By Jerry Milner, Associate Commissioner of the Children’s Bureau and Acting Commissioner of the Administration on Children, Youth and Families
The Children’s Bureau will honor five winners of its Champion Awards at this year’s 21st National Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect . The award recognizes the efforts of agencies, community-based organizations, businesses, courts, individuals, parent leaders, and others who have made exceptional contributions in promoting the health and well-being of children and families. The 2019 Champion Awards recipients are:
For Preventing Child MaltreatmentProvidence House (Cleveland, OH)
Founded in 1981 to provide emergency shelter for children in Greater Cleveland whose families were experiencing a crisis, Providence House supports one of the longest lengths of stay among nurseries in the U.S. and offers the deepest levels of services beyond children’s emergency shelter, promoting family stability and preservation and preventing foster care placements.
For Reshaping Foster Care as a Support for FamiliesAndrew and Amy Baker (Searcy, AR)
Andrew and Amy, foster parents since 2014, are committed to partnering with birth parents to help ensure that every child they have fostered is eventually reunified with his or her biological family. Andrew is the founder of Red Door Table Foundation, an organization committed to supporting biological parents, children and foster families.
For Promoting Child and Family Well-beingSue Williams (Columbia, SC)
Sue has been a tireless advocate for children and families throughout South Carolina and at the national level. As CEO of the Children’s Trust of South Carolina, Sue has built a collaborative program model where local partners deliver community knowledge, leadership, and access to families and program delivery.
For Building Community Capacity
Good Samaritan Community Services (San Antonio, TX)
Good Samaritan Community Services serves as a catalyst for change, supporting youth, individuals, and families by providing community-based services designed to help empower them to overcome the impact of poverty. These services, reaching more than 5,500 individuals and families across six sites in South Texas, include a child development program, youth development services, afterschool and summer youth enrichment programs, a college readiness program, and family services.
For Supporting the Workforce
Justin “Jay” Miller (Louisville, KY)
Jay Miller is Associate Dean for Research, Associate Professor, Director of the Self-Care Lab, and the Doris Y. Wilkinson Distinguished Professor in Social Work Education in the College of Social Work at the University of Kentucky. Jay founded the Self-Care Lab at the university to address potentially toxic employment conditions for child welfare professionals. He is also engaged in state-wide efforts to support foster/adoptive/kinship caregivers.
The Children’s Bureau received over 60 nominations for the Champion Award. View the complete list of each category and eligibility requirements.