Bexar County officials reported Monday that the $300,000 recently donated to the Hidalgo Foundation would be used to support the Early Intervention Program, a new initiative within the County Children’s Court.
Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff and others recognized the Baptist Health Foundation for their $250,000 contribution and the Katherine C. Carmody Charitable Trust of the San Antonio Area Foundation for $50,000 donated to the program.
The program will provide extensive mental health and child development services for families with children up to three years old, who have been involved in the child welfare system. The Court will also moderate the reunification process between parents and children to ensure child safety and emotional attachment.
“We want to help parents while they are in the civil courts so they don’t end up with criminal offenses,” said District Attorney Nico LaHood. “This program gives us an opportunity to help parents restructure their lives, keep their families together and end the cycle of abuse and neglect.”
Nearly 200,000 cases of child abuse occur in the United States each year, 1,000 of those abuse victims are children living in Bexar County. The program will provide families with professional psychotherapy services and experts in parent-child education to improve the parenting approach and the relationship between children and families.
“We are so grateful to these two pillars of community philanthropy for supporting the County’s efforts to preserve and strengthen families,” said Tracy Wolff, president and CEO of the Hidalgo Foundation, which operates exclusively for support of County programs such as the Children’s Court and the all-digital BiblioTech library. The Hidalgo Foundation partnered with the SBC Foundation to create and unveil the Bexar County Child Abuse & Neglect Court in 2005.
Click here for more information about the County Children’s Court and program updates.
*Top image: (From left) Hidalgo Foundation President and CEO Tracy Wolff speaks during a press announcement with Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff, Bexar County District Attorney Nico LaHood, and 225th District Court Judge Peter Sakai. Photo courtesy of @BexarCounty.
Related Stories:
Child Abuse: A Silent Epidemic in Bexar County
Hope Center Aims to Break the Cycle of Child Abuse
St. Jude’s Ranch for Children Fosters Hope
Commission on Eliminating Child Abuse: Moving from Response to Prevention
There is a rumor on the street that The Bexar County juvenile justice system has plans to move and expand from its present location on Mitchell across Steves to the old L&H Packing Company site. Can anyone confirm or deny this?… Thanks!