New Home-Based Program Director

I have been a Home-Based Caseworker with The Youth Service Bureau for 7 years. I have recently taken the position of the new Home-Based Program Director. I am beyond excited to take on this new role and continue to build this program in our communities.

I graduated with my Bachelor’s of Social Work from Olivet Nazarene University in 2013. After graduation, I enjoyed working with children at an Autism Clinic, but I desired to work with children and families within the DCS system.

In 2015, I entered into the casework position at YSB where I quickly learned how passionate and caring the YSB agency and workers were for our clients. I enjoy working with all clients from the little children, to teens, to the parents. This program allows us to help our clients take steps to better their situations and for them to realize and achieve their greatest potential.

As Program Director, I am excited to be able to continue working with clients and also to continue building a passionate home-based team so that we may be able to have an even greater impact in our communities. 

Home-Based Family Services are intervention services that work with families involved with DCS or probation. A wide variety of services from Parent-Aid, Casework, Therapy, Supervised Visits, and Family Preservation help preserve intact families and support families as they seek reunification. Strength-based and trauma-informed services help build family resiliency to assist our clients in reaching their greatest potential. 

Katie Helm, YSB Home-Based Program Director

Healthy Families would like to introduce our new Family Support Specialist, Tina Myers.

My name is Tina Myers. I am 31 years old. I have 3 younger sisters and 1 brother. My husband Greg and I adopted two children in 2019 Macie (6) and Quentin (5). We also just had our baby girl Elena (Raynie) in January. Our animal family consists of 2 dogs, 2 rabbits, and 11 chickens.


Our family likes to spend our free time camping, fishing, and traveling. We have been camping at Paradise Pointe for 10 years. Our goal is to make a home away from home where all of our family can make fun and precious memories that will last for years.


In my previous careers, I have either worked in Customer Service or worked with young children. Throughout my life, I have found that my biggest joy is helping others whether they’re older or younger. I believe that at some point, everyone needs help, even those who are afraid to ask for it. That’s one of the reasons why I am so excited to be a part of this program. Not only will I be able to help others with the help and training I receive from this team, but I, myself will also learn new ideas and new information
and get other perspectives along this journey.

Children in the Middle

Children in the Middle is a program designed to minimize the impact on children when parents divorce. As children often suffer needlessly when parents’ divorce, this program can assist parents in the adjustments children must make during a divorce. Some of those adjustments may include changes in family finances, changes in family structure, addressing feelings of guilt and anger, and feeling like they are caught in the middle.

Did You Know?

·    36.6% of all marriages in the US end in divorce.

  • Roughly one in two children will see their parent’s marriage breakup. 
  • There is a 16% increase in the risk of behavior problems if the child is between 7 and 14 years old when their parents’ divorce.
  • Children of divorced or separated parents are 1.5 to 2 times more likely to live in poverty and engage in risky sexual behavior as they get older.
  • Estimates suggest children from divorced parents have an 8% lower probability of completing high school, a 12% lower probability of college attendance, and an 11% lower probability of college completion.

Roughly 50% of all American children experience the break-up of their parent’s marriage. Unfortunately, about half of these children will then see the end of their parent(s) next marriage. About one in ten children with divorced parents will experience the end of three or more of their parental marriages.

While divorce is often very difficult for children and can lead to several undesirable outcomes as evidenced by the statistics above, these outcomes are not inevitable. Through education and support, we can work to make the situation better for everyone involved.

More Information

https://legaljobs.io/blog/children-of-divorce-statistics/

https://www.verywellfamily.com/children-of-divorce-in-america-statistics-1270390

Register For Classes In Person Or By Phone At The:

Youth Service Bureau of Jay County, Inc.

603 West Arch Street

Portland, IN 47371

Phone: 260-726-8520

https://ysbjc.com/children-in-the-middle/

We Would Like To Say Thanks!

We would like to say thanks to the Community Foundation of Randolph County for your generous contribution of $2000.00 for the BASE/Alternative School Program which provides services for youth in Randolph County. The grant was used to purchase sensory items such as Play-Doh, Pop-its, Kinetic Sand, puzzles, and various board games. Students are allowed to play these games during counseling and as a privilege during break times. Youth often benefit from the use of sensory items to promote focus, reduce anxiety, develop fine motor skills/sense of touch, and also encourage language skills. Youth also learn rules/strategies for playing games and also develop strategy/problem-solving skills and collaboration with others as well.

YSB has also utilized grant funds received from CFRC to purchase items of need for 10 youth who actively participate in counseling services and/or have a financial need. Youth were given a pair of shoes, a pair of athletic pants/leggings, and a hygiene set which often included body spray, body wash, and deodorant.

Additionally, a ticket-based incentive system has been implemented this year that rewards positive behavior with food/drink items as well as other non-monetary privileges. Food items/ingredients were purchased with grant funds. Various students are chosen to assist staff and learn some life skills in cooking/cleaning/food preparation. Grant funds allowed us to purchase an electric griddle and Air Fryer. Burgers were grilled with a Portable Grill that was purchased last year due to ongoing contributions from the CFRC.

There are some additional things that have been able to be purchased and utilized for the BASE/Alternative School. We will be creating another post within the coming months to show those things as well. Thanks so much to the Community Foundation of Randolph County for your continued support! We really appreciate it!

– Chris Dubach, Home-based/BASE Program Manager

As a Resident at the Youth Service Bureau

As a resident at the Youth Service Bureau, I would have to say that the abundance of support and opportunities given to me have completely changed the course of my life. Before YSB, I was a terrified, depressed, and freshly graduated kid with no one in my corner to help me make the healthy life-altering decisions that I was being forced to start making for myself. It’s been clear from the beginning that my circumstances would never lead me to any success in meeting my short-term goals, but compared to my peers, I was bound for long-term failure. 

YSB changed that for me.

At the Youth Service Bureau, they provide 24/7 assistance to the residents living here. We all meet with the therapist and case manager at least once a week to work on dealing with our trauma and on independent living skills so that we are better prepared for the future. Also, I believe that the entire experience of learning how to coexist with the other kids living at the Residential House is more than a necessary skill that all of us are bound to work on and learn from each day we live here.

Though, I do want to say that the kids who are placed at the Youth Service Bureau are definitely not bad kids. It is my belief that the kids that come through here have been dealt bad cards in the game we know as life. We just need a nudge in a better direction so we can become the strong, independent, and healthy adults we deserve to be.

Honestly, I can’t say I’ve ever had the stability and support of a real home before YSB. Now I have both of those things and more from my YSB family, and I could not be happier.

I believe that, at least for me, the YSB is that nudge.

Thank you!

Madelyn Stratton

Thank You! – Heart of Indiana United Way’s Economic Relief Initiative Fund

(B.A.S.E. teachers Joe Younts, Kim Waber, and Chris Dubach)

We are so thankful to have received a grant from the Heart of Indiana United Way’s Economic Relief Initiative Funds for the B.A.S.E program in Randolph County!

The grant received will be used to purchase rewards/incentives for BASE students who demonstrate good behavior, for personal hygiene items, sensory items to stimulate the five senses, clothing, shoes, or other needed articles of clothing, as well as food items. This year we have implemented a new behavioral incentive program for BASE students. Each school-day BASE students can earn one ticket every 30 minutes for good behavior. Tickets are given throughout the day for positive behavior and can be removed for negative behaviors. At the end of each day, students can trade in their tickets for the purchase of items or they can choose to save them for bigger items that have a higher ticket value. BASE students and staff met this week to determine specific tangible and intangible rewards along with appropriate ticket values for each.

In October we are planning to start doing some hands-on cooking/food preparation with BASE students to create and eat various food items. This also is a great opportunity to teach students how to make a list of needed food items, compare prices of the food items at the store, learn to safely prepare and serve food items, and properly clean dishes. In addition, teaching youth to make food items themselves will help them have a general knowledge of ways to save money preparing food items themselves versus frequently eating out. We really appreciate your support and faith in our program.

Thanks again for your generous grant contribution so we can better assist Randolph Youth in our BASE Program,

Chris Dubach, Home-based Program Coordinator

Healthy Families would like to introduce our new Family Support Specialist, Ashlyn Maloy.

I am a 22-year-old who graduated from IUPUI, May of 2021. I received a Bachelor of General Studies with a concentration in Social and Behavioral Science, as well as a minor in psychology and a minor in sociology. Prior to attending IUPUI, I graduated from Union City Jr./Sr. High School in 2017. My husband and I just returned to the area last year. We will celebrate our first wedding anniversary this Halloween.

This summer, we welcomed our first baby into our family. Before we had our son, Beau, we already had three other babies; two cats and a dog. When I’m not at work, you’ll most likely find me spending time with my family, listening to crime podcasts, cooking, doing some kind of craft, or playing Animal Crossing. Even though we’ve only had about three months with our son, I feel he has taught me a lot of valuable information that I can use in my role as a Family Support Specialist.

As an FSS, I hope to continuously grow and expand my knowledge to be as helpful as possible for each family. I’m excited to be a part of the Youth Service Bureau and find a fulfilling career working with Healthy Families!

B.A.S.E.

Behavioral, Academic and Social Education


I have seen firsthand the positive impact that meaningful, supportive, adult relationships can have on youth. I was able to connect with all of the BASE youth over the summer in person to provide support and talk about events of their summer. What we did: eating lunch, going out for ice cream, playing basketball, playing Frisbee golf, and even catching some crayfish/tadpoles in a creek in Winchester.

I have found that students will often discuss things they are dealing with if they do an activity they enjoy. It also helps if you show them that you care, and have developed trust and accountability. Two of the BASE youth were able to maintain jobs over the summer. BASE youth talked about their current support systems and activities that they were going to engage in and were able to stay out of trouble with law enforcement. Students have returned to school. BASE students had to re-adjust to classroom rules and expectations for behavior.


So far behaviors have been a challenge for most students to not give in to negative peer pressure from others or seek negative attention from peers. However, BASE students are starting to realize that they are missing out on incentives for good behaviors and also receiving negative consequences for their actions. BASE staff has also really been focusing on students taking ownership/responsibility for each individual choice instead of blaming others. Within the next month, we are planning to start cooking some food items as incentives and also begin teaching some life skills to students.

Although we haven’t yet been able to do this yet, this is something that they/we are looking forward to. Today was a really good day behaviorally for all students. Students completed a full-day amount of online school assignments in the morning. They were allowed to watch a movie this afternoon and also received a drink of their choice at McDonald’s. We are always glad to reward students for good behavior!

Home-Based Family Services

What Are Home-Based Family Services?

Unlike the outpatient or residential programs, home-based services seek to work with families in the primary place of need – their own home! Whether working to preserve intact families or train and support them as they seek reunification, home-based workers are equipped to help families reach their greatest potential in a variety of ways.

What Types Of Services Fall Under Home-Based?

Family Preservation Services (FPS) were introduced in 2020 as part of a state-wide initiative to reduce the number of child removals and provide more support to parents in order to keep children safe. Family Preservation provides comprehensive services including the use of evidence-based parenting
models, providing concrete support for families, and intensive safety checking and planning.


Supervised Visitation provides a safe environment for children who have been removed from their home to maintain or improve a healthy relationship with their parent(s). Supervised visits may occur in the home, in public, or in an office setting according to family needs. Home-based workers provide guidance and support for parents to improve their parenting skills and promote healthy bonding with their children.


Home-based Casework and Homemaker/Parent Aid meet a variety of family needs including household management, employment, housing, parent education, mentoring, connecting with resources, transportation assistance, and a variety of other needs. Caseworkers and Homemaker/Parent Aids provide a broad assessment leading to strengths-based, goal-oriented treatment planning.


Home-based Therapy seeks to bring inner healing to children and families. Therapy may address issues such as trauma, substance use/abuse, mental health, and family dynamics. Home-based therapy is provided by Master’s-level clinicians and may occur in the home, public, or office setting.

Where Does YSB Provide Home-Based Services?

Home-based services are offered to families involved with DCS or juvenile probation. YSB Home-based programs are available throughout DCS Region 7 including Adams, Blackford, Delaware, Grant, Jay, Randolph, and Wells Counties along with Henry and Wayne Counties in Region 12. Specific services may be only be available in certain counties due to staffing and caseloads

K. A. R. S. S.

The Keeping At-Risk Students in School program works with youth that are suspended or expelled from school, or who
need extra support and guidance that are at-risk. These students participate in community service at locations around
Jay County, at places like the Jay County Humane Society, Jay County Retirement Center, Arts Place, United Way, Jay
County Antique Mall, local churches and libraries. Youth in this program also benefit from tutoring help, behavior
management and drug prevention education.


Since the beginning of the program, the KARSS program has worked with 1,039 youth and have completed over 10,430
hours of community service. The KARSS program is currently working with 18 youth and has been focusing on
completing schoolwork, walking dogs at the humane society, and helping with the bi-weekly food harvest food drive