History
1901 — After many years with a growing desire to found a children's home, the Florida Baptist Convention founded the Florida Baptist Orphanage in Arcadia, and elected trustees.
1904 — The first child was admitted in February. Twenty three children were cared for that first year.
1921 — The Orphanage's name was changed to Florida Baptist Children's Home.
1932 — A special fundraising campaign relieved the indebtedness that had burdened the Home almost from its beginning and which had been compounded by the Depression.
1938 — Florida Baptist Children's Home led the way among children's homes in hiring professional social workers for counseling.
1948 — The Home, debt-free, moved to Lakeland. Family-style housing was provided for the 140 children in the Home's care. Aid was also being given to nine mothers to enable them to care for their own children at home.
1958 — The Children's Homes' Miami campus opened, providing care for 30 children and their families. Superintendent T.M. Johns (shown at right with his wife, Susie) began experimenting with placing all brothers and sisters together in the same cottage if they were beyond the preschool years, to preserve their sense of family.
1969 — In a period of vast social change and desegregation, the Children's Homes' policy was changed to serve children without regard to race. In June, Superintendent Johns and his wife, Susie, Assistant Superintendent, retired after serving more than 6,000 children during their 37-year employment with the Children's Homes.
1972 — An Emergency Shelter for girls was opened at the Lakeland Children's Home.
1973 — A Children's Homes' campus was opened in Tallahassee, with one residence for 12 children.
1976 — The Children's Homes' first area office was set up in Pensacola as a joint venture with the Pensacola Bay Baptist Association. (The office was moved to Fort Walton Beach in 1980.)
1980 — Jones Residence opened at the Tallahassee Children's Home, doubling the capacity there.
1982 — The new Carlton Residence at the Tallahassee Children's Home expanded that program to care for 30 children.
1984 — The Lakeland Children's Home residences began receiving a major exterior remodeling that was completed in 1986.
1985 — The first Children's Homes' group home, Alice Madray Group Home near Okeechobee, opened for 10 children.
1986 — The Children's Homes began to provide maternity care for unwed, pregnant girls and women. The State Office building in Lakeland was expanded. A pool was built at the Tallahassee Children's Home.
1988 — A Developmental Disabilities Ministry for adult women was begun in a Winter Haven group home donated by and named for Harold & Ernestine Taylor. The Florida Baptist Convention transferred the Florida Baptist Retirement Center to the Children's Homes and changed our corporate name to Florida Baptist Family Ministries.
1990 — A group home for unwed, pregnant teen-age girls opened at the Lakeland Children's Home.
1991 — The Children's Homes earned accreditation from the national Council on Accreditation of Services for Families and Children, Inc. The Mildred W. Carlton Learning Center opened at the Lakeland campus.
1992 — At the Florida Baptist Retirement Center, a $1.7 million expansion was completed (15 duplex villas and an Assisted Living Unit) to double the capacity for residents. Hurricane Andrew left $250,000 in damage at the Miami Children's Home. The Southwest Florida Children's Home opened in Fort Myers. Through a merger with the Ninety & Nine Boys Ranch, a group home for boys was established near Pensacola. In December, $265,000 was cut from the 1993 budget to meet an anticipated shortfall.
1993 — In March, the budget had to be cut an additional $850,000; as a result, three children's residences were temporarily closed throughout the state. The Madray Group Home near Okeechobee and the Pensacola group home were closed. Nineteen children were discharged early, and 16 employees lost their jobs. Later in the year, Family Ministries borrowed $300,000 to help meet expenses.
1994 — The Lakeland group home for unwed, pregnant teen-age girls was closed because it had been underutilized; henceforth, the Children's Homes would care for these clients through foster-home placements. President Richard Phillips resigned. The State Board of Missions gave this ministry $100,000 to help pay off the $300,000 loan.
1995 — The $300,000 loan was paid off. A book detailing the Children's Homes' nine-decade history was published. In November, the Florida Baptist Convention voted to transfer the Retirement Center's ownership and management to Florida Baptist Financial Services; the transfer was completed the following summer.
1996 — One of the three Children's Homes' cottages that were closed in 1993 reopened.
1997 — The second of three cottages closed in 1993 reopened.
1998 — The last of the three cottages that were closed in 1993 reopened. The Developmental Disabilities Ministry at the Taylor Group Home was moved to the Lakeland campus.
1999 — On January 1, the Baptist Home for Children in Jacksonville joined the Children's Homes' organization. The Board of Trustees expanded to 24 members. Mother's Day Offering gifts reached $1 million. The organization's name reverted to Florida Baptist Children's Homes.
2001 — The Children's Homes opened a 20-acre campus in Pensacola.
2002 — The Miami campus sold 1.3.acres to neighboring Wayside Baptist Church for $250,000 and received a $350,000 grant from the Florida Baptist Convention. The $600,000 was designated for campus improvements. The Gretna Baptist Learning Center opened on the Tallahassee campus.
 2004 — In February, Florida Baptist Children's Homes celebrated 100 years of service to children and families. As part of the Centennial celebration, children and staff from throughout the statewide ministry came together in June for a four-day "Camp of Champions" retreat at Lake Yale Baptist Conference Center; it was the first time they had all assembled in one location since the second campus opened in 1958. |
