Who is here for youth feeling unsafe or threatened? The Children’s Aid Society is.

 

The Children’s Aid Society is the only youth shelter in Wichita County and the surrounding 11 counties of North Texas that provides 24-hour supervised emergency care for youth.

Youth often arrive at the Shelter from a designated Safe Place  location if they sought emergency help for themselves,  with assistance from the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, law enforcement, or with the help of a family member. The Shelter can house as many as 20-34 kids, typically for periods of up to 90 days. All youth immediately receive food, clothing, and hygiene products, along with a medical screening by a healthcare provider and follow-up care for any identified needs. Youth also receive an educational/vocational assessment and may continue their education during the school year through public school opportunities, receiving life skills training as well. 

 

Our agency offers trauma-informed individual therapy and family counseling—with the main purpose of family reunification or to find positive alternatives for the family. We have development activities—Through skills groups, life skills education, and youth enrichment activities . Our youth experience community engagement—Through community service projects or attending community events.  Ultimately, youth are discharged to a safe and stable setting with an aftercare plan that offers recommended services including our programs as well as referrals to external programs. Each service plan also ensures a 30-day post-discharge contact, made to ascertain status and assess further needs.

Agency Information:

The Children’s Aid Society, a non-profit agency has been serving the children of North Texas since the 1912 when our agency got its charter. CAS operates two programs: the Children’s Home and the Teen Emergency Shelter. Both shelters are licensed as Emergency Shelters and Assessment Centers through the Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory Services.  The Children’s Home and Teen Emergency Shelter are located on the same property, 1101 30^th St., in Wichita Falls, Texas.

The Children’s Home, which has been at its current location since 1976, is a 26 bed facility licensed to serve children ages 1 through 17. The Children’s Home accepts primarily court ordered placements through Child Protective Services (CPS). Admission to the shelter is generally the result of abuse, neglect, and abandonment sustained in the home. While at the Children’s Home, an assessment is often conducted. The assessment process includes psychological, physical, and educational evaluations of the youth. This allows the Shelter and Caseworker to assign an accurate level of care to the youth. The intent is to be able to place the youth in the most appropriate placement as soon as possible and keep them from bouncing around the Foster Care system. Children are nurtured, loved, and educated while at the Children’s Home. Every effort is made to make what can be an unpleasant time in their lives as comfortable and happy as possible. Juvenile Probation also places a number of youths at the Children’s Home as they transition from placement back into the home setting. 

The Teen Emergency Shelter opened in 1992, specifically to meet the needs of homeless and runaway youth, deter school dropouts, and strengthen families. The TES is an eight bed coed facility licensed to accept kids ages 10 to 17. The TES is the only facility of its kind within a 100-mile radius. Admission to the shelter is voluntary, but often the result of a referral by a school, Juvenile Probation, CPS, the Police, or one of the 40 Safe Place sites in the area. Has been an active Member of The National Safe Place program since 1993.The average length of stay is about two weeks.

An integral part of the Teen Shelter’s program is the counseling provided to teens and their families. The purpose of the counseling is to defuse the crisis situation, identify the problems that led to the crisis, provide the family with coping skills, and encourage an environment in which the youth can mature into a reasonably content and responsible adult. Youths receive independent living and social skills training, with an emphasis on education. The TES provides an aftercare program at no cost to the family. Substance abuse education and prevention counseling is also provided.  

Our Services Include:

• Basic Care Emergency Shelter & Assessment Services for youth ages 1-17.
• Food, clothing, school supplies, personal items, and toys.
• Advocacy through the medical and legal systems.
• Transportation.
• Confidential counseling- individual, group, family, and after-care.
• Information and referral to other community services.
• Community education and outreach.

How You Can Help:

• Monetary donations are needed to help with general operating and care of our youth. Mail checks to : 1101 30 St. St. Wichita Falls, Texas 76302  or Donate online: https://caswt.org/donate/
• Donations of gift cards or gift certificates to events in the community or for shopping needs are always used and appreciated. This helps with shelter needs (for food and cleaning supplies) and youth needs (for new clothing).
• Please consider helping with a major project, special event, or becoming a board member.
• You could make a planned gift to the Children’s Aid Society by including the agency in your will or estate plan. Helping future children for years to come.

Call 940-322-3141 for more way you can help!

Do you participate in Annual Giving? 

Simply put, employee giving is the donations made by a company and its employees to nonprofit organizations. Employee giving can include employees volunteering in the community. Both are vital to nonprofit organizations. 

Do you have a business and want to help your community?  A workplace campaign is an organized, company-sponsored fundraising drive where employees are asked to contribute to a nonprofit organization. Campaigns make it easy for employees to give – through payroll deduction. A gift can be made over the course of a year or at one time.

Our agency can receive donations through payroll deduction through the Hands to Hands Community Fund. If you are interested in hosting a workplace campaign this August -November or donating to our agency click this link to learn more about how you can help us and 8 more Texoma nonprofits with one donation. In turn your donation will help countless others. It is the gift that keeps on giving! Click the link  to learn more    https://www.hthcf.org/ 

Children’s Home and Teen Shelter are committed to providing youths, a safe, supportive environment in which they can make constructive decisions about their future and their relationship with others.

Children’s Aid Society: 940-322-3141

If you know about a child in need get help now by calling for help!