History

Just for Kids, Inc. started as a program of the Women’s Resource Center in 2002 with program development funding from the National Children’s Alliance. Originally the program was developed as a Child Advocacy Center (CAC) and the mission was to help Raleigh County children that were alleging criminal abuse by working together with local investigators and support personnel to provide a child-friendly interview facility and child focused investigation and intervention. Through collaborations with New River Health and the multidisciplinary task force in Fayette County a second Child Advocacy Center was developed to serve Fayette County children. This CAC became operational in 2004. As time progressed the CAC’s became involved in the Raleigh-Fayette Community Collaborative and learned of the Prevent Child Abuse WV Partners in Prevention Program. Through this grant program the CAC’s began managing some prevention projects in the two county area.

As time went on the number of children served continued to increase and the need for more staff was evident. It was decided that the CAC’s would incorporate and form a non-profit organization. This decision would enable the CAC’s to gain more funding. With that decision Just for Kids, Inc. was born and began functioning independently of the Women’s Resource Center in July of 2005.

Although Just for Kids, Inc. was originally developed to maintain the CAC’s in Raleigh and Fayette it became evident that child abuse prevention was a service gap for this area. Just for Kids, Inc. stepped up and began managing the Raleigh-Fayette Child Protection Alliance and also started the first Stewards of Children program in the state of West Virginia.

None of this progress would have been possible without grant funders. Our programs have been supported by grants from WV Division of Criminal Justice Services, National Children’s Alliance, Beckley Area Foundation, United Way of Southern WV, Sister’s of St. Joseph, Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation, Community Participation Project, and Prevent Child Abuse WV.

One of our other biggest monetary supporters has also been our community. Raleigh and Fayette County residents have always been very supportive of Just for Kids, Inc. and without their help our program would not have been able to grow to meet the needs of the children we serve.