MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2012 Regular Session
To: Rules
By: Senator(s) Kirby, Brown, Browning, Butler (38th), Carmichael, Frazier, Gandy, Hill, Montgomery, Moran, Simmons (12th), Simmons (13th), Watson
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION COMMEMORATING THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF MISSISSIPPI CHILDREN'S HOME SERVICES AND RECOGNIZING EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR CHRISTOPHER CHERNEY FOR HIS SERVICE TO MISSISSIPPI'S CHILDREN AND FAMILIES AND DESIGNATING "MISSISSIPPI CHILDREN'S HOME SERVICES' RECOGNITION DAY" AT THE STATE CAPITOL.
WHEREAS, Mississippi Children's Home Society, CARES Center, Inc., and Mississippi Children's Home Services, Inc., collectively operate under the service mark of Mississippi Children's Home Services; and
WHEREAS, Mississippi Children's Home Services began as a statewide private, nonprofit Home Finding and Adoption Agency, on January 2, 1912, in Meridian, Mississippi, and relocated to Jackson, Mississippi, in 1913; and
WHEREAS, for the first 70 years, Mississippi Children's Home Services responded to the social service needs of Mississippi's children through shelter care, foster care, adoption and maternity services; and
WHEREAS, in the last 30 years, Mississippi Children's Home Services responded aggressively to the emerging social service and behavioral health needs of Mississippi children through a continuum of psychiatric residential care, therapeutic foster care, therapeutic group home care, substance abuse residential and outpatient treatment, crisis shelter care, special education services, comprehensive community-based in-home services, family preservation/reunification services, wraparound services, and peer-to-peer prevention services; and
WHEREAS, throughout its century of service, Mississippi Children's Home Services has consistently and proactively responded to the needs of Mississippi's children and families by creating the:
· State's first home-finding and adoption agency;
· State's first therapeutic group home;
· State's first residential treatment center for chemically dependent youth;
· State's first nonprofit psychiatric residential treatment facility for children and adolescents;
· State's first private, Mississippi-based, statewide program for family preservation and reunification;
· State's first Mississippi-based, statewide in-home, community-based alternative to psychiatric residential treatment; and
WHEREAS, Mississippi Children's Home Services has been recognized as a leader through numerous local, state and national grants and awards to continue its work in providing services to Mississippi's most vulnerable children and families, including local United Ways, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the American Red Cross, the Crittenton Foundation, the Child Welfare League of America and the Kresge Foundation; and
WHEREAS, Mississippi Children's Home Services has been acknowledged for its exceptional leadership through various management awards from the Mississippi Business Journal, Mississippi Center for Nonprofits and the United Way; and
WHEREAS, in its century of service, Mississippi Children's Home Services has touched the lives of hundreds of thousands of children and families from every county in the state; and
WHEREAS, over the course of Mississippi Children's Home Services' history, only five individuals have served as Executive Director, and Christopher M. Cherney has served as the Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer for 33 years; and
WHEREAS, Mississippi Children's Home Services is the state's largest and most comprehensive private, nonprofit provider of social and behavioral health services; and
WHEREAS, Mississippi Children's Home Services and its Board of Directors are committed to a continued partnership with the state's children and families, public and private partners, volunteers, donors and staff to maintain service excellence, produce meaningful outcomes, lead in best practices, and advocate for the ever-changing needs of Mississippi's children and families:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That the Legislature:
(1) Commemorates the 100th Anniversary of Mississippi Children's Home Services and designates January 25, 2012, as "Mississippi Children's Home Services Recognition Day" at the State Capitol;
(2) Commends the Mississippi Children's Home Services' Board of Directors, staff, volunteers, individual donors, and foundation and corporate partners who, over the years, have built the agency, for their unyielding dedication, professionalism, vision, support and consistent passion to improve the lives of children and families;
(3) Commends Christopher M. Cherney for his selfless service to Mississippi Children's Home Services and the State of Mississippi for the unprecedented growth of the organization under his leadership, for the development of a comprehensive array of services throughout the state, and for advocating for the needs of Mississippi's children and families for one-third of a century;
(4) Calls upon a new generation of Mississippians to stand with Mississippi Children's Home Services to serve our most needy children for the next 100 years;
(5) Encourages all Mississippi corporations, foundations and individuals to continue their philanthropic efforts for the betterment of those in need; and
(6) Urges the people of Mississippi to observe the 100th Anniversary of Mississippi Children's Home Services with appropriate ceremonies and activities throughout the year to celebrate a century of success stories.