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photo by Ben Hillyer
Students from the Natchez Children’s Home day treatment program cover their ears while the sirens blare Friday morning when a group of Natchez firefighters visited the home.
Natchez Children's Home Services to stop housing children
Published Monday, October 26, 2009
NATCHEZ — Natchez Children’s Home Services will soon be giving up one of its nearly 200-year-old job descriptions, but it won’t be changing its equally-as-old mission.
Director Nancy Hungerford said, after a year of thought and prayer, the home’s board voted recently to stop housing children.
Instead of being a long-term housing option for children, the Children’s Home will become an agency focused mainly on placing children in foster homes and offering support to those families.
The decision was based on a change in child welfare beliefs nationwide and influenced by two lawsuits filed against the state of Mississippi several years ago, Hungerford said.
“The need to put children in group homes is being reduced,” Hungerford said. “We are putting an emphasis on putting them in foster homes. We are going to do quite a bit more of that.”
Natchez Children’s Home Services will now focus on finding, training and supporting foster families.
“We will offer a wraparound set of services,” Hungerford said of the foster families. “Always the goal will be that those children will return to their natural families. It’s a change in the way we are delivering services, but it’s not a cessation of services.”
Part of the Children’s Home’s job will be to adequately match children with the appropriate foster family, and when applicable, facilitate the adoption process.
The home does not serve as an adoption agency, but is proud to have been a part of 60 to 75 adoptions, Hungerford said.
“We’ve got foster families, but we are looking for more,” Hungerford said. “It’s a special call that not everyone can do. View it as a home mission.”
State money that currently comes to the Children’s Home for childcare will be directed to the foster families.
In addition to the focus on foster family services, the home will continue its other services, including providing counselors for children and families in need in the community, a day treatment preschool program for emotionally disturbed children, assistance to the youth court and facilitation of a tobacco cessation grant.
The current Children’s Home building will remain as is, and will house the day treatment program. The staff will continue to work from the building, and short-term overnight housing space will remain.
The Children’s Home is licensed to house 12 children, and currently has seven. Eight others are in foster care.
The switch to a non-residential service is ongoing, but Hungerford said she hopes to have all current residents placed in foster care by next year.
“We are not closing, by no means,” Hungerford said. “In a way, we are really expanding and making a new way to serve these youngsters.”
Though the need for overnight employees, cooks and expenses needed for 24-hour care will fade with time, Hungerford said she doesn’t expect major changes to her staffing or budget. Many of those employees and dollars currently directed at overnight care will be transferred to foster care services. Fundraising efforts in the community will continue.
“Since 1816, we’ve changed many times,” she said. “We must change or we are going to die.
“The name Children’s Home Services encompasses all these other things we’ve been doing. We are not going to change that. Since 1816, we’ve been taking care of children.”
The Children’s Home is currently looking for foster families. Any Mississippi families interested in learning more about fostering children can call Stacy Havard at 601-442-6858.
Comments
Posted by moecando (anonymous) on October 26, 2009 at 8 a.m. (Suggest removal)
i was the re a few years thanks
Posted by SIOUXLADY (anonymous) on October 26, 2009 at 8:21 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Sorry to see the change.. But it's goals are very much in reach.
I went to school with a lot of children from the home, while attending Carpenter No 1.
BLESSINGS TO ACHIEVE....
Posted by observer (anonymous) on October 26, 2009 at 9:41 a.m.
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
Posted by sandra (anonymous) on October 26, 2009 at 10:09 a.m. (Suggest removal)
nashville has hundreds of kids who are in foster care. there have been serious problems over the years because of bad placements. i won't go into sordid details but the natchez children's home would be a much more wholesome environment in which to protect the unwanted children. when you are dealing with the society that we are, presently, living in, you NEVER know the predators that can, permanently, harm the children. i wish i could help. i have a vacant house there. if someone has the resources to fix it up and take the kids in, please do so.
Posted by Hardcorps (anonymous) on October 26, 2009 at 11:38 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Thank you Nancy Hungerford and all the folks associated with the home for all you have done through the years.
Posted by Krogers (anonymous) on October 26, 2009 at 11:59 a.m. (Suggest removal)
this sounds like a good change, the kids need to be in a family anyway, I've heard some pretty harsh stories about.......yet I have also heard how hard the NCH tries to provide some love and stability for the children....
I disagree with labeling these children as being "unwanted" - I have to believe that there are parents around that WANT to help orphaned children....I think that these kids are more the victims of unfortunate circumstance, rather than being unwanted, and their biological parents, if alive, are likely pla with guilt for not being able to provide.......
Lord we all pray that these children will receive help from good families....
Posted by southernbelle (anonymous) on October 26, 2009 at 12:36 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I've heard the horror stories and I've heard good things as well. These things can happen in any home . An orphanage, a foster home and even an average american home. People usually do the best they can when given bad situations.
Posted by observer (anonymous) on October 26, 2009 at 4 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I am sure that the Natchez Children's Home does thorough background checks on the foster families they recruit. I know a family who has had foster children placed with them by the Home, and they say they have gotten wonderful counselling and support from the Home's staff. These children often feel unwanted, but as Kroger's said, there are many different circumstances that cause the break up of families. The children can never really understand what's happened, even when they are abused.
Posted by windy (anonymous) on October 26, 2009 at 7:33 p.m.
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
Posted by sandra (anonymous) on October 27, 2009 at 5:29 a.m. (Suggest removal)
i hesitated when i began to type in the word, unwanted. my bad. maybe underpriviliged was my contact word. that is how nashville labels 90% of our public school children. under-privileged and on the free-lunch program. i posted a comment in the tennessean a few days ago, saying that i feel stigmatized by "labels". they are unhealthy and then i used the label, unwanted. how dare me. please don't repeat the word "unwanted" and forgive me for using that word. words are powerful weapons. they can be constructive but also very destructive.
Posted by justmyopinion (anonymous) on October 27, 2009 at 7:01 a.m. (Suggest removal)
my fear about these situations are thinking of all the crazy people who take in foster children and all the sad stories you see on the news of children not being taken care of in their foster homes.......sure hope we can get some great families to become foster parents. 2 of my closests friends were raised by the same foster family most of their life until they went to college and it was wonderful. just hope that can be more of the case
Posted by dovechase (anonymous) on October 27, 2009 at 9:26 a.m. (Suggest removal)
How many of the children that were counted as residents are actually children of the home's staff? I have been told that these children are often included in the number of residents. Also, what percentage of the total income of the home goes to the salary, housing and transportation of Nancy Hungerford? Just wondering????
Posted by drawpaintsing (anonymous) on October 27, 2009 at 10:55 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I thought about becoming a foster parent, but I wonder if I qualify.
Posted by KreweMember2 (anonymous) on October 27, 2009 at 11:14 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Inquiring minds want to know and I bet you will have a hard time finding those economic facts out.
Posted by jugghead52 (anonymous) on October 27, 2009 at 11:47 a.m. (Suggest removal)
we used to do carpenter work on the home years ago, and the little kids would beg you to take them home! Ever seen a big 250lb. man on a scaffold crying. hope they find them good homes.
Posted by cooper3k1 (anonymous) on October 27, 2009 at 12:07 p.m. (Suggest removal)
dovechase, how much would you do her job for?
Posted by dovechase (anonymous) on October 27, 2009 at 3:25 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I didn't say that I would, but if they are going to constantly ask for funds from the public, they should be willing to disclose where the funds go. I ask this question of any charitable organization that I give donations. Is it too much to ask here?
Posted by lattelovingal (anonymous) on October 28, 2009 at 9:41 a.m. (Suggest removal)
dovechase, you obviously have not been around Nancy Hungerford. I don't think you would have a problem finding out where your donations are going if you would go over there and ask her, instead of posting it on the democrat website, to imply she is mishandling funds. Staff children counted as residents??? Uh, no. The residents of the Children's Home have not been related to anyone that works there, but loved completely by everyone. There isn't much or any state money that comes into the Home except food service and maybe the board payments per child, and their medicaid(for medical care) which is a standard for any child that comes into foster care and placed anywhere. The changes are being made because of new regulations by the state.
If you want to know how the finances over there are appropriated, go ask, don't do it on here. The Natchez Children's Home has done some incredible work with children and provides necessary services to children in our community. Don't discredit it. That is rude.
Posted by dovechase (anonymous) on October 28, 2009 at 10:29 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Never once did I say that the Children's Home has not done great things. Don't put words in my mouth. I do know Nancy Hungerford. I also know that she lives in a house in a very affluent neighborhood that is paid for by the Children's Home. How much of the money that goes for that house and it's taxes could benefit the home and the children? I also know former board members from the home and yes, the staff members kids were included in the "residents" count. The Children's Home has filled a very necessary void in the area's care of it's children. They have saved many children from awful circumstances. I also, however, think that the people who benefit financially from these charities should be completely transparent as far as financial accountability is concerned. In this time of economic downturn and uneasiness, people want to know that their donations are being used to the maximum benefit. Why is it so awful to ask questions to make sure that this is being done?
Posted by riverat (anonymous) on October 28, 2009 at 11:55 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Nancy DOES NOT live in an affluent neighborhood...I know, she lives right down the street from me!!! If anyone wants to see where their money goes when donating to a non profit, all you have to do is go online to the Secretary of State's Office. Every non-profit is required to file a 990 tax form which is posted there. The form breaks down what is spent on program services, administrative services, fundraising, etc. It is a good idea to make sure the agencies that receive your donations are using it wisely...they should have no more than 20% administrative costs....
Posted by msfixit (anonymous) on October 28, 2009 at 12:21 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Affluent neighborhood? Ha! That's the first time my neighborhood has ever been called affluent. Try working class with a few teachers and retail people thrown in. I know exactly where Nancy lives, and affluent doesn't describe any of us who live there.
Posted by dovechase (anonymous) on October 28, 2009 at 12:55 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I was referring to her former home on Duster Drive.
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