Congratulations to Amanda Walters, Adoption Support and Preservation Supervisor, who recently became the first graduate of The Baby Fold’s Attachment and Trauma Fellowship and Certification Program! This state-of-the-art, three-year Fellowship is designed to equip providers with the skills and training needed to offer the highest possible level of care to children and families.

Valuing the training she had already been receiving at The Baby Fold, Amanda pursued the deeper clinical development offered by the Fellowship. “From what I have seen of other certification programs, they are not nearly as extensive or well-rounded as this Fellowship. Some trainings that claim to offer trauma certification are only two days long,” Amanda shared. The Baby Fold’s three-year Fellowship affords participants the opportunity to fully master and immediately implement the latest child attachment and trauma modalities, interventions, and theories.

Dr. Kathleen Bush, Director of Clinical Services and Adoption Support, oversees The Baby Fold Fellowship and explains what makes it unique and valuable: “Many child welfare and therapy agencies take the approach of ‘trauma-informed’ in their treatment, but attending to the attachment needs of clients and understanding treatment from a holistic perspective is a specialty which requires experience and high levels of quality supervision. We consider not only the child’s mental health, but also their developmental physiology and support systems.”

To add even greater value, Dr. Bush notes, “the staff are not paying for their training or the clinical consultation they receive, but rather are engaged in an intensive learning opportunity while working for The Baby Fold and providing services to clients in the Adoption Support and Preservation Program.” 

Having earned this prestigious Certification in Attachment and Trauma Therapy credential, Amanda feels well-equipped for her life-changing work and shares: “It is important in this field to have the very best tools and information available so that we can best serve our clients.”

Ferrero North America, with the help of Senator Sally Turner, has donated over 500 pounds of chocolate and candy to the children and families served by The Baby Fold! The candy will be distributed throughout our 12 transformational programs. At The Baby Fold, we’re determined to create positive childhood experiences for all the families we support. When generous donors like Ferrero support our mission, together we can provide necessary resources and create a greater impact on our children!

Aimee Beam, The Baby Fold’s Vice President of Development and Public Relations, has been selected as a finalist for the ATHENA Leadership Award, presented annually by the McLean County Chamber of Commerce. The award recognizes an individual in the community who has achieved professional excellence, gives time and energy to community service, and empowers others, especially women, in realizing their full leadership potential.

“I feel extremely honored to have been selected as an award finalist for the second year,” Aimee says. “The life-changing programs offered by The Baby Fold provide vital resources and opportunities to members of our community. It’s a blessing to not only be recognized but to also have the ability to uplift the mission of this essential community organization.”

The 2022 ATHENA Award recipient will be announced at the Chamber's Leaders of Distinction Awards ceremony on October 6. Other finalists include Roxanne Hartrich and Jessica McKnight.

The Baby Fold’s Healthy Start program took advantage of the beautiful fall weather this month and brought learning outside for young families in Champaign and McLean counties. Curtis Orchard and Rader Family Farms hosted fun fall activities, giving parents and children an opportunity to engage in family bonding and learning through interactive play. Parents also practiced newly learned techniques and social/emotional development skills. After all that play, families enjoyed a refreshing break with apple cider and snacks before searching for the perfect pumpkin in the pumpkin patch. 

Families also enjoyed the Language and Cultural Festival, hosted by Illinois Wesleyan University’s Language School and The Immigration Project. Arts and crafts, games, small group activities, stories, puppet shows, Chinese and Japanese calligraphy, and live performances were all available on IWU’s quad.

And if you thought Healthy Start is just for moms, think again! Daddy Dialogue is a group that welcomes current Dads and soon-to-be Dads to gather for fellowship and meaningful connections at a local barber shop. Jeremy Smith, Family Support Specialist, leads the group, understanding the importance of creating a safe space for fathers to talk and grow into the best Dads they can be. 

Earlier this month, the halls of Normal First United Methodist Church filled with the tantalizing smells of gingerbread during The Baby Fold’s Gingerbread Workshop. Linda Park and Jean Kaufman, chairpersons of Gingerbread Village at The Festival of Trees, hosted the free educational workshop. Community members learned all the tips and tricks to creating the perfect gingerbread creation—their secret gingerbread recipe was even shared! Attendees left feeling confident to create charming new additions for Gingerbread Village at The Baby Fold’s 29^th Annual Festival of Trees. Their miniature masterpieces will be up for bid in the silent auction, with 100% of proceeds helping children and families served by The Baby Fold. 

The Baby Fold’s Festival of Trees will be at The Interstate Center in Bloomington and online at FestOfTrees.org November 17–19. Click here for the full schedule, to volunteer, and to purchase tickets (beginning Oct. 1)!

Last month we learned how The Baby Fold’s Child Development Center was created to serve children with emotional-behavioral needs. In early 1981, the Board of Directors recognized the growing need for the care of children with these concerns, and they met that challenge by approving an expansion of the center. The official groundbreaking took place on March 12, 1982, and the Child Development Center was renamed Hammitt School in honor of Rev. William and Gwendolyn Hammitt’s 35-year legacy of service at The Baby Fold.

Classes began on the first floor of the new facility in early 1983, and by 1984, the second floor was ready as well. The new, two-story Hammitt School building held 10 classrooms with the capacity to serve 80 students. Through fundraising and good financial stewardship, the $1.5 million construction project was completed entirely debt-free. Students aged 3–11 received academic, social, and emotional support including physical, occupational, and speech therapies. Today, this is the home of Hammitt Elementary School, and two additional Junior-Senior High School campuses have been added to continue serving the emerging needs of our community.

Also in 1984, The Baby Fold’s Treatment Advisory Committee was formed. Experts in child development, medicine, law, and social work, as well as a parent of a child in our care, came together to oversee the agency’s treatment procedures and to protect the rights and welfare of the children. The important work of this committee continues to this day, with some of our community’s highest-accredited professionals serving on the team.

In the late 1980s, The Baby Fold’s services also expanded outside the walls of our buildings. Dr. Benjamin L. Moore, Clinical Director of The Baby Fold, tasked Family Services Coordinator Thomas Carroll with researching the effectiveness of providing services in a home environment. Carroll’s research showed that in-home services were highly successful, offering immediate help to parents in a natural family environment. Home-based services soon became an integral part of The Baby Fold’s work, and to this day, many of our programs meet the needs of children and families in the comfort of their own homes. Over 500,000 miles are logged on our agency’s fleet of vehicles each year so that kids and families receive the highest level of care, with over 15,000 client connections and visits annually.

“Throughout Illinois today…there is a new emphasis on helping families. Here at The Baby Fold, we’ve been doing that for years,” Carroll said in early 1990. Join us next month as we look at other events from that decade.

(Reference: The Baby Fold: An Investment In Humanity, by Elizabeth Glidden, 1992, and The Pantagraph)

In the Caregiver Connections Program, early childhood development specialists from The Baby Fold travel to daycare centers and preschools, observe classrooms, and help childcare providers identify and respond to children’s needs, especially emotional and behavioral struggles. One of the most effective ways to help a room full of small children is to teach the teacher how to address their needs. Providing this support early prevents potential problems down the road.

The Baby Fold’s Caregiver Connection program has doubled in size, now serving 19 counties across Illinois. With this expansion, we're able to work with a greater number of childcare providers and families to create individual plans that address the specific needs of each child. By sharing our expertise with childcare providers, more children are receiving the trauma-informed care they need to heal and grow.