About Us, the Children's Tree House, Inc. of Columbus, GA

Children’s Tree House, Inc. grew from the original child abuse organization in our community. Initially it consisted of volunteers who became a part of the state council on child abuse in 1989. At that time it was named the Columbus Regional Chartered Council on Child Abuse. The TRUST (Teaching, Reaching, Understanding, Strengthening Together) program was implemented in July 1994 because of the high incidences of child abuse in Muscogee County, which were 22.4 per 1000 while the state rate was 15.4 per 1000. The county also had a high rate of teen pregnancies and infant mortalities.

The program’s primary purpose is to intervene after discharge from the hospital with comprehensive support services and parental education to moms who have been identified as at-risk for potential child abuse/neglect. In April 1996 the name of the center was changed to Columbus Child Advocacy Center, Inc. At that time the center also received the 501© 3 status with the Internal Revenue Service. June 19, 1998 our name was officially changed to Children’s Tree House, Inc. We now have a staff of six that includes our Executive Director, Office Coordinator, Child Advocate and three Home Service Providers.

Program Descriptions:

Child Advocacy Center (CAC) – The CAC provides a safe, child-friendly environment where mandated professionals meet with children who have disclosed sexual and physical abuse and/or neglect to have their case processed. Our CAC facilitates a multidisciplinary team approach to the investigation of the allegations of abuse for the six-county Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit. Our long term goal is to work with and enhance the efforts of police, the District Attorney’s office, the Department of Family and Children Services (DFCS), prosecutors and other interagency professionals, while ensuring that the focus during the investigation remains on the child and limit the number of times the child has to share their traumatic story.

TRUST (Teaching, Reaching, Understanding, Strengthening Together) offers family support through a voluntary home visitation program for mothers with newborns. The program’s primary purpose is to intervene after discharge from the hospital with comprehensive support services and parental education to mothers who have been identified as being at risk for potential child abuse and/or neglect. The vision of TRUST is to assist the client family in becoming independent and able to nurture their child safely to optimum development through education and referral to other health and human services programs as needed. The program also provides for the health and well being of infants through observation of their development and through interactions with other significant caretakers living in the home that assist in caring for the infant. Depending upon the level of the family’s understanding and the complexity of needs, home visits may be planned for once a week, bi-weekly or once a month.