“The (Children’s) Haven provides a true haven for those children going through the most traumatic and stressing situation in their lives - separation from their parents. From the staff to the visitation center, The (Children’s) Haven provides what children need to heal from this experience.”
Marilee Coughlin, CASA Volunteer
Dear Friends,
I’m so honored to share our 2023 Impact Report with you. I’m proud of the innovative, life-changing work that we are doing together. We believe that all children deserve the opportunity to thrive in a safe and permanent home with a family who cares for them. Because of your support, we served nearly 500 children this year. We intentionally focused on better supporting the entire family unit. Building strong families will ultimately build a stronger Cherokee County community.
Our Prevent Child Abuse Cherokee program provided 357 in-home visits this year to families at-risk of foster care involvement. We are one of the few programs in the state that go into the family’s home consistently, every week for approximately six months. This intense support, paired with evidence-based curriculum, is working. We are thrilled to share that 97% of our program’s participants successfully avoided foster care involvement this year.
Our Wellstar Family Visitation Center held more than 1,200 supervised family visits, complete with parent coaching and life skills curriculum. Due to increasing need, we converted my office into a second family visitation room this summer. We are now able to host two visits at a time, helping families maintain their bond as they journey toward strong, healthy relationships.
Our Chin Up program connected 25 teens with a trained, caring mentor through site-based life skills classes such as cooking, gardening, and financial management. In its second year of operation, the program expanded to offer a second class to high school students. Our mentors are focused on building meaningful connections with their mentees. We are working to reduce their number of absent days from school while giving them hope for a bright future.
This year, we celebrated a big milestone with our flagship program: the 30th anniversary of CASA in Cherokee County! Our Court Appointed Special Advocate volunteers are the heartbeat of our organization. More than 800 compassionate volunteers served more than 2,900 children in our first 30 years.
In 2023, our county consistently had the second or third highest number of children in foster care in the state of Georgia. Honestly, the growing need in our community has been alarming and overwhelming. However, our 167 CASA volunteers keep showing up to do the hard work because they care about our kids so much. Our CASAs advocate for their best interests and push for permanency in a safe home. These volunteers make a world of a difference in each individual child’s life.
Your gift can truly make a difference for just one child. 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. Additionally, we’ve earned “Accredited Charity” status from the Better Business Bureau, an exclusive honor held by top-performing nonprofits.
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 2024 a year where our kids not only have the things they need, but that they also have the support and care that they deserve. We believe every child deserves a happy and healthy childhood and the promise of a brighter future.
Sincerely,
Marcie Smith
A MESSAGE FROM OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
THE CHILDREN’S HAVEN
EXECUTIVE OFFICERS
Tommy Pinyan, Board Chair Chief Deputy Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office
Buster Cushing, Past Board Chair Chief of Police Cherokee County School District School Police
Janet Read Welch, Vice Chair Community Development Officer Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta
Lori Davis, Treasurer Sr. Vice President Community Bank of Pickens County
Kristi Estes, Secretary Co-Owner, Occupational Therapist In Harmony Pediatric Therapy
Marcie Smith Executive Director
The Children’s Haven
BOARD MEMBERS
Christine Beam Executive Director of Health Parks Wellstar Health Systems
Dana Cox Development Manager Penn Hodge Properties
Judge Jennifer Davis Juvenile Court Judge Cherokee County Juvenile Court
Hayden Holcomb Executive Vice-President Chick-fil-A Canton
Shellie Hollingsworth CEO/Realtor Hollingsworth and Company
Alexandra Keene Chief Deputy Clerk Cherokee County Clerk of Courts
BOARD OF ADVISORS
Mandi Ballinger
Representative
Georgia House of Representatives
Brooke Ford
Cherokee County Director Division of Family and Children Services
Deidre Hollands, Ex Officio/ Lifetime Ameritus Program Operations Director
Georgia CASA
Steve Page CEO ProntoTrak
DD Lee Broker/Owner Skyline Properties
Francisco Lozano Business Analyst Arylessence
Chris Luly Director of Planning and Zoning City of Ball Ground
Trey Ragsdale Public Affairs
Kaiser Permanente
Robert Shaw Administrator Cherokee County School District
Gary Sullenger Retired University President
Andrew Smith, Ex Officio Attorney Flint, Connolly & Walker Law Firm
LEADERSHIP & TEAM
THE CHILDREN’S HAVEN TEAM
Marcie Smith Executive Director
Daphne Mullen Director of Operations
Michelle Meek Director of Community Engagement
Julie Carter
Advocacy Director
CASA of Cherokee County
Mandy Quigley
Advocacy Coordinator
CASA of Cherokee County
Christine Clark
Advocacy Coordinator
CASA of Cherokee County
Caroline Shelton
Advocacy Coordinator
CASA of Cherokee County
Trisha Stiles
Advocacy Coordinator
CASA of Cherokee County
Christina Fisher
Visitation Director
Wellstar Family Visitation Center
Alix Green
Family Support Specialist
Wellstar Family Visitation Center
Vearn Andrews
Family Support Specialist
Wellstar Family Visitation Center
Shemaiah Moye
Family Support Specialist
Wellstar Family Visitation Center
Kate Wellings
Family Support Specialist
Wellstar Family Visitation Center
June Long Program Coordinator
Chin Up
Penny Sibley Program Assistant
Chin Up
Lindsay Pena PCA Director
Prevent Child Abuse Cherokee
Natalie Tillero Family Care Coordinator
Prevent Child Abuse Cherokee
Lea Stokes Family Care Coordinator
Prevent Child Abuse Cherokee
Jenzhy Torres Curiel Family Care Coordinator
Prevent Child Abuse Cherokee
The Children’s Haven Team
Court Appointed Special Advocates of Cherokee County Celebrates 30 Years of Child Advocacy
This year marks 30 years of Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), a program of The Children’s Haven, serving children experiencing foster care in Cherokee County. CASA volunteers provide child advocacy and are the voice for children, advocating for their best interests. To celebrate and commemorate this special milestone, a luncheon was held to honor CASA volunteers, past and present. Marcie Smith, Executive Director of The Children’s Haven shared, “We are thrilled to celebrate our dedicated CASA volunteers as we honor 30 years of child advocacy in Cherokee County. Our CASA volunteers are the heartbeat of our mission at The Children’s Haven. They truly make a difference in the lives of our kids who are experiencing foster care. We are so grateful for this community and the faithful support they have invested in our work. We know wonderful things will happen in our program’s next 30 years!”
The event was also attended by elected officials, Cherokee County judges, county and state community partners as well as generous sponsors, with Northside Hospital Cherokee as the presenting sponsor for the celebration. Sarah Mackey, Chief Development Officer with National CASA, shared about the history of the CASA organization and Jennifer King, Executive Director of Georgia CASA, thanked the community for supporting our local program and Georgia CASA’s valued work covering all 159 counties in the state of Georgia. Harry Johnston, Chairman of the Cherokee County Board of Commissioners, read a county proclamation, declaring October 20, 2023 as Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) Day in Cherokee County, Georgia in honor of the organization’s 30th Anniversary. State Representative Mandi Ballinger presented a resolution commemorating the 30th anniversary of the CASA program and recognizing the dedicated work of volunteers. Judge Jennifer Davis shared family and child well-being statistics from Cherokee County as well as the state of Georgia, indicating that Cherokee County is the third highest in the state for the number of children in foster care. On October 20th, there were 429 Cherokee County children in foster care. These statistics are a reminder of the significant need for CASA volunteers, as well as highlighting the urgency for additional CASA volunteers in order to provide an advocate for every child experiencing foster care.
Since its founding 30 years ago in 1993, Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children in Cherokee County has trained 816 community volunteers, advocated for 2,906 children experiencing foster care due to abuse and neglect and donated more than 156,278 hours of service. Every year, there are more than 10,000 children in Georgia experiencing the foster care system at no fault of their own due to abuse and neglect. They rely on adults to advocate on their behalf. Last year alone, over 167 Cherokee CASA volunteers advocated for nearly 357 children in our state’s legal custody, providing each child with impartial advocacy that nurtures hope, seeks solutions, and stands in the gap between a challenging present and a promising future.
In celebration of this momentous occasion, the CASA program raised $30,000 in honor and celebration of 30 years. CASA volunteers are needed to be the voice for all children in foster care.
We were so excited to honor our current and past CASA volunteers.
Janice Latoza, CASA and
Francisco Lozano,
Board Member
Christine Clark, CASA Advocacy Coordinator and Michele Prance, CASA
Destiny Julian, Special Guest Speaker
CASA Swag
ADVOCATES (CASA)
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 court-appointed special advocates (CASAs) strive to ensure that every child has a safe, permanent home and the opportunity to succeed. In 2023, our CASA program proudly celebrated 30 years of child advocacy in Cherokee County. Georgia CASA, our state organization, also celebrated a milestone this year, providing 100% statewide coverage with CASA programs in all 159 counties.
“It is my honor to participate and support an organization that always consistently puts the needs of children first and foremost. Using only training and encouragement, this group of adept and talented advocates illustrate that one person can and will make a difference in the life of a child.”
Catherine Hill, CASA Volunteer
167 active CASAs serve with The Children’s Haven
23 new CASA volunteer advocates trained this year
34
CASAs have served with us for over 5 years
10 CASAs have served with us for over 10 years
5 bilingual CASAs s
357 Children served (288 cases)s
56 children achieved permanency
55,908 miles driven by our CASA volunteers
Our CASA team: Chris, Trisha, Mandy, Caroline, and Julie
New CASA volunteers celebrate their training graduation.
CASA Day at the Georgia State Capitol.
Volunteers enjoy the Annual CASA Chili Cookoff.
Sharing a meal is the best team building activity!
OUR 2023 CASA VOLUNTEERS
Judy Adams
Ginny Arcangelo
Cynthia Austin
Molly Ball
Bob Ballard
Sue Barfield
Kelly Black
Heather Blevins
Addie Bowen
James Bradshaw
Claire Brannon
Kimberly Braun
Lynda Briggs
Carl Brooker
Jennifer Brooker
Katy Brown
Elizabeth Burke
Barbara Cade
Karina Cameron
Alan Carraway
Christina Caruso
Diane Castle
Bill Cecil
Beth Choppa
Beverly Churchwell
Michelle Clark
Frank Cleveland
Melissa Conti
Valerie Corpora
Jeff Costa
Kim Costa
Marilee Coughlin
Pam Culver
Nancy Davis
Rachel Davis
Phyllis Deeb
Kelly DiMattesa
Susan Dove
Lorraine Downs
Nicholas Downs
Linda Etheridge
Renee Everspaugh
Greer Ezrine
Scott Fabricius
Debra Farist
Gladys Galindez
Crystal Gammon
Angela Gentry
Karen Gosdin
Judith Grady
Karen Greisman
Sean Grizzle
Lori Haigwood
Kathleen Hamilton
John Haney
Lisa Happe
Eugenia Harrison
Linda Hartsfield-Briscoe
Judy Harvey
Shawn Heth
Melora Hiler
Catherine Hill
Terra Hitzing
Sandy Hogan
Dan Homiller
Sandra Hordos
Loretta M’Latamou
Jill MacGregor
Carol Macie
Suzanne Mahoney
Donna Malone
Deirdre Manke
June Mann
Sandy Martin
Lucia Mattern
Meredith McKay
Barb McRee
Janet Merkel
Mary Minicucci
Amanda Moore
We are grateful for our CASA volunteers who advocated for the best interests of 357 Cherokee County kids experiencing foster care this year.
Katie Huff
Lynn Johnson
Jonathan Jones
Floyd Jones
Sharon Jordan
Cheryl Karr
Dawn Kasha
Linda Katz
Susan Kimmel
Kelli Lane
Janice Latoza
Renee Van Zilen
Patrick Leonard
Morgan Lewis
Anna Logsdon
Tonya Lovelace
Stephanie Lowry
Ann Moore
Beth Moore
Bob Mullinax
Paul Mullins
Vinnie O’Connor
Maggie Orozco
Melissa Pagan
Primrose Picart
Christina Pivaral
Michele Prance
Debbie Rabjohn
Jeffrey Rasberry
Jim Reddy
Christy Redovian
Barbara Richard
Kathleen Rodriguez
Leslie Roper
David Saltz
Lori Sargent
Lisa Schmid
Florence Semenuk
Lori Shackleford
Elizabeth Sheeley
Heather Shelton
Penny Sibley
Sonya Simmons
Melanie Skinner
Debra Smith
Emily Smith
Linda Smith
Michele Smith
Robin Smith
Tami Smith
Robin Snider
Rhonda Speck
Holli Spell
Deborah Sprayberry
Kenny St. Romain
Lauren Stallings
Lorraine Stallings
Jammie Stamey
Barbara Stell
Trisha Stiles
Paul Stombaugh
Jennifer Stowell
Caprice Strickland
Lorraine Thompson
Karen Tilghman
Nina Torrence
Janet Trippett
Freddie Tucker
Sherry Tucker
Wendy Vandercook
Jenni Vereen
Michelle Von Trott
Wendy Wagner
Ellen Ward
Sandra Ward
Randy Watson
Rhiannon Wenzel
Sara Whitaker
Sherry Wiedman
Jeff Wilbur
Stefanie Williams
Karen Woolf
Polly Yaguchi
Mary Zamorski
Lynn Zaremsky
WELLSTAR FAMILY VISITATION CENTER
Family Visitation
Center
The Wellstar Family Visitation Center offers a safe, comfortable, home-like environment for children experiencing foster care to visit with their parents, siblings, and extended family while they are not living together. Our visitation center operates 7 days per week at 100% capacity. In order to meet the community need, we created a second visitation room to serve more families in need and help facilitate quality family time.
For the first time in the State of Georgia, May was recognized as Supervised Visitation Awareness Month. Initiated and hosted by The Children’s Haven, supervised visitation providers and partners from across the state came together at the Georgia State Capitol in Atlanta to celebrate the shared work that we do to support families. Advisory Board Member for The Children’s Haven, State Representative Mandi Ballinger declared the statewide proclamation.
Our Supervised Visitation team: Vearn, Alix, Kate, Shemaiah, and Christina. This award-winning space is located on site at The Children’s Haven.
The Children’s Haven team, board members, PCA Georgia and partners from across the state at the Georgia State Capitol on May 1, for the proclamation of the first ever Supervised Visitation Awareness Month in Georgia.
Our Supervised Visitation director, Christina Fisher, speaks during the proclamation at the Georgia State Capitol.
“When I come to The Children’s Haven, it’s the only place, in these circumstances, that I don’t feel judged.”
Sarah B., parent, Wellstar Family Visitation Center
1,250 supervised visits
107 children served
72 parents served
274 hours of lifeskills taught
2,512 hours of parent coaching
Staff Members’ families enjoying the playground, which is available for all families during their supervised family visits.
PREVENT CHILD ABUSE (PCA)
Every child deserves to grow up feeling safe and loved
CHEROKEE
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 resources. We offer inhome parenting support in English and Spanish with the goal of empowering families and keeping them safely together, preventing unnecessary foster care involvement. Families participating in the program received weekly in-home visits complete with parent education, life skills training, resources and referrals, and case management.
Our team doubled in size this year to meet the growing needs in our community. In partnership with Cherokee County, and all five cities in our county, April was recognized as Child Abuse Prevention Month with proclamations declared across the county throughout the month.
The program celebrated 70 parents and 98 children served, with 97% of the families served by PCA Cherokee avoiding foster care. Every child deserves to grow up feeling safe and loved.
Pinwheels represent happy childhoods. Board and staff members planted pinwheels around the county during the month of April.
“My children had a real holiday season because of Children’s Haven. Our family room floor was covered with presents. I was also thankful to be able to wrap them myself so I could ensure everything was appropriate and something they would like. The clothing was a HUGE blessing to us this winter, and you put smiles on all of our faces.”
Audrey S., parent, PCA Cherokee
Our PCA team: Natalie, Lea, Lindsay, and Jenzhy
The city of Ball Ground recognizes April as Child Abuse Prevention Month.
The city of Waleska recognizes April as Child Abuse Prevention Month.
The city of Woodstock recognizes April as Child Abuse Prevention Month.
“After getting pregnant at the age of 14 and almost failing out of school, one of our parents has turned her life around and become a straight A 11th grade student. Now, she helps other immigrant students adjust to their new school, all while being a responsible and caring mother to her child. She has successfully completed our Parent Education and Support program, and kept custody of her daughter. Her dream is to join the U.S. Army.”
Shared by PCA Team Member
70 parents served
357 in home visits
98 children served
21 Spanish speaking families
62 hours of therapy provided
100% improvement from pre to post on the parenting skills assessment
96% parents with consistent income at the end of services
97% successfully avoided foster care involvement
PCA director Lindsay working with a family.
Site-based mentorship for teens
chin up _8
Site-Based Mentorship.
Life-Changing Relationships.
Chin Up is a site-based mentorship program designed to foster lifechanging 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.
Due to the growing need, a second class was added to the Chin Up program this year. High school and middle school aged teens are now actively participating in the program, connecting with mentors from our community.
One of the activities for a Chin Up mentorship class was to learn about the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office K-9 Unit. The teens were able to interact with the trained dogs and when leaving class, Chase, one of the Chin Up participants told his dad, “I made a new friend.”
What are some of the life skills taught during the Chin Up program?
cooking financial literacy
learning to use tools
art therapy
fire safety
first aid gardening and more!
Our mentors make a huge difference!
Our mentors make a difference!
One of the Chin Up mentors was not able to attend the monthly meeting. She came to The Children’s Haven to drop off a personal card to her mentee to let her know she was thinking about her.
25 children served
25 mentors
92% of children served avoided foster care
A MAJORITY of the chidren served showed improvement in either school attendance, behavior, communication, or social skills
13 students opted to remain in Chin Up even after their court ordered requirement was completed
Our mentees and mentors enjoy a project together.
Our Chin Up team: June and Penny
Shoe Station hosted 30 families served by The Children’s Haven for a private, complimentary shopping spree with Tennessee Titans Linebacker Monty Rice. Families in our PCA program had so much fun at this special event.
Big Dan’s Car Wash
Crane Currency
CarMax
Kendra Scott
Wellstar Holiday Collection
Chick-Fil-A Canton
2023 EVENT HIGHLIGHTS
50’s PROM FUNDRAISER
We danced the night away at our second annual Adult Prom event – 50s style! Congratulations to our Prom King and Queen, Andy and Meredith Slanina, for being the couple to raise the most funds and votes!
SCARECROWS FOR KIDS FUNDRAISER
Our annual sCAREcrows for Kids event raised more than $22,000! Thanks to our partner, The Mill on Etowah, for generously providing the space for this fun event. Thank you to our sCAREcrow submissions and voters!
COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS, SPONSORS & DONORS
Staff and volunteers at the Frank Reynolds Charities Golf Invitational
Board Member Judge Jennifer Davis and CASA Volunteer Michele Prance were honored at the Service League of Cherokee County Gala, with The Children’s Haven as the event’s beneficiary.
Annual Bargain Hunters Coat Drive with Community Partners
2023 EVENT HIGHLIGHTS
KIDS HELPING KIDS
We were so moved by the children and teens in our community who initiated donation drives, fundraising activities, and service projects to benefit the kids we serve.
COMMUNITY EVENTS
Our team members were out and about in the community from serving on panel discussions around foster care, to helping kids get ready for school with Give A Kid A Chance, to representing The Children’s Haven at the new North Georgia Italian Festival.
COMMUNITY VOLUNTEERS
Our community volunteers made a big difference this year! Projects included packing summer fun bags for families, painting our new CASA program offices, and filling wish lists for the holidays. We are so blessed by our community volunteers who pour into our mission all year long.
91CENTS OF EVERY DOLLAR
8
cents
Total Income: $896,021
Program expenses: $838,451
Fundraising expenses: $16,733
Administrative expenses: $66,909 Total expenses: $922,093 Ending Net Assets: $1,040,189
HAVEN HAS RECEIVED
WHAT OUR COMMUNITY IS SAYING
“I have been a CASA volunteer for 7 years now and am so proud to be a part of what the Children's Haven is doing for our community. The Children's Haven is a huge blessing to our community and the foster children of Cherokee County. They provide a safe place for visitations, a full closet of much needed items for foster families to receive for free, a mentoring program for teens, most importantly, a voice for foster kids in the courtroom and countless other ways they serve our community.”
Heather Shelton, CASA Volunteer
“The Children's Haven is an invaluable resource to the communities that it serves, administering critically important programs with amazing staff and volunteers. As a board member, I am continually impressed and assured by the capabilities of all those involved, especially the day-to-day leadership and staff. I believe that the members of the Children's Haven have an unwavering commitment to the mission of promoting the health and happiness of children impacted by abuse and neglect. I want to have absolute confidence in organizations that I affiliate with and donate to and the Children's Haven provides me with that.”
Chris Luly, Board Member
“The Children’s Haven does extraordinary work for children. We have a wonderful team of kind, supportive, caring and empathetic staff members who work tirelessly to promote the health and happiness of children impacted by abuse and neglect. Everything The Children’s Haven does is done in love and with the highest standards of professionalism.”
Francisco
Lozano, Board Member
“In my role as the Cherokee County School District System Navigator, I have witnessed The Children’s Haven offer life-changing opportunities for many families in Cherokee County. The resources provided by The Children’s Haven have allowed me to serve our families better. The Children’s Haven helps families all over Cherokee County with one question, “How can we help?” The Cherokee County School District greatly appreciates the support that we receive from The Children’s Haven, as do the families we serve.”
Valerie Walker, Cherokee County School District
“This nonprofit does wonderful work for foster children in Cherokee County. They provide training for CASAs, visitation for families, mentoring programs, and supplies and clothing for those in need. I have been a CASA for over 6 years and appreciate all the staff of this organization does to further a wonderful cause!”
Debra Smith, CASA Volunteer
“We absolutely LOVE how The Children’s Haven is impacting our community in such a positive way! Not only do they care about the families that they serve each and every day, they also care about how they can be great community partners. We see them at tons of community events sharing info about how they serve, but they are also at those events to support and serve other organizations that are doing great things in our community as well!
Zip Cain, SERV International
2023 YEAR IN REVIEW
The Children’s Haven served nearly 500 children.
Our Prevent Child Abuse Cherokee program provided 357 in-home visits.
97% of our PCA program participants successfully avoided foster care involvement.
Our Wellstar Family Visitation Center held more than 1,200 supervised family visits.
Our Chin Up program connected 25 teens with a trained, caring mentor through site-based life skills classes such as cooking, gardening, and financial management.
167 CASA Volunteers advocated for the best interest of 357 Cherokee County kids experiencing foster care.
We celebrated the 30th anniversary of CASA in Cherokee County.
