Keeping at-risk children with disabilities safe

As our partner, I am writing to update you about the status of the project for which you generously donated: the extended hours program for at-risk children at Chimes Israel’s Holland Center in Tel Aviv. 

To our delight, we were able to raise the full amount needed to operate the program for one year of activity, and are now fundraising for the second year.

Because the success of this program is of paramount importance to us, the organization’s executive management, our pedagogical experts, and the Holland Center’s managers have been meeting regularly to structure its launch.  The onsite team has identified eight children who meet the program’s criteria. The program will launch the program in November 2022 after the conclusion of the Jewish High Holidays (rather than when the funding goal was achieved).  A major reason for this is that in Israel, there are many vacation days during the High Holidays, which this year occurs between September 25 and October 17th.

For all preschool children, adjusting to a new school is difficult.  We want to give the program’s designees time to adapt to the new center and feel completely at home and safe before remaining an extra 3.5 hours each day. In addition, the decision will enable us to offer the program continually for a full year without the risk of it ending mid-year due to a lack of funds. Also, from a quality and accountability standpoint, with the continuity of the same children in the program for the entire year, we will be able to better track and assess the program's impact and success.  

The program will prevent the removal of the children from their parents' custody to social services and an out-of-home arrangement such as foster care. (The outcome of the identical program at the Shaked Center in Ashkelon resulted in no chidren being removed from their homes.) The social worker accompanying each child will report via their required documentation and the program's pre-, six month and year-end questionnaires, on whether or not the parents have acquired more appropriate parenting and disability treatment skills. They will report on the parents' attitudes, how they are treating their child, as well as their emotional closeness toward the child.

The program will prevent the removal of the toddlers from their parents' custody to social services and an out-of-home arrangement such as foster care.Parents will be required to fill out program questionnaires before the program, after six months and at the end of a year to assess their comfort, knowledge and behavior and changes based upon their participation in the project.The Center professionals and social workers will report that the parents demonstrate a better understanding of their child's needs, improved communication with the child, and appropriate responses to their needs. There will be a better infrastructure for a healthier home. This will happen through the targeted child development, family relationship intervention and formal intensive guidance on normative family and home conduct.

The Center professionals will assess and report via their required documentation, the Individual Habilitation Plan, and the program's pre-, six month and year-end questionnaires, on the child's emotional and physical well-being such as whether the child's external appearance has improved (clean bodies, clothes and diaper, whether there are signs of violence on the child), whether they are greeted by a responsible adult on their return home from the center, whether the parent is managing to take care of the child's basic needs, and the child's emotional well-being.

We appreciate your support and ask for your continued partnership for Year 2: beginning September 2023.