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Center for Human Services 

Description

Center for Human Services (CHS) is a private, nonprofit agency whose mission is to strengthen the community through counseling, education, and support to children, youth, adults, and families. We have been a valuable resource to the community since 1970.

At CHS we believe that the most critical element for strengthening a community is to strengthen its members and their families through preventive and responsive programs. We strive to offer programs that are strengths-based, family-focused, client-centered, culturally competent, and integrated.

One of the greatest strengths of CHS is its ability to provide a continuum of holistic, professional services. We are actively committed to reaching all people in need of service, and to creating an environment that values and respects the cultural diversity of our communities.

 

Mission Statement
The mission of the Center for Human Services is to strengthen the community through counseling, education, and support to children, youth, and families.
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Center for Human Services
17018 15th Ave NE 
Shoreline 
WA
98155-5126 
(206) 362-7282 

Beratta Gomillion 
Executive Director 

Programs

Center for Human Services Programs

Family Support centers offer community, family, and child development activities at several locations. We offer a variety of programming including youth development activities; Kaleidoscope Play and Learn groups provide a welcoming place where caregivers and children can play, create, and learn; Head Start; Northwest Special Families; emergency food programs and family and community events.

Our Substance Abuse Prevention, Intervention, and Treatment Program works to reduce/eliminate substance abuse within our community. Our specialists provide screening, assessments, alcohol drug education classes, and Intensive Outpatient and Outpatient treatments to youth and adults. We partner with local schools to provide prevention & intervention services, assessments, and education classes.

Our Family Counseling Program provides client-centered mental health services through a strengths-based, family-centered approach, using an array of strategies to support clients achieving their goals. Our participants may be experiencing difficulties in their lives, such as depression, anxiety, trauma, grief and loss, ADD/ADHD, divorce and separations, or other family disruptions and transitions. We tailor our services to the strengths and needs of each individual. We also offer Infant Mental Health services, helping young families build healthy parenting relationships from the start.

Recent Successes and Current Challenges

Recently Center for Human Services was accredited for a period of three years for our Alcohol and Other Drugs/Addiction Assessment and Referral, Court Treatment, Intensive Outpatient, Outpatient Treatment programs. This is the first accreditation that the international accrediting body, CARF, has awarded to CHS.

By pursuing and achieving accreditation, Center for Human Services has demonstrated that we meet international standards for quality and are committed to pursuing excellence. This accreditation decision represents the highest level of accreditation that can be awarded to an organization and shows our organization’s substantial conformance to the CARF standards. An organization receiving a Three-Year Accreditation has put itself through a rigorous peer review process. It has demonstrated to a team of surveyors during an on-site visit its commitment to offering programs and services that are measurable, accountable, and of the highest quality.

We believe our organization is a valuable asset, and our CARF accreditation underscores our commitment to the community we serve. CHS is a vital part of your community, widely recognized as a leader in social services. At a time when requests for services at CHS have risen significantly, our role is ever more critical. Reaching over 10,000 individuals annually, there are many others in need of our services. We turn to our community for support in helping us both sustain and grow programming necessary to serve those most in need. 

Evaluation


Center for Human Services provides a variety of services including substance abuse prevention, family counseling and also runs family support centers. They provide services to individuals and families primarily in North King County. 50% o f those served are people of color and nearly all receiving services are low or very low income.

Proven Success
They are very successful in substance abuse treatment and prevention via a spectrum of outpatient services for youth and adults. Completion of treatment is a primary indicator for on-going sobriety for substance abuse clients. Center for Human Services' completion rate for adult clients is 58% compared to the state's 45.2% completion rate and King County's completion rate of 41.9%. For youth, their completion rate is 75% while the state's rate is 42% and the county's 54.2%.

Use of Best Practices
Center for Human Services has a commitment to using evidenced based practices whenever possible, ensuring that the services they are providing are based on models that have been empirically tested for efficacy. Evidenced based practices are used throughout the various service areas of the agency.

Accessibility and Cultural Competency
Many of their clients are immigrants and refugees and have accessibility issues such as language barriers, culture barriers and lack of knowledge about publicly funded healthcare programs and have difficulty navigating access. Many of their services are provided in schools and other community places where clients are already present to ensure services are as accessible as possible.

They are seeing an increase in refugee and immigrants coming to them for assistance and their clients collectively speak 33 languages. They have worked to diversify their staff to ensure they have staff that are from similar cultural backgrounds and speak the same language as their clients. Currently their staff speak a total of 20 languages. In order to better serve refugee and immigrant clients they have forged more and deeper partnerships with other nonprofits and schools who are also serving these populations.

Financial Health
CHS has faced some significant cuts in funding. They have anticipated the loss of funding and took steps to mitigate the situation before it became a crisis. They continue to be as efficient as possible, increase their collaborative efforts and control spending. They are operating their current fiscal year and the next fiscal year with a planned deficit as they work to respond to the needs of clients in this economic environment.

Grant History with The Seattle Foundation:

Grants Awarded through The Seattle Foundation Grantmaking Program:

DateAmountPurpose
12/10/2012 $20,000.00provide general operating support.
12/10/2010 $25,000.00support general operating expenses.
6/10/2008 $40,000.00support general operating expenses.
6/21/2006 $40,000.00support general operating expenses.
6/17/2004 $35,000.00support general operating expenses.

Financials

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