| Brief
History |
Appalachian
Family Innovations (AFI) began as Bringing It All Back Home
(BIABH) in 1973. The Bringing It All Back Home “Project”
was initially operated in affiliation with the NC Division
of Mental Health out of offices on the Western Carolina
Center campus in Morganton, NC. The Project was originally
funded by the Appalachian Regional Commission and the Law
Enforcement Assistance Administration. Its purpose was to
bring a new technology of group home treatment, then called
the Achievement Place Program, from Kansas University where
it was developed to western North Carolina. Eight group
homes for adolescents with behavioral/emotional problems
were established around the region, and operating those
programs using the new treatment program was BIABH’s
only business. |
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| In
1979, administrative responsibility for each of these group
homes was transferred from BIABH to local Boards of Directors
which had become non-profit corporations and the care-providers,
called Teaching-Parents, became employees of the Boards.
Concurrently, BIABH changed its administrative affiliation
from the Division of Mental Health to Appalachian State
University and moved to a new office location in downtown
Morganton. Also in 1979, BIABH became one of the original
three Sponsor Sites certified by the newly founded Teaching-Family
Association, along with Father Flanagan’s Boys Town
and the Achievement Place Research Project. At that time,
17 group homes had contracts with BIABH — now called
the BIABH Study Center — for its training and support
services. BIABH was still exclusively in the group home
business, but that was soon to change. |
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| Study
Center staff had for some time begun to see a need for alternative
placements and treatment strategies for the increasing numbers
of children being referred for services. Beginning in late
1979, BIABH began to experiment with new treatment/placement
programs. That year, the Professional
Parenting program was begun with National Institute
of Mental Health (NIMH) funding to provide quality foster
care for special needs children. |
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That
program was an instant success and immediately began to
expand. And, in 1985, BIABH made its first venture into
the world of family preservation services with its Home
Remedies program which has also greatly expanded since
then. There was also a pressing need for high quality supported
adoption programs; BIABH answered that need in 1992 with
its Adoption Plus (A+) program
which is now offered state-wide. Since then, all of those
programs have expanded, new ones have been added, and both
the Study Centers’ budget and staff have increased
substantially.
In
2003, Bringing It All Back Home changed its name to Appalachian
Family Innovations. Our new name captures the region
of the country we serve, demonstrates our stong relationship
with Appalachian State University, reflects our primary
commitment to families, and points to our leadership in
developing novel and effective programs from children and
families.
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| Current
Configuration |
In
addition to the programs mentioned above, BIABH added two
programs in the mid 90's. Offered by Professional Parenting,
these programs were aimed at the special needs of children
and adolescents with sexual behavior problems. The first,
for younger clients, is our Intensive Program, and
the second, Sexual Abuse Intervention Services, is
for adolescent sexual offenders and their families.
Our
newest program, begun in 2000, is offered by Home Remedies.
Catawba Valley Healthy Families, a voluntary primary
prevention program, affords intensive in-home services to
overburdened families of newborns through the child’s
third birthday.
All
the while, interest and need has grown for good quality
group home treatment, and Appalachian Family Innovations
presently contracts with ten agencies in and beyond North
Carolina providing Teaching-Family
support services to 24 group homes
and campus based cottages. In addition
to these programs of care and intervention, AFI has ventured,
successfully, out of our kids homes and into their schools
with our The
Missing Curriculum: Teaching Social Competencies in the
Classroom teacher training program. That program
is available to public schools throughout the state. Each
of these programs is described in detail elsewhere on this
site.
Together,
these programs and activities form a net of youth and family
care and treatment that is as effective, significantly less
restrictive, and measurably more cost effective than any
alternatives now available to the children, families, and
schools we serve. Appalachian Family Innovations now operates
out of several offices from Winston-Salem to Asheville,
with a combined staff of 65, and a budget in FY 2005-2006
of $5.1 million dollars.
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