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Thank you to all who made our 2019 "Have A Heart For Children" event such a success!
Bellefonte Faith Church/Connelly Family, Rep. Kerry Benninghoff, Builders Best, Jim and Shannon Burtoft, Calvary Church, Centre Church, Christ Community Church, In Memory of Cheryl De Cusati, First Baptist Church Bellefonte, Galen Dreibelbis, Good Shepard Evangelical Lutheran Church, Grace Fellowship Church, Gray's Woods Church, Bob and Dannah Gresh/Grace Prep High School, Jack and Kathy Hughes, Bob and Laura Kilareski, Long Construction, McCloskey Counseling Center, Allan and Jessica Miller, Paul S. Lehr, Architect, Inc., Pediatric Dental Care, Providential Stuff, State College Alliance Church, Unity Church of Jesus Christ, Watermarke Church, and Window World. 

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Centre County Orphan Care Alliance (CCOCA) is comprised of representatives of CityChurch and other Centre County Christian churches. 

​CCOCA exists to make believers aware of the plight of the fatherless locally and globally and to motivate every believer to engage in their responsibility to care for the fatherless. 
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“Defend the cause of the fatherless.” Isaiah 1:17 

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Our Purpose:

 In Centre County, we seek to…
● Ensure that every Christian is aware of the plight of the fatherless locally and globally.
● Motivate every believer to engage in their responsibility to care for the fatherless.
● Provide biblically-based resources and material support to help create well-equipped homes for every fatherless child in Centre County.

Interesting Facts as of September 10, 2018

54 Children are in the care and custody of Centre County through Children and Youth Services
These children are living with either foster families or in residential facilities, often due to circumstances involving abuse or neglect.​

54 children are in the care and custody of Centre County CYS   

• 5 children have been placed into the care and custody of Centre County CYS over the past 30-days
• 1 child has been in custody of CYS for more than 8 years! 

33 Children are placed in Centre County

• 29 children are placed in a Centre County CYS Foster Care Program
• 4 children/youth are placed through a private agency (1-Children’s Aid Home Program of Somerset County, 2-Bethany Christian, 1-Children Aid of Clearfield)

9 children are in Foster homes outside of Centre County
Location of foster homes:

• Clearfield and Clinton Counties (within 25/30 miles of Bellefonte)
• Easton, PA (176  miles from Bellefonte)
• Blossburg, PA (88 miles from Bellefonte)
• Danilesville, PA (155 miles from Bellefonte)
• Shirlesybrug, PA (59 miles from Bellefonte)
• Ebensburg, PA (72 miles from Bellefonte)
• Cambridge Springs, PA (191 miles from Bellefonte)
• Mercersburg, PA (107 miles from Bellefonte) 

12 youth are placed in residential care (group home, treatment facility)

• 1 locally

11 youth placed out of Centre County:

• Harrisburg, PA (95 miles from Bellefonte)
• Oil City, PA (129 miles from Bellefonte)
• Danville, PA (71 miles from Bellefonte)
• West Chester, PA (176  miles from Bellefonte)
• Greenville, PA (164 miles from Bellefonte)
• Gove City PA (142 miles from Bellefonte)

10 sibling groups

• 6 groups placed together (or at least two of the siblings are together)

 
 61 Foster Homes

• 52 Non-Kinship Foster Homes
• 34 not available (they already have placements, they have requested to be placed on hold or their foster home license is not current)
• 7 families are only available for respite (or short-term emergency)
• 7 families are only available for 1 child (only 4 are willing to accept a child over the age of two, this could mean they only want up to age 5) 
• 4 families are open to more than one child  
• 9 Kinship homes (can only take the child that they were approved for)
• 4+ children currently searching for permanent homes
• 14 children found permanency through adoption this year. 

And three more are scheduled to occur before the end of the year. 17 forever homes by years end!

There are over 40 local children on the waiting list for Big Brothers / Big Sisters

• 30 of these children have never had a match​

Overall, there are more than 84 children locally who need our attention, direction and support.......Right now!

​There are 175 churches in Centre County...

Click here for an informational brochure to learn more about CCOCA