History



School Covenant Children’s Home began with a plea from a young pastor, Reverend Gust Nelson stating a need for “a home for poor, neglected and homeless little ones.” Covenant Children’s Home opened its doors in Princeton in October 1921. Almost 2,000 children who were unable to live with their parents found a loving home here.

Over the years the needs changed from a home for orphans and children whose families could not provide the care they needed, to a residential treatment center for abused, neglected and emotionally troubled youths, ages 11 to 18. Some had emotional disturbances that could overwhelm even the most loving of families. In other cases, children were no longer safe in their own homes and were wards of The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS). CCHFS provided a safe place to live with specialized treatment, education and prevention services.

DormSeveral years ago, change came again to the campus when DCFS began placing fewer children in residential treatment, and referred fewer children to CCHFS in Princeton. While CCHFS was licensed to care for 54 children, its census dropped to as few as 20. However, CCHFS still required staffing 7 days a week and 24 hours per day. This led to large financial losses and inevitably to the closing of the residential treatment program on June 30, 2000, and then to the end of all counseling, therapy, foster care and other services on August 31, 2001.

The original brick farm house building and the attached 1924 dormitory held many happy memories. Every effort was made to find a good use for these buildings. Unfortunately, the cost of new heating, lighting and plumbing plus new windows and doors and meeting modern building codes, was prohibitive. Therefore, the decision was made to tear down the buildings. This was completed in January 2006.

BarnAlthough the original buildings are gone, the legacy of service to children, youths, adults and families lives on through the memories of those who walked through those doors. And while this marked the end of an era, it also paved the way for new beginnings and new services.

During this transitional time, the Board of Directors of CCHFS continued to meet regularly to determine how best to use the remaining buildings and property that had been supported for years by generous donations from individuals and churches.

The Board determined that whatever the future held it would stay true to the CCHFS Mission and Vision statements and to the outreach goals of our parent and owner, the Covenant Ministries of Benevolence (CMB) of the Evangelical Covenant Church of America.

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