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CHRIS Kids Video
History & Mission
In 1981, the Atlanta Junior League, in collaboration with the Menninger Foundation, established CHARLEE (Children Have All Rights-Legal, Educational, Emotional) to serve abused and neglected youth in the metro Atlanta. The agency began with three group homes to serve children in foster care with mental health and other therapeutic needs. Later, the name changed to CHRIS Homes and eventually became what it is today, CHRIS Kids. The name is an acronym that represents our core values, Creativity, Honor, Respect, Integrity and Safety. Programs and collaborative partnerships were created to fill gaps and, often, introduced new approaches in Georgia. CHRIS Kids has a proven track record of innovation and leading change in our community. While programs and services have changed, our mission has not. Our mission for the last three decades is to heal children, strengthen families and build community.
1981
Created Georgia's first specialized group homes for children and youth with behavioral/emotional challenges and who could not thrive in foster homes.
1986
Created Georgia’s first independent living program to address the needs of youth aging out of foster care and homeless Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning (LGBTQ) youth.
1987
Expanded strength-based, family focused work to reach out to family members and empower them to re-engage and actively re-connect to their children in meaningful ways.
1992
Georgia CHARLEE became “CHRIS Homes” when it disaffiliated from the Menninger Foundation.
1994
Created the Keeping Families Together Program focused on preserving, re-uniting and strengthening families through community-based services.
1995
Founding member of the ChAMPS network, a public/private mental health service collaborative in Fulton County.
1996
Founding member of MAAC, the Multi Agency Alliance for Children and Georgia's first to introduce behavior aides as a way to work one-on-one with children.
1997
Created the first and only no-eject summer day camp in Georgia for Severely Emotionally Disturbed children.
1998
Created Georgia’s first State Treatment Services “Wraparound” pilot which became a statewide alternative to removing children from their homes and to re-unifying children with their families.
1998 -
2000
Operated a children’s Emergency Shelter as one of five statewide pilot sites for the Department of Family and Children Services First Placement/Best Placement Initiative.
2000
Created the first housing and services program in the Southeast for homeless youth, 17-21, with special outreach to gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or questioning youth.
2004
Renamed “CHRIS Kids” in recognition of the diverse population served snf to represent our core values: Creativity, Honor, Respect, Integrity and Safety: CHRIS.
2007
Opened the CHRIS Counseling Center to provide mental health and substance abuse treatment services to the community at large and pursued specialized training in trauma, substance abuse treatment and play therapy.
2008
Pursued specialized training in Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy & Trauma Informed Care.
2009
Received contract from the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities to be one of four statewide providers for the Community Based Alternatives for Youth (CBAY) demonstration pilot.
2010
Created the CHRIS Training Institute for other indiindustry professionals and organizations seeking quality trainings.
2010 -
2011
Built and opened an EarthCraft Certified apartment complex, Summit Trail, to provide supportive housing to single and parenting youth, ages 17 – 24, who are aging out of foster care or who are homeless. Built and opened the CHRIS Counseling Center & Education Center.