2010 - Growth at Home & in the Community

In 2010 the Young Mothers Program, providing services to young women in foster care who were pregnant or parenting, opened with 8 beds in a newly purchased, renovated home. Within weeks the program quickly filled. The need for additional services led to rapid expansion to 28 beds in three cottages by 2013. The program provided the only maternity beds for this population in the Mid-Hudson Valley.

In May 2010 the Board of Managers approved a proposal to establish a planned giving society for those who have included the Children’s Home in their estate planning.

In July 2010, Dr. David Crenshaw, Ph.D., ABPP, was hired as Clinical Director. Dr. Crenshaw is a nationally known presenter and leader in play therapy. Dr. Crenshaw expanded the Home’s intern programs to provide training opportunities for psychology students from Marist College and SUNY New Paltz. Each year 12-20 psychology interns work with the Children’s Home. Internships for Social Work students from Marist College are also available, as well as  Child Care interns from Dutchess Community College, Vassar College, Mount St. Mary College and SUNY New Paltz.

In 2011, as part of an active Facility Service Dog program, the Children’s Home made judicial history, when, for the first time, a facility service dog named Rosie was allowed to help comfort a child witness in an abuse case in a New York courtroom. Later that year, Ivy, Rosie’s sister, was donated to the Children’s Home to work with the children in therapy. In 2013, Ivy passed away and the home welcomed Ace, the grandson of Rosie and the nephew of Ivy to the therapy team that June.

In 2012, the Board of Managers voted to change its charter, becoming the Board of Directors, and opening membership to men and women. Six members of the former Board of Counselors joined the new Board of Directors. The Home again received high marks as an outstanding agency in its re-accreditation review. 

In 2013 Executive Director Walter Joseph was appointed by Governor Andrew Cuomo to serve as a member of the New York Justice Center’s Advisory Council. The Justice Center was created in legislation known as the “Protection of People with Special Needs Act” to establish the strongest standards and practices in the nation for protecting people with special needs. It serves both as a law enforcement agency and as an advocate for people with special needs.

The Home hosted their first Open Your Heart Cocktail Concert in February 2013 in an effort to increase the number of friends to the Home and offer something different to the community. This event was well received and replaced the Margaret Garrison Race Awards the following year as the Home’s annual fundraiser.

On April 16, 2014, Children’s Home Executive Director, Walter Joseph was recognized by the Dutchess County Regional Chamber of Commerce with the “Leadership in Organization and Community Headliner Award”.

Responding to a United States federal government request to provide beds for unaccompanied children fleeing unrest in Central America, the Children’s Home opened its first Unaccompanied Alien Children (UAC) program. The UAC program operated from May 2014 through October 2015 and served 75 children.

In November 2014, the Home received its largest bequest on record with a gift of $5.7 million from the Estate of Edith DiDomizio. This gift would be used to expand the Main House building.

On December 31, 2015 the Therapeutic and Regular Foster Homes programs closed due to a reduction in the need for therapeutic foster homes due to an increased emphasis on community and home based services.

In 2016, the Children’s Home earned re-accreditation from the Council on Accreditation for its exemplary adherence to human welfare agency guidelines. The assessment team declared the Home a stellar agency and a model for others in the field.

On April 26, 2016 the Home welcomed Marshall, a golden retriever and the half brother of Ace to the Facility Service Dog team.

During the summer of 2016, Students from Mill Street Loft’s Project ABLE worked with artist Joe Pimentel to create a two story high “Power Up!” mural on the outside of the Children’s Home gym. In addition, students from the Art Institute of Mill Street Loft’s National Art Honor Society designed and created four murals that were installed in two of the children’s cottages. The murals transformed the living spaces and the children loved them. 

In October 2016 the Home opened a fourteen-bed program to provide services to adolescent girls who are survivors of, or at high risk for exploitation and trafficking, and girls that have a complex history of trauma. The Safe Harbour program is trauma responsive and focuses on the treatment, recovery, and healing of the girls. The program provides the only beds serving this population in upstate New York.

In December 2016, the Home began providing Care Management Services as a part of the NYS Department of Health Children’s Health Home Program. This program provides care coordination services to children, youth and families with chronic conditions as well as complex mental and physical health needs. In 2017, the Home served 18 Families from three counties. 

On May 17, 2017 the Children’s Home was recognized by Mill Street Loft and Spark Media Project with a Friend of the Arts Award.

In late Summer 2017, the Home completed a 9,000 square foot addition to the main building. This is the first time the footprint of the main building was altered since it was built in 1923. The generous bequest from the Estate of Edith DiDomizio in 2014 allowed the Home to undertake this incredible renovation that provided much needed space for enhanced children’s services. A state of the art kitchen, larger dining room, more play therapy space, family visiting space, an art therapy room, a children’s library were all part of the project. A ribbon cutting was hosted to coincide with the Home’s 170th anniversary.

In 2018, the Children’s Home of Poughkeepsie received two grants from the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, a national non-profit public charity, that brings children waiting in foster care one step closer to being adopted into safe, loving and permanent homes. The grants were dedicated to funding child-focused adoption recruiters for Wendy’s Wonderful Kids (WWK), a signature program of the Foundation. The recruiters would work in Dutchess, Ulster and Sullivan counties in New York.

On June 27, 2018, Elvis, a black labrador, was welcomed as the newest Facility Service Dog to work alongside Ace and Marshall.

In March 2019, in response to New York State’s Raise the Age (RTA) initiative, the Home opened 20 beds to serve 16 and 17 year old boys newly placed in the foster care system. 

In May of 2019, the Children’s Home was awarded a three-year grant from the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) to again provide Residential Services to unaccompanied children. The Nuevas Alas/New Wings – Emergency Shelter Program serves refugee children who are fleeing from their countries of origin to seek safety in the United States. The goal of the program is to reunify children with their families as quickly as possible and ensure their safety and well-being. Youth who enter the program receive medical attention, academic instruction, and recreational programming in addition to Case Management and Clinical services. The program would be located in West Park, NY.