FY24 Annual Report (July 2023 - June 2024)

Center for Children and Families, Inc. (CCFI) began in 1969 as a shelter for youth, from birth to 18 years old, who needed a safe and nurturing place to stay while waiting to be placed in foster care. Known then as Juvenile Services, Inc. (JSI), we met a vital need in the community while laying the foundation for our mission “to improve the lives of children.”

Today, CCFI continues to serve children and their families who have experienced or are at risk of experiencing child abuse, neglect or other adverse experiences throughout Cleveland County. Join us in our mission as we work toward giving all children the relational building blocks they need to grow into happy, healthy adults. Together, we can ensure that every child grows up safe, nurtured and loved.

*All statistics shown represent the 2024 fiscal year (July 2023 - June 2024).

Programs & Services

CCFI provides a range of effective services to heal children who have been wounded by relationship trauma, empower youth to reach their full potential as caring adults and strengthen families who are struggling with parenting challenges.

Healing Children

We provide hope and healing to children, youth and families who have experienced all forms of abuse, neglect, and/or other traumatic experiences. Children’s play therapy, family therapy, therapeutic groups, and individual counseling help children and their biological, foster and/or adoptive parents achieve safe, stable and healthy family relationships. Counseling services are available to children and families throughout Cleveland County and surrounding communities.

*Program Highlights

3,613 therapy sessions were held with youth experiencing complex trauma

97% of children reported using the new ideas or skills they learned from counseling in their daily life.

Empowering Youth

Our goal is to ensure that every child and youth living in Norman has access to safe, enriching out-of-school opportunities to support their social and emotional development, enhance and enrich their academic experiences, and help them realize their full potential as productive, caring, and responsible citizens. After-school services are available through Boys & Girls Club of Norman at CCFI for children and youth ages 6 - 18.

*Program Highlights

20,288 meals & snacks were served at Boys & Girls Club of Norman

206 children & teens were enrolled in the Club and participated in:

10,379 hours of programming
7,128 hours of homework help
2,992 hours of physical fitness activities

Strengthening Families

Every family has strengths and challenges that impact the lives of their children. CCFI supports healthy parent-child relationships and family functioning through parent education and support services, supervised visits and exchanges, home visitation for parents of babies and young children, and case management and referral services. The following services are available to families throughout Cleveland County and surrounding communities:

*Program Highlights

140,916 diapers were distributed through the Baby Pantry

289 home-based visits were offered through Bringing Up Babies

96% of caregivers reported having better relationships with their children after taking Parents Assistance classes

Community Engagement

CCFI collaborates with a variety of community organizations to help connect families with local resources and enrich our mission. Throughout the past year, we shared information about our agency at 2nd Friday Art Walks, Red Dirt Collective’s Mutual Aid fairs, networking events at the University of Oklahoma, Norman’s National Night Out, Juneteenth festival, Norman Pride and advocacy days at the State Capitol, among many others.

CCFI serves as a Family Resource Center thanks to funding from the National Family Support Network, the Oklahoma State Department of Health and the Oklahoma Family Support Network. Coupled with the Science of HOPE, our community-based resource center serves as a welcoming hub of services and opportunities designed to strengthen families in our community. We aim to make easily accessible resources and services based on individual’s unique needs as well as create and sustain support through goal setting.

*Highlights

211 volunteers provided 1,536 hours of service to our agency

Our new initiative, Parent Café: Connections & Conversations, was selected as the 2024 recipient of The Launch Innovation grant from the United Way of Norman

Our staff, board members and volunteers represented CCFI at 25+ community outreach & engagement events

Fundraising

Every spring, CCFI hosts its annual Hands & Hearts fundraising luncheon to support vital programs and services for children in our community. We are extremely appreciative of the community members, donors and friends who join us to support our mission to heal children, empower youth and strengthen families. Guests enjoy a complimentary lunch, receive agency updates and gain valuable insight into the service and programs we provide. Attendees will also learn about becoming our partner through making a financial pledge or one-time gift to help sustain our mission.

In addition to Hands & Hearts, we’ve added a fun and fabulous evening event called Night at the Club at Boys & Girls Club of Norman! This interactive night is for adults only and features regular Club programming - plus some fun extras like SINGO, art projects and more.

2024 Beacon Award & Lighthouse Award Recipients

We were thrilled to honor longtime volunteer Jennifer Denison with our 2024 Beacon Award. This year, we also added a new award - the Lighthouse Award - to help honor a community partner who has made outstanding contributions to our mission. Our inaugural Lighthouse Award winner is Sun Construction Services.