Campus Field Day

Recently, youth from MCH Waxahachie participated in a campus wide field day hosted by one of the Waxahachie homes. The students and staff of the host home were responsible for planning the event, right down to the games, food and prizes. They did a fantastic job! Games included a cake walk, 50 yard dash, 3 legged race, sack race, water balloon toss, and a spoon race. Other activities like face painting and jewelry making were also available. The day ended with a cook out style meal that everyone enjoyed. Here are some pictures from the field day.











Thanks to Candice Darwin for this great update!

MCH Offices Participate in Child Abuse Prevention and Awareness Event

The MCH Tyler, Crockett, and Sulphur Springs offices recently participated in kid-friendly events draw attention to Child Abuse Prevention and Awareness. Committees start making preparations for these events in January each year and MCH staffers worked hard with the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services and other community resources to make these events fun and successful.

MCH participated in "Kid Fests" and "Kid Safe Saturday" fairs that took place in Tyler, Longview, Texarkana, and Paris in April and early May. MCH was able to interact with families and make them aware of programs such as the Partnership in Parenting (PIP) and Grandparents as Parents Program (GAPP). These events also provided an opportunity to recruit potential foster parents and network with valuable contacts within the community.

Below: Tyler staff Traci Wagner and Jerushah DuToit pose with the Armadillo from Texas Roadhouse Steakhouse. Many characters such as the Chic-Fil-A cow were on hand to entertain the masses of children and adults, alike.



Below: Jerushah DuToit assists children with the bean bag toss. Children received a prize and candy for playing the game at the MCH booth.


Thanks to Traci Wagner for this wonderful story!

Crockett Provides New Opportunities for Youth

Our Youth Services program in Crockett has opened up a whole new world of activities for young people. Program staff recently took youth to the Houston Natural Arts and Sciences Museum where they viewed dinosaur fossils and watched a movie in the IMAX theater.


The youth also recently helped out with child abuse prevention programming at the Houston County Welfare Board by putting up blue pinwheels in support of Child Abuse Awareness. Way to go MCH Crockett! Special thanks to James Berry and Lindy Dehm for these updates!

Youth from Waxahachie Enjoy Giving Back

On April 10, staff and students from our Waxahachie campus participated with FUMC Waxahachie in the 2010 Great Day of Service. The youth helped with a variety of service projects around the Dallas area and students really enjoyed giving back. In fact, our youth are already looking forward to the next service day! Here are some pictures from the event.











Way to serve, MCH Waxahachie! Thank you to Candice Darwin for this great update!

National Residential Education Day

Thursday, May 6 was National Residential Education Day, a day we celebrated by hosting the 42nd Willson-Johnson Lectures on our Waco campus. This year our lecture speaker was Mr. Frank Kros, MSW, JD. Mr. Kros is a leading child advocate, writer and speaker who is an expert in the development of the adolescent brain.

Mr. Kros gave a series of lectures on brain development in adolescents, with a special focus on those with challenging behaviors and those from abusive backgrounds. The lectures were open to all of our child care staff, and for social workers and child care workers in the Waco area. Here are some photos from the event.