Children's Institute Inc.

Children's Institute, Inc.
Founded1906
Location
Area served
Los Angeles County
Websitewww.childrensinstitute.org

Children's Institute Inc. (CII) is a nonprofit organization that provides services to children and families healing from the effects of family and community violence within Los Angeles.[1] Founded in 1906 by Minnie Barton,[2] Los Angeles's first female probation officer,[3] the organization (then named the Big Sister League) was first designed to help troubled young women who found themselves adrift in Los Angeles.[4] The organization has since expanded its services to at-risk youth in Los Angeles who are affected by child abuse, neglect domestic and gang violence as well as poverty. CII is a multi-service organization that combines evidence-based clinical services, youth development programs and family support services designed to address the whole child and entire family. The organization provides various forms of trauma support—including therapy, intervention services, parenting workshops, early childcare programs and other support services offered in English, Spanish and Korean.

CII currently serves thousands of families throughout Los Angeles County at three main campuses: The Otis Booth campus in the Rampart/Westlake district; the Burton Green Campus in Torrance and the Mid-Wilshire campus near L.A.'s Koreatown. CII also operates a satellite center in Watts and San Pedro/Long Beach. The organization's therapeutic focus is based on the concepts of Recovery, Resilience and Readiness and seeks to help youth build confidence and discover and develop skills to break through barriers—both emotional and situational—to grow up and lead healthy, productive lives.

The Edna McConnell Clark Foundation (EMCF) has invested $10 million[5] in Children's Institute Inc. to date. In 2011, CII received a $5 million, three-year Social Innovation Fund[6] award to expand its presence in the Watts and Central Los Angeles communities. The organization also has received a grant from the Foundation's True North Fund.

In July 2014, the organization announced in a partnership with Pritzker-prize-winning architect Frank Gehry[7][8] to design a new full-service campus[9] in the Watts community of Los Angeles.[10] The 20,000-square-foot building was opened in 2022.[11]

In the 1980s, the organization played a role in the McMartin preschool trial, interviewing children suspected of being abused using methods that were at the time completely new,[12][13] and later discredited.[14]

  1. ^ most challenged neighborhoods
  2. ^ Minnie Barton
  3. ^ first female probation officer
  4. ^ Meares, Hadley "Parole Officer No. 2: Minnie Barton and the Crusade for Lost Women" KCET Departures, February 8, 2013
  5. ^ "Children's Institute, Inc". EMCF. 11 September 2014. Archived from the original on 28 June 2020. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
  6. ^ Social Innovation Fund
  7. ^ "Frank Gehry". The Pritzker Architecture Prize. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
  8. ^ Kudler, Adrian Glick"Frank Gehry Will Design Building for Abused Children in Watts" Curbed L.A. July 21, 2014
  9. ^ Kudler, Adrian Glick (21 July 2014). "Frank Gehry Will Design Campus For At-Risk Children in Watts". Curbed LA. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
  10. ^ Miranda, Carolina "Can Frank Gehry Design Change the Dynamic of Watts?" Los Angeles Times, July 24, 2014
  11. ^ "Children's Institute's Frank Gehry-designed campus to open June 25". 15 June 2022.
  12. ^ "Finding Truth in Child Abuse". Los Angeles Times. 1986-03-05. Retrieved 2008-08-17.[dead link‍]
  13. ^ Mydans, S (1990-01-20). "Child Abuse: Some Prosecutions Win". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-08-17.
  14. ^ "30 Years Later, Key Figures Reflect On McMartin Preschool Case". CBS News. August 4, 2014. Retrieved September 15, 2023.