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Providing a stable refuge: early learning center gives extra help to children in HIV- and AIDS-affected families.

Article Excerpt
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Ushering her crying toddler toward the door of the lobby, a mom soothed away the lingering effects of a playground squabble with one hand while gripping an occupied infant carrier with the other. Luckily, a whimsical animal mosaic caught the little girl's eye and provided some much-needed distraction.

She gazed up, taking in fantastical, larger-than-life lizards, hippos, sheep and ducks that adorned the exposed brick wall. Pig-headed balloons drifted lazily over dangerously sharp cacti as snails watched from their perches on steep, grassy hills. Giggling, the toddler traced the creatures' jewel-encrusted scales, feathers and skin with a tiny finger. Her streaming tears stopped instantly.

End-of-the-day crankiness may plague countless other day care centers. But The Children's Place Association in Humboldt Park is hardly a run-of-the-mill facility. Here, the common denominator among the children is not mommies and daddies with 9-to-5s. It's HIV and AIDS that brings them together.

A nationally recognized leader in pediatric AIDS care, the nonprofit is a comprehensive social service agency that has supported hundreds of children affected by the disease since its inception in 1991. And Cathy Krieger, the association's CEO, has been there to witness it all.

"Improve the present and secure the future--that's our goal," she said, proudly surveying the scene unfolding near the jungle gym. Seven 3-year-olds sat in a circle with their outstretched legs, enclosing an area to keep a rolling ball. The class's more rambunctious boys took to the trampoline or played hoops.

"If they didn't come...

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