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Today, we face a situation where the safety and well-being of children are at risk because the systems designed to protect them are overwhelmed.
For years, our community has faced a severe shortage of appropriate placements for children in county custody. The lack of sufficient beds and/or foster families has been a persistent issue, leading to increasingly desperate situations for our most vulnerable youth. Children with the most acute needs are often funneled into systems that were never designed to address their complex challenges. And the lack of local available placement options has led to the tragic reality of children being placed even temporarily in office buildings or sent out of state, far from their families and communities, in search of adequate care.
When children are sent out of state, they are not only removed from their familiar surroundings but also lose vital connections to their families and their community. This dislocation makes it significantly more difficult to reunify these children with their families, prolonging their time in the system and increasing their trauma. The systems in place, both locally and out of state, are often ill-equipped to address the acute needs of these children, further complicating their path to healing and stability.
These children belong to all of us. The Centers is partnering with Cuyahoga County on an ambitious capital campaign in 2024 to create lasting solutions for vulnerable youth. The new HOPE Campus, which will be built at the current Cleveland Christian Home (CCH) site on Lorain Avenue on Cleveland’s west side, demonstrates The Centers’ and the County’s commitment to ensuring that youth in County custody have a safe and therapeutic place to stay – especially those who have been turned away from other options. The campus transformation will promote a comprehensive model for assisting with rapid reunification and kinship diversion for children in county custody, while providing a safe location where youth awaiting placement can be assessed and receive treatment.
This joint effort will make meaningful progress toward providing a solution for area youth in need of placement outside of their homes. We believe keeping local youth in Cuyahoga County is our moral obligation and critical to family reunification and engagement. Over time, this program will reduce the number of nights any youth spends without adequate housing and help keep Cuyahoga County youth close to home. In one central location, Centers and County staff, along with other child-serving nonprofits, can work in lockstep to get children who have faced some of life’s harshest realities into their best placement as quickly as possible.
The campus will also provide residential treatment, short-term emergency placement, and other support for youth and families. With approximately 50 specialized beds in a comfortable, trauma-informed environment, youth will have seamless step-down and step-up options as they receive treatment close to home and work toward a path back to their families.
The total cost of the planned renovations is estimated at $14 Million. Renovations are being prioritized in three phases. The funding for phases 1 and 2 was provided by individual, philanthropic, state capital grant, New Market Tax Credit equity and loan. During those phases, unit renovations were completed including the launch of T-Suites. For more info on T-Suites, click here.
Fundraising in progress. Renovations to begin late 2025. Total anticipated cost $14 million.
Renovations will include building a Welcome Center, renovating a Kitchen and Cafeteria, stabilization of grounds, school and treatment area, exterior renovations, elevator and common area sprinkler. State Capital support and private philanthropy has been secured. Please check for current funding gap.
10 co-ed beds reserved for short-term stays (<48 hours) for youth with low acuity needs, with support from a dedicated DCFS Placement Worker. This unit will provide safety, structure, and comfort for youth in their brief stay.
8 co-ed beds available within our established T-Suites secure unit to support stays up to 30 days for high acuity, multi-system, high-risk youth.
Intensive Treatment and stabilization provided by CCH, with a dedicated in-unit DCFS Placement Worker.
T-Suites will become a licensed intensive treatment unit.
8 beds reserved in a secure unit for youth with developmental disabilities and/or who have been involved in the Juvenile Justice system.
8 beds reserved in a secure unit for high-risk girls who have been victims of human trafficking and/or are trauma survivors.
10 co-ed beds reserved for youth with severe emotional disturbance requiring a high level of care. This secure unit will be funded through Medicaid and OhioRISE.
8 beds reserved for step-down, respite care, or flexible space for overflow emergency beds for low-acuity youth.
Circle Health Services Tax ID #23-7078501 | Cleveland Christian Home Tax ID # 34-0733131 | The Centers for Families and Children Tax ID # 23-7084455
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