DePelchin Children's Center
Encyclopedia
DePelchin Children’s Center, founded in 1892 in Houston, Texas, is a nonprofit provider of children’s mental health, prevention and early intervention, and child welfare services. DePelchin helps more than 20,000 children and their families each year through a range of services including counseling, psychiatry, residential treatment, at-risk programs, and parent education in addition to foster care and adoption. As one of the largest centers of its kind in Houston, DePelchin coordinates over thirty different programs for children and their families at schools, community sites, and in-home as well as at DePelchin's main Memorial campus and five satellite offices. The center continues to be recognized at the state and federal level for cutting-edge programs, including a federal grant as a leading child trauma expert in Texas.
The former campus for DePelchin Children’s Center at 2700 Albany Street is designated as a City of Houston Landmark and Texas Historic Landmark
. It is also listed in the National Register of Historic Places
.
The institution, which was founded by Kezia Payne DePelchin primarily as an orphanage for young children, quickly grew to include other services. Since its inception in 1892, DePelchin Children’s Center has expanded its facilities and operations in order to offer even more services to the families of Houston.
of Portugal on July 23, 1828, to Catherine and Abraham Payne. However, her tombstone at Forest Park Cemetery in Houston states that she was born in 1831. Kezia had one brother, Benjamin, and three sisters, Frances, Sarah, and Catherine. After the elder Catherine died in 1833, Abraham decided to move his family to America. In late 1836, Hannah Bainton, the children’s governess, accompanied the children during their move to the United States while Abraham stayed behind in Madeira to complete unfinished business. The family ultimately found its way to Galveston, Texas
, in 1837. A yellow fever
outbreak swept through Galveston in 1839 soon after Abraham arrived. Prior to Abraham's arrival, Sarah and Frances had already returned to Madeira to stay with other relatives. The remaining family was afflicted with the fever; Kezia, Hannah, and Abraham were the only members of the family to survive the outbreak. Though he initially survived, Abraham was severely weakened by the illness and, as an indirect result of the fever, died June 11, 1840.
In the late summer of 1841, Kezia and Hannah moved to Houston to make a fresh start. During her first years in Houston, Kezia worked as a music teacher. She would be hired in 1877 to teach in Houston’s first public schools. On August 23, 1862, Kezia Payne married a musician, Adolf DePelchin. Within a year, Kezia could not endure Adolf’s financial recklessness any longer and the two parted ways; however, they never legally divorced. With her acquired immunity to yellow fever, Kezia Payne DePelchin nursed the victims of the disease during the epidemics that struck Houston and also traveled to aid yellow fever victims in cities as far away as Memphis, Tennessee
, and Senatobia, Mississippi
, between 1878 and 1879.
When DePelchin returned to Houston, she became the first female matron of Bayland Orphans’ Home for Boys, which cared for young boys between the ages of six and twelve. In 1892, when DePelchin was approached with three orphan boys too young to be taken in by Bayland, she asked her friend Agnes Perry to open up a room in her house to care for the three boys. This small act effectively created the institution today known as DePelchin Children’s Center. The number of children being taken in by DePelchin grew, and the institution moved to larger buildings to accommodate the additional children. Within a year of founding her Faith Home, DePelchin died on January 13, 1893, at the age of 64, from a bout of pneumonia
she contracted while walking the five miles (8 km) between Bayland Orphans’ Home and her Faith Home. DePelchin often opted for this walk instead of riding a carriage in order to save a nickel that could be spent on the children. To carry on her work, DePelchin’s friends and family secured a charter on March 24, 1893, to incorporate DePelchin Faith Home officially. When asked what DePelchin would call her institution, she responded, "I suppose I will have to call it my 'faith home.' I'm entirely dependent on my faith in God and the good people of Houston to support it."
1899: Because of a growing number of children in its care, the DePelchin Faith Home moves to a larger building on the corner of Chenevert and Pierce Streets.
1913: An even larger building is constructed at 2700 Albany Street to accommodate the growing number of children.
1928: The institution’s charter is renewed and its name changes to "DePelchin Faith Home and Children’s Bureau" in order to reflect the enlarged scope of the former Faith Home. The agency’s new charter extends its field of services to include the general care of children, including foster home service
, adoption
, and protective work.
1934: A 50 acres (202,343 m²) farm near Spring, Texas, is acquired for use as a summer camp.
1937: Partially with the help of the Works Progress Administration
(WPA), construction on a 12 acres (48,562.3 m²) lot at 100 Sandman Street begins. This site, though now larger, still serves as DePelchin’s main campus.
1983: The name is changed from "DePelchin Faith Home and Children’s Bureau" to "DePelchin Children’s Center," the name the organization still carries today, and one that better reflects its expanded services. The institution scales back its number of beds while expanding in other areas such as counseling
, post-adoption services, maternity care, parent-preparation, and special education
.
2002: Following a successful capital campaign, DePelchin Children's Center moves into a large, new facility with the address of 4950 Memorial Drive, where the facility occupies the same physical lot as before.
. This incarnation of Faith Home features an open arcade on the bottom story with Doric
columns to support a classical cornice
; the structure was modeled after an Italianate
villa, a popular architectural movement in late 19th century America. The design contains characteristics emblematic of the architectural trends of the era such as sleeping porches and a flat roof that projects far out with broad eaves. The National Register of Historic Places recognizes this building for its architectural significance as well as for its importance in social history. The building is also recognized as a City of Houston Landmark and a Texas Historic Landmark.
and was notable for being the first institution of its kind in the South to welcome African-American children in need. The dedication was the result of seven years’ effort on the part of Houston residents, an effort that started after DePelchin took in its first African-American children in 1939.
Eva Burmeister, a respected social worker, praised DePelchin Faith Home and Children’s Bureau as “one of the finest in the country” for its dedicated commitment to helping children of all races and for its unique layout. Similar institutions in the United States at the time typically designed their residence buildings in a dormitory
style, but DePelchin modeled its residence buildings in a cottage layout, meaning that children were housed in several free-standing, small buildings rather than one large building. This arrangement was thought to be more conducive to creating a healthy home environment than was a dormitory-style building.
, a charitable organization that provides help and a home for pregnant teenagers.
1987: On September 22, a temporary emergency shelter for adolescents and teenagers managed by Youth Opportunities Unlimited (YOU) in Richmond, Texas
, is incorporated into DePelchin Children’s Center.
1992: On April 1, DePelchin Children’s Center merges with Houston Child Guidance Center, which represents a major expansion for DePelchin in the field of mental health. The Houston Child Guidance Center, founded by Ima Hogg in 1929, was a pioneer of mental health services because it offered an alternative to hospitalization. Its focus was on family involvement, working with the entire family to mitigate the problem. The organization tried to keep children in their homes to maintain the family network, which it felt to be important for mental health. DePelchin entered the mental health field in 1982 with the establishment of Cullen Bayou Place, named in honor of a $5 million endowment from the Cullen Foundation. The facility functioned as a psychiatric hospital that specialized in caring for children and adolescents.
DePelchin offers comprehensive mental health services including individual and family counseling, psychiatric evaluation and medication management as well as psychological testing. Its team of mental health experts serves children and their families seeking help on issues ranging from ADHD and anger management to severe childhood trauma. In 2009, DePelchin expanded its range of services to offer an autism assessment program that provides evaluation, social skills training for children with autism, and support groups for family members.
DePelchin also offers prevention and early intervention programs to promote healthy families and decrease the future need for more intensive services. This includes services to at-risk youths facing substance abuse, truancy
, and other issues; teen pregnancy prevention; assistance to pregnant and parenting teens; and family education programs to improve parenting skills and decrease risk factors leading to abuse and neglect. These programs are offered throughout the Greater Houston community at schools, community centers, and in homes. DePelchin also offers general parenting classes to strengthen families and help those coping with divorce.
DePelchin's child welfare services encompass foster care, adoption, and post-adoption. In some cases, children who have been removed from their birth homes by Child Protective Services
(CPS) can be reunited with their families. Otherwise, these children are placed in foster care or adoptive homes. DePelchin also provides infant adoption services to birth mothers and fathers desiring to place their unborn or newborn infants into adoptive homes. Post-adoption services include support groups, parent education, 24-hour crisis intervention and access to DePelchin's residential treatment centers, which house children on one of two campuses for specialized, intensive treatment.
DePelchin Children’s Center’s main campus is located at 4950 Memorial Drive. In addition, there are multiple satellite locations throughout the Greater Houston area
, including Stafford
, Baytown
, The Woodlands
, Richmond, and Clear Lake
.
DePelchin contracts with The University of Texas Charter School system to provide on-grounds, state-accredited educational services for the children in residential treatment on the main campus in Houston and in Richmond, Texas.
and First Lady Barbara Bush
1999: Ann G. Trammell
2000: Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter
2001: Pediatrician Dr. Thomas Berry Brazelton
2002: Anne S. Duncan
2003: Doctor Peggy B. Smith
2004: CEO of Kinder Morgan Energy Partners Richard Kinder
and wife Nancy
2005: Catherine and Robert Mosbacher, Jr.
2006: Flo and Bill McGee
2007: Bobbie and John Nau III
, CEO of Silver Eagle Distributors
2008: CEO of Hines Interests Limited Partnership
Jeff Hines and wife Wendy
2009: Jesse H. Jones II
2010: Owners of the Houston Texans
NFL team Janice and Robert McNair
2011: The Honorable James Baker
, III and Susan Garrett Baker
In 1933, DePelchin officially joined the Child Welfare League of America
(CWLA).
After the Houston branch of the Florence Crittenton services switched management to DePelchin Children’s Center in 1982, DePelchin became a formal member of the Florence Crittenton’s Family of Agencies.
An established alliance between DePelchin Children's Center and the Menninger Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at Baylor College of Medicine
provides training opportunities to the child psychiatry residents of the Baylor College of Medicine. Moreover, PhD psychology students rotate through DePelchin, providing counseling for children at outpatient sites and in the Houston residential treatment center.
DePelchin is a member of the Alliance for Children & Families
, a national membership organization that supports education and training for organizations serving children and families, as well as the Texas Alliance for Child and Family Services, an organization that provides nonprofits with advocacy, public policy, and technical assistance.
DePelchin is also licensed as a Child Placing agency and a Child Care agency by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services
(TDFPS). This state agency is charged with the welfare and protection of children and is responsible for issuing licenses to organizations that permit them to operate residential treatment facilities, provide foster care, and place children in adoptive homes.
The former campus for DePelchin Children’s Center at 2700 Albany Street is designated as a City of Houston Landmark and Texas Historic Landmark
Texas Historical Commission
The Texas Historical Commission is an agency dedicated to historic preservation within the state of Texas. It administers the National Register of Historic Places for sites in Texas....
. It is also listed in the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.
The institution, which was founded by Kezia Payne DePelchin primarily as an orphanage for young children, quickly grew to include other services. Since its inception in 1892, DePelchin Children’s Center has expanded its facilities and operations in order to offer even more services to the families of Houston.
Founder
The institution today known as DePelchin Children’s Center was founded by Kezia Payne DePelchin in 1892. DePelchin was born in the Madeira IslandsMadeira
Madeira is a Portuguese archipelago that lies between and , just under 400 km north of Tenerife, Canary Islands, in the north Atlantic Ocean and an outermost region of the European Union...
of Portugal on July 23, 1828, to Catherine and Abraham Payne. However, her tombstone at Forest Park Cemetery in Houston states that she was born in 1831. Kezia had one brother, Benjamin, and three sisters, Frances, Sarah, and Catherine. After the elder Catherine died in 1833, Abraham decided to move his family to America. In late 1836, Hannah Bainton, the children’s governess, accompanied the children during their move to the United States while Abraham stayed behind in Madeira to complete unfinished business. The family ultimately found its way to Galveston, Texas
Galveston, Texas
Galveston is a coastal city located on Galveston Island in the U.S. state of Texas. , the city had a total population of 47,743 within an area of...
, in 1837. A yellow fever
Yellow fever
Yellow fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic disease. The virus is a 40 to 50 nm enveloped RNA virus with positive sense of the Flaviviridae family....
outbreak swept through Galveston in 1839 soon after Abraham arrived. Prior to Abraham's arrival, Sarah and Frances had already returned to Madeira to stay with other relatives. The remaining family was afflicted with the fever; Kezia, Hannah, and Abraham were the only members of the family to survive the outbreak. Though he initially survived, Abraham was severely weakened by the illness and, as an indirect result of the fever, died June 11, 1840.
In the late summer of 1841, Kezia and Hannah moved to Houston to make a fresh start. During her first years in Houston, Kezia worked as a music teacher. She would be hired in 1877 to teach in Houston’s first public schools. On August 23, 1862, Kezia Payne married a musician, Adolf DePelchin. Within a year, Kezia could not endure Adolf’s financial recklessness any longer and the two parted ways; however, they never legally divorced. With her acquired immunity to yellow fever, Kezia Payne DePelchin nursed the victims of the disease during the epidemics that struck Houston and also traveled to aid yellow fever victims in cities as far away as Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
, and Senatobia, Mississippi
Senatobia, Mississippi
Senatobia is a city in and the county seat of Tate County, Mississippi, United States, and is the 15th largest municipality in the Memphis Metropolitan Area. The population was 8,165 at the 2010 census....
, between 1878 and 1879.
When DePelchin returned to Houston, she became the first female matron of Bayland Orphans’ Home for Boys, which cared for young boys between the ages of six and twelve. In 1892, when DePelchin was approached with three orphan boys too young to be taken in by Bayland, she asked her friend Agnes Perry to open up a room in her house to care for the three boys. This small act effectively created the institution today known as DePelchin Children’s Center. The number of children being taken in by DePelchin grew, and the institution moved to larger buildings to accommodate the additional children. Within a year of founding her Faith Home, DePelchin died on January 13, 1893, at the age of 64, from a bout of pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
she contracted while walking the five miles (8 km) between Bayland Orphans’ Home and her Faith Home. DePelchin often opted for this walk instead of riding a carriage in order to save a nickel that could be spent on the children. To carry on her work, DePelchin’s friends and family secured a charter on March 24, 1893, to incorporate DePelchin Faith Home officially. When asked what DePelchin would call her institution, she responded, "I suppose I will have to call it my 'faith home.' I'm entirely dependent on my faith in God and the good people of Houston to support it."
Name and address changes
1892: DePelchin dubs 2500 Washington Avenue, the address of Agnes Perry’s house, her “faith home.” On March 24, 1893, after DePelchin’s death, a charter is secured so that her work can be continued.1899: Because of a growing number of children in its care, the DePelchin Faith Home moves to a larger building on the corner of Chenevert and Pierce Streets.
1913: An even larger building is constructed at 2700 Albany Street to accommodate the growing number of children.
1928: The institution’s charter is renewed and its name changes to "DePelchin Faith Home and Children’s Bureau" in order to reflect the enlarged scope of the former Faith Home. The agency’s new charter extends its field of services to include the general care of children, including foster home service
Foster care
Foster care is the term used for a system in which a minor who has been made a ward is placed in the private home of a state certified caregiver referred to as a "foster parent"....
, adoption
Adoption
Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting for another and, in so doing, permanently transfers all rights and responsibilities from the original parent or parents...
, and protective work.
1934: A 50 acres (202,343 m²) farm near Spring, Texas, is acquired for use as a summer camp.
1937: Partially with the help of the Works Progress Administration
Works Progress Administration
The Works Progress Administration was the largest and most ambitious New Deal agency, employing millions of unskilled workers to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads, and operated large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects...
(WPA), construction on a 12 acres (48,562.3 m²) lot at 100 Sandman Street begins. This site, though now larger, still serves as DePelchin’s main campus.
1983: The name is changed from "DePelchin Faith Home and Children’s Bureau" to "DePelchin Children’s Center," the name the organization still carries today, and one that better reflects its expanded services. The institution scales back its number of beds while expanding in other areas such as counseling
Counseling psychology
Counseling psychology is a psychological specialty that encompasses research and applied work in several broad domains: counseling process and outcome; supervision and training; career development and counseling; and prevention and health...
, post-adoption services, maternity care, parent-preparation, and special education
Special education
Special education is the education of students with special needs in a way that addresses the students' individual differences and needs. Ideally, this process involves the individually planned and systematically monitored arrangement of teaching procedures, adapted equipment and materials,...
.
2002: Following a successful capital campaign, DePelchin Children's Center moves into a large, new facility with the address of 4950 Memorial Drive, where the facility occupies the same physical lot as before.
Historical recognition
The building at 2700 Albany Street that housed DePelchin Faith Home between 1913 and 1938 was specially designed by architecture firm Mauran & RussellJohn Mauran
John Lawrence Mauran, FAIA was an American architect responsible for many downtown landmarks in St. Louis, Missouri, and also active in Texas.- Life :...
. This incarnation of Faith Home features an open arcade on the bottom story with Doric
Doric order
The Doric order was one of the three orders or organizational systems of ancient Greek or classical architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian.-History:...
columns to support a classical cornice
Cornice
Cornice molding is generally any horizontal decorative molding that crowns any building or furniture element: the cornice over a door or window, for instance, or the cornice around the edge of a pedestal. A simple cornice may be formed just with a crown molding.The function of the projecting...
; the structure was modeled after an Italianate
Italianate architecture
The Italianate style of architecture was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. In the Italianate style, the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian Renaissance architecture, which had served as inspiration for both Palladianism and...
villa, a popular architectural movement in late 19th century America. The design contains characteristics emblematic of the architectural trends of the era such as sleeping porches and a flat roof that projects far out with broad eaves. The National Register of Historic Places recognizes this building for its architectural significance as well as for its importance in social history. The building is also recognized as a City of Houston Landmark and a Texas Historic Landmark.
Negro Child Center
On November 30, 1947, DePelchin Faith Home and Children’s Bureau formally dedicated the opening of its Negro Child Center. The center stood at 1900 Solo Street in Houston's Fifth WardFifth Ward, Houston, Texas
The Fifth Ward is a historical political district and a community of Houston, Texas, United States, northeast of Downtown. It is bounded by the Buffalo Bayou, Jensen Drive, Liberty Road, and Lockwood Drive....
and was notable for being the first institution of its kind in the South to welcome African-American children in need. The dedication was the result of seven years’ effort on the part of Houston residents, an effort that started after DePelchin took in its first African-American children in 1939.
Eva Burmeister, a respected social worker, praised DePelchin Faith Home and Children’s Bureau as “one of the finest in the country” for its dedicated commitment to helping children of all races and for its unique layout. Similar institutions in the United States at the time typically designed their residence buildings in a dormitory
Dormitory
A dormitory, often shortened to dorm, in the United States is a residence hall consisting of sleeping quarters or entire buildings primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people, often boarding school, college or university students...
style, but DePelchin modeled its residence buildings in a cottage layout, meaning that children were housed in several free-standing, small buildings rather than one large building. This arrangement was thought to be more conducive to creating a healthy home environment than was a dormitory-style building.
Mergers and acquisitions
1982: DePelchin Faith Home and Children’s Bureau subsumes the Houston branch of Florence Crittenton ServicesNational Florence Crittenton Mission
The National Florence Crittenton Mission was an organization established in 1883 by Charles N. Crittenton. It attempted to reform prostitutes and unwed pregnant women through the creation of establishments where they were to live and learn skills....
, a charitable organization that provides help and a home for pregnant teenagers.
1987: On September 22, a temporary emergency shelter for adolescents and teenagers managed by Youth Opportunities Unlimited (YOU) in Richmond, Texas
Richmond, Texas
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 11,081 people, 3,413 households, and 2,628 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,975.4 people per square mile . There were 3,595 housing units at an average density of 965.3 per square mile...
, is incorporated into DePelchin Children’s Center.
1992: On April 1, DePelchin Children’s Center merges with Houston Child Guidance Center, which represents a major expansion for DePelchin in the field of mental health. The Houston Child Guidance Center, founded by Ima Hogg in 1929, was a pioneer of mental health services because it offered an alternative to hospitalization. Its focus was on family involvement, working with the entire family to mitigate the problem. The organization tried to keep children in their homes to maintain the family network, which it felt to be important for mental health. DePelchin entered the mental health field in 1982 with the establishment of Cullen Bayou Place, named in honor of a $5 million endowment from the Cullen Foundation. The facility functioned as a psychiatric hospital that specialized in caring for children and adolescents.
Services
DePelchin’s services revolve around three core areas: mental health, prevention and early intervention, and child welfare.DePelchin offers comprehensive mental health services including individual and family counseling, psychiatric evaluation and medication management as well as psychological testing. Its team of mental health experts serves children and their families seeking help on issues ranging from ADHD and anger management to severe childhood trauma. In 2009, DePelchin expanded its range of services to offer an autism assessment program that provides evaluation, social skills training for children with autism, and support groups for family members.
DePelchin also offers prevention and early intervention programs to promote healthy families and decrease the future need for more intensive services. This includes services to at-risk youths facing substance abuse, truancy
Truancy
Truancy is any intentional unauthorized absence from compulsory schooling. The term typically describes absences caused by students of their own free will, and usually does not refer to legitimate "excused" absences, such as ones related to medical conditions...
, and other issues; teen pregnancy prevention; assistance to pregnant and parenting teens; and family education programs to improve parenting skills and decrease risk factors leading to abuse and neglect. These programs are offered throughout the Greater Houston community at schools, community centers, and in homes. DePelchin also offers general parenting classes to strengthen families and help those coping with divorce.
DePelchin's child welfare services encompass foster care, adoption, and post-adoption. In some cases, children who have been removed from their birth homes by Child Protective Services
Child Protective Services
Child Protective Services is the name of a governmental agency in many states of the United States that responds to reports of child abuse or neglect. Some states use other names, often attempting to reflect more family-centered practices, such as "Department of Children & Family Services"...
(CPS) can be reunited with their families. Otherwise, these children are placed in foster care or adoptive homes. DePelchin also provides infant adoption services to birth mothers and fathers desiring to place their unborn or newborn infants into adoptive homes. Post-adoption services include support groups, parent education, 24-hour crisis intervention and access to DePelchin's residential treatment centers, which house children on one of two campuses for specialized, intensive treatment.
DePelchin Children’s Center’s main campus is located at 4950 Memorial Drive. In addition, there are multiple satellite locations throughout the Greater Houston area
Greater Houston
Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown is a 10-county metropolitan area defined by the Office of Management and Budget. It is located along the Gulf Coast region in the U.S. state of Texas...
, including Stafford
Stafford, Texas
Stafford is a city in the U.S. state of Texas within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area. The city is mostly in Fort Bend County with a small portion in Harris County. As of the 2000 U.S. Census, Stafford's population was 15,681....
, Baytown
Baytown, Texas
Baytown is a city within Harris County and partially in Chambers County in the Gulf Coast region of the U.S. state of Texas. Located within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area, it lies along both State Highway 146 and Interstate 10. As of 2010, Baytown had an population of 71,802...
, The Woodlands
The Woodlands, Texas
The Woodlands is a master-planned community and a Census-designated place in the U.S. state of Texas within the metropolitan area. The population of the CDP was 55,649 at the 2000 census—a 90 percent increase over its 1990 population. According to the 2010 census, The Woodlands' population rose...
, Richmond, and Clear Lake
Clear Lake City (Greater Houston)
Clear Lake City is a master-planned community located in southeast Harris County, Texas, within the Bay Area of Greater Houston. It is the second-largest master-planned community in Houston — behind Kingwood...
.
DePelchin contracts with The University of Texas Charter School system to provide on-grounds, state-accredited educational services for the children in residential treatment on the main campus in Houston and in Richmond, Texas.
Kezia DePelchin Award
The Kezia DePelchin Award was established in 1998 as a way to honor individuals who are committed to serving as advocates for the mental health and physical well-being of children.Recipients
1998: Former President George H.W. BushGeorge H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
and First Lady Barbara Bush
Barbara Bush
Barbara Pierce Bush is the wife of the 41st President of the United States George H. W. Bush, and served as First Lady of the United States from 1989 to 1993. She is the mother of the 43rd President George W. Bush and of the 43rd Governor of Florida Jeb Bush...
1999: Ann G. Trammell
2000: Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter
Rosalynn Carter
Eleanor Rosalynn Carter is the wife of the former President of the United States Jimmy Carter and in that capacity served as the First Lady of the United States from 1977 to 1981. As First Lady and after, she has been a leading advocate for numerous causes, perhaps most prominently for mental...
2001: Pediatrician Dr. Thomas Berry Brazelton
T. Berry Brazelton
Thomas Berry Brazelton is a noted pediatrician and author in the United States. Major hospitals throughout the world use the Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale . Many parents know him as the host of a cable television program What Every Baby Knows, and as author of a syndicated...
2002: Anne S. Duncan
2003: Doctor Peggy B. Smith
2004: CEO of Kinder Morgan Energy Partners Richard Kinder
Richard Kinder
Richard Kinder is the CEO and Chairman of the Board of Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, an energy and pipeline corporation.-Biography:...
and wife Nancy
2005: Catherine and Robert Mosbacher, Jr.
Robert Mosbacher, Jr.
Robert Adam Mosbacher, Jr. is a Houston businessman and is the former head of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation , a US government agency aimed at promoting development by working with the private sector. Nominated by President George W. Bush, Mr...
2006: Flo and Bill McGee
2007: Bobbie and John Nau III
John L. Nau
John L. Nau, III is Chairman of the federal Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, and one of its public members, with a term of office: 2001-2009....
, CEO of Silver Eagle Distributors
2008: CEO of Hines Interests Limited Partnership
Hines Interests Limited Partnership
Hines Interests Limited Partnership is privately held international commercial real estate concern with its headquarters located in the Williams Tower in Uptown Houston, Texas...
Jeff Hines and wife Wendy
2009: Jesse H. Jones II
2010: Owners of the Houston Texans
Houston Texans
The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston, Texas. The team is currently a member of the Southern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
NFL team Janice and Robert McNair
2011: The Honorable James Baker
James Baker
James Addison Baker, III is an American attorney, politician and political advisor.Baker served as the Chief of Staff in President Ronald Reagan's first administration and in the final year of the administration of President George H. W. Bush...
, III and Susan Garrett Baker
Affiliations
DePelchin has been affiliated with and a beneficiary of the United Way of Greater Houston since 1922. At the time, the organization was known as the Houston Community Chest.In 1933, DePelchin officially joined the Child Welfare League of America
Child Welfare League of America
The Child Welfare League of America or CWLA is the oldest child welfare organization in the United States. The organization's primary objective is to "Make Children a National Priority...
(CWLA).
After the Houston branch of the Florence Crittenton services switched management to DePelchin Children’s Center in 1982, DePelchin became a formal member of the Florence Crittenton’s Family of Agencies.
An established alliance between DePelchin Children's Center and the Menninger Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at Baylor College of Medicine
Baylor College of Medicine
Baylor College of Medicine, located in the Texas Medical Center in Houston, Texas, USA, is a highly regarded medical school and leading center for biomedical research and clinical care...
provides training opportunities to the child psychiatry residents of the Baylor College of Medicine. Moreover, PhD psychology students rotate through DePelchin, providing counseling for children at outpatient sites and in the Houston residential treatment center.
DePelchin is a member of the Alliance for Children & Families
Alliance for Children and Families
The Alliance for Children and Families, also referred to as simply the Alliance, is an international, membership-based non-profit organization. Its nearly 400 members from almost every U.S...
, a national membership organization that supports education and training for organizations serving children and families, as well as the Texas Alliance for Child and Family Services, an organization that provides nonprofits with advocacy, public policy, and technical assistance.
DePelchin is also licensed as a Child Placing agency and a Child Care agency by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services
Texas Department of Family and Protective Services
The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services is responsible for investigating charges of abuse, neglect or exploitation of children, elderly adults and adults with disabilities...
(TDFPS). This state agency is charged with the welfare and protection of children and is responsible for issuing licenses to organizations that permit them to operate residential treatment facilities, provide foster care, and place children in adoptive homes.