History

1898

On April 18, 1898, the State of Illinois issued a Not-for-Profit Charter to the Gads Hill Social Settlement

The Gad’s Hill Encampment, a “tent city” overlooking Lake Michigan on the county line was formed by North Shore women, giving hundreds of women and children from the inner city a healthy-living experience for a period of two weeks.

1904

First large benefit, “County Fair” was held on the camp grounds.  Permanent kitchen and dining buildings were erected with the proceeds.

1906

The organization formally incorporated as an Illinois not-for-profit under on May 16, 1906 the name of Gad’s Hill Encampment Association.  Child welfare was in its infancy during this era of expansion for Arden Shore.

1907

Gad’s Hill Encampment Association purchased a permanent site of 24 acres on Lake Michigan, one mile north of Lake Bluff at a cost of $17,840

1908

Buildings from old site were moved by cutting them into sections and hauling them to Lake Bluff in hayracks.  Camp was opened on the new grounds July 2 with 275 guests.

1913

On January 25, 1913 the agency name was change to Arden Shore Association

1919

Beginning of a winter camp for 125 boys aged 14 to 17 who were refused work permits because of undernourishment.  In 13 weeks, the average boy gained 12 pounds.

1921

A Chicago Committee was formed and joined the other suburban associations in fund-raising efforts to support the camp.

1926

First Ball was held raising $14,000.  The Army-Navy game was held in Chicago so a decision was made to hold a ball that night.  Invitations went to 200 Midshipmen and Cadets and the success set a precedent for an annual November Ball until the Depression Years.

1933 – 1935

The scope of child welfare expanded as an outcome of the Great Depression.  Whereas maternal and child health had been the focus of earlier years, services were now aimed at homeless, dependent and neglected children in danger of delinquency.

1941

Arden Shore Association is recipient of the Gads Hills encampment in Glencoe and becomes the site for an organization serving children and families in the developing northern suburbs.

1948

Times no longer had need for summer camp.  Arden Shore became a year-round camp for needy and dependent boys, with girls in attendance only in the summer.  The unheated cabins were deemed too cold for the girls in winter.

1950

Administration building and three dormitories were built.

1952

A new kitchen and dining room facilities were erected.

This was the first year of the Annual Arden Shore Bazaar which was to become another fund-raising tradition

1953

Child welfare laws became more specific and longer term care was considered the proper response to poverty and family disintegration.  Arden Shore’s program added a strong educational component and evolved to focus on the “gifted boy” who was unable to cope and flourish in his own home environment.

1959

An Arden Shore Men’s Board was established to act in an advisory capacity to the Women’s Board.  The Men’s Board became active in fundraising, the scholarship program, major building and ground contract negotiations and other legal matters.  They also generously provided tickets for athletic and sports events and other recreational outings for the boys.

1960

Rosenthal School was opened, providing on-campus transitional elementary school.

1964

A further evolution of program shifted focus from the gifted boy to emotionally and behaviorally disturbed boys.

1972

Annual Bazaar moved off-campus for the first time in 20 years.  Its overwhelming popularity drew crowds that could no longer be accommodated on campus grounds.

1973

“Positive Peer Culture”, an entirely new concept in treating behaviorally disturbed adolescents, was introduced to address a major service gap.

1974

The Rosenthal School fell under the guidance of the North Suburban Special Education District and the on-campus educational program for Arden Shore boys and NSSED students began.

1976

Kendall Hall educational facility was built, and Arden Shore reached full capacity with 48 boys receiving treatment and education.

1979

The Boys’ Group Home was purchased in North Chicago, to meet the needs for a transitional program preparing the boys ready to leave the Kendall program for independence.  This program continues today.

1983

Arden Shore staffed the Girls’ Group Home in Highland Park.  Here, adolescent girls were offered education through the Northern Suburban Special Education District as well as transitional living services.

1992

On April 20, 1992 Arden Shore Association changed its name to Arden Shore Child and Family Services to reflect its unique focus on the child as part of a family constellation.

The Residential Diagnostic Center opened, responding to the enormous societal and economic changes that had radically altered the types of children entering the child welfare system.  Having suffered severe abuse and/or neglect, these children required specialized services in a therapeutic environment.

The Summer Fun Program, a day camp for children who were not able to attend traditional summer camps was instituted.

1993

The Relative Foster Care Program, the first non-residential program in the organization’s history, was inaugurated to serve children removed from their birth families due to abuse and neglect.

1995

The Arden Shore campus was sold, and entered into a lease agreement with the buyer while looking for new property.

Arden Shore’s In-Home Counseling Program was rolled out — the only program of its kind in Lake County.

1997

The Lake Bluff and Lake Villa Group Homes opened, permitting Arden Shore to vacate the lake-front campus property.

1998

Arden Shore moved the administrative offices to Vernon Hills.

Arden Shore celebrates its centennial.

A New Century Begins | 1999

Lake Bluff Group Home property sold.

Arden Shore hired Dr. Dora E. Maya as its President & CEO to lead the agency second century of services. Dr Maya is the first Latina in the agency’s history to hold this position.

2000

Lake Villa Diagnostic Group Home residents moved from this leased property to a new home purchased in Waukegan.

2001

Arden Shore is accredited by the Council on Accreditation, attesting that Arden Shore meets the highest national best-practice standards and is delivering quality services to the children, youth and families it serves.

2002

Arden Shore introduces services to Latino families in Lake County.

2003

Arden Shore merges with Family Services of North Lake County and becomes a United Way funded agency.  The Agency adds two more sites with offices located in Waukegan and Lake Villa.

Arden Shore introduces the Intact Family Services program.  It is the Agency’s first program to provide bi-lingual (English/Spanish) services to families in Lake County.

2004

Arden Shore contracts with the Department of Children and Family Services to provide bilingual therapeutic case management in a linguistic appropriate, culturally sensitive service milieu for Latino children in substitute care in Cook and/or Lake County, thus initiating the Burgos program.

2005

Arden Shore is reaccredited by the Council on Accreditation.

Arden Shore introduces the ¡L.I.S.T.O.! program.  The Latino Intervention Services and Therapeutic Outreach program addresses the needs of Latino children and adolescents with severe emotional disturbances and their families.

2006

Arden Shore receives its first funding ever from the Department of Public Health to provide community health and prevention services to the Latino community.

2007

Arden shore introduces the Health Education and Prevention Center.

Due to lack of governing founding the agency is force to close the !L.I.S.T.O.! program.

2008

Arden Shore is recognized by DCFS for its Foster Parent Implementation Plan by receiving the first ever “Foster Parent Involvement” award.

2009

Arden Shore is reaccredited by the Council on Accreditation

2010

Arden Shore contracts with the Department of Children and Family Services to provide Differential Response (DR) bilingual services in the DCFS Regional Northern Area.

2011

Arden Shore received a grant from the Lake County Health Foundation to create a “Mental Health Collaborative” partnership between the agency and other providers in Lake County including:  Nicasa, YWCA, Lake County Behavioral Health Department and Northwestern University.

2012

Arden Shore send 8 youth to Germany to the first ever USA youth Exchange between the city of Hamburg and the city of Waukegan. The youth chosen graduate successfully from the “Truancy Prevention Project”.

2013

Arden Shore hosted 8 youth and 3 adult supervisors from Hamburg, Germany as part of year 2 of the cultural Youth Exchange.

Arden Shore is re-accredited by the Council on Accreditation.

2014

Arden Shore created the Behavioral Health and Therapeutic Support Services Division. The agency began providing therapy services to Medicaid clients in the community as part of the Affordable Care Act in addition to its DCFS clients.

2015

Arden Shore expanded the scope of the Behavioral Health Services program by securing seven Managed Care Organization contracts to provide counseling to community Medicaid consumers. The agency obtained their DASA/SUPR license in 2015, expanding client services to include substance use disorder intervention service provision.

2016

Arden Shore’s Administration and Board of Directors embraced the National Reframing Initiative objective to involve all community stakeholders in understanding and supporting the services agencies like Arden Shore provide. As part of this initiative, the agency has created communications and literature about its services and made it available to the community at-large to help them understand the need for services in the community. The agency secured its first commercial contract to provide counseling services for the Behavioral Health Services program. Arden Shore refurbished the second floor of its Waukegan office, to accommodate growth of the agency’s Intact and Foster Care programs.

2017

Arden Shore is re-accredited by the Council on Accreditation.

2018

Arden Shore’s Board of Directors participated in a Strategic Planning Board Retreat, shifting the focus of the Board from solely governance to also include fundraising/development. Arden Shore formalized its Internship Counseling Program, establishing itself as one of the premier providers of bilingual counseling services for Medicaid clients in the community. Arden Shore received a Community Block Grant to update some of the agency’s infrastructure, including the agency office and group home.

2019

With multiple closures of other child welfare programs, Arden Shore becomes the primary traditional foster care organization serving the area. From 2014 to 2019, the agency’s Intact program grew 120% and its Foster Care program grew 90%. The organization remains committed to service accessibility as the only bilingual provider of DCFS services in Lake County and one of few behavioral health providers that accepts Medicaid and offers therapeutic services in English and Spanish.

2020

The economic shifts spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic challenged employers of essential workers across the industry. In response, Arden Shore engaged philanthropic partners to co-invest in the retention of professional and experienced human service providers to prevent service disruption.

In spite of the significant challenges to service during the pandemic, the Foster Care Program exceeded the goal set by DCFS for children in foster care to achieve permanent placement and Arden Shore was the number one agency in Illinois for permanency achievement.

2021

Arden Shore recruited and licensed the highest percentage of relatives in the region for kinship foster care, later recognized by the Department of Child and Family Services. Kinship care helps maintain family connections and cultural traditions that can minimize the trauma of family separation.

Arden Shore prioritizes kinship, identifies connections rather than just placement options, and maintains community ties to make a difference in the lives of children and youth. With the organization’s outstanding performance in kinship licensing, Arden Shore was invited to share its strategies with peer organizations–working to shift the foster care system to one that truly supports families.

2022

With all programs operating at capacity, Arden Shore shifts to focus exclusively on community-based work with closure of residential group home and expansion of the behavioral health team. Secured grant funding to support a new, Spanish-speaking behavioral health counselor position, increasing Arden Shore’s capacity to provide counseling to the Spanish-speaking community regardless of insurance status or ability to pay, addressing the high demand for mental health support in Lake County.

2023

Arden Shore Child and Family Services celebrates its 125^th anniversary, recognized by the City of Waukegan with an honorary street naming ceremony and a vast mural featured on the Wintrust Mural Building in Chicago.