In 1913, Sudie May Wingert, a member of the Church of the Brethren, formed Rescue Committees in congregations of the Southern Pennsylvania District for the purpose of ensuring  that the basic life needs of all children in the District would be met.

 

In 1915, Sudie went on to begin placing needy children in foster homes, and, in 1923, opened The Children’s Home in Carlisle, PA, for orphaned or neglected children.  After 37 years of service, the Children’s Home closed due to increasing costs for structural facility changes required by the Commonwealth.

 

Though the Home closed, the Children’s Aid Society continued to provide funding to other organizations that provided placement services and other supportive programs to children in crisis.   In the late 1970s, the decision was made to again become a service agency with a focus on specialized services to children and adolescents.

 

In 1982, the New Oxford Child/Family Counseling Center opened at its Carlisle Pike, Hanover, location to provide child-centered play therapy and family counseling.  In November 2001 the center was relocated to its Lincoln Way West, New Oxford, location which was named The Nicarry Center in honor of Wayne Nicarry.  Mr. Nicarry was a driving force in assuring that counseling and supportive services would be provided for Adams County children.

 

In 1986, the mission expanded to Franklin County and the Frances Leiter Center, located on Lincoln Way East in Chambersburg, and offered outpatient counseling for at-risk children and their families.   

 

In 1987, The Lehman Center opened on West Market Street in York as a child abuse prevention service with an emphasis on intervening in crises and providing respite support to families experiencing numerous stressors.  Through a 24-hour hotline and short-term residential crisis nursery for children from birth to six years of age, these children have a safe haven in which to stay.  The Center also provides outpatient art therapy, case management, parent support groups in the community and in the York County Prison system.  

 

Beginning in 2004, outpatient services were also offered at a Waynesboro satellite location, as an extension of the Frances Leiter Center.  In that same year, services at The Nicarry Center were temporarily discontinued, however new therapy services resumed in 2007.

 

In October 2007, The Waynesboro Center in Waynesboro officially “re-opened” as its own center, offering child counseling and play therapy.

History