Children's Home of Pittsburgh
The Children’s Home of Pittsburgh, established in 1893, is an independent non-profit organization whose purpose is to promote the health and well-being of infants and children through services which establish and strengthen the family. These services include: Adoption, Child’s Way, and a Pediatric Specialty Hospital.
In March 2007, The Children’s Home moved into its new home on Penn Avenue in the Friendship neighborhood of Pittsburgh. It added ‘Lemieux Family Center’ to its name in recognition of ongoing support from The Mario Lemieux Foundation and to highlight the shared philosophy that families are the focus of both organizations.
History
The Children’s Home began in 1893 as The Pennsylvania Children’s Home Society and was founded to care for orphaned children and find them permanent homes. The first Children’s Home was located on Penn Avenue in the Wilkinsburg neighborhood of Pittsburgh. In 1935, after several location changes, The Society settled in the Shadyside neighborhood and officially changed its name to The Children’s Home of Pittsburgh. After moving one more time in 1969, the organization now resides on Penn Avenue in the neighborhood of Friendship.
In the 1980s and 1990s, two distinct medical programs were introduced. The first was the Transitional Infant Care hospital (T.I.C.), which opened in 1984 and the second was Child’s Way, which opened in 1998, as the first pediatric extended care center in the state of Pennsylvania.
In the early 2000s, demand continued to grow for The Children’s Home’s services and the opening of the new location provided the space necessary to continue to further develop these programs.
Adoption
The Children’s Home’s licensed infant adoption program provides services in tandem with its philosophy that adoption is a lifelong journey. The program offers individual counseling and support groups for birthparents, adoptive parent counseling and education, family studies, short-term foster care, infertility-related counseling, a research and reunion program, and community adoption education.
• More than 7000 infants and young children have been placed in permanent homes. • An average of 25 infants per year are placed with adoptive families. • More than 170 clients per year receive birthparent counseling from licensed social workers. • Interim foster care is provided by 11 licensed foster care families.
Child's Way
Child’s Way is a day care for children with medical needs ages birth to eight. It offers an alternative or supplement to in-home nursing care.
• Child’s Way has served more than 206 children and their families. • Care is provided by registered nurses, child care staff and an educational coordinator. • Case management, contracted on-site therapies, and specialized treatment of complex conditions are provided. • Medical costs are covered by third party payers; child care costs are paid by families on a sliding scale or by day care subsidies for those who qualify. • A Head Start supplemental pre-school program through Pittsburgh Public Schools is available. • Child’s Way is state licensed as a pediatric extended care center and as a day care center. It also meets Keystone STARS performance standards. • It is open Monday through Friday, 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Pediatric specialty hospital
The Children’s Home also offers a 28-bed licensed pediatric specialty hospital, an outgrowth of Transitional Infant Care, which provides continued acute care for infants and children transitioning from hospital to home. The nursing staff teaches parents how to care for their child independently so parents are more confident when taking the child home. A treatment plan for each child is developed with parents’ input and a personalized discharge plan ensures that any support services needed by parents or child are in place before leaving The Children’s Home. The homelike environment allows the children and families we serve to remain comfortable and relaxed while receiving the care and training necessary to make the final transition to home.
Overnight stays by parents and families are welcomed and encouraged. Full kitchens, dining areas and family rooms are adjacent to bedrooms and provide a comfortable atmosphere for family time. Austin’s Playroom also provides a place for siblings to play.
Lemieux Family Center
The Lemieux Family Center was created in 2007 thanks to a gift from the Mario Lemieux Foundation. It is much more than any one physical space within The Children’s Home; it is a philosophy of care that puts family at the center of everything they do. The Children’s Home is designed to feel comfortable and home-like, with family spaces located throughout the building were families can play, receive guidance, education, and support. Family spaces include children’s play areas as well as private rooms designed for family time, reflection or reading, meetings with a social worker, doctor or nurse, breastfeeding or pumping, or just watching TV.