CARE House Campaign

Each day, 13 children are reported abused or neglected in Montgomery County- 13 children who have to relive their nightmare as they tell their painful story to those who will and need to listen. It’s for the worst of these cases that CARE House exists and it’s for these children that we need to provide a place safe from harm- a place where the smallest voices can be heard and where abused and neglected children can begin to heal.

Changing the child abuse system: See a diagram of before and after child advocacy centers

CARE House is such a place. It is where physically and sexually abused kids only have to tell their painful story once. A multi-disciplinary team of specially trained social workers, doctors, child protection workers, therapists, attorneys, victim advocates and detectives from all law enforcement agencies in Montgomery County work together to ensure these abused kids don’t fall through the cracks. It’s the promise of CARE House, a children’s advocacy center.

CARE House Site Plan

The Need

The current CARE House facility is more than 100 years old, located across the street from Dayton Children’s. Although the facility has a very charming character, it simply can no longer efficiently accommodate the number of children and families that come through its door each day.

Unfortunately, the number of children seen at CARE House keeps growing every year. The 4,797 cases of abuse reported in Montgomery County in 2010 represented a 16.2 percent increase from the previous year.

Click to view CARE House by the numbers

Our Vision

We are embarking on a $2.1 million campaign to build a new children’s advocacy center for Montgomery County. The new CARE house will be located on Valley Street on Dayton Children’s campus. The new center will double its current size and will include:

A charming covered front porch to welcome families
A warm and cozy reception area where kids feel safe
Two sound-proof, child-friendly interview and observation rooms for forensic interviews
State-of-the-art recording equipment to capture a child’s story
An inviting kitchen filled with snacks and juice boxes for every child
And much more! Download the campaign brochure to find out what else the new facility will include!

Ways to Give

Your tax-deductible gift will keep the promise to our kids that there will be a place where they can be safely heard. Pledges can be paid over a three-year period and may be paid in cash, securities or other personal property.

Because Dayton Children’s is the fiscal agent for CARE House, please make checks payable to "Dayton Children’s” and write “CARE House Campaign” in the memo section. You can also give online and designate CARE House campaign.

Gifts of $1,000 or more will be recognized on our donor wall. Naming opportunities are also available.

We hope you will consider helping us build this new center- a promise to all children in our community that we will provide the collaborative care they need.

Please contact the development department at Dayton Children's with any questions. 937-641-3405

CARE House Campaign Committee

Mathias Heck, Jr., Campaign Chair
Deb Armanini
Elaine Bettman
Gayle Bullard
Anne Dettmer
John Ey
Angela Frydman
Vicki Giambrone - VP for marketing, development and external relations
Leslie Keller-Biehl
Libby Nicholson - Director, CARE House
Jena Pado -Director of development
Gary Peterson, MD
Nancy Peterson
Beth Redden - Director of Major Gifts
Linda Reed
Jenni Roer
Patti Schear
Lori Vavul-Roediger, MD

Be sure to follow all campaign happenings on the CARE House Facebook page

every kid counts blog

Visit blog.childrensdayton.org to join in the conversation with our experts on the latest trends related to parenting and keeping kids healthy and safe!

Safety on the go

Sign up for kids health and parenting tips in your inbox!

Finding trusted child health and safety information doesn't have to be hard. eGrowing Together offers the latest health, safety and parenting information from our experts delivered to your inbox every month.