United
Methodist Family Services
The
UMFS is located at 3900 W. Broad Street and has a
residential home where 40 youth live and go to school while being
treated. The new Charterhouse School on this site provides a
beautiful setting for young people ages 12 to 17 to grow and
develop academically, mentally and spiritually. A chaplain is a
permanent part of the staff.
In September, the auxiliary of UMFS provided a picnic and antique car show for the students on the campus. These abused and troubled youth really enjoyed time with the "oldies."
In November, there will be a Mini Mall for them to shop (with toy money) for themselves or others. Since most of them come from foster homes, they are grateful for anything. If you can make a contribution to this cause, please place the items in the basket in the hall near the steps. The items should be suitable for youth ages 11 through 17. Good ideas are games, stuffed animals, good clothes, or jewelry. They will be needed by the end of October.
On Friday, November 5th from 6:00-9:00 PM, UMFS will host a Night of the Arts at Crossroads Art Center located at 2016 Staples Mill Road. This event will be a partnership between UMFS and the Department of Social Services. The young artists will be honored for their work on display as well as have the opportunity to share their poetry readings and various media forms. Admission is free.
THESE ARE THE THINGS YOU FIND AT UNITED
METHODIST FAMILY SERVICES!
DECEMBER is
the month designated by the Virginia Annual Conference as UNITED FAMILY SERVICES
MONTH! It is the one time each year that all Methodists are given the
opportunity to donate to this worthy cause. As usual, our
offering on Christmas Eve is designated to United Methodist Family Services.
As a member of the United
Methodist Church, we are proud to be a part of the work done by UMFS to make a
difference in the lives of our youth. We attend a monthly meeting the third
Thursday of each month. Please feel free to attend these meetings with us
or inquire about some of the activities in which you might wish to participate.
If you have any questions about what our church is doing through this wonderful organization to serve and help these troubled youth, please ask Jean Miller (222-5569) or Dot Gay (795-5196).
Ongoing ways in which you may help this mission are:
(1) Enjoy lunch or dinner at Hot Tamale Cafe in Midlothian the 3rd Thursday of each month and Hot Tamale Cafe will give UMFS 20% of all lunch and dinner sales. It is located at 13815 Fribble Way (just off Hull Street Road at Deer Run Drive, behind Friendly's). Lunch is served between 11:00 am - 2:30 pm and dinner is served from 5:00 pm to 9:30 pm.
(2) Connect with youth through Project LIFE. (Project LIFE - Living Independently, Focusing on Empowerment) is a partnership with the Virginia Department of Social Services and UMFS. The goal of the project is to promote permanent family connections for older youth while coordinating and enhancing life skills development for older youth in and transitioning out of foster care.) Ways you can connect with a youth through Project LIFE include:
a. Offer funding or goods for particular youth needs or events.
b. Provide jobs to youth who have limited or no work or volunteer experience (job coaching is often available to assist with training/monitoring.
c. Create volunteer opportunities to youth in your business, organization, or community.
d. Mentor a youth academically, occupationally, or socially.
e. Volunteer at youth conferences and events.
(3) Donate specific items at Christmas (a new request list is made each year).
(4) Be a part of the Woman’s Auxiliary. Call Dot Gay @ 795-5196 for
information.
(5) Take a group to visit the Richmond campus to see what our church
is doing. Call Kendra Swagger at 804-353-4461x 1601 to set up a time.
History of UMFS
The year was 1900. William McKinley was president. The cost of a
first-class stamp was $0.02. And Yale won the NCAA Championship. The
Virginia Annual Conference is granted a charter from the State Legislature and
builds an orphanage on property in Richmond at 3900 West Broad Street.. It
flourishes as a farming community and includes a school, print shop and
dairy. The orphanage also operates a farm and camp in New Kent
County. (Since then, UMFS has evolved into a thriving organization
delivering services from seven locations and helping 3,000 children and families
annually. Our history is rich but our potential is even greater- READ ON).
1929 --At the outset of the Great Depression many children are placed at
the orphanage due to financial necessity. The number of residents peaks at
365 children between 1929 and 1935.
1933 --The church designates the month of December to raise funds for
the orphanage. Prior to this, the Board requests that a 10 percent
assessment on pastors' salaries be the means of financing the orphanage oeration.
Farm income, and later, special church collections, provide funds to operate the
Home.
1935 --The
Social Security Act is enacted. Combined with public assistance, this
means children no longer have to be placed in institutional care due to
financial necessity. From this date forward, the number of children living
at the orphanage for custodial care declines.
1951 -- Thename
of the orphanage changes to the Virginia Methodist Children's Home.
Programs now serve more children on a temporary basis and return them to their
families.
1953 --Thefarm
operation at the Broad Street site is discontinued. Child labor laws
prohibit farming as a profitable venture.
1959 -- Thefarms
in New Kent County are closed and sold. Funds from the sale, plus funds
from land sold on Broad Street, in addition to a Conference Fund Drive, are
being used to finance new cottages and other buildings on the West Broad Street
property.
1979 --
Charterhouse
School opens on the Broad Street campus and is named after the Methodist founder
John Wesley's school. Charterhouse School will provide greatly needed
special education for residential youth.
1980
--To
meet the
changing needs of society and to better identify our program goals, the Annual
Conference votes to change the name to United Methodist Family Services. Now
a special emphasis is placed on working with the whole family to help meet the
needs of children.
1984 -- Programs
expand to include adoption and foster care as well as a residential treatment
program for youth. Regional centers open in Northern Virginia and
Tidewater.
1993 -- Ground
breaking takes place for Guardian Place, a 120 unit apartment for people over 55
with low-to-moderate income. A satellite office of the Northern Virginia
Regional Center opens in Harrisonburg. Services include home studies and
post placement supervision for international and private domestic adoptions and
services for parents putting their children up for adoption.
1996 -- Fredericksburg
Regional Center opens and offers treatment foster care and mentor services.
1998 -- United
Methodist Family Services teams with WRIC-TV8 and corporate sponsors to create A
Child Waiting, a weekly television series profiling children waiting for
adoption. An outcomes measurement system to inform our customers and the
community of our strengths and accomplishments is created.
2000 -- United
Methodist Family Services celebrates 100 years. UMFS sees unprecedented
progress in its first-ever capital campaign. Guardian Place II opens and
together with Guardian Place I provides 250 apartments for adults 55 and over
who live on a fixed income.
2001 -- Regional
Center opens in South Central Virginia with a satellite office in Farmville.
2002 -- A
national grant is awarded toUMFScreating
a regional Quality Improvement Center on Adoption.
2003 -- The
new building for Charterhouse
School opens on the Richmond campus. The old Charterhouse School building
houses a new program called Charterhouse School Therapeutic Day Program for
youth ages 11-17 who struggle to function in their current school
setting.
2004 -- A
new program for sexually reactive males opens. UMFS receives a federal
grant for Virginia's Children of Promise, a program that mentors children that
have a parent who is incarcerated.
2005
-- United
Methodist Family Services adopts UMFS
as its operating name.
Adoption
UMFS provides a range of placement services that recognize that
adoption is a lifelong process creating a relationship between a child and
adoptive parents. We pay special attention to the complex circumstances that
give rise to the need for adoption and to the stresses and adjustments that
ensue for all parties in this process. Areas
with special emphasis include:
Treatment
Foster Care
The UMFS Treatment Foster Care Program was developed in 1980. This
program provides for a therapeutic structured environment that allows us to
place emotionally, behaviorally, physically, or medically challenged youth in
the community. Treatment foster
parents are trained to be part of a professionally supervised team model based
in the home and serving children and adolescents with certain emotional,
behavioral, psychiatric, and psychological problems.
Residential Treatment
UMFS offers residential treatment on our 33-acre campus in
Richmond
. The UMFS Residential Treatment
Program is widely recognized for its innovative and successful approach to youth
development, mental health treatment and case management for adolescents with
emotional, behavioral, psychiatric and psychological problems that can best be
addressed in a residential setting. The
youth in the Residential Treatment Program attend the fully accredited,
year-round Charterhouse School. Special attention is received by:
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Support
Services
UMFS offers a range of services which support children and
families. In many cases, these types
of services may help preclude the need for more intensive support or treatment
in the future. These include:
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UMFS has released its annual Outcomes Report for the 10th consecutive year. This 110-year old human services agency is unique in that it publishes its outcomes, good and bad, every year, as a visible sign of its commitment to openness about its achievements and services. In 2009, UMFS served 5,500 people.
Since 2000, UMFS has transformed its service delivery system to serve more children, youth and families in their communities. In 2000, 8.3% of UMFS services were provided in communities; by 2009, the percentage of UMFS community-based services had jumped to 53.1%.
Some notable results from 2009 are:
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100% of children and youth who received UMFS' FamilyCARE (Collaboration, Advocacy, Resources & Empowerment) services were preserved in or transitioned to a family environment. FamilyCARE services are flexible, individualized services that help children, youth and families in their communities;
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64% of children in treatment foster care, 72% of the youth served by the UMFS Treatment Center in Richmond, and 79% of youth served at Leland House in Centreville, were discharged to a less restrictive environment, such as a family of origin, relative or guardian, adoption, foster care or independent living setting; and
- 42% of children and youth in treatment foster care were adopted by their foster parents.
For additional information call 804-3534461, fax 804-355-2334 or
on line www.umfs.org