The Baby Fold Welcomes New Program Director!
Tony Wilson has joined The Baby Fold team as the new Director of Family and Community Services upon the retirement of the former program director, Karen Major. Building upon Karen's successful 21-year legacy, Mr. Wilson has already begun the important work of enhancing our Foster Care, Intact Family, Healthy Start, and Community Schools programs. Tony will also be working to build new initiatives that support parents and families. His depth of experience in the field of child welfare has equipped and inspired him to join our work. Tony's commitment to the health and well-being of children and families is reflected in how he has described himself. "I consider myself to be highly collaborative in my approach. I also try to exhibit outstanding, level-headed, data-driven, unbiased leadership in all situations." The Baby Fold is delighted to have Mr. Wilson with us! 
Adoption Support that Lasts
Recently a mother, who had used The Baby Fold's adoption services 10 years ago, was in the area and spontaneously dropped by one of our offices. She felt compelled to thank someone for the help she had received a decade ago. Susan adopted Leigh from China when she was 8 years old. Leigh was understandably shy, reticent to ask for help, or even make eye contact. Now 18 years old, Leigh is a confident young woman who embraces life. She is able to give and receive help, knows her strengths and challenges, and is ready for a bright future. With a warm smile and wave goodbye, Susan said again, "I just had to stop by and say thank you, Baby Fold. You helped our family SO much!"
From Laundry to Work Readiness
Work readiness is critical to long-term success. Finding a job, career, or life skill does not just happen without planning. Our vocational education staff takes the time to teach job skills and look for strength areas in each student. Sometimes this assessment of talents can be neglected in the rush to find employment. For this reason, we start conversations about practical skills, from laundry and cooking to how to interview for a job, to computer training with our young teens. More than, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" We explore the youth's natural abilities and help them to discover what may be the right fit for them by watching and listening to their reactions to each vocational opportunity. Pictured are frames from a 'virtual laundry room' video, created by a Hammitt Junior-Senior High School teacher, Herbert Smyer, to help students learn important life skills.
Black History Celebrated
Celebrate, Elevate, Educate! The Baby Fold is celebrating Black History Month throughout the month of February and we invite you to join us! Take a moment to visit our website HERE to find photos, facts, quotes, and links to virtual events - all reflecting on and showcasing Black excellence in its many forms. Since 1976, every American president has designated February as Black History Month and endorsed a specific theme. The 2021 theme is, "Black Family: Representation, Identity, and Diversity". The ideas for the site were compiled by The Baby Fold staff to help educate and inform the community, the staff, and our clients alike as we work to learn and grow, together. 
Held to the Highest Standards
The Baby Fold insists on providing the highest level of care to our children and families. We continually seek outside accreditation to ensure exceptionalism within our programs. Recently, The Baby Fold was re-accredited by the Council on Accreditation (COA).

On a three-year cycle, we invite this organization in to put us under a microscope and inspect our programs, our accounting, our processes, and our policies. The accreditors look closely at volumes of records and results. They also speak to our clients and community members to get the full picture of our performance. The Baby Fold is proud to have been re-accredited with high praise for our level of quality and expertise! Special thanks to our Quality Improvement leaders, Deb Armstrong and Lara Raper who compiled over 1000 documents for inspection over the last year!
New LOVE BOLDLY Initiative Inspires Community Kindness
Valentine's Day started the official kick-off of our LOVE BOLDLY initiative! Throughout February and March, we will be challenging ourselves to demonstrate unconditional 'Over-the-Top" acts of LOVE for our clients, our staff, and our community. Why? We love our community and we know the warmth of the love can help melt away the strain of even the coldest winter and deliver us safely into the renewal of Spring. Watch our social media pages to see how we will be showing love for our community, boldly, and share with us how you will do the same. Take a picture of your acts of kindness toward others and tell us your stories to help us bring smiles, hope, and blessings into your community. Share stories and pictures with us at publicrelations@thebabyfold.org.