The Children's Haven 2022 Impact Report

2022

THE HOME OF ®

Cherokee

Family Visitation Center

IMPACT

The Children’s Haven promotes the health and happiness of children impacted by abuse and neglect.

A MESSAGE FROM OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

“At her adoption, a child I was working with gave me a picture of herself and on the back she wrote, ‘Thank you for changing my life.’ It says so much about the role of CASA and the need for this role in the lives of foster children whose futures are unwritten.”

Dear Friend, Putting this impact report together was such a surreal experience this year. The services we were able to offer and the number of children we were able to serve were simply goals and dreams just a few years ago. While it’s heartbreaking that the number of children entering foster care continues to grow, we are blessed and grateful to be able to have the resources to address the growing needs in our community. Because of our community’s support, we served 462 children directly through our programs, and far more than 500 when you consider the kids who accessed our Caregivers’ Closet.

Our incredible supporters took our mission beyond county lines, sharing our children’s stories with new audiences. Your passionate support makes this work possible.

We were able to fully develop and launch two new programs in the past year. These two new programs, Prevent Child Abuse Cherokee and the Chin Up mentorship program, focus on efforts to build and support strong families, preventing foster care involvement.

These two preventative programs, paired with CASA and the Wellstar Family Visitation Center, really brought our mission full circle. The response to these two new programs, the successes, and the waiting lists for people who want these services have affirmed that these programs were desperately needed in our community. Hundreds of community volunteers poured into the children and families we serve to make significant, lasting, and life-changing impacts this year.

Donna Malone, CASA volunteer

We celebrated adoptions, reunifications, first steps, graduations, and all the little miracles in between. Building happy, healthy children creates strong, caring communities for all of us. When our kids thrive, we all thrive.

2022 ANNUAL REPORT TABLE OF CONTENTS

Your gift truly makes the difference. Financial accountability is a top priority for our organization. We are proud to share that The Children’s Haven has earned the highest rankings from charity watchdog organizations, GuideStar and Charity Navigator, reflecting our organizational transparency and financial management. We earned recognition as a 2022 Top-Rated Nonprofit from Great Nonprofits. Additionally, we worked diligently to earn the coveted “Accredited Charity” status from the Better Business Bureau, an exclusive honor held by top-performing nonprofits.

3 Message from the Executive Director

10 Racing for Kids

4 Leadership & Staff

11 Holiday Cheer for Kids in Need

5 Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA)

12 2022 Event Highlights

7 Wellstar Family Visitation Center

14 Financials

Thank you for being a part of our mission to promote the health and happiness of children impacted by abuse and neglect. We have a lot of work to do to make 2023 better for our kids. We believe every child deserves a happy and healthy childhood and the promise of a brighter future.

8 PCA Cherokee

15 2022 Recognitions

Sincerely,

9 Chin Up Mentoring Program

2 | 2022 CHILDREN’S HAVEN IMPACT

Marcie Smith cherokeechildrenshaven.org | 3

We envision a community where every child impacted by abuse has the opportunities and supports they need to fully realize their potential, pursue their dreams and become productive members of our community.

EXECUTIVE OFFICERS

BOARD MEMBERS

Buster Cushing

Lewis Cline

Francisco Lozano

Dana Cox

Andrew Smith

Senior Vice President Synovus

Board Chair Chief of Police Cherokee County School District

Rob Logan

Property Manager Penn Hodge Properties

Past Chair City Manager City of Holly Springs

Lori Davis

Senior Vice President Community Bank of Pickens County

Tommy Pinyan

Vice Chair Chief Deputy of Police Cherokee Sheriff’s Office

Secretary Retired University Administrator

Janet Read Welch

Judge Jennifer Davis Cherokee County Juvenile Court

Kristi Estes

DD Lee

Chris Luly

Broker/Owner Skyline Properties, Inc.

Treasurer Community Development Officer Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta

Attorney at Law Flint, Connolly & Walker

Alexandra Keene

Chief Deputy Clerk Cherokee County Clerk of Courts

Gary Sullenger

Business Analyst Arylessence

Co-Owner In Harmony Pediatric Therapy

PROGRAM SPOTLIGHT

NUMBERS 167

ADVISORY BOARD Mandi Ballinger

Georgia House of Representatives

Brooke Ford

Director Division of Family and Children Services

Deidre Hollands Program Director Georgia CASA

Steve Page CEO ProntoTrak

CASA of Cherokee County trains, empowers, and supports court-appointed community volunteers to advocate for the best interests of children who have experienced abuse and neglect. Our CASAs strive to ensure that every child has a safe, permanent home and the opportunity to succeed. Our CASA program was awarded the 2019 Innovative Program of the Year for the state of Georgia. We’re grateful for the 167 volunteers who advocated for the best interests of 344 kids experiencing foster care this year.

bilingual CASAss

Christine Clark

Marcie Smith

Caroline Shelton

Michelle Meek

Director of Community Engagement

Julie Carter

Advocacy Director, CASA Cherokee

Mandy Quigley

Advocacy Coordinator, CASA Cherokee

30

CASAs have served with us for over 5 years

6

THE CHILDREN’S HAVEN STAFF

Office Manager

12

new CASA volunteer advocates trained this year

CASAs have served with us for over 10 years

Executive Director The Children’s Haven

Daphne Mullen

active CASAs serve with The Children’s Haven

8

Director of Planning and Zoning City of Ball Ground

Marcie Smith

Executive Director

CASA BY the

Advocacy Coordinator, CASA Cherokee

Advocacy Coordinator, CASA Cherokee

Christina Fisher

Visitation Director, Wellstar Family Visitation Center

Kathy Crites

Family Support Specialist, Wellstar Family Visitation Center

Trisha Stiles

Family Support Specialist, Wellstar Family Visitation Center

4 | 2022 CHILDREN’S HAVEN IMPACT

Welcome to our new CASA volunteers!

Navada Stucking Family Support~Specialist,

344

Fun at our annual Volunteer Appreciation Event

Children served (208 cases)s

Wellstar Visitation Center

9,900

Lindsay Pena

Program Manager, Prevent Child Abuse Cherokee

Sharise Hackney

Family Care Coordinator, Prevent Child Abuse Cherokee

June Long

hours of volunteer service given by our CASAss

50,651

FY23 Board Officers elected in June: Gary Sullenger, Tommy Pinyan, Buster Cushing and Guillermo Sanabia

miles driven by our CASA volunteers

738

Program Coordinator, Chin Up

Michelle Meek celebrated 8 years of service with the CASA program before transitioning to her new role as Director of Community Engagement.

Staff members and volunteers attended the Georgia CASA conference in Atlanta.

court hearings, panels, DFCS staffings held

cherokeechildrenshaven.org | 5

OUR 2022 CASA VOLUNTEERS Judy Adams Ginny Arcangelo Cindy Austin Mark Avillar Shawn Bach Bob Ballard Sue Barfield Holly Barrett Kelly Black Heather Blevins Addie Bowen Claire Brannon Carl Brooker Jennifer Brooker Barbara Cade Angela Cannarella Gene Carraway Diane Castle Bill Cecil Beth Choppa Michelle Clark Frank Cleveland Jeff Costa Kim Costa Marilee Coughlin Nancy Davis Phyllis Deeb Kelly DiMattesa Lori Downs Nick Downs Linda Etheridge Greer Ezrine Scott Fabricius Debra Farist Gladys Galindez Crystal Gammon Angela Gentry Hannah Gilleland Karen Gosdin Judy Grady Karen Greisman Sean Grizzle Lori Haigwood Katie Hamilton Lisa Happe Jeanie Harrison Linda Hartsfield-Briscoe Judy Harvey Catherine Hill

Sandy Hogan Sandra Hordos Katie Huff Lynn Johnson Floyd Jones Sharon Jordan Cheryl Karr Dawn Kasha Linda Katz Kelli Jo Lane Janice Latoza Renee Lefebvre Van Zilen Pat Leonard Morgan Lewis Anna Logsdon June Long Stephanie Lowry Jill MacGregor Suzanne Mahoney Donna Malone Deirdre Manke Sandy Martin Lucia Mattern Barb McRee Janet Merkel Mary Minicucci Loretta M’Latamou Amanda Moore Beth Moore Bob Mullinax Paul Mullins Vinnie O’Connor Maggie Orozco Melissa Pagan Primrose Picart Michele Prance Debbie Rabjohn Jeffrey Rasberry Jim Reddy Carol Redman Macie Christy Redovian Beverly Reece Churchwell Barb Richard Kathleen Rodriguez David Saltz Lori Sargent Lisa Schmid Lori Shackleford Heather Shelton

PROGRAM SPOTLIGHT Penny Sibley John Slump Debra Smith Linda Smith Michele Smith Robin Smith Tami Smith Robin Snider Rhonda Speck Holli Spell Deborah Sprayberry Lauren Stallings Lorraine Stallings Barbara Stell Trisha Stiles Paul Stombaugh Jennifer Stowell Caprice Strickland Lorraine Thompson Karen Tilghman Nina Torrence Janet Trippett Jenni Vereen Michelle Von Trott Wendy Wagner Ellen Ward Sandra Ward Randy Watson Sara Whitaker Sherry Wiedman Jeff Wilbur Stefanie Williams Polly Yaguchi Mary Zamorski

NUMBERS

Family Visitation Center New York Times #1 Best Selling Author, Laura Schroff, of “An Invisible Thread” virtually joined our CASA Book Club discussion.

Juvenile Court Judge Rick Jones swears in new CASA volunteers.

1,200

The Wellstar Family Visitation Center offers a safe, comfortable, home-like environment for children placed in foster care to visit with their parents, siblings, and extended family while they are not living together. The Wellstar Family Visitation Center is the 2020 recipient of the Hedi Levenback Supervised Visitation Provider of the Year award, a prestigious honor presented by Supervised Visitation Network. This award recognizes our program for providing the highest level of supervised visitation services in order to support, nurture and guide families. The Visitation Center held more than 1,200 safe family visits during 2022, operating at 90-100% capacity, seven days a week. Several families separated by foster care and served by the program were successfully reunified this year!

supervised family visits

71

children served through supervised visitation

101

parents served through supervised visitation

268

hours of life skills coaching

We swore in 12 new CASA volunteers in 2022.

A family served by our CASA program celebrated their reunification after foster care by going on a shopping spree at Learning Express Toys in Woodstock. The shopping spree was generously made possible by a partnership between the store and Georgia Academy Club.

Baseball players and their families held a fundraiser to raise more than $7,000 for our programs!

6 | 2022 CHILDREN’S HAVEN IMPACT

VISITATION BY the

Advocacy Coordinator Christine Clark, Advocacy Coordinator Caroline Shelton, Advocacy Coordinator Mandy Quigley and Advocacy Director Julie Carter.

CASA volunteers and Juvenile Court Judge Jennifer Davis and Judge Rick Jones at our annual Volunteer Appreciation event.

1,368 Staff and Board Members hosted an open house of the visitation center for Supervised Visitation Awareness Month in May.

Team members from Arylessence organized a holiday Giving Tree to provide gifts for our Visitation families.

The Visitation team attended the National Supervised Visitation Network Conference in Orlando.

hours of parent coaching

The Visitation program utilizes the Nurturing Parenting curriculum to teach empathy and encourage positive parenting. cherokeechildrenshaven.org | 7

PROGRAM SPOTLIGHT

PCA BY the

PROGRAM SPOTLIGHT

_8 chin up

NUMBERS homes/families served

51 children served

20 parents served (14 single, 3 married couples)

267 number of home visits

Georgia Academy Baseball Club donated Boston butts and students from Reinhardt University donated canned and boxed food items to provide Thanksgiving meals to the families we serve.

Our team joined staff and Board members from the Division of Family and Children Services and the Anna Crawford Children’s Center to place pinwheels across the county for Child Abuse Awareness Month.

Piedmont Church donated laundry detergent to benefit parents in our in-home parent support program.

Staff members from The Children’s Haven joined Board Chair Buster Cushing on Wear Blue Day to raise awareness for child abuse prevention.

8 | 2022 CHILDREN’S HAVEN IMPACT

Site-Based Mentorship.

NUMBERS

18 student participants

Life-Changing Relationships.

Chin Up is a site-based mentorship program designed to foster life-changing relationships through life skills classes and intentional interactions. The mentees and mentors meet once a month, share a meal and engage in educational, as well as empowering, activities taught by community professionals. Through the on-site connections, the participants often communicate outside of the monthly meeting, having built relationships on trust and support. Mentors are caring community members who are willing to train and devote their time and guidance to a teen in need.

13 trained mentors

5

students successfully completed their courtordered program participation and opted to stay in the Chin Up program on their own.

47%

MAJORITY

Spanish speaking families

of the mentees in the progam showed improvement in either school attendance, behavior, communication, and/or social skills.

100% of families were stably housed and employed after at least six months in the program

Mentees and mentors learned to make spaghetti. Mentees were able to take home their own skillets, utensils, and ingredients after class.

Mentees and mentors learned to use tools and built their own tool boxes.

94%

“ My daughter never

had consistent income/jobs

smiles, but she’s always smiling when she leaves Chin Up. This program is working and it’s making a difference.

100%

“

PCA Cherokee exists to increase public awareness and implementation of programs and practices that prevent child abuse and neglect by developing trainings, educating our community, and connecting families to needed resources.

We offer in-home parenting support in English and Spanish with the goal of keeping families safely together, preventing unnecessary foster care involvement. Families participating in the program received weekly in-home visits complete with parent education, life skills education, resources and referrals, and case management.

17

CHIN UP BY the

improvement shown from pre-test to post-test for EVERY parent

– a mom of a mentee

Our mentors and mentees have developed really special bonds this year.

Our mentees use art as a creative outlet at some point during almost every connection class.

cherokeechildrenshaven.org | 9

RACING FOR KIDS Critical Path Security and The Children’s Haven partnered with Ryan Vargas at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval to raise awareness for Cyber Security Awareness month and to raise money to help fund our mission. Critical Path Security sponsored Ryan’s car, generously and intentionally using this platform to advocate for the kids that we serve! It was incredible to see The Children’s Haven logo on Ryan’s car at the Charlotte Motor Speedway on October 8. Ryan is using his platform to help raise funds for our programs that support children in foster care. What an incredible gift with potential to make a huge impact!

10 | 2022 CHILDREN’S HAVEN IMPACT

HOLIDAY CHEER FOR KIDS IN NEED This year The Children’s Haven was thrilled to be chosen as a featured nonprofit for the Light the World Mobile Giving Machine. This unique giving experience worked just like a vending machine. When visitors swiped their credit card, they chose a special gift for a featured nonprofit. Gifts chosen specifically for the children we serve included board games, basketballs and dress-up costumes. Prices for these items ranged from $15-25. The Giving Machine traveled to five cities across the southeast: St. Augustine, Birmingham, Atlanta, Charlotte and Charleston. We were grateful to be a part of this unique giving experience.

See Critical Path Security Founder and CEO Patrick Kelley share the big news with Executive Director Marcie Smith.

Check out the video message from NASCAR driver Ryan Vargas.

Learn more about the Light the World Mobile Giving Machine and how The Children’s Haven is involved here.

Team Members from Critical Path Security and The Children’s Haven posed with NASCAR driver Ryan Vargas after the race.

cherokeechildrenshaven.org | 11

2022 EVENT HIGHLIGHTS

COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS, SPONSORS & DONORS

We believe that every child should have the opportunity to thrive in a safe and permanent family. Our Challenge: to find the volunteers, resources, commitment & passion that will get us there. Thank you to everyone who supported our mission to make our work possible this year!

JEEP RUN FUNDRAISER

We had 200 Jeeps participate in our first Jeep Run event! They drove through snow, hills, and streams to support our kids!

80s PROM FUNDRAISER

We danced the night away at our first Adult Prom event. Congratulations to our Prom Queen Barbara Nye and Prom King Guy Bianchi for being the couple to raise the most funds and votes!

SCARECROWS FOR KIDS FUNDRAISER

COMMUNITY EVENTS

Multicultural Fest in Canton

GA CASA network in Woodstock

Bargain Hunter Coat Drive 2022

Stakeholders Luncheon

COMMUNITY VOLUNTEERS

Our annual sCAREcrows for Kids event raised more than $23,000! Thanks to our partner, The Mill on Etowah, for generously providing the space for this fun event. Thank you to all of our sCAREcrows and voters!

12 | 2022 CHILDREN’S HAVEN IMPACT

cherokeechildrenshaven.org | 13

FINANCIALS Federal Funding

8% 9%

Local Community Support

9% 14%

State Funding 60%

Fundraising Events Foundation Grants

90

RECOGNITIONS Total Income: $888,388 Program expenses: $531,711 Fundraising expenses: $14,615 Administrative expenses: $44,810 Total expenses: $591,136 Ending Net Assets: $970,859 ®

CENTS OF EVERY DOLLAR

GOES DIRECTLY TO PROGRAM SERVICES 8 cents goes toward administration and 2 cents goes toward fundraising efforts

give.org

Thanks to a one-time grant from Promoting Safe and Stable Families, we were able to disperse federal Covid-relief funds to families in need. We provided $19,000 in emergency assistance funds to pay for rent, pay utility bills, provide transportation to employment, purchase groceries, purchase bedding, and support educational needs for families we serve.

Total Impact of The Children’s Haven in 2022: ≠≠

We are thrilled to share that The Children’s Haven has earned Accredited Charity status with the Better Business Bureau. BBB Wise Giving Alliance (BBB’s Give.org) is a standards-based charity evaluator that seeks to verify the trustworthiness of publicly-soliciting charities by completing rigorous evaluations based on 20 BBB Standards for Charity Accountability. BBB Standards for Charity Accountability address four areas of charity accountability: governance, results reporting, finances, and truthful transparent communications.

After a thorough review lasting several months, we are so proud to have officially earned this coveted accreditation!

The Children’s Haven joins a small, select group of Georgia-based nonprofits who are recognized as a BBB Accredited Charity.

The Rotary Club of Canton, along with The Children’s Haven Board Members from the Rotary Club of Towne Lake, presented our staff members with the Lamar Haley Community Service Award for exemplary volunteer service in our community.

Executive Director Marcie Smith and Board Member Andy Smith were each recognized as a Top 10 in 10 Young Professionals to Watch by the Cherokee Chamber of Commerce and Enjoy Cherokee Magazine.

THE CHILDREN’S HAVEN HAS ALSO RECEIVED THESE PRESTIGIOUS DISTINCTIONS

– 462 kids served – 121 parents served

14 | 2022 CHILDREN’S HAVEN IMPACT

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THE HOME OF ®

Cherokee

Family Visitation Center

Learn More: CherokeeChildrensHaven.Org