Testimonials

Wrap Gone Right:

We would like to share a “Wrap Gone Right” story about “Sara” and her family.
Sara was referred to Families Forward by Child Welfare Services after returning home from 2 years in a group home. Shortly after her return home, Sara regressed back into her previous behaviors including running away for days at a time, failing school, hanging out with gang members, and engaging in a variety of other unsafe behaviors. Sara’s parents were afraid and did not think that they could keep her safe at home. Sara herself was telling all of her Workers that she wanted to return to her previous group home.

It became the mission of the wraparound team to facilitate hope in the family. The team came together to identify strengths, provide support and intervention around the challenges, and above all, agree to work hard and not give up.

Within four months, Sara was attending treatment and addressing all that was underlying her pain. Her parents made the decision to "take back control" from the System and Sara. They set clear expectations, followed through on consequences, increased positive interactions, and held regular family meetings to ensure that every voice in the family was being heard. The team responded to Sara’s need for a “fresh new start” and helped her reclaim her independence and space. The team helped Sara “conquer” her bedroom by “tossing out the old” and “bringing in the new.” The process of meeting Sara where she was allowed for her to begin to trust, regain control in a healthy way, and continue her healing process.

It is now almost a year later. Sara is attending school regularly and earning A’s and B’s. She is looking toward her future and thinking about college. She and her counselor have started looking at options for school. Sara is looking for a job and preparing to enroll in the “Caring Helper’s” program of MHS Inc. to be become a youth mentor as a first step in the helping profession. Sara and her family hold regular family meetings and instead of just talking about the problems of the past, topics now include fun stuff like getting a puppy (dad said no) and "who drank all of the milk!" They also talk about their hopes as a family for the future. Sara and her family will be graduating soon. We will miss Sara but are very proud of how far she and her family has come and are confident that they will continue to carry what they learned from the wraparound process.
* Content of this story has been changed to protect the confidentiality of the client.

Employee Recognition:
Families Forward is proud to acknowledge the following employees:
Susmita Thukral, Employee of the Month June 2008, for her skills in dealing with difficult youth and complicated situations. Susmita also possesses a high degree of professionalism and commitment to ethics, which has made her an invaluable member of the program’s Positive Change committee and has allowed her to confront challenging circumstances with positive outcomes. Susmita models a standard of ethics much to be admired.

Jeff Saylor, Employee of the Month July 2008, for his above and beyond efforts with an extremely high risk youth. An example of this is the lengths Jeff has gone to provide safety and structure for one of his clients. Jeff rode the school bus with his teenage client to provide encouragement and a friendly face to make his school transition easier. He demonstrated persistence, commitment, collaboration with all System involvement, and sensitivity to culture. Jeff’s genuine hope and belief in the client has resulted in the client believing in himself.

Jennifer Chandler, employee of the month for August. Jennifer, in her role as Contract Monitor, makes all of our jobs easier. She has a positive, “can-do” attitude and is effective and efficient in all that she does. Jennifer did a wonderful job on creating and co-presenting the YSS survey to staff and Operations and has recently completed the design for the upcoming Families Forward Longitudinal Study. She has also worked very hard on the Families Forward website. Jennifer is a joy to work with and a true asset to our program.

Couldn’t do it without you:

A special “thank you” to Jay Sakamoto and Rachel Hulse of Child Welfare Services for the wonderful support and collaboration. Please share in our celebration of “SM’s” success and graduation!

 
Child / Youth Corner:
One of our talented youth has graciously shared one of her poems.
Stop
Take a look
It’s us
Comin’ down the street
So loud screaming and hollering
I wish they would quit bothering
Just keep screaming and hollering
They need some major help
I think I have just the people for the job
It’s Mia, Therese, Consuelo, and Kathleen
The best workers I have ever seen
Now tell me your problem
Well, see it goes like this
My mom’s tired all of the time
She nags so much it should be a crime
I’m trying to get out to my dad’s
However if I go out there my mom will get mad
I’m almost 18 and when I get a temper
I can get mean
That’s only three of my problems
I have a hard time paying attention
I have ADHD and then….
Alright calm down
Let us tell you about
the program to see if it’s something you want to do
I can guarantee you’re not going to help me
Well Jennifer, we will have to see
So tell us something you would like to work on
What for? Give it a week and you’ll be gone
Well let’s just write down a few things
Okay
Well, you already told me some so let’s write those down
Alright well I will see you next week
Alright that’s fine.
Hello Jennifer its next week, rise and shine
Oh my gosh, what time is it?
It’s time for you to wake up, come sit
So tell me, how are you doing?
Well in about month
You are gonna have to do a summary of
Your progress
I’ll try it
Ding dong
Mom
Hello Jennifer, so you remember what I said a month ago
Uh no
We have to do an essay on your progress
Oh that’s right
Well I do have a lot to write about
It’s like ever since you guys came
I went from drought to rain
You guys aren’t the same
You stayed with us through thick and thin
And now it made me see that I want to win
I’m in this game again
There’s no shame, no blame in my game
Now I live for me
I think it’s time to see who’s responsible
For bringing this miracle to me
It’s Mia, Therese, Consuelo, and Kathleen
Because of them
I am me.

By: Jennifer
* Some content of the poem was changed to protect the confidentiality of the client.