posts on social media to help us spread the word about the work we do! We also appreciate the invaluable prayers offered on behalf of our agency! • #THANKYOU #OneVisionCreditUnion #Childplace #CommunityMatters #GiveBack #MakeADifference #GiftChallenge #ShareHopeEncourageHealing

Have you been thinking about Foster Care? Join us for our September information session to learn more about if Foster Care is right for you. Open the QR code to register! We look forward to seeing you on Thursday, September 12th! More info about Childplace Foster Care can be found here: https://lnkd.in/g_4T2neD Registration here: https://lnkd.in/gFbN9FeW

It's the final push! • One Vision Credit Union has issued a gift challenge in celebration of National Non-Profit Day on August 17th! We're thrilled to announce their generous donation of $1500 to Childplace (part of the money they collected from their amazing employees for participating in casual Fridays). • Now we need YOUR help to make an even bigger impact! Every donation, no matter the size, helps us support children and families to share hope and encourage healing! Join us in this mission and let's show the power of community! • Donate today and be a part of something special. Together, we can make a difference! • Click here to donate: https://lnkd.in/gb-GnUw9 • #NationalNonprofitDay #OneVisionCreditUnion #Childplace #GiveBack #MakeADifference #GiftChallenge #ShareHopeEncourageHealing