Communications Toolkit

Who is Kaleidoscope? How are they funded? Are they successful? How long have they been around? The Board of Directors' What does the data show? Communications Toolkit What are their programs? Why do they need me? How do they make the world a better place? What is their overhead? Who are the kids?

Talking Points The “elevator” speech Kaleidoscope is a not-for-profit charity helping kids recover from abuse and neglect. All the kids have some “special need,” physical, emotional, medical, psychological, often having resulted directly from their abuse. Kaleidoscope exists to provide services and coordinate resources to meet the diverse needs of hundreds of children who have suffered from severe violence and neglect and have special needs, often as a direct result of their abuse. rev. 12/2008 3

Talking Points The “elevator” speech Kaleidoscope has three main program areas: therapeutic foster care, where kids with special needs are placed with trained, licensed foster parents and adoptive parents, community services, which is in-home services to stabilize at-risk children and families and transitional services, teaching youth 18-21 to live independently and self-sufficiently. rev. 12/2008 4

Talking Points What is the need Kaleidoscope is addressing? Over 5,000 children in Chicago are wards of the state through no fault of their own (over 16,000 in the State of Illinois). The state does not make a good parent (think orphanages). Many of these children (over 2,000 in Chicago) suffer severe emotional disabilities and medical conditions due to substance abuse, physical abuse and extreme neglect. Because of the grave nature of these kids’ needs, they’re often rejected from traditional foster care placements. They learn to “reject before being rejected,” then get deemed “the most difficult to serve” and categorized as “specialized.” THESE are the kids Kaleidoscope serves. rev. 12/2008 5

What is the need Kaleidoscope is addressing? Wards who don’t receive proper care are more likely to become unemployed, homeless, addicted to drugs and incarcerated as adults. They then become a burden on society. Economists estimate that preventing ONE vulnerable child from becoming a high school dropout, career criminal or drug abuser saves $1.7 to $2.3 million in costs to society. rev. 12/2008 6 Talking Points

Talking Points What does Kaleidoscope do? PROGRAM AREA #1 Therapeutic Foster Family Care Foster parent recruitment, licensing and training is located in Blue Island. Adoption services screen and place children in permanent homes. About 60 kids – from infants to teens – are served at any one time. Some are medically complex (~25), including having HIV/AIDS, and some may not live to adulthood. Some are pregnant/parenting teens. All families receive around-the-clock support from a team of staffers assigned to their case – a 24-hour hotline is available. rev. 12/2008 7

Talking Points What does Kaleidoscope do? PROGRAM AREA #2 Community Services System of Care (SOC) program strengthens at-risk foster families, reunites foster children with birth families and follows up with adoptions (Adoption Preservation program (APAL)). These are not Kaleidoscope foster families, but families referred by the state and other foster care agencies. Over 300 children each year. Nationally recognized, became the model for other SOC programs across the country. Once known as “wraparound,” the term is used among other social service agencies today. rev. 12/2008 8

Talking Points What does Kaleidoscope do? PROGRAM AREA #3 Transitional Living Services Youth 18-21 in the “system” lack the connections, familial and other, to attain self-sufficiency. Youth Development Program (YDP) teaches independent living skills; youth live in their own apartments with regular visits from staff. (~60 clients) Transition to Adult Services (TAS) is for youth with developmental disabilities to ensure a smooth transition out of DCFS (usually to DHS). (~12 clients) Find Your Future internship program selects and matches DCFS youth in college with employers for paid, full-time, 10-week internships lasting from early June through mid-August. The program also provides career development workshops and networking opportunities. (20-30 interns) rev. 12/2008 9

Talking Points Who are Kaleidoscope’s clients? rev. 12/2008 10 Kaleidoscope kids, ages zero to 21… ,[object Object]

suffer emotional disabilities,

have experienced physical or sexual abuse,

have parents who are or have been incarcerated,

have learned to “reject before being rejected,”

and all have special psychological, medical or physical needs.,[object Object]

Key Points #2 - Staff Kaleidoscope employs youth workers, social workers, therapists and nurses, all whom comprise the specialized teams that work with each child – no single worker alone is assigned to one child. This “team” model provides stability and continuity, which these kids need. For example, if one staffer leaves Kaleidoscope, other team members remain familiar to the child. Kaleidoscope staff are mobile, serving the client where they live, rather than making kids and families come to the agency. Group activities and individual therapy may take place at the agency. This model makes transportation one of Kaleidoscope’s largest expenses. rev. 12/2008 12

Key Points Kaleidoscope began the first pediatric AIDS program in Illinois, one of the first of its kind in the world. Formerly known as the STAR program (Specialized Treatment for AIDS Recovery), the program now provides some anonymity as the Medically Complex Foster Care program. It also serves kids who have medical conditions other than AIDS. While most clients with HIV/AIDS continue to be infants and toddlers, more are living into adolescence due to advances in drug treatment. rev. 12/2008 13 #3 – Medically Complex Foster Care

Key Points #4 – Awards and Success rev. 12/2008 14 Kaleidoscope has received acclaim in Chicagoand across the nation, including awards from: Annie E. Casey Foundation National Honors Program Award The Points of Light Foundation President’s Award Chesapeake Institute of Washington, D.C. “One of the top five child-serving agencies in the U.S.” Chicago Community Trust Award for Outstanding Community Service

Outcomes & Effectiveness Two tools are used to measure hundreds of indicators determining the successful outcomes of the programs: Child and Adolescent Needs & Strengths (CANS) assessment and Ansell-Casey Life Skills Assessment. The specific outcomes these tools measure are numerous, but, in general, they measure at regular intervals the youths’ mental and physical health and changes in risk behaviors. They also measure knowledge and use of life skills, such as money management and nutrition, parenting skills when applicable, educational attainment, career development and others. rev. 12/2008 15

Stories & Testimonials #1 – Penny Penny came to Kaleidoscope after her mother abandoned her while she was a patient in a psychiatric hospital. Penny was a teen mother with no family support. She suffered from severe depression, had few good parenting role models and had dropped out of school. Kaleidoscope helped Penny find a positive support group, therapeutic counseling, childcare, books, transportation and tuition for school. Penny graduated from college as a registered nurse. Most of the professionals who had worked with Penny believed that she would never be able to parent her child or graduate even from high school—they believed she would spend her life in and out of psychiatric institutions. Kaleidoscope gave her hope for a bright future, and Penny went after it. While not all youth always experience the degree of success that Penny has, the lesson is that all children deserve - at minimum - a chance to have a good life. rev. 12/2008 16

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