Thompson Welcomes A Child’s Place: Merger will serve CMS Schools

Thompson Child & Family Focus (Thompson), Charlotte’s leading human services organization, today announced that it plans to merge with A Child’s Place (ACP) in order to provide more robust services to the homeless children and their families in the CMS school system. ACP’s focus on working with children who are impacted educationally, emotionally, and physically due to homelessness and generational poverty aligns with Thompson’s focus on family stability, early childhood development, and mental health services for vulnerable populations.

The partnership will allow Thompson and ACP to provide needed services in a combined 28 CMS schools immediately following the merger, with an opportunity to grow into 55 schools over the next three years.

“This alliance further expands Thompson’s presence across the Carolinas, and with the addition of A Child’s Place, a well-respected symbol of quality and impact in the community, we can, together, close the gap between families and resources,” said Will Jones, President/CEO of Thompson. “Our robust but tactical services will strengthen the outcomes for children and families being served and will ultimately be the catalyst for transforming entire communities – especially those traditionally underrepresented.”

Over the past year, Thompson has made a concentrated effort to increase services to children in the public school system by partnering with 11 CMS schools for school-based treatment and/or life navigation services. The merger of these solutions-driven organizations will provide ease of access to community mental health services for all populations, access to evidence-based parenting education, direct access to peer supports and “Family Partners”, quality-of-life resources support (food, housing, household items, etc.), and access to Early Childhood Education Services that provide a healthy start.

"A Child’s Place has been serving homeless children and their families in Charlotte schools for 30 years and we are excited about this next chapter,” said Meg Allison, ACP board chair. “Merging with Thompson will allow us to expand our reach and deepen our impact, serving many more children in additional schools and offering crucial supports such as mental health services, early childhood education and parent training.”

For more information on the Thompson/ACP organizations and their services, visit Thompson and ACP, or call Jennifer Colter, Communications Director, Thompson, at (980) 293-1073 or via jcolter@thompsoncff.org.