On Nov. 17, 1902, Children’s Home Society of Florida first opened its doors as an orphanage to care for the growing number of children arriving on the infamous Orphan Trains that transported homeless children from the streets of New York City hoping to find families. The final stop was in Jacksonville, where more than 400 children arrived with nowhere to go.
Under the guidance of Rev. D.W. Comstock, CHS was established to address this pressing need. With a staff of two and a budget of $400, CHS cared for 34 children that first year, finding permanent homes for 21. It was the beginning of a 115-year legacy of providing solutions to society’s ever-changing challenges affecting children.
With an increasing demand for services, CHS grew beyond Jacksonville – and greater than an orphanage and adoption agency – in 1920, opening its first satellite office in Pensacola. Over the next 100 years, the organization’s presence and influence continued to expand, and the first office in Treasure Coast was established in 1991.
Yet CHS continues to honor its roots in adoption, finalizing an average of 700 adoptions every year, including more than 200 throughout Treasure Coast and Okeechobee.
In honor of National Adoption Month, CHS will host their 18th annual Adoption Day Celebration on Nov. 12 raising awareness for adoption and highlighting successes like the Hunter Family. The Hunters adopted three children from foster care including two siblings in 2016.
“It’s an honor to be these kids’ parents. You can’t change the world, but you can change it for these children,” said adoptive mother Liz. “The goal of foster care is not adoption. As a foster parent, you hope to work with the family and help them along their healing path to success. But for our family, that path took an amazing and unexpected turn into adoption – Twice!”
More than one million lives have changed because of CHS, including 11,000 every year in Treasure Coast and Okeechobee. Over the past century, CHS has been the leader in identifying and addressing key issues facing children and families. While remaining true to its roots in adoption, CHS has evolved to also deliver early childhood programs, in-home solutions that stabilize and strengthen families, counseling and telehealth, foster care, and, most recently, the innovative community partnership school TM model that’s transforming outcomes in nearly a dozen Title I schools. Annually, CHS builds bridges to success for more than 50,000 children and family members.
“Since our founding in 1902 as a single-site adoption agency, CHS has grown and evolved with each passing decade to remain the leader in addressing the shifting social needs of children and families,” said CHS President and CEO Michael Shaver. “Through the changing times, one constant has remained: our commitment to providing the right solutions at the right time to help more children realize their full potential.”
In addition to bringing families together through adoption in Treasure Coast, CHS empowers children and families through CINS/ FINS, Residential Care and Teen Life Choices.
