Center celebrates 40 years

By Peggy Laizure

Forty years ago Juvenile Judge J. David Rambo "found out 10 percent of his job was taking 90 percent of his time" so he and fellow judges, Elvin Brown and Alan Couch, incorporated for grant purposes and formed Juvenile Services which later became part of Norman Juvenile Services.

"It was a matter of self preservation more than elevated thoughts of what ought to happen to the kids," Rambo said. "Previously we had formed a relationship with the Department of Human Services who furnished money and staff. The county commissioners supported us as well as they were able to. We had some special grants that helped put counselors in schools, everything that we could that we did to prevent to problems."

In June 1969, the juvenile shelter incorporated. In January 1972, the name was changed to Juvenile Shelter Board to help get more federal funding. A few months later, the name was changed again to Juvenile Services Inc. In 1999, it became the Center for Children and Families Inc. (CCFI).

The name more apply describes the services provided said Libba Smith, executive director from 1980 to 1997.

The center specializes in children's services, healing abuse and neglect, supporting and educating parents and cultivating neighborhood connections.

When Smith became director, the agency was "pretty much all volunteers," she said. "My job was more coordinating the volunteers, fundraising, grant writing, accounting. I always said I had the best of two worlds because I felt like I was making a difference in making the organization run but not in the trenches with the clients.

The services the center provides have changed over the years, Smith said.

"We would see a need and would find some people to help."

One of the newer services is the divorce arbitration program whch started 1980. The program now does more educational classes for parents at the time of their divorce. The staff works toward reducing stress on children involved in divorce and strengthens parent-child relationships. The center provides mediation, arbitration, kids groups parenting education classes, supervised visits and exchanges.

"Children are caught in the middle and often the parents are emotionally in pain, often very angry and are having to make adjustments in their own life," Smith said. "Where they're going to live, who they're going to live with, where they will get their income and it's easy for them to not be aware of the children caught in the middle in all the anger and grief. Or sometimes the parents will use the child to get back at the parent. We try to help the parents focus on the interest of the child."

The parents' assistance program, child abuse prevention and treatment program, also began during Smith's reign and was totally staffed by volunteers. The program is for families struggling with issues of parenting and works to build stronger families, improve parent-child relationships, parents education groups, counseling, emergency foster and respite care, play therapy and therapeutic play groups for kids.

"Kathy Drummond was a full time unpaid volunteer that ran the parents' assistance program a number of years. She answered her phone 24 hours a day, seven days a week. And she was raising three small boys at the time. She's one of the saints of JSI as far as I'm concerned."

Another service of the center is the extended family program, an emergency foster home program. When teenagers needed a place to stay, they usually went to the juvenile shelter. Smith said they saw a need for a place for longer term placement.

There are many circumstances which may call for a temporary foster home, such as a single parent hospitalized and had no one else to care for a child.

"Some of the volunteers at the shelter and on the board started taking children into their homes, sometimes for months at a time," Smith said.

A teen parent program began in 1986. The program helps young parents stay in school until they graduate and to learn how to become better parents. Shortly after this program was started the Junior League of Norman bought a house north of Norman High School and turned it into a child care center and also has classes on parenting. The staff works with young parents to learn how to provide nurturing, safe and healthy lifestyles for their families through contact, case management and advocacy with local services. The center also supports parent education, transportation, preschool play groups and provides counseling with peer groups.

CCFI, 1151 E. Main St. in the Community Services Building, has 41 employees and many more volunteers. Linda Terrell has been the director for 11 years.

"We also support parents and educate teen parents to them find jobs, find the service they need, get back and forth to medial appointments," Terrell said. "Oklahoma is third in the nation in divorce. We teach parents the business of raising children."

The center also cultivates neighborhood connections, Terrell said. Kennedy and Wilson schools have a safe program to keep children safe after school. There are staff and volunteers to help with homework, math and science clubs, obesity, computers and structural activities with caring adults.

"Every boy and girl deserves to grow up nurtured and loved," Terrell said.

She hopes to expand the program to include more schools.

One of the newest programs of CCFI is R.E.A.L., for girls ages 11-17, with siblings that are teen parents.

"Children most at risk at becoming teen parents are siblings of teen parents," Terrell said.

"Volunteers are always needed," Terrell said, "to provide a positive role model for young people."

"I don't know of anything like this (CCFI)," Smith said. "Not one agency -- the umbrella doesn't exist anywhere in United States."

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