Page

Volume 3, Issue 1

People. One welcome– to our newest Family Consultant, Marie Hartley. Marie comes with strong experience in child welfare work, most recently as coordinator for the Waynesboro Family Assessment and Planning Team. Both thanks and apologies to our Valley DSS colleagues whose loss in Marie will prove a gain, we hope, for all of us in the Staunton - Augusta - Waynesboro area.

        Many thanks to Tom and Peggy Bosserman who retired late last year after 30 years of service as People Places Teaching Parents. Tom and Peggy taught many of us what it means to be a Teaching Parent and made an astounding

Text Box: difference in the lives of dozens of children. We love you folks…. Services. 2004 saw the highest participation rate ever for youth and for birth and foster parent involvement in group counseling and training. Over half of our youth currently are involved in group work. Forty-one Teaching Parents and 27 birth parents completed our 5-week Anger Awareness course offered at our Staunton and Harrisonburg offices. This training has proven particularly effective when delivered in tandem tracks for both caregivers and youth. A study completed last year showed significant gains Text Box: in empathy-related skills for Anger Awareness participants. The training appears most effective among youth when combined with therapeutic horsemanship – giving our youth an opportunity to safely assess and manage their feelings in relationship with a partner that is sensitive to emotion, but not susceptible to bullying or manipulation. This spring, we are offering the following groups: Job Planning & Decision Making, Social Skills Training, Survivors (of Sexual Abuse), Education Support/Tutoring, and Anger Awareness/Therapeutic Horsemanship. Mentor services have expanded as well with 25 mentors currently working with 33 youth. Text Box: tive group work. Monthly independent living groups also began last fall and continue through this spring with our high school-aged youth. Topics include Goal-Setting, Education Planning and “Stay or Go” – a workshop designed to help older youth make an informed choice about remaining in care upon reaching age 18. Planning is underway for our next Summer Training Program (STP) sequence set to begin in June and run through early August. The Text Box: Services. Group services are growing in Cville. Director, Doris Moore, MSW and therapist Laurie Bonney, LCSW completed an Anger Awareness training sequence with a group of People Places youth and their Teaching Parents last fall. Spring will see a second Anger Awareness sequence – this time combining therapeutic horsemanship work with cognitive and affecText Box: STP focus is on supervised work experience and occupational social skills training. Contact Donnell Smith for further information.

People. The welcome mat is out for some outstanding additions to our Charlottesville office staff. Three new Family Consultants have joined us in recent months. Maryland’s loss is our gain with Erin Garcia who returned to hometown Cville to join us last November. In January, we were fortunate to welcome Jay Rachmel to our Family Consultant ranks. Jay brings six years’ experience in therapeutic foster care and independent living services with adolescents to his work here. In February, Peter Bagnulo joined us following several years as an adoption specialist with Valley DSS. Another round of thanks - and apologies - to our Valley DSS compatriots. As new Family Consultants have joined the crew, older (so to speak) Family Consultants have moved into other positions. Stephanie Snider has added supervisory responsibility for one Family Consultant (Erin) to her duties as our Adoption Specialist and Admissions Coordinator in Cville. Douglas Johnson will combine Family Consultant supervision (Peter) with management of our Aide service and assistance to Donnell Smith as we continue to build our independent living services.

Farewell to Terry Hermann and Jason Holland who have moved on after many years of dedicated service to our Cville families and children. Thanks and best wishes to you both. Good bye and hello to Michele Morris who reluctantly leaves her Family Consultant position to assume many of Terry’s responsibilities as Office Manager.

Page 1   2   3   4