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About Us
History
Creating children’s trust funds to help abused and neglected children:
Nearly 30 years ago, when Michigan pediatrician, Dr Ray Helfer, who is widely credited with creating children’s trust funds as a way to help abused children, applied for a fishing license, he discovered that the fees were used to protect fish. Dr. Helfer thought that abused and neglected children could and should benefit from such a fund and began advocating with the National Committee for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect, (now Prevent Child Abuse America), with political and community leaders 
and with his fellow pediatricians. In 1980 Kansas created the first children’s trust fund, Michigan, the second New Hampshire was 36th created in 1987. By the late 1980’s each state had a children’s trust fund, expressly created for child abuse prevention.. Today most (80%) are part of state governments and receive state appropriations from license plate fees, birth certificates, tax check offs.
The New Hampshire Way: A public private partnership to keep children safe and families strong
The New Hampshire’s Children’s Trust Fund is a stand alone, separate nonprofit created by our legislature as a public private partnership, governed by a board, half appointed due to their public positions; and half representative of certain related interest areas, like knowledge of child development. The intent was to have an entity outside of government, but one which closely allied and collaborating with all those who work with children and families.
Many of the sponsors of the original legislation are still involved with helping children: Representatives Mary Jane Wallner, Doug Scamman, Beverly Gage, Pamela Bean, and Senators Elaine Krasler, Eleanor Podles, Charles Bond sponsored the first bill. Others assisting in later amendments were Senator Susan Mclane, Lessard, Pignatelli and Cohen, as well as Representative Carol Moore. Donna Raycaft and Shirley Ganem, then executive director of the NH Task Force on Child Abuse and Neglect, whose leadership included then attorney general Steve Merrill and Deborah Kane Dickinson, who would become NHCTF Board Chair, provided testimony in support. Sandra Matheson, a current NHCTF trustee, was involved twenty years ago. Former Governor John Sununu’s advice helped shaped the NHCTF. NH Charitable Foundation CEO Lew Feldstein played a key role, particularly in shaping grant making procedures, providing office space and helping in the endowment campaign. In 1996, Lucy Breed, Fund Drive Chair and Sharon Nordgren, Board Chair, are pictured thanking Charles De Grandpre, of the Lou and Lutza Smith Foundation, one of the Trust Fund’s major donors.
Twenty years have seen much change in the grant making capacity: in 1988, five grants were made, totaling $6500. In 2006, over $180,000 was awarded to 48 grantees. Significant milestones have enabled CTF to expand its prevention impact: in 1996, NH’s Governor nominated it to receive federal child abuse prevention dollars, a designated continued annually.
Since 1996, Smith Award for excellence in Service to Families has honored outstanding nonprofit organizations for their work. This award, endowed by the Lou and Lutza Smith Foundation, is given every two years with a cash prize of $15,000, has honored Families First of Portsmouth, Dame School, HUB Family Resource Center in Dover, Family Resource Center of Berlin Gorham, The Grapevine Community and Family Resource Center in Antrim, and The Upper Room, A Family Resource Center in Derry. Smith Keynote speakers have included Tommy DePaola, Dr. Vincent Felitti, author of the ACE (Adverse Childhood Experiences) Study, Gary Hirshberg, CE/Yo of Stonyfield Farm, and Jack Levine of the 4Generations Institute.
The Trust Fund’s finely tuned system of grant making, rigorous review by trustees, and reporting requirements has been enhanced by the Family Support Outcomes Surveys. Evaluation reports of 2005 and 2006 measured changes in protective factors, as ways to strengthen families. NH’s Division for Children, Youth and Families have contracted with the NHCTF, with 100 per cent federal funding, for evaluation, training and technical assistance of all its family support prevention programs.
In 2004, the NHCTF was designated as the NH Chapter of Prevent Child Abuse America, with Child and Family Services of NH running Circle of Parents programs. That same year, aided by Senator’s Gregg’s staff, NHCTF received a grant from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, for expanding Circle of Parents and offering a statewide Prevention Summit featuring Jan Hindman.
In 2005, the Center for the Study of Social Policy selected NH to be one of seven pilot states in its new prevention initiative, Strengthening Families Through Early Care and Education. Because of its early involvement on the NH SFI Leadership Team, NHCTF was well positioned to apply for and receive a $50,000 two year grant from the National Alliance for Children’s Trust Funds and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation to expand prevention partnerships between early care centers and family support programs and to launch parent advocacy training.