YSB – Patriot Prep Camp

Jay County Fair 2023 - Patriot Prep Camp

PATRIOT PREP CAMP

On July 11, the Youth Service Bureau was able to set up a table at the fairgrounds during Kids Day for Patriot Prep Camp! At this table, we provided laminated activity binders for preschoolers going into kindergarten to take home and prepare them for kindergarten. These binders included the alphabet, skills with counting to 20, rhyming sheets, color matching, and so much more! We were able to distribute 75 binders to the Jay County community! We also provided children books and different type of flashcards, and Play-Doh that children were able to do an activity with at the table and then take home the Play-Doh home.

We’re so happy to hear great responses from those who participated in the program!

"I just wanted to say thanks to you and your organizations!!! My daughter absolutely loved her flash cards and took them to the sitter’s this morning with her (we have other sets at home but this was HER new special set). The laminated activities in the binder, play-doh and BOOK was all so Very nice!! We LOVE to read!! We read that while at the fair and she was playing with the play-doh during the magic show."
Tracy Carpenter
First Bank of Berne

The YSB thanks the United Way of Jay County and the Portland Rotary Club for their generous support of the Patriot Prep Camp program!

Patriot Prep Camp – 2023
Patriot Prep Camp – 2023
Patriot Prep Camp – 2023
Patriot Prep Camp – 2023
Patriot Prep Camp – 2023

Pinwheel Ride Against Child Abuse

Activities at the Pinwheel Ride Against Child Abuse
Activities at the Pinwheel Ride Against Child Abuse
Activities at the Pinwheel Ride Against Child Abuse
Activities at the Pinwheel Ride Against Child Abuse
YSB Table at the Pinwheel Ride Against Child Abuse
YSB Table at the Pinwheel Ride Against Child Abuse
Activities at the Pinwheel Ride Against Child Abuse
Activities at the Pinwheel Ride Against Child Abuse
Pinwheel Ride Against Child Abuse
Pinwheel Ride Against Child Abuse
Activities at the Pinwheel Ride Against Child Abuse
Activities at the Pinwheel Ride Against Child Abuse
YSB Table at the Pinwheel Ride Against Child Abuse
YSB Table at the Pinwheel Ride Against Child Abuse

The Youth Service Bureau set up a table at the Pinwheel Ride Against Child Abuse on April 15th. This event was an amazing opportunity for youth of all ages to come uptown and enjoy outside activities on a beautiful Saturday. Our table was able to provide adults in the community with an opportunity to learn about the services that the Youth Service Bureau is able to offer while youth decorated the sidewalks to bring awareness of child abuse!

New Year, New Team Members!

It’s been a great start to 2023, and we’re happy to announce our Residential Care program team has grown! Welcome Breanna and Amanda to the YSB!

Breanna Rodeffer

Position: Residential, Direct Child Care Worker

“I have two children, Braelyn and Weston. I have a Goldendoodle named Mia. I’m going to school for nursing.”

Breanna - YSB

Melinda Bailey

Position: Residential, Direct Child Care Worker

“I have 4 wonderful adult children and I fostered high needs children for 9 years.”

Melinda - YSB

Amanda Riley

Position: Residential, Direct Child Care Worker

“I am easy going and I absolutely love working with kids! I’m a mom of 4, 3 boys and 1 girl. I’m a very outgoing person and also nerdy!”

Amanda - YSB

Our Residential Care treatment program is designed to assist youth in need of temporary or extended rehousing. Our staff are trained in therapeutic intervention, and help residents learn independent living skills while maintaining and strengthening family contact.

To learn more about our Residential Care program, click here to visit our Residential Care program page.

For any questions regarding our Residential Care program, please contact us at:

Residential Care
Youth Service Bureau, Jay County
260-726-8520
ysbjc@ysbjc.com

Salary: $40,000.00 – $55,000.00 per year

Linda Ashman: Caseworker!

Linda Ashman has worked with YSB since 1998. Linda has worked in many different programs within YSB. She has been a faithful Homemaker in the Homebased Family Services Program since April 2011. As a Homemaker, Linda works one on one with children and families that are a part of the Department of Child Services. Linda works with the families to help provide resources and services to help children to be able to be reunified with parents or to help prevent removal from occurring. Linda has provided exceptional services to her families by going the extra mile with every case. Linda is faithful and puts her whole heart into the services that she provides.

Due to the experience and time that Linda has served at YSB, the Department of Child Services granted a waiver for Linda to provide a higher level of service as a Caseworker. During a Homebased staffing on December 8, 2022, Linda was presented with a Caseworker mug by Program Director, Katie Helm. We are excited as Linda continues to be an asset to the Homebased program at YSB.

K. A. R. S. S. Program

K.A.R.S.S. Program (Keeping At-Risk Students in School)

K. A. R. S. S.

Keeping At-Risk Students in School

My name is Elyse Bost and I am the new K.A.R.S.S. and Safe Place Coordinator at the YSB in Jay County! I love the K.A.R.S.S. program! The ability to take students to connect to the community is so important, along with showing them all they can give back with just a little bit of their time. One of my plans for the program is to get students connected with members in the community to allow room for all different kinds of opportunity. The most important thing for me to accomplish in this program is students graduating and having an idea of what they would like to accomplish after high school! It can be intimidating to graduate and not know all of the different options available to you. I just want to help them find where they want to go and give them the tools to get there!

The program is offered to Jay County students who are suspended, recommended for expulsion, and those at-risk of not graduating or being suspended/expelled.  Each element of the KARSS Program provides the student an opportunity to evaluate their choices which facilitated the referral, improve school performance, and to become more connected with family, community, and self. Specific processes will vary for each student based on individualized case plans and needs, but each will encourage positive behavior change and build feelings of competency, usefulness, belonging, and empowerment, all critical elements to preventing juvenile delinquency.

  • Referrals can be made by anyone, but must be approved by the Jay School Corp.
  • The program serves students in grades 7-12.
  • Work with clients is mostly one to one, or one to two.
  • Services provided to participants
  • Assistance in completing any missing assignments
  • Maintenance of incoming assignments
  • Assistance/tutoring in problem subjects as needed
  • Development of positive behavior change through the use of evidence-based life skills worksheets and follow-up discussion
  • Encouragement of skill building associated with problem solving, conflict resolution, personal responsibility, and self esteem
  • Assistance with identifying areas of interest to involve the student in community service that would provide instruction and experience in that area
  • Support with transitioning the student back into the regular school day
  • Supervision of student compliance to the personalized case plan

Contact/Referral Information:  Elyse Bost      Telephone: 260-726-8520    Email: elyse.bost@ysbjc.com

Join us at the YSB Fall Playgroup!

ysb family fall playgroup sept 28th 2022 haynes park

The Youth Service Bureau will be holding a fall playgroup on Wednesday, September 28th from 4:30pm to 6:00pm!

What: Youth Service Bureau Fall Playgroup
Where: Haynes Park, Portland, Indiana
When: Wednesday, Sept. 28th, 4:30-6:00pm
Who: All local families with children through preschool age

The fall playgroup is sponsored by the Portland Rotary Club. This event will be held at Haynes Park. All local families with children thru preschool age are invited to attend. There will be craft and activity stations for families to participate in and snacks and a book will be provided. The Youth Service Bureau invites families that are part of the Healthy Families program, as well as families in the community. The Youth Service Bureau would like to thank the Portland Rotary Club for sponsoring the event and providing the supplies for the fall playgroup!

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/

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

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!

The Youth Service Bureau of Jay County, Inc. (YSB) would like To Give Special Thanks!

Left To Right.

Carlin Tipton, Todd Weaver Jr., Chris Liby, Clint Skirvin, Carl Masters, Todd Weaver Sr., Thomas Hampton. Not Pictured: Ryan Wilson

The Youth Service Bureau of Jay County, Inc. (YSB) would like to send a special thanks out to Mark Lefever and the KBL Transport team for their recent generosity!

Property at 609 West Arch Street was recently purchased by the YSB. Thanks to their help and generosity we are one step closer to having a nice green space for supervised visitations, outpatient play therapy, and YSB employee functions.