Community – Page 3 – Youth Service Bureau

Homebased Blog – Family Preservation

The Youth Service Bureau has provided Home-Based Family Services since 1994. Home-Based Family Services are intervention services that work with families involved with the Department of Child Services or juvenile probation. A wide variety of services from Parent-Aid, Casework, Therapy, Supervised Visits, Family Preservation, and Parenting Assessments help preserve intact families and support families as they seek reunification. We provide strength-based and trauma-informed services that help build family resiliency to assist our clients in reaching their greatest potential.

In 2020, Indiana’s Department of Child Services implemented a new model of working with families. Family Preservation Services was designed to work with families that DCS believes could safely care for their children in their home with the assistance of appropriate services. Family Preservation Services are utilized with families to keep the children in the home without removing them from the family’s care. These services are referred to one agency that will assess the family’s needs and implement all services for the family. This allows for consistent and wraparound services for the family.

YSB has provided Family Preservation Services since July 2020. We have provided this service for 41 families in 6 counties over the last 4 years. We implement at least one evidence-based practice with the family which includes: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, the 123 Magic Parenting Curriculum, the STEP Parenting Curriculum, and the Seeking Safety Substance Use Curriculum. We provide an array of services, such as individual and family therapy, resource needs, housing, employment and budgeting, parenting skills, behavioral and coping skills, domestic violence coping skills, substance use coping skills, services for home conditions, and educational skills. Over the last 4 years, we have seen success stories of families being able to stay together, work through addressing their needs, and be able to continue after the case has closed with maintaining the skills they have learned. We are excited to continue providing this service to families in Jay, Delaware, Randolph, and Henry Counties.

-Katie Helm
Homebased Director

Summer Arts Classes – Residential Care

Last year the Residential Program had so much fun participating in summer classes at the Art’s Place that we were extremely excited when the opportunity arose to participate again. A big reason that the Arts Place classes are so special to us at YSB is because of the therapeutic nature that comes along with creating art. Youth often struggle with expressing themselves and their identity and being able to use their hands to do just those things can frequently have a positive impact on them and their mindset.

We kicked off the summer with making tiles out of clay that would then be used as a backsplash for the sink at the arts place. The kids had so much fun with this as they were able to get their hands dirty and be creative. They also loved the idea of their work being displayed in the room where others would see them for many years. While doing this activity a big thing that stood out was when one resident did not feel confident in her work. She continuously asked if everyone else thought that hers looked good. We were able to redirect the conversation and respond by asking her if she thought that her tiles looked good. When she really looked at her own work and received her own approval, she stopped worrying about what everyone else thought and she noticeably became more confident in her work.

Some of the other classes we took this summer involved painting tote bags and tye-dying t-shirts. These classes may have seemed more “simple” but still challenged our residents to think outside the box while also being able to follow the instructions provided to them. One lesson they learned was patience, as patience was needed to let the shirts sit for 24 hours and then follow the instructions given by the arts place to properly rinse the dye and wash them. They loved having new shirts to wear around.

As school got closer our staff and kids were a little bummed to not have more classes to participate in. So you can imagine how excited we were when Allison Smiley sent us an Invitation to participate in a week-long Art Camp before school started. While signing up she generously gave us a code to use to be able to allow our kids to participate in this 5-day class that consisted of five classes each day. This was so much fun and the kiddos loved participating, getting out of the residential facility, and of course, the amazing food that was provided for lunch. YSB has loved partnering with the Art’s Place for the second summer in a row and we hope to be able to give more kids the opportunity next summer as well!

We would like to give a huge thank you the Art’s Place for this opportunity and the First Bank of Berne for sponsoring our participation this summer!

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30 Binders Passed Out At Patriot Prep Camp!

On July 9, the Youth Service Bureau was able to set up on Kids Day at the Jay County Fair! We were set up in the Farmers building with kindergarten readiness binders that have activities, such as learning letters and numbers, shapes, colors, time, and so much more! We were also able to provide books and flashcards alongside the binders. It was a privilege to watch the kids get excited over the opportunity to spend more time with their parents learning! Parents were also very appreciative of the binders and the activities provided in it. Regardless of the rainy weather, we were able to give out 30 binders to families! We do still have some binders leftover. If you are interested, please stop in at the Youth Service Bureau office at 603 West Arch Street in Portland, Indiana. We do plan to set up at another event within the next month to hopefully give out the rest of the binders to families!

Thank you to United Way for funding the entire Patriot Prep Camp Program and thank you to the Jay County Fair for allowing us to be a part of Kids Day!

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Residential Care Kings Island Trip

During the summer months we try and plan special recreation activities for our residential youth. One recent activity was a trip to King’s Island. There is something very special about introducing youth to fun experiences that they may have never experienced before. This is truly one of the best parts of the job here at the YSB! On this particular trip, two of our youths had never been on a roller coaster before!

The morning of the trip we started very early in the morning. We left the Residential facility around 6:30 am and then went to Scott Bissell’s house where he generously fixed everyone breakfast! After everyone had their fill of breakfast we continued on our journey to King’s Island. We arrived just as the park was opening. After a quick discussion, the group decided to start the day with the Diamondback rollercoaster. Both residents who had never been on a rollercoaster before were a little nervous about the height of the ride but it did not deter them. After the ride was over one of them shared that they thought their heart stopped on the way down! This resident went on to ride every coaster in the park. The other resident, who also enjoyed Diamondback, was more strategic in which rollercoasters they rode for the remainder of the day.

As mentioned we were able to ride every rollercoaster in the park and a couple of them we rode twice. We spent the day riding rides, eating some good food, and then watched fireworks along with a drone show as we closed the park down! Despite being a very long day, the youth had a great time and the staff who attended had an equally great time with them! I wish we were able to share the actual pictures of our youth that day as a picture really does say a million words!

Thank you to all our supporters who help make these trips and experiences possible for our youth!

PJ Corwin
Executive Director

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Jay County High School: Prom Night

This year the YSB had a youth who had the opportunity to attend prom and go on a week-long trip with the school! These were both exciting events we don’t get to participate in all the time, so everyone was more than happy to help make this happen for our youth. There were many plans made and executed along the way, and we want to thank everyone who contributed.

First, thank you to Jay County Junior-Senior High School for providing the prom ticket and for working with our youth and YSB to make sure they could be included in both events! Cowpokes in Anderson, IN graciously agreed to donate a new pair of cowboy boots, to accommodate the wardrobe wishes of our youth. Heidi Bouse, the Business Manager for YSB, ordered and donated the boutonniere. Dawn Milligan, our File Review staff, secured funds through her church, Willow Tree Ministries located at 722 West Main St in Portland to purchase clothes for prom. We were able to get a tux for the big event! The Elks Lodge in Portland provided free pre-prom dinner for any prom attendees who chose to go there for dinner. In addition to all of these wonderful gestures, many staff members stepped up to help out as well. Big shout out and much gratitude to Erika Limbert, the YSB Case Manager who ran our youth all over east central Indiana to gather all the goodies together and ensured all the plans in place would work. Thanks to Erika Huntsman and Abi Walker who helped our youth get ready for dinner and prom, took some fantastic pictures at local venues, and also provided his transportation to and from prom. Thanks to Anna Coronato, who provided extra staff support so coworkers could make sure our youth made it to and from the extended school trip!

It is with the deepest of gratitude that the Youth Service Bureau and our youth thanks everyone who helped make this happen! All too often our youths are unable to participate in these memorable events due to life circumstances which makes it even more important that we were able to work together to provide our youth with these opportunities. Thank you all, again, for all of your caring and hard work.

Heather Hall
-Residential Program Director

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Winchester, IN – Donations and Volunteering

Relief efforts are ongoing for those affected by the tornados in Randolph County.

To find out how to assist with these efforts, please visit the Randolph County Foundation website (www.randolphcountyfoundation.org).

On 3/25/24 our youth in the residential program volunteered at the Winchester Moose Lodge with sorting and handing out donations for the families that lost their homes in the recent tornado. Our residents assisted with sorting the items and marking out barcodes.

However, their favorite part was being able to assist those who came in with finding the items they needed. One of our residents assisted an elderly lady in finding various items such as canned food, dishes, and clothes. He helped her try on various coats until she found one that fit her properly. While he was helping her they had an opportunity to talk a little bit and get to know each other. He then helped her load her stuff in the car and they hugged and wished each other well. He stated that he never knew volunteering could be so amazing! He shared that he was eager to do it again to keep meeting amazing people while being able to give back to a community in a positive way.

Our residential kids have not always had an opportunity to see the value in community and helping other people. They all agreed that it was a meaningful experience that they would remember for years to come.

– Erika Limbert, Residential Case Manager

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Honoring Board Member – Pam Bennett

During the February YSB Board of Directors Meeting we were thrilled to recognize Pam Bennett for her years of service to the YSB as a board member. Pam had served on the YSB board for the last 9 years, February 2015 through February 2024.

In addition to fulfilling her basic board responsibilities, Pam was instrumental in recruiting new board members, she served as BOD Treasurer for several years, and has been a huge asset to our Marketing Committee! Although we are very sad to see Pam’s time on the board come to an end, we are very happy that she has graciously agreed to continue to be a part of the Marketing Committee as marketing is one of her passions!

– PJ Corwin,
Executive Director

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2023 Wrap Up: Arts Place Creative Classes

Wrapping up our news from 2023, our Residential residents had a wonderful time participating in creative arts classes at Arts Place in Portland!

We’re thankful to Arts Place and the Xi Chapter Delta Theta Tau Sorority of Portland for sponsoring this event!

Erika Limbert, who helped lead the experience, had this to say:

“Over the summer the YSB was thrilled to partner with the Arts Place and the Xi Chapter Delta Theta Tau Sorority in order to provide our Residential youth an opportunity to participate in some art classes. This opportunity gave us the chance to work with our youth in care to be able to find new ways of expressing themselves and their emotions in a positive and healthy way. With the variety of classes that were offered to us we were able to discover things that each youth could enjoy.

Some of the residents were able to find their voice in the writing class whereas others were able to express themselves through painting or ceramics. While the classes were fun they also challenged our residents to think out of the box while also being able to follow the instructions provided to them. This opportunity also afforded the residents an opportunity to learn how to build relationships with people in the community through small talk and shared interests, which will be skills that can greatly benefit them for the rest of their lives. The residents grew especially fond of J.B. Goodrich. They expressed a lot of excitement about being able to go and hang out with J.B. and a few others that would come in during the classes.

The residents during these classes were able to express things that they enjoyed doing, such as listen to music with J.B. during the classes, which led to J.B. donating a karaoke machine to our facility. Our residents have had a blast with playing with the karaoke machine and were so excited to learn that it came from J.B. We are looking forward to partnering with the Art’s Place again next summer and being able to continue with such a great activity for our residents in care!”

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Winterfest 2023 – YSB Courthouse Christmas Tree

Our Residential care children have decorated our tree for the 2023 courthouse Christmas tree contest, and we would appreciate your vote!

As part of the annual Winterfest festivities, the Jay County Courthouse is holding its Christmas Tree Contest. Our residents have decorated our white tree with a christmas gnome theme, located on the 3rd floor of the courthouse. Yvonne Duff, who led the activity, wrote about the experience:

“On November 20, 2023, I had scheduled recreation time as helping put up and decorate a Christmas tree at the court house. To be honest, I was dreading it. I have done this many, many times over the years, it had become mundane. I begrudgingly headed to Residential to get my supplies and the girls to help me.

The moment the three girls got into the car, I could feel their excitement. They were very chatty and obviously excited. I thought to myself, let’s see how excited they are as we lug this big tree up three flights of stairs. We unload everything and make our way into the courthouse. As we go through security the girls excitedly tell the officer working why we are there. He gives us directions to our spot, and up we go to the third floor to get started. Interestingly there was no complaining!

We get out our tree that is white and I see apprehension on the girls faces. One asks, “We have a white tree? We are the only ones with a white tree.” But then something delightful happened, and another girls says, “This is great, we are the only ones with a white tree. We will stand out, and I bet we win!!” Her enthusiasm was contagious and we begin decorating.

It doesn’t take long to figure out that only one of the three has ever put a Christmas tree up. They are visibly nervous as they ask what to do. Slowly we get the tree up and the lights on. The girls became very excited. We then got out our handmade ornaments and finished up.

All of us took a step back to look at our creation. The girls started to gasp. They told me it was the most beautiful tree they had ever seen! They wanted me to take their pictures standing by the tree because they didn’t want to ever forget how much fun it was to decorate a beautiful tree. And so for the next 10 minutes I took various pictures.

On the way out, they each went to the officer at the front door and asked him to vote for the YSB tree. He asked why he should and they told him excitedly that if they won, the money would be used for a pizza party for the residents. He asked if he could come and they immediately told him they would love for him to come.

As we walked away, I was once again humbled by the experience of working with abused/neglected/delinquent youth. Something fairly insignificant, that I take for granted, was awe inspiring for three young girls. Something so simple, a white tree with colored lights and handmade ornaments, had brought them joy that they couldn’t help but share. And their joy was catching, as I found myself leaving the courthouse with a smile on my face!

So, if you are at the courthouse this season, look for the YSB tree. It’s the only white one, and it is on the third floor. We would definitely appreciate your vote!”

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Halloween Fun at YSB!

On October 28^th the YSB supported Prevent Child Abuse Randolph County and their laundry project. Through this trunk or treat event they worked to raise money to provide free laundry services to families in need. A special thanks to Marsi Dow for representing the YSB and Healthy Families Program at this event!

On October 29^th, the YSB participated in the As-BOO!-ry 2023 event at the Asbury Church in Portland. At the event PJ Corwin, Emperor Palpatine, Camden Corwin, Darth Vader, and our lovely assistant Jenna Corwin passed out candy to roughly 400 attendees! The force was definitely with us on this day!

The YSB participated in the Portland merchants trick or treat on October 31^st. Elyse was representing the YSB and the Safe Place Program at this event. Elyse and her assistant passed out approximately 800 packages of M&M’s with Safe Place information attached to them.

Thanks to everyone who helped with these fun and successful halloween events!