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 ToolkitWhat 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 PointsThe “elevator” speechKaleidoscope 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. 12/20083

Talking PointsThe “elevator” speechKaleidoscope 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. 12/20084

Talking PointsWhat 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. 12/20085

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. 12/20086Talking Points

Talking PointsWhat does Kaleidoscope do?PROGRAM AREA #1Therapeutic Foster Family CareFoster 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. 12/20087

Talking PointsWhat does Kaleidoscope do?PROGRAM AREA #2Community ServicesSystem 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. 12/20088

Talking PointsWhat does Kaleidoscope do?PROGRAM AREA #3Transitional Living ServicesYouth 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. 12/20089

Talking PointsWho are Kaleidoscope’s clients?rev. 12/200810Kaleidoscope kids, ages zero to 21… live with HIV or AIDS,

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.Key Points#1 - HistoryKaleidoscope was founded in 1973 by a small group of people who began taking in hundreds of kids who’d been sent to other states for care. Through a state initiative, these kids were returned to Illinois. Kaleidoscope began working with the children deemed “most difficult to serve” – kids who presented extreme misbehaviors and complex emotional and medical conditions.Kaleidoscope succeeded in reducing “placement bouncing” (i.e., bouncing from foster home to foster home). Known in the ‘80s and ‘90s as “the agency of last resort,” Kaleidoscope is now turned to first for special cases, preventing kids from going through unnecessary trauma, instability and feelings of displacement.rev. 12/200811

Key Points#2 - StaffKaleidoscope 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. 12/200812

Key PointsKaleidoscope 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. 12/200813#3 – Medically Complex Foster Care

Key Points#4 – Awards and Successrev. 12/200814Kaleidoscope has received acclaim in Chicagoand across the nation, including awards from:Annie E. Casey FoundationNational Honors Program AwardThe Points of Light FoundationPresident’s AwardChesapeake Institute of Washington, D.C.“One of the top five child-serving agencies in the U.S.”Chicago Community TrustAward for Outstanding Community Service

Outcomes & EffectivenessTwo 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. 12/200815

Stories & Testimonials#1 – PennyPenny 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. 12/200816

Communications Toolkit

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Communications Toolkit