The Austin Children’s Shelter celebrated its 30th anniversary by changing its name to better depict what the organization has become—Austin Children’s Services. To commemorate the anniversary and its new name, the City of Austin proclaimed Friday, May 16, “Austin Children’s Services Day”at a ceremony at City Hall.
ACS began 30 years ago as a small, volunteer-driven emergency shelter for abused and neglected infants and young children. Today the organization offers an array of services designed to prevent abuse before it happens and to better intervene when abuse and neglect have already occurred. In just the last year, ACS has dramatically expanded its services to include community-based programs that help to support at-risk children and families in their homes.
“It’s my pleasure to honor one of our great non-profit organizations that provides social services to those in our community who are in need,”said Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell.
“Austin Children’s Services provides much more than just emergency shelter services, and we’re excited to announce a new name that better reflects that mission as we celebrate our 30th anniversary,”said ACS CEO Kelly White. “We are committed to ending the cycle of abuse in our community, and with new community-based programs and a continuum of services, we know we can better meet the needs of the local community.”
Founded in 1984, ACS provides comprehensive and innovative programs to address child abuse in the community, including: residential programs for emergency shelter, teen parents and youth preparing for independence; foster care training, placement and support; early childhood programs that emphasize family support and parent education; and short-term respite care for vulnerable families.
