Baby Fold

Joe McQueen is the new principal at Hammitt Elementary in Normal. He worked there as an Illinois State University student two decades ago.

Randle Hall is located on the southeast side of the property near Linden and Willow streets. It’s attached to Hammitt School, which will remain.

McLean County’s new Family Treatment Court accepted its first client and received a $750,000 grant from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention to fund operations.

Two program coordinators for The Baby Fold's Hammitt School have developed a new data collection system that fills a gap in the previous system: Understanding the "why" behind student behaviors.

The Baby Fold in Normal has served McLean County for over a century, and now, it’ll do so from an additional location in Bloomington called the Center of Excellence. The nonprofit will use the space at 1701 W. Market St. to host training surrounding trauma-informed care.

Major projects include creating a universal screening tool for mental health in schools across districts, introducing an additional youth psychiatrist in the community, and starting at-home care visits.

While McLean County nonprofits have struggled, they don’t seem to be seeing the critical decreases in funding and workforce volatility that is crippling nonprofits elsewhere.

Aimee Beam has been hired as the new executive director of Midwest Food Bank Bloomington-Normal.

The Baby Fold's pilot doula initiative is the first of its kind in Illinois. Doulas assist with new parents' birth plan and have expertise in mood disorders related to pregnancy and birth.

The Baby Fold board has named a new CEO, Clete Winkelmann, to replace Dianne Schultz, who is retiring.