CSSMV Brief History

Catholic Social Services was established in Dayton in March 1921 by Rev. Francis Gressle as a branch of the Bureau of Catholic Charities and Social Services of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati.  The office was established "to increase the effectiveness of the Catholic social services and coordinate the social work of Catholic Charities with other Dayton welfare offices."  

In the early days, the agency worked mainly through small committees of volunteers on problems of emergency assistance, placement of children, Americanization, parish sewing bands, hospital visiting, work with the aging, infirm, deaf and blind.  Big Brothers and Sisters and Scouts were also an interest.  The agency became affiliated with the United Way in 1921.  

Through the '20s and '30s more voluntary and tax-supported agencies developed and services became more specialized.  Catholic Social Services, then called Catholic Charities, focused more directly on family and children services.  The agency became a separate diocesan agency in 1935. 

In the '40s, the Particular Council of the St. Vincent de Paul Society of Dayton was established.  It and the agency began a working relationship that continues today.  After World War II, displaced persons from Europe were helped to resettle in the Dayton area beginning refugee resettlement that continues today. 

In the '50s, the number of children placed by the agency in adoptive homes increased significantly. 

The '60s brought many changes.  The complexity of problems brought upon families increased and new and expanded services were added.  Services were brought closer to the people through programs in the parishes.  The volunteer program began, as well as the food pantry. 

The '70s saw the beginning of a rapid expansion of services to families, children, the elderly and the poor which continues today. In response to the growing number of single parent households or households with both parents working, the day care center was established. 

During the latter half of the '70s, Catholic Social Services began to increase its services to the elderly in response to the graying of the American population.  Adult foster care began with a Federal Model Project and expanded to five of our eleven counties.  We assumed responsibility for the Senior Friendly Visiting and Operation Golden Ring telephone reassurance programs in Montgomery County. 

The '80s saw further expansion of services for the elderly with another Model Project, this one through the Ohio Department of Aging.  PASSPORT, a preadmission screening to prevent nursing home placement and is provided in six rural counties.  Respite care for families of chronically ill older persons was also begun in Montgomery County.  The Dayton office received a federal demonstration grant to assist with services to pregnant adolescents which initiated almost 20 years of funding from this source.

The '90s saw both new programs established and the closing of some programs.   We started a number of innovative programs including the "Families Count" project in East Dayton and a "Family Violence" program at our day care center, while adult foster care was discontinued. In 1995 we began the Teen ParentLink program in Montgomery county, a local collaborative initiative to reduce child abuse and neglect. In collaboration with a number of other groups in Progressive Southern Dayton View, we established the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Development Coalition to address the needs of residents of this area and encourage greater self sufficiency on their parts. 

Highlights:

1921 The Dayton office opens in the Reibold Building serving Montgomery and Preble counties. 

1957 The Springfield office opens on Limestone Street as a branch of Catholic Charities of Cincinnati serving Clark County. 

1973 Services expand to Greene County after the Xenia tornado. 

1976 Dayton and Springfield agencies unite as Catholic Social Services of the Miami Valley.  Services in Springfield expand into Logan and Champaign counties. 

1976 Office opens in Sidney serving Auglaize, Darke, Mercer, Miami and Shelby counties. 

1980 Miami Valley Family Care Center
opens at St. James School in Dayton.

1984 Sidney office becomes the administrative agency for the PASSPORT program through the Ohio Department of Aging, providing home-based care for seniors in five rural counties. 

1985 Miami Valley Family Care Center moves to the grounds of the Veteran's Administration Center. 

1990 Springfield office (serving Clark, Champaign and Logan counties) transfers from CSS of the Miami Valley to CSS of Southwest Ohio in Cincinnati. 

1995 Teen ParentLink, the first of the Link programs, is started in Montgomery County. 

1997 Erma’s House Family Visitation Center opens at 1026 Brown Street. 

2001 Supporting Attachment in Families (SAFE) program is implemented. 

2006 CSS Center for Families opens in a newly constructed building at 1046 Brown Street.  Erma’s House, the Link programs, the SAFE program, Mental Health Counseling and Adoption Services all combine in this new facility. 

2006 Miami Valley Family Care Center building on the V.A. grounds is completely renovated and updated.

The beginning of a new century saw the start of exciting plans for CSSMV.  A New Century of Caring was launched – a capital campaign to raise funds for both a new building for programs and renovation of current facilities.  The year 2006 saw all the fundraising efforts come to fruition when the new CSS Center for Families was built and opened at 1046 Brown Street.  This new facility houses Erma’s House Visitation Center, the “Link” programs, Mental Health and SAFE counseling, and Beginnings…our pregnancy, foster care and adoption services.  Also in 2006, the Miami Valley Family Care Center building on the VA grounds was completely renovated, making it much more child friendly and reopened as CSSMV signed an extended lease with the VA for this building.  Renovations at the Eckerle Administration Center, 922 W. Riverview Avenue, are planned.  These will include transforming our food pantry into a “Choice Pantry” and expanding its space in the building’s lower level to better serve the community. 

We continue from Archbishop Moeller's vision and Father Gressle's establishment of the first office in the Miami Valley to our efforts today.  We do this through service given with professional care and Christian love.  We carry our history and our efforts into the future through our current efforts, commitment and planning.  We do so by applying the lasting Christian principles to both today's changing world and planning for the world of tomorrow through the vision those values present.  That vision is the lasting power and promise of our work.