(HOUSTON) — Hundreds of supporters and friends celebrated the work of DePelchin Children’s Center on April 26 at DePelchin’s annual Families for Kids luncheon. The event raised more thabn $360,000 for the services and programs that DePelchin provides to ensure children are part of safe and loving homes.

The luncheon honored Baker Botts L.L.P. with the Kezia Payne DePelchin Award, which is named for the woman who founded DePelchin in Houston in 1892 when she discovered three babies on her doorstep and opened what she called a “faith home” for the children. When she died suddenly the next year, the faith home she established was at risk of being lost until some of Houston’s most notable women — including Alice Graham Baker, wife of Captain James A. Baker — vowed to carry on the mission. At Mrs. Baker’s request, Captain Baker organized and secured a Charter of Incorporation to formally continue the mission started by Ms. DePelchin, and what was then known as the DePelchin Faith Home Association would become Baker Botts’ longest-tenured pro bono client.

Baker Botts lawyers have served on the DePelchin Board throughout the organization’s history, and some of the most recognized members of the firm have provided pro bono services to DePelchin.

“In my twelve years at DePelchin, I’ve had the opportunity to work alongside Baker Botts partners and staff members, and their dedication to our children and families has been unmistakable,” said DePelchin CEO Jenifer Jarriel. “Everything they do for DePelchin is because they share our vision for a world in which all children are safe and healthy.”

The award was accepted by Baker Botts Partners Scott Janoe, who sits on the DePelchin Board of Directors, and Keri Brown, who sits on the Board of the Foundation for DePelchin Children’s Center.

Sally McDonald of Fox 26, who hosts the station’s “Fox Finding Families” segment that features children hoping to find adoptive homes, emceed the luncheon. The featured speaker was Dr. John “Push” Gaines, a former at-risk foster youth turned youth advocate, author, college football champion and motivational speaker.

Cecily and Rick Burleson served as Chairs of this year’s luncheon.

Money raised at the Families for Children event supports an array of DePelchin services, including maltreatment-prevention programs, family preservation, foster care and adoption, and residential treatment. Last year, 769 children were cared for in foster homes, 140 families were licensed to provide foster care, and 128 children were adopted through DePelchin.

DePelchin recently had the chance to explain our work and provide the public with more information about preventing child abuse on Houston Matters, a radio show and podcast produced by Houston Public Media.

DePelchin Senior Vice President and COO Jesse Booher joined host Craig Cohen on the April 24 edition of Houston Matters to discuss Child Abuse Prevention Month. They talked about ways that individuals, families and organizations can help to keep families safe. Booher discussed the range of prevention programs and other services that DePelchin provides in the Houston area.

“We’re a full continuum provider, so in our prevention programs, we meet with families where there is no designation of abuse and neglect, where families might need just a little bit of support, some skill building, counseling, and things to wrap around them,” Booher said. “We do also work with families who are involved with Child Protective Services, sort of the next step along that continuum, and then we have very robust foster care and adoption programs. So when the most serious types of abuse and neglect have occurred, we have families and staff who are willing and able to step in and help heal that trauma — not just the child’s trauma, but the family’s trauma as well.”

The show began with a focus on how, during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a sharp reduction in the number of suspected cases of child maltreatment that were reported. Those numbers bounced back in 2021 and 2022 as students returned to school and began to see medical providers more frequently. The groups who most commonly report abuse and neglect are teachers, law enforcement, and medical professionals.

Booher also emphasized the importance of anyone who suspects a child is being abused or neglected calling the Texas Abuse Hotline at 1-800-252-5400. He noted that the people who take those calls at the hotlines are well-trained professionals who can often determine whether further investigation is warranted without a process that is too invasive for the family.

“If something doesn’t sit right in your gut — if you have a question or a concern — it’s OK to make that phone call,” Booher said.

You can listen to the full interview at this link. The interview with Booher begins at about the 8:10 mark.

In order to raise awareness of Child Abuse Prevention Month and the need to keep children and families safe, DePelchin Children’s Center has created a garden of blue pinwheels that will be on display in Discovery Green Park until April 17.

Each of the 5,622 petals on the blue pinwheels in the display represents a victim of child abuse or neglect in Harris County last year. Organizations throughout the country use the color blue to raise awareness of Child Abuse Prevention Month in April.

DePelchin President and CEO Jenifer Jarriel and other members of the organization’s staff were joined by local Child Protective Services staff, including CPS Regional Director Leshia Fisher, to set up the display on Monday.

“We hope this display will raise awareness among visitors to Discovery Green and inspire them to think about the importance of keeping children safe here in our community,” Jarriel said. “The number of pinwheels displayed reminds us of the considerable need for services and resources that create and sustain healthy families.”

DePelchin Children’s Center has served children and families in Houston since 1892. Today, the organization uses a range of programs and service to prevent of child maltreatment. DePelchin’s programs that focus on prevention of abuse and neglect include:

• Counseling services to support children and parents. Clinicians help DePelchin clients facing any number of mental health issues, from substance abuse to anxiety to depression.

• Parenting classes. These programs help equip parents with the strategies and approaches they need to maintain loving, caring homes for their children. An example of this is ParentingHelp, a prevention program that works one-on-one with parents and caregivers to create protective factors for their family while giving them a look at why children misbehave, how to get children to behave, what to do when children misbehave and how to parent positively in real-world, everyday situations. Some DePelchin parenting programs focus specifically on fathers and their unique roles in their children’s lives.

• The DePelchin Family Resource Center in the Spring Branch area of Houston. This is a one-stop shop for families seeking a variety of services. Families who visit the center can, for example, sign up for parenting or counseling services or learn about other available forms of support from DePelchin and other organizations.

DePelchin is also an accredited foster care and adoption agency that connects children in need of care with families. Sometimes children enter foster care and are able to reunite with their birth families, while other times their foster families go through the process of adopting them.

“Protecting children is at the heart of our work,” Jarriel said. “The generosity of our supporters and volunteers and the tremendous love and kindness of our DePelchin families make it possible for us to offer so many programs and services that help keep children safe.”