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OUR HISTORY

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Sometimes it doesn't just take a village, it takes an entire community. Children's Harbor is the embodiment of a community that rose up to create a solution for children who were hurting in their own backyards.

Our story begins in 1996, when local businessman Bill Mahoney learned that there was a foster care crisis in our community. Children who had already suffered unspeakable abuse and neglect were being separated from their siblings and placed in different foster homes due to a shortage of placement options. Unable to ignore this reality, he reached out to other community-minded individuals, and together, they decided to create a solution. Fast forward over 25 years, and thousands of lives have changed course because of the determination of a few.

OUR TIMELINE

  • 1996
    Founded by a group of volunteers, Children's Harbor was officially established as a nonprofit child welfare organization. Children's Harbor began offering in-home counseling to families in crisis throughout Broward County.
    The City of Pembroke Pines gave Children's Harbor a 30-year lease for an 8 acre campus.
  • 2004
    Our first residential home opened to serve 5 pregnant or parenting teens in foster care.
  • 2006
    Children's Harbor launched our on-site therapeutic clinic and began offering trauma-focused individual and group therapy to all children within our residential program.
    Our second residential home opened to serve 12 siblings in foster care.
    The playground was built with the help of over 300 volunteers in one day.
  • 2008
    Our third home was built, serving 12 additional siblings.
  • 2009
    Awarded national accreditation through COA.
  • 2011
    We celebrated our first free throw on our brand-new basketball court!
    Children's Harbor began providing an Academic & Life Skills Program to children on campus, and the first annual luncheon was held.
  • 2012
    The Paul Palank Memorial Foundation built a pavilion for our main campus.
  • 2013
    The first annual Harbor Lights Gala was held to raise funds. Achieved national re-accreditation through COA.
  • 2014
    The first annual Academic Achievement Event took place to celebrate the academic progress of our children.
  • 2015
    Children’s Harbor was awarded a 5-year, $5 million federal grant to provide services to former foster care youth.
  • 2016
    Opened Second Maternity Home, Office Expansion, and Launched New Programs.
    Partnered with the Selfless Love Foundation to open Brown’s Harbor, a supportive housing program for foster youth, ages 18-23, who have aged out of the foster care system. Launched Grounded for Life, a weekly academic mentoring program for foster teens throughout Broward County. Expansion to 1st Satellite office.
    Opened our second maternity home for pregnant/parenting teens.
  • 2017
    Achieved national re-accreditation through COA.
  • 2018
    President Trump signed federal legislation (FFPSA) that required sweeping reform of the child welfare system and provided the states with three years to prepare for implementation.
  • 2019
    Expanded Family Strengthening services to include Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.
    CH community teams relocations to a larger satellite office in Lauderhill, FL.
  • 2020
    Navigated through a global pandemic.
    Partnered with the Frederick A. DeLuca Foundation to expand the services offered at Brown’s Harbor to include financial literacy and workforce readiness programming.
  • 2021
    Achieved national re-accreditation through COA.
    Partnered with FSU/Florida Institute for Child Welfare to provide qualitative subject matter expertise for their research study.
    Awarded the community impact grant by New York Life for the buildout of a new basketball court.
    Aligned our program model with new federal FFPSA expectations.
    Celebrated our 25th Anniversary!
  • 2022
    Unveiled a new full-size basketball court thanks to the Craig Zinn Automotive Group which awarded Children’s Harbor a $25,000 matching gift in support of the Community Impact Grant from New York Life (NYL).
  • 2023
    New security gate on main campus. The upgrade is a testament to the commitment we place on keeping our kids safe made possible by the city of Pembroke Pines.