March-April Cornerstone Newsletter

Wavesof change

A NEXUS NEWSLETTER

MARCH/APRIL 2017 cornerst neIN THIS ISSUE

CEO Message 1

Integration & Stabilization 3

Nexus CANS System 4

New Faces at Nexus 6

Welcome PATH 7

Nexus Fundraising: The Story So Far 9

Handling the Time Squeeze 11

Make your Pitch: Call for Presenters 12

Homespun Generosity at Mille Lacs 13

Great Lessons at Gerard 15

Onarga’s Classic 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament 17

Indian Oaks Students Learnin New Ways 19

Woodbourne Practices Mindfulness 21

KFF Merges with PATH MN 23

Glen Lake and DBT 25

1 | MARCH/APRIL 2017

Brock Wolff

“In the waves of change, we find our true direction.”

— Unknown

CEO: View from the Corner Office

These last few months have been a very busy and exciting time at Nexus. Since the retirement of our CEO and CFO earlier this year, we’ve had a big turnover in executive leadership. I took over as CEO; we brought

on a new CFO, Hilke Riechardt-Martinez; and we added a new Vice President of Operations, Curtis Knutson. Both Hilke and Curtis bring a wealth of talent and experience to the organization, and I am optimistic that

they will both have a long and bright future with Nexus. There have also been several other staffing changes at the Corporate office, and the team here is really taking shape.

Our Finance department is finally fully staffed, and is working extremely well with audits, cost reports, financial forecasting, and day-to-day activities.

Human Resources is also at full capacity, and has been able to stay on top of all the HR activity at Nexus.

The Clinical Department has really ramped up its efforts to help our services improve throughout the organization, and is very focused on training and CQI activities.

In addition to Corporate’s role of providing support to our sites, the Corporate office has and will continue to focus on fiscal responsibility. With our growth from a $37-million company to a $100-million company over the last several years, we have had to change the way we do business. The processes that worked for us as a smaller organization no longer work as effectively as they once did. As a result, necessary changes are taking place to help us streamline operations, maximize the resources we have, and gain overall efficiencies.

New internal policies and procedures will enhance our internal checks and balances and ensure we are being great stewards with our resources. We know many of the sites have had to tighten their belts over the past several years, and Corporate is making a concerted effort to be more frugal in how we conduct our business operations, too.

In our continuing effort to position Nexus as a thought leader and community partner, we have been very active legislatively. Our fundraising efforts have also continued to grow and gain positive results.

VP of Operations Curtis Knutson

CFO Hilke Riechardt-Martinez

Nexus History

We’ve come a long way from our humble beginnings in 1972. Nexus, originally named Port Alpha, began as long-term residential rehabilitative treatment for adult males from the Hennepin County court system in downtown Minneapolis. Today, Nexus provides a multitude of services in Minnesota, Illinois, Maryland, North Dakota, and Idaho.

1975–Port Alpha reincorporated as Nexus.

1977–Nexus services moved to Minnetonka, MN.

1990–Nexus opened Onarga Academy in Onarga, IL.

1991–Nexus moved to Onamia, MN, where Mille Lacs Academy was born.

1993–Illinois programs expanded to include a second site, Indian Oaks Academy.

1999–Gerard Treatment Programs joined the Nexus family.

2011–Nexus acquired MN-based foster care and adoption agency, Family Focus.

2012–Nexus affiliated with Woodbourne Center and with another foster care and adoption agency, Kindred Family Services.

2014–Family Focus and Kindred Family Services merged to create one agency named Kindred Family Focus.

2015–Nexus Glen Lake opens in Minnetonka, MN, Nexus’ first all-girls program.

April 1, 2017–Nexus affiliated with PATH, Inc. of North Dakota and Idaho to expand foster care and family services in those two states. The PATH MN arm merged with Kindred Family Focus services to become the largest private foster care and adoption agency in Minnesota.

MARCH/APRIL 2017 | 2

We have also had a laser focus on growing our operations and expanding our continuum of care. For the last several months, we worked very hard to complete the affiliation with PATH ND, and merger with PATH MN. We leaned heavily on the many lessons we learned from our previous partnerships with Woodbourne, Kindred Family Services, and Family Focus, and, as a result, this process went extremely well. Things are on course for a great deal of success moving forward.

We are continually approached with opportunities to partner with other organizations or otherwise expand services. As I have often said, when considering these options, what we say no to is as important as what we say yes to. While we want to keep growing as a company, we do not want to grow too fast or overextend ourselves. That’s always a fine line to walk.

When we recently heard that St. Cloud’s Children’s home in St. Cloud, MN, was shutting down its residential services, we reached out to the state and several counties to see if we could take over that program and save beds in the system. We worked very hard within a short timeline to try to make this happen. In the end, we were not able to secure an acceptable lease, so we had to walk away.

Currently, we are looking at the possibility of expanding PATH North Dakota foster care services into Colorado, and we have an additional opportunity to expand Woodbourne’s operations to Maryland’s Eastern Shore.

These types of organic and organizational expansion opportunities will continue to surface, and we will have to be a flexible and nimble organization to take advantage of these situations to grow our organization, as they arise.

Never a dull moment as they say, but the future looks as bright as it ever has.


Dr. Michelle K. MurrayVP of Clinical Services

A Year of Integration and StabilizationIn the last two years, we’ve celebrated many accomplishments related to the rollout of the Nexus Practice Model. It took the hard work and

commitment of many departments and staff across the organization to develop the Nexus Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (CANS), complete all applicable trainings, and prepare our programs to utilize the CANS for assessment and service planning.

With these foundational markers in place, it is time for us to shore up what we have established to ensure consistent implementation. The Clinical, Training, and CQI strategic goals for 2017 were created specifically to support the integration of what we worked so hard to develop. We will reach practice stabilization as we start to integrate these systems and establish consistency.

Two goals in particular will help us align our practice model principles and activities into existing processes:

1. Revise and update the Residential Treatment Manual to reflect• changes that programs made regarding approaches

to working with specialty populations (high-acuity, sexually problematic, and intellectually delayed youth);

• our Practice Principles and activities;• the COA standards.

2. Utilize the rollout of Grovo, our online training system, to ensure that our training reflects the Nexus Practice Model by • supporting the sites in learning the Grovo system

for effective utilization;

• updating current training modules to include Practice Principle references, where applicable;

• ensuring that we have existing trainings for each Practice Principle and making them accessible through Grovo.

The three goals listed below support the successful implementation of the Nexus Practice Model across Nexus programming:

1. Rolling out revised versions of existing support documents and processes that will reinforce practice model principles, such as our entry-level interview questions, supervision notes, and clinical peer review (i.e., clinical audit).

2. Providing ongoing support, training, and education regarding the Nexus CANS instrument and data usage.

3. Utilizing Nexus CANS information to provide programmatic and systemic information about client and family needs and strengths to support the use of meaningful data to help with service delivery.

These goals are designed to support what is already developed, and not intended to add additional processes. Rather, the intent is to replace existing practices with new ones (i.e., old interview questions with new interview questions). This still causes a change, and we understand that change can be difficult. My hope is that the changes endured now will lead to increased dividends in the future by providing care that lowers youth symptom acuity, creating structured and consistent practices, developing a highly trained and skilled workforce, and providing meaningful data to guide practice decisions.

Let’s join together to successfully integrate all of our hard work. Thank you in advance for a successful 2017.

The Clinical View


Becky SchedinDirector of CQI & Research

The Nexus CANS

SystemWe have made great strides since the initial implementation of the Nexus Practice Model. We selected the Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (CANS) as our functional assessment measure, which will identify the needs and strengths of youth and families in our care.

The CANS looks at key domains such as strengths, trauma, functioning, risk behaviors, emotional and behavioral needs, and cultural factors to provide a comprehensive assessment on the challenges and strengths that youth and families may be experiencing. The CANS is more than an assessment; the use of the CANS is grounded in Transformational Collaborative Outcomes Management (TCOM), and hinges upon gathering meaningful information that can be used to engage youth and families, identify shared goals, and support decision-making.

Engaging youth and families as we do every day can result in transformational change, and the work that we do with individuals can gradually help to change our systems and affect positive outcomes. A functional assessment

that measures progress in key domains is crucial to knowing that change is happening. The CANS gives us the ability to measure change, and allows us to communicate with a common language among teams and work toward shared goals. In January, we began piloting the Nexus CANS system at Gerard Academy, and this spring, we are rolling out the system across other Nexus sites and services. The CANS system was developed internally with insights from CQI, Clinical, and IT to serve as the means to gather data and relay the information back in a meaningful way.

Months of strategy, testing, and development went into the CANS system, and it would not be where

CQI: Quality Corner


it is today without the skill and expertise of Nexus’ Database Administrator, Tony Morlan. He worked closely with teams to develop a customized system that would provide a straightforward, user-friendly way of gathering information and using it to support decision-making.

When a user visits the system, they can view a list of their clients and complete a CANS. This data is prompted at intake, quarterly, and at the time of discharge from services. Generally, the individual completing the CANS is also the person responsible for completing the youth’s service or treatment plan. After filling out the CANS, the document is submitted to their supervisor for approval, and users are immediately shown a customized “Youth Needs and Strengths Report” that indicates areas of identified needs and strengths for that particular client. When the client’s next CANS is entered, users are able to view the change in their client’s needs and strengths since the time of the first assessment.

As the system rolls out, users and supervisors will have access to individual client reports as well as lists of assessment statuses. As the system continues to evolve in the coming months, additional reports that look at needs and strengths and change over time at the client, program, and site levels will also be developed. There will also be tools that support decision-making, such as service and treatment planning guides and acuity reports.

We are very excited to begin using the CANS across Nexus services and to hear from staff on additional features, reports, and functions that would be helpful in supporting practice. Please contact Becky ([email protected]) or Tony ([email protected]) with ideas or to learn more!

Sample CANS Needs and Strengths report, which shows a customized summary of changing youth needs over time.


On March 3, Nexus COO Brock Wolff moved into the position of CEO and President. Shortly thereafter, Curtis A. Knutson joined Nexus as the new Vice President of Operations.

Knutson comes to Nexus with a range of operational and financial management leadership positions at large regional and international

organizations, and has expertise in transforming organizations through the alignment of business processes and corporate objectives.

As Nexus Vice President of Operations, Knutson is responsible for providing leadership and consultation to all Nexus business units and affiliates to ensure the mission and core values of the organization are mirrored across all campuses and sites. He also collaborates with the Nexus Executive Management team to ensure the company’s goals and objectives for growth and utilization are met or surpassed, and works with the Chief Financial Officer to develop and manage the annual budgets and financial performance of the sites and affiliates.

CEO Brock Wolff said, “We are fortunate to have Curt join Nexus. His strong background in operations and finance will give him a keen perspective in performing the many duties of Vice President of Operations. His expertise will help Nexus grow into our next phase of transformation.

At the end of January, Nexus named Kent Kogler as the new Director of Information Technology (IT).

Kogler comes to Nexus with an extensive background in information technology, most recently serving as Director of Infrastructure at Metropolitan State University in St. Paul, MN, where he provided strategic and

tactical direction within the University’s IT Services, including Helpdesk, Desktop Support, Classroom Technologies, Network, and Systems, providing support and technologies for WLAN/WAN/LAN, physical and virtual server infrastructure, telephony, and related technology to more than 30,000 users. He also served as Information Management Project Manager for the Minnesota National Guard in St. Paul, MN, and Company Commander for the U.S. Army, Operation Iraqi Freedom, in Iraq.

In his new position with Nexus, Kogler leads research, planning, development, and implementation of Nexus’ IT goals and initiatives, and heads a multi-state, site-based staff of IT professionals to collaboratively attain goals across the organization.

Brock Wolff, CEO, said, “Kent is a proven, dynamic and focused leader who can deliver transformational business solutions that maximize financial, strategic, and tactical resources. He has the drive and the knowledge to help Nexus in its continued growth. We are happy to have him join our mission.”

New Faces at Nexus

VP of Operations Curtis Knutson

Director of ITKent Kogler


PATH Inc. and Nexus have affiliated to provide a greater continuum of treatment services to North Dakota youth and families. Under the affiliation agreement, PATH Idaho operations have also become part of the Nexus family to provide more foster care, adoption, and home-based care to Idaho youth and families. PATH Idaho operates as part of PATH ND, and provides treatment foster care to Idaho youth and families.

Additionally, PATH MN merged with Kindred Family Focus to offer more foster care, adoption, and community-based services to families throughout Minnesota. This merger makes Kindred Family Focus the largest private foster care agency in the state.

Both organizations are financially sound and provide a range of services that strengthen youth, families, and communities. PATH ND has a 23-year history in the state and employs nearly 130 staff and more than 650 treatment foster parents across North Dakota through offices in Bismarck, Grand Forks, Devils Lake, Jamestown, Dickinson, Minot, Fargo, Williston, and Turtle Mountain.

Nexus has a 45-year history of providing a continuum of mental health and behavioral services that range from in-home counseling to foster care and adoption to residential and inpatient care. The nonprofit has sites and affiliates in Minnesota, Illinois, Maryland, and now, in North Dakota and Idaho.

Nexus added foster care to its continuum in October 2010, and operates Kindred Family Focus foster care and

adoption services in Minnesota and Woodbourne Treatment Foster Care in Baltimore, MD. Nexus has been serving North Dakota youth with residential and foster care services for the past 15 years. The affiliation with PATH will now allow those services to be provided in-state.

Dr. William Metcalfe, PATH ND CEO, said, “This new partnership will strengthen and expand the programs that PATH and Nexus provide to North Dakota children and families. I first reached out to Nexus because of their commitment to the long-term success of youth and families and their reputation for achieving that success for

children and their families.” Metcalfe will continue as CEO of PATH ND for approximately 1 year, and then will transition to Nexus Executive Director of Community-Based Services.

PATH ND and Nexus share common missions, values, dedication, and a history and commitment to serving children and families. PATH ND provides treatment foster care in North Dakota and Idaho, family support, WRAP around case management, independent living, adults adopting special kids, and family and individual resolution-focused services and treatment.

Welcome PATH to the Nexus Family!

PATH ND CEO Dr. William Metcalfe


PATH & Nexus What You Need to Know

PATH ND and PATH ID affiliated with Nexus, meaning we are officially connected organizations, yet still operating under the individual organization names, with separate governing boards.

PATH provides:• Treatment Foster Care in North Dakota

and Idaho• Family support• WRAP around case management• Independent living• Adults Adopting Special Kids• Family and individual resolution-focused

services and treatment

PATH MN merged with Kindred Family Focus creating one larger agency operating under the Kindred Family Focus name and leadership.

Kindred Family Focus now provides:• Foster Care Services• Short-Term Foster Care• Emergency Foster Care• Specialized Foster Care• Whole-Family Foster Care• Alternative to Residential Treatment• Programming for special populations• Adoption • Children’s Therapeutic Services and

Supports• Crisis Nursery• Supervised Visitation Services

Nexus services will now reach youth and families in Minnesota, Illinois, Maryland, North Dakota, and Idaho.

Magician Robert Ian had the crowd spellbound.

Nexus CEO, Brock Wolff, said, “The affiliation between PATH ND and Nexus will not only help North Dakota youth and foster families through expanded services and resources, but it will also be an economic driver for North Dakota. The demand for an expanded continuum of care in North Dakota and Idaho will spur additional growth in the care of youth and their families. This growth will lead to the addition of jobs in direct care staff and foster parents.”

The number of North Dakota children in foster care has steadily risen since 2011 (908 youth in foster care in 2011, compared to 1,340 youth in care in 2015, an increase of 33%) and the state of North Dakota has identified a need for an expanded continuum of clinical services for children and families as they move between levels of care (foster care to residential care, residential care to foster care to outpatient services). The need is especially great for hard-to-place youth who have medical and behavioral issues, as well as older youth, sibling groups, and Native American youth.

The affiliation between PATH ND and Nexus is a logical partnering that creates a larger in-state provider to meet the growing need for foster care, builds on the strong foundation of community services provided by both companies, and adds to the continuum of care.

“I first reached out to Nexus because of their commitment to the long-term success of youth

and families and their reputation for achieving that success for children and their families.”

Dr. William Metcalfe


Prior to 2014, Nexus did not engage in any coordinated fundraising efforts. In fact, we talked ourselves into believing no one would give to our cause. We labored

nearly three years to alter this mindset to a more positive approach—one that said every child deserves a chance at a better life, and our role is to help them change the arc of their lives from a downward slope to an upward growth with enhanced opportunities. In 2013, we obtained Board and senior staff approval and initiated a plan for a corporate-wide fundraising effort.

2014 In 2014, Nexus launched fundraising at Woodbourne Center. Bill Mojica joined as Nexus’ first Director of Development, and his efforts yielded grants and contributions that exceeded $118,000 in his first year.

Since then, the Woodbourne team has expanded to include Sarah Weissman (Communications and Fundraising Assistant) and Kyle Locke (Development Coordinator).

Bill was instrumental in creating the Woodbourne Development Committee, chaired by Perry Bacon, a long-time Woodbourne Center Board member and supporter.

2015In 2015, Joelene Evenson came aboard to direct fundraising in Minnesota. Her efforts enabled the creation of the Nexus Development Committee, chaired by Nexus Board member and president elect Natalie McGrady, and invited other Board members to participate in fundraising.

2016-17By the end of 2016, Nexus achieved 100% participation from the Board, and in 2017, achieved the standards for the Minnesota Charities Review Council.

Kimberly Sankey, Donor Database and Stewardship Coordinator, took on the task of mastering Raiser’s Edge fundraising software, and has done a great job organizing this complex system to track donations, donors, and honoring donors’ wishes.

Kindred Family Focus gained two fundraising team members in the past year. Alison Sherman joined the organization in 2016 to lead Kindred Family Focus efforts, and

Abby Dahl took over the Crisis Nursery development and fundraising full-time in early 2017.

the story so far...Nexus Fundraising

Jack EwingVice President of Business Development & Marketing

Mojica

Bacon

Weissman Locke

Evenson

McGrady

Sankey

Sherman Dahl


Site communications coordinators also took on new fundraising duties. Damien Londino-Green (Gerard), Jeremy Janski (Mille Lacs), Bobbie Ruyle (Indian Oaks), and Laura Vecchetti (Onarga) embraced this challenge, and all have made significant contributions to fundraising at their respective sites.

Another big accomplishment for Nexus development was the launch of Woodbourne’s capital campaign in 2016. Woodbourne began working to raise $1,500,000 to build a vocational education program on its campus. So far, this effort has generated almost $700,000 toward the goal, with another $1,000,000 in grants and requests submitted. We hope to break ground on this project in fall 2017.

Altogether, Nexus raised more than $977,000 in donations and grants in 2016.

Ruyle VecchettiLondino-Green Janski

The Story Continues…We have set ambitious goals for the future. Our fundraising goal for 2017 is $1,700,000 (see graph, lower left).

The recent PATH North Dakota affiliation brings additional fundraising opportunities in both North Dakota and Idaho, and pushed Nexus annual revenues to $100,000,000.

Nexus has grown dramatically in the past eight years, and our management team and systems have increased to meet the challenges brought on by growth.

Looking beyond the near horizon, Nexus fundraising will seek capacity building grants, program and training grants, grants for technology innovations, contributions to capital campaigns, and other ways to support the Nexus mission.

These efforts will invite fundraising, lobbying, business development, and communications and marketing to work closely to convey our message and mission to legislatures, decision-makers, policy-makers, donors, foundations, and the communities we support with Nexus services.

Our future abounds with opportunity to serve more youth and families in more ways and in more places. I predict Nexus will continue to grow at an exciting pace, and I look forward to working with you all.


Handling the Time Squeeze

Live Well: Health & Wellness

In today’s fast-paced world, we all wish we had more time. Technology has made it easier to stay connected to others, but it has also made life more complicated. You may feel that more and more people seem to expect you to be available 24/7. If you’re feeling squeezed by everything you have to fit into a day, try a few new strategies.

First, ask yourself a few questions.We don’t always realize how hurried and overwhelmed we feel until we take the time to reflect. Here are some questions to ask yourself:

• Are you always in a rush? While waiting in line or sitting at a traffic light are you less patient than you once were?

• Are you trying to pack more and more things into each day? Is it more than you can realistically handle?

• Are you missing deadlines at home and at work? Are you forgetting to pay bills or finish assignments on time?

• Do you have little time for friends and family? Have you forgotten important dates with people you care about?

• Do you always feel you are behind and need to catch up? Do you feel guilty sitting down and enjoying a cup of tea?

• Are you showing physical or other signs of stress? Examples include trouble falling asleep; heart palpitations; headaches, stomachaches, indigestion, irritability, weight loss or gain; using alcohol or prescription painkillers to help unwind; overeating, or finding yourself not hungry because you have too much to do.

If you answered “yes” to some or all of these questions, you probably are trying to do too much. It’s time to make some changes in your life.

Make time for the important things. When we’re squeezed for time, we may neglect the important things — staying connected with friends and spending time with family. Clarifying your priorities will help you feel more satisfied and less squeezed for time. Whatever your values, take a long-term view. Look for changes you’ll be able to stick with over time.

Learn to say “no.” If you are a conscientious worker, chances are you say “yes” to too many tasks. Sooner or later, you start to feel overwhelmed. While saying “no” is hard, it’s an essential time-management skill.

About technology, multitasking, and the time squeeze. With all the ways to stay in touch — cell phones, laptops, tablets, email, text messages, and social networks — doing several things at once can become a way of life. But because each task requires attention, this approach is more stressful, physically and mentally. That’s true even if you don’t feel stressed at the time. Avoid multitasking and turn off devices when you’re off duty.

Take care of yourself. Take care of yourself by exercising regularly, eating a healthy diet, and taking breaks to help reduce feelings of stress.

Finally, many of us fall into bed at night thinking of things we did not get done. Instead of focusing on the things you haven’t accomplished, give yourself credit for all that you have done.

The LifeWorks program offered to all Nexus employees provides a network of counselors who can offer in-person support. The service is free and available 24/7, whenever you need it, and it’s completely confidential. No one at work or at home will be told that you’re using the service. You can also find online resources at www.lifeworks.com, including the booklet, 10 Ways to Overcome Overload.

If you’re a Nexus employee, call LifeWorks at 888-267-8126 or visit www.lifeworks.com (username: nexus; password: 1214).


What’s Your Pitch?Are you an expert on a job-related topic?

Do you want to share your knowledge with other team members?

Are you free September 27-29?

Yes?!

We’re looking for breakout session presenters for the

2017 Nexus Annual Conference and would love to have you lead a session!

Email the proposal form (found under the Annual Conference tab on Nex-Net) to Amy at

[email protected] to express interest.

MILLE LACS ACADEMY YOUTH AND FAMILY SOLUTIONS A FAMILY MEMBER


SAVE THE DATE

Land Home Financial Services donates $600 on behalf of MLA Staff

It’s rare to undergo a business transaction where everyone comes out a winner, but this was certainly the case for Mille Lacs Academy and two staff members.

Youth Care Professional Vanessa Anson put her home on the market so her family could move into a home to fit their growing needs. Vanessa thought her home would be a perfect fit for friend and colleague Berinda Christensen, Case Manager at MLA, and she was right. Berinda and Vanessa agreed to terms and enlisted Land Home Financial Services to secure their respective home loans.

As part of a generous program, Land Home Financial Services donates $300 to a client’s charity of choice. In this case, both women chose Mille Lacs Academy as their beneficiary. With the $600 donation, MLA was able to purchase new recreational equipment for each of its four programs! The youth were beyond excited to play with all the new gear.

Please join us for MLA’s 22nd Annual Golf Tournament on Friday, June 2, at Stone’s Throw Golf Course in Milaca, MN.

Watch www.MilleLacsAcademyEvents.org for more information.

Homespun Generosity

MLA purchased new recreation equipment with the donation from Land Home Financial Services on behalf of staff members Vanessa Anson and Berinda Christensen.

TIMBERWOLVES CONNECTION

A group of boys recently had the opportunity to attend a Timberwolves game, thanks to the persistence of Vocational Manager Stacey Carlson. She was able to secure a large block of tickets through the Timberwolves’ Tickets For Kids program. Of the 36 youth who went the game, 32 were attending a game for the first time. Thank you to the Minnesota Timberwolves for making this opportunity possible for our youth!

The game was a great follow-up to our fall basketball clinic with Timberwolves’ practice coach Troy Pearson. We hope to continue this partnership and offer clinics at MLA every year.


Director’s Report“Winter is coming,” has become a popular phrase in mainstream culture these days due to the popularity of the TV show, Game of Thrones. At MLA, we prefer to celebrate that Spring is coming!

Over the past few months, we’ve addressed some of our systems, and through our collective efforts, have made plans to plant new solutions for the upcoming months. These solutions will allow us to continue to grow in several areas, including the following:• Enhancing our Parent Partner role through identifying family

needs and working with other agencies to find best practices that we can build from to effect healthy growth for our youth and families.

• Revitalizing our training for working with sexually problematic behaviors to establish common language and approaches across our programs.

• Identifying, developing, and recording trainings for Grovo, the online training system, to allow staff to enhance their skills in different areas and unify training efforts across all departments and programs.

• Unifying our efforts on coaching and supervision practices to review the work on shared goals, celebrate successes, and offer redirection for performance success.

• Participating in various community service projects, including assisting with a local arts festival and working with a food shelter.

While the above projects — and many more — keep us busy, everyone’s work is vital to the overall success of the Academy and the youth and families we serve. EVERYONE matters in this pursuit of growth, and everyone’s contributions create a compounding impact of legacies of change.

As such, one of the trainings for our team is Service Excellence. When we understand that we are always serving others and that we are all each other’s customers, then doing the right things in the right way becomes easier, causing the right results to happen.

We live in a reputation-based economy, where the quality of our services is judged by our most recent actions, instead of our history of actions. By understanding this, we know that every action matters and that every interaction causes either growth or withdrawal in a relationship. We know that showing appreciation of others in a genuine and caring manner can ignite feelings of worth and value that is often passed on. Please take the time to express your gratitude and appreciation to those who serve you, and take the time, energy, and effort to serve them in return.

Jason DonahueExecutive Director

NEW PARENT PARTNER

At MLA, our services are family-driven, meaning that our beliefs and approaches are family-centered and strengths-based for the benefit of our youth and families. Families are encouraged as decision-makers to help guide the development of services, treatment goals, and decisions for their child.

That is where MLA’s Parent Partner, Chrissie Veerkamp, comes in. As a parent of a youth who went through residential treatment, Chrissie helps MLA families gain insight into the process, services, and feelings that arise from having a child in treatment.

Chrissie says, “I want to help parents find their voice. Remember the saying, ‘It takes a village to raise a child?’ My goal is to help this village, which includes — but is not limited to parents, grandparents, foster parents, aunts and uncles, etc. — I want to answer their questions and concerns. I will be their partner during their child’s journey with us.”

As a Parent Partner, Chrissie supports caregivers in a variety of ways, from simply answering their questions and concerns to bringing those concerns to management. Chrissie also acts as a liaison between caregivers and treatment staff. Caregivers can interact with Chrissie as their Parent Partner in monthly support groups, quarterly progress meetings, and through individual meetings when looking for resources and support. Her work also includes planning family events, both on and off campus, and facilitating parent trainings.

When families get ready to navigate their child’s transition out of residential care, Chrissie also helps connect them to community resources that can help following treatment.

Parent Partner, Chrissie Veerkamp


GERARD ACADEMY YOUTH AND FAMILY SOLUTIONS A FAMILY MEMBER

CEO SEND-OFF

CELEBRATING BLACK HISTORY MONTHIn celebration of Black History Month, the elementary students from New Dominion School participated in the Hormel African American Resource Group’s (HAARG) sixth annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Essay Contest. This year’s contest focused on “What Dr. Martin Luther King Means to Me,” which set the theme for each student’s essay. New Dominion School is one of 20 schools to participate nationwide.

New Dominion School Administrator Danielle Theis says, “I am so grateful that New Dominion School students were chosen to participate in this contest! They worked hard on their essays and were very proud of the result.”

On February 2, Harold Burden, Manager of Demand Planning at Hormel Foods and HAARG Communications Officer, along with colleagues Alvin Dent and Robert Magambo, visited New Dominion to hand out awards and listen to each winner read their essay.

Burden says the purpose of the program is threefold: “Our ultimate goals for this event are to promote Martin Luther King’s Legacy, encourage young kids to aim high and give them exposure to minority professionals in corporate America, and to create a lasting partnership between Hormel Foods and schools for future mentoring and support opportunities.”

The student with the winning essay received a $50 gift card and a framed certificate. Four entries were runners-up, and those students received certificates and $25 gift cards. The entire class received a celebratory pizza party. New Dominion School was also presented with a Staples gift card for new school supplies.

“New Dominion School students do not always have ‘traditional’ heroes in their lives,” says Theis. “It is important for them to learn about heroes who have worked and sacrificed to protect and celebrate the diversity that enriches our lives and our country. Their essays reflected their acknowledgment of Martin Luther King’s courage, and their gratefulness for his contributions.”

Hormel’s African American Resource Group and Cargill’s Ebony Council (CEC) have worked together over the past several years to sponsor schools for the MLK Essay Contest. Cargill’s CEC provided the awards that the kids received this year.

On a snowy January day, Gerard Academy said goodbye to Nexus CEO David Hutchinson with lunch and a short program. Hutchinson spent his first seven years with Nexus as Executive Director of Indian Oaks Academy in Illinois before being named CEO in 2007. Despite growing the company at a record rate, he may be remembered more for the culture he created. Gerard Academy Executive Director Brent Henry says, “A significant part of David’s legacy lies in the culture that he created.” He adds, “Leadership is about setting up people to succeed. That’s what David did for Gerard Academy. We had the freedom to make our decisions, and David was always looking for ways that he and the Corporate office could support those decisions.” Over his entire career with Nexus, David says he enjoyed the memories that he made with the great people at Nexus, but most importantly he values, “the difference we made in the young lives we served.”

Great Lessons


Director’s ReportLately, I have been thinking a lot about diversity — the notion of accepting others as they are, regardless of race, gender, religion, or whatever else makes us different from one another. It is apparent to me that the universe loves diversity; that’s why no two of us are alike. This is on my mind because, in my lifetime, I have never seen a more divisive, angry nation than we currently live in. It is so bad that, in certain groups, we can’t even admit who we voted for in the past elections. Right here in Austin, some individuals are stopped because of the color of their skin. One gentleman from Somalia was stopped by an officer in his own neighborhood and told he didn’t belong there.

I brought this up in our management team, attempting to create urgency for the need to provide more training for our staff and youth around this issue. Danielle Theis, our principal at New Dominion School, shared an interesting exercise. She asked the question, “What percentage of your life is impacted by race?”

Now, keep in mind, everyone around the management table is Caucasian. Answers given ranged from 5%, 10%, and even 50%. Danielle shared that this question was asked at a workshop she attended by Glenn Singleton. At this workshop, she sat next to an African American woman, who answered that 100% of her life was impacted by race.

Every moment of every day, race impacted her life because of the color of her skin. That answer was eye-opening to those of us around the table! Hence, the need for not just a training to meet compliance with the Department of Human Services or the Council on Accreditation, but a deep, meaningful, life-changing training that gets us to look at ourselves and our own biases and prejudices.

This is going to be a priority at Gerard Academy! The world that we are sending our youth back into demands it, and it is crucial that the adults in their world model appropriate responses. Dr. Martin Luther King had a dream. At Gerard Academy, it is time to bring that dream back into focus.

Brent HenryExecutive Director

Excerpts from the winning essays:

“Martin Luther King Jr. is a good man because he helped get black people equal rights in the United States of America. He is a pioneer in the black community.”

“Martin Luther King Jr. was a good example for all people to follow. He was a really good role model. He promoted non-violent actions. He was a good role model for peace. He did good things when he was told he couldn’t and kept being positive even when bad things happened.”

“Martin Luther King Jr. did amazing things for the black people. He told his friends not to fight with violence. When they bombed his house he was able to forgive the people who bombed his house. He is a big inspiration to me and my friends.”

REAL HOPE FOR THE HUNGRY

Youth from Gerard Academy give back to the community through various activities. Some clean cages at the local Humane Society, some make blankets for children of struggling families, and others help out at Real Hope For The Hungry.

Real Hope For The Hungry is a nonprofit organization based in Austin, MN, that is dedicated to feeding kids across the world. Youth volunteers go to the organization’s packing site and put together packaged meals for starving and hungry children and their families. In early February, Gerard Academy volunteers packed 3,240 meals.

A representative from Real Hope For The Hungry said, “Students from Gerard Academy have been regular volunteers, helping us pack our meals almost monthly since we first began here in Austin. In fact, over the years, they have helped us pack over 104,000 meals! Many of those meals have been placed on local food shelves such as the Salvation Army here in Austin and in Albert Lea, as well as through Channel One in Rochester. Some of the meals that they packed have been sent overseas to the Philippines, to Thailand, to Afghanistan, to Malawi, to Liberia, to Haiti, and to several other counties. What an impact these girls have had!”

ONARGA ACADEMY YOUTH AND FAMILY SOLUTIONS A FAMILY MEMBER


Another tournament is in the books. The Onarga Academy Classic 3-on-3 Tournament was a grand success! With community support, we were able to raise more than $6,000 to benefit Onarga Academy youth.

The Onarga Academy Classic 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament was held on Friday, March 24, and Saturday, March 25, 2017, in Onarga Academy’s recreation center. The funds raised directly benefit our youth by providing them with recreational opportunities and other resources. We value teaching our youth sportsmanship and positive peer interactions through recreation; sports are a fun and offer a therapeutic outlet for many of them. Recreation is an essential part of our youths’ routines, boosting their self-esteem and confidence.

Onarga Academy would like to thank our Gold and Silver Sponsors for making this tournament possible.

Classic 3-on-3 TournamentGold Sponsors• Alexander Lumber• Angel Services• Best Supermarket• Casey’s General Store• Central Illinois Disposal and Recycling, Inc.• Don and Debbie Adams• Fashion Shop• Federated Bank• Gibson Area Hospital• Gilman Auto Sales• Grand Prairie Seminary• Hasselbring Accounting Inc.• Heritage FS• Holohan Heating & Sheet Metal Inc.• Hometown Family Foods• Kingdon’s Home Center• Knights of Columbus• Linda Harris• Martin Development & Construction, Inc.• Martin Whalen Office Solutions• MATCO Fire Protection, Inc.• McMillan Insurance Services, Inc.• Midstate Spring Tite, Inc.• Nexus• ProComm Inc. • Reichert Spice Co• Shagbark Golf & C.C.• Tim Marriott Insurance Agency/Country

Financial• Wasmer’s 66, Inc.• Watseka B & D Electric

Onarga Academy staff say thank you to our great sponsors!


Director’s ReportOnarga Academy has always valued the “it takes a village” concept as a major component of our treatment philosophy. We have strived over the years to prevent polarizing the Academy programs and youth, which would, in essence, deny us the many clinical and real-life benefits that community interaction offers.

Though there are obvious economic benefits for child welfare providers within their respective geographic locations, communities inheriting “troubled youth” are typically resistant to the open arms approach. So trust has to be earned in many different ways — being sensitive to safety, communicating proactively, sharing resources, and finding ways to give back are only a few examples of integration.

And, you never know how an organization or an individual may be needed to provide support without hesitation — accepting our responsibility to teach and demonstrate the Cornerstone Values at any given time. Recently, a Shagbark Country Club advocate and supporter of the Academy experienced a medical emergency. Our maintenance supervisor, Jim Kearney, quickly organized an Academy response by coordinating a golf course clean-up crew of 37 youth. This was a sincere demonstration of our values of responsibility and care and concern.

All Academy youth will at some point join or return to their respective communities. I’m confident that these beyond-the-norm treatment experiences provide opportunities for life lessons, and our youth will have internalized the value of a reciprocal healthy community relationship.

Dennis WileyExecutive Director

Silver Sponsors• Alignment Unlimited• Bambini, Inc.• Cissna Park State Bank• Cloverleaf Farms Distributor• Compass Insurance Partners• Crop Production Services• Farmers Pioneer Mutual Insurance Co.• Farmers-Merchants National Bank• First State Bank of Forrest• Gilman Auto Parts, Kraft Inc.• Gilman Fertilizer Co.• Gilman Star• Illiana Insulation• K & H Truck Plaza• Knapp Funeral Home• N&T Firearms• PEMCO Service Co., Inc.• Pool and Sons• Rodney E. Yergler DOS PC• Simutis Law Offices, P.C.• Smith, Koelling, Dykstra & Ohm PC• Terminix Services, Inc.• Terry Schuldt Insurance Agency, Inc.• Warehouse Direct

INDIAN OAKS ACADEMY YOUTH AND FAMILY SOLUTIONS A FAMILY MEMBER


FRIENDLY MONSTERS TEACH MORE THAN SEWING

Life Skills teacher Kathy Lytle likes to sew. It’s a coping skill of sorts. Set aside the obvious benefits of knowing how to sew on a button, mend a hole in your jeans, or repair a ragged hem. There’s one more overwhelming reason why picking up a needle and thread is a good thing to do.

At its most basic, sewing requires us to focus both physically and

mentally on a task. It’s hard to sew if you are not paying attention. “If you’re concentrating on your sewing, you can’t be worrying about other things,” said Lytle. “The hand-eye coordination is good for the brain and for keeping fingers nimble. Plus, being able to make and mend does wonders for self-esteem.”

Lytle knew her students could benefit in more ways than one from sewing, but she needed an incentive for the kids to pick up a needle and thread — enter little monsters.

Created from pieces of felt, the friendly monsters are personalized with eyes, mouth, and other accessories before being stuffed. The students create their own designs, cut them out and sew it up.

Before actual sewing, Lytle covers safety basics for handling needles and scissors. “We practice the Boy Scout method of keeping the scissor blades closed except when using them, and how to pass them to another person.” Needles and supplies are checked out at the start of class, and returned at the end.

“My goal is to teach the students some very basic sewing skills, so they can sew on a button, or mend a small tear in their clothing,” explains Lytle. “Making something fun is a sneaky way to practice sewing by hand.” During first semester, the students sewed fabric pumpkins and Christmas tree ornaments.

The kids are in love with their little monsters, and there’s something wonderful about a student pointing to his work and saying, “I did that.”

STEM COMPETITION MOTIVATES STUDENTS

When it comes to engaging students in science, technology, engineering, and math — or STEM —competitions are leading the way.

These aren’t your grandfather’s science fairs. Today, students of all ages compete in robotics building competitions and coding contests, to name just a few. These competitions have become a more effective way to get students excited about STEM fields than traditional classroom learning.

Learning in New Ways

Kathy Lytle explains the real purpose behind felt monsters.

Both boys and girls tackle sewing basics and learn how to make felt monsters.


Director’s ReportMarch marked an important month for Chrysalis, our girls’ inpatient psychiatric unit. The Chrysalis Program went a total of 61 days restraint-free while maintaining a full census of eight, which is unheard of for an inaptient, locked, psychiatric female program. Kudos to Clinical Supervisor Jack Flight and his team for their hard work to reach this never-before achieved milestone. Jack supervises both our girls’ and boys’ inpatient psychiatric programs, and offered the following explanation for their success:

“It is really difficult to separate the two programs by anything other than gender, so I will start by saying that both units have responded to the challenges of change exceptionally well. I was extremely fortunate with this assignment because there was already a great team in place, and the program was considered by some as the best in the state (still is, by the way). While some of the staff thought trauma-informed care (TIC) was a new idea, the program was originally built on the principles of TIC, specifically The Sanctuary Model of Sandra Bloom. We just needed to be reminded of those principles.

The approach we’ve developed as a team is modified from several different approaches, and influences every aspect of our work in groups: how we organize the environment and daily routine; the way we run our program; how we talk about the youth and one another; and, our relationship with others here at the hospital. Our theoretical approach is influenced by sensory integration strategies, relational dynamics, psychodynamic psychology, attachment theory, and neurobiological trauma theories. Because of this, we take into account each individual’s psyche — the social, the spiritual, and the biological aspects of who they are in order to create a holistic and integrated approach to care and treatment. We draw upon the concepts that have been developed since the program began, and have combined that with advances made in the neurobiological and trauma research on child/adolescent development.

This coherent theoretical model, combined with an ever-increasing toolbox of trauma-informed interventions, enables the entire team to have a shared understanding of trauma and the approaches used. We use the same trauma-informed language, and provide the consistency and structure that is so important for traumatized youth. We have made it a priority to shift to a trauma-informed culture, looking at our processes and ensuring that our leadership and management styles are compatible with our therapeutic approach.”

Great job, Chrysalis team!

Mary Ann BergExecutive Director

That’s largely because the competitions go beyond static science and math lessons, and instead force students to focus on teamwork, communication, and time management — skills that are vital to any career.

While robots and science fairs tend to get all the attention, the underlying principles are the same for math. The main message is that mathematics is not about numbers and figures; it’s about figuring things out. Whenever you’re figuring something out, you’re doing something mathematical. And, most importantly, it’s about helping students understand how mathematics can provide a foundation for any type of career. If you want to be a city planner, if you want to be an architect, if you want to be a designer, you have to know about mathematics.

Safe Harbor School teacher Katelynn Papineau and her boys’ class held a weeklong STEM competition. “It’s interdisciplinary, with our main goal of getting the kids to think outside of the box.” Students made rafts from straws and tape, with the caveat they had to be strong enough to float a large stress ball. They also worked to answer whether a human can move through paper. The week culminated with the classic egg-drop challenge, where students designed egg contraptions to protect a raw egg when dropped.

“It is not about winning the competition,” she said. “The winning is great, but it’s about the journey.”

Proving humans can move through paper.

Raft competition

Facilities Tech Tim Ascher climbed the ladder to drop eggs. This particular contraption successfully protected its egg!

WOODBOURNE CENTER YOUTH AND FAMILY SOLUTIONS A FAMILY MEMBER


“Breathe in all the love and positivity life has to offer,” the instructor tells staff and teens as they head from yoga into meditation. “Picture someone you love as you breathe in and send them love. Picture someone you don’t like so much, or who may not like you, and send them love, too.” For youth who have been impacted by trauma, these images take on a different meaning.

The instructor is one of the founders of Baltimore City’s Holistic Life Foundation (HLF), an organization specializing in serving youth from underserved communities with trauma-informed yoga and mindfulness work. Woodbourne’s youth are now among the thousands who enjoy the benefits of Holistic Life Foundation’s work, thanks in part to a grant from the Charles Crane Family Foundation.

The organization focuses on poses, breathing, and meditation, and helps “children develop their inner lives through yoga, mindfulness, and self-care. HLF demonstrates deep commitment to learning, community, and stewardship of the environment,” states their website.

“We wanted to offer the kids something other than the traditional talk therapy, where there’s movement and understanding that they could gain control, and not worry too much about the past or the future,” says Clinical Director Dr. Donna Beck, who has been

practicing yoga for about a year and a half. “I’ve found it to be beneficial with regulating stress and compassion fatigue.”

Dr. Beck was inspired by her personal experiences, and the extensive research that shows practicing yoga and mindfulness can lead to a decrease in stress, aggressive behavior, and anger. The American Counseling Association reports that boys who participated in yoga and relaxation exercises showed significant decreases in behavior and reduced stress. The clinical team saw this as a great way to provide youth with an additional skill to replace their aggressive tendencies, and to train staff in the practice for future use.

HLF is working with Woodbourne staff to make this practice a consistent tool even after HLF classes are complete. “They facilitate programming by training the staff on breathing and mindfulness and stretching and posturing, and teach the kids to infuse it into our programming,” says Dr. Beck.

Staff participation piques the curiosity of the youth, Dr. Beck explains. “It’s important for staff to participate, not only to teach the residents, because it has been proven that there is 80-90% more engagement from kids when staff are involved.”

HLF is training 15 staff members to learn the biology, movements, breaths, and postures, and providing a curricula and app for different practices as a go-to manual for staff.

The organization offers a unique teaching experience for the residents, as well, allowing youth who have completed the class to work with a trained staff member in teaching the 12-week class to other youth.

Woodbourne plans to offer this program to families so it can benefit youth even after they discharge from treatment.

Practicing Mindfulness


Director’s Report“Growth is never by mere chance; it is the result of forces working together.” -JC Penney

What a great time of the year this is. Our team is working very hard at creating opportunities for positive change on campus for our kids and our staff.

I’d like to thank Tara Williams of HR and members of our Management Team for their efforts to attract new staff. They have done an excellent job representing Woodbourne on their tour of local job fairs. This kind of effort gives us an opportunity to bring new energy and creativity to our team and provides us with good publicity for our program. In the summer and early fall, Tara will join a few other staff members in representing Woodbourne monthly at the Govanstowne Farmer’s Market. The market is an initiative of Loyola University Maryland, Govanstowne Business Association, and the York Road Partnership, which offers local nonprofits the opportunity to promote their businesses each month at the market, at no cost.

I also commend Woodbourne’s Leadership Team. We have several initiatives in motion that couldn’t happen without their skills and abilities. I appreciate all of their extra effort. Our team has shown tremendous flexibility and openness to adding duties like writing program descriptions, developing business plans, meeting with representatives from the state, testifying in the Senate, completing needs assessments, researching new program requirements, all while performing their normal job duties. It’s been a learning process for our team; this is what team building and growth is all about. Every program option that we’re working on is mission-driven and expands our continuum of care, and these high but calculated risks can create high reward for our youth and staff.

In conjunction with the York Road Partnership, we welcomed Dr. Sonja Santileses, CEO of Baltimore City Schools, to our campus. She discussed the changes that are occurring within the Baltimore City schools and the major initiatives planned for this year. We shared with her our vision and plan for a vocational program, which aligns perfectly with her goals in Baltimore City. We look forward to our next meeting with her to further discuss how Woodbourne hopes to provide a solution for the city’s youth.

Finally, we’re really looking forward to our Comedy Fundraiser coming up in April. We have four professional comedians, including headliner Mickey Cucchiella, taking the stage in an effort to generate funds for our kids’ summer programs. It should be a very fun event!

Anthony WilsonExecutive Director

INSPIRING VISITOR

Woodbourne Center’s Executive Director from 1957 to 1966, Harry Finkelstein, recently visited campus. Finkelstein started at Woodbourne in 1955 as the first Master’s level social worker, responsible for racially integrating Woodbourne’s population.

“For me, it was not a big deal,” he says, while his son Rick lists it at the top of his father’s accomplishments. Rick speaks of how his father made the campus a more inclusive place for people of different religions and races. “He arranged for a minister, priest, and rabbi to visit on alternate weeks to talk with the kids and answer their questions.”

Finkelstein made a number of large changes at Woodbourne, even starting the conversation for a name change. Woodbourne Center was actually called the Children’s Home of Baltimore at the time, and Finkelstein thought the name was “old-fashioned and institutionalized.” After the merger with The Child Study Center of Maryland in 1970, the organization reincorporated as Woodbourne Center, Inc.

Finkelstein became the first Executive Director of Woodbourne Center, changing the title from Superintendent. Rick says, “He felt that made the institution sound like an old-fashioned orphan asylum, and asked to be called Executive Director.”

His work changed the culture in many ways. “Dad instituted formal casework treatment. He hired social workers who saw the kids on a regular basis. He also arranged for the social workers on staff to meet for an hour a week individually with a psychiatric consultant to discuss their cases.”

During his time as Executive Director, Finkelstein also wrote a few articles that were published in journals such as Social Casework, Crime & Delinquency, and Journal of Religion and Health. At 96 years old, Finkelstein is still writing, and recently had an article published. He says the article speaks to how we do the best with the information we have at the time, but there will always be new information to learn.

“You can’t know everything, but at least know that you can’t know everything.”

Executive Director Tony Wilson (L), Former Executive Director Harry Finkelstein (C), and Admissions Supervisor Tom Fitzgerald

KINDRED FAMILY FOCUS YOUTH AND FAMILY SOLUTIONS A FAMILY MEMBER


PATH MN has merged with Kindred Family Focus to provide more foster care,

adoption, and home-based services to Minnesota’s youth and families.

The merger is a strengths-based union that allows both organizations to continue to grow and develop new programs under the Kindred Family Focus brand. The partnership will also build on the community services currently offered by both organizations, and is a logical pairing that creates a larger in-state provider to meet Minnesota’s growing need for foster care and continuous care as youth transition from foster care to residential care, and from residential care to foster care to outpatient services.

The State of Minnesota has identified a need for an expanded continuum of care that allows for treatment closer to home communities. The merger positions Kindred Family Focus as the largest private foster and adoption agency in Minnesota, offering expanded services in every part of the state.

PATH MN and Kindred Family Focus share common missions, values, dedication, history, and commitment to serving Minnesota children and families.

As a merged agency, Kindred Family Focus has 10 offices and provides foster care services, Alternative to Residential Treatment, short-term foster care, emergency foster care, whole-family foster care, specialized foster care, programming for special populations, supervised visitation services with a therapeutic component, and Children’s Therapeutic

Services and Supports (CTSS) mental health services for youth with emotional and behavioral disturbances.

Kindred Family Focus also operates the Crisis Nursery Serving Wright County. Kindred Family Focus contracts with the Department of Human Services to provide adoption services to Minnesota youth and families; these services are free to those receiving

Expanding ServicesPATH MN merges with Kindred Family Focus

The purple markers represent the locations of all the Kindred Family Focus offices throughout the state, with the addition of the PATH MN offices. The teal shading indicates our current counties with active foster homes.


Director’s ReportA Kindred foster home was recently burglarized; the vandals not only violated the home, but spray-painted racial slurs on the interior and exterior of the home. The family has dedicated themselves to fostering, advocating for both youth and other parents who serve this population. Many have asked what we at Kindred could do to support the family, especially because they feel unsafe in their community. Kindred employees plan to help the family move, using Kindred CARES to cover some of the moving costs. The homebuilder set up a GoFundMe page to also help the family with moving expenses.

I have been in the child welfare system for 40 years, personally provided foster care for 20 years, and have never witnessed a personal attack on an individual family. Their experience was well chronicled on local media outlets and the MN Governor even weighed in. What wasn’t addressed was the trauma associated with the experience, both for the family and the four youth in their care.

Our mission is to assist young people to overcome life traumas, often associated with a home environment that was unable to support the simplest of daily care needs. When we learn that a child has suffered a horrific event, we try to understand the impact, often underestimating the result.

The difference with this experience is that someone from the community had the audacity to purposely attack the home, the safety of the family, and the sense of belonging that the family was seeking. This is something each of us takes for granted in our daily lives. We expect things to be predictable and within our control, and we depend on others to create that predictability.

The family is feeling trauma and emotions similar to what the youth in our care experience. The trauma may impair their adjustment to a new neighborhood, much like a youth’s adjustment to a new home. We know there is no magic fix; they will carry this experience with some good days and some not-so-good days.

I ask that we reflect on our work, the need to embrace all people, and respect our differences. Each of us deserves to feel safe, appreciated for our contribution, and most importantly, respected as an individual.

George HendricksonExecutive Director

services under the contract. The agency also contracts with the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption and employs three adoption recruiters through the Wendy’s Wonderful Kids program.

The newly consolidated Minnesota agency will operate under the leadership of George Hendrickson, Kindred Family Focus Executive Director. Jay Kimball, PATH MN Executive Director, will assume the role of Eastern Operations Director for Kindred Family Focus.

Nexus CEO, Brock Wolff, said, “We know that kids do better when they can be served closer to home. This merger between Kindred Family Focus and PATH will give us expanded opportunity to deliver home-based care to more kids and families in all parts of the state.”

George Hendrickson, Executive Director of Kindred Family Focus, said, “This merger will allow us to expand and strengthen many of our programs and offer more services to our foster youth and bio-families. The need for foster care is greater than ever, and we are so pleased to have such a strong partner for growth.”

“The need for foster care is greater than ever, and we are so pleased to have such

a strong partner for growth. “ George Hendrickson


Clients eligible for Nexus Glen Lakes’ (NGL) intensive treatment often exhibit behaviors that are considered “difficult to treat” in more traditional residential programs. Nexus Glen Lake clients specifically struggling to manage patterns of impulsivity, interpersonal problems, emotional dys-regulation, self-harm, and suicidal behaviors. Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) has shown remarkable effectiveness in treating these patterns of behavior. Many of the interventions unique to DBT are used with clients at NGL.

DBT is a treatment model originally created by Dr. Marsha Linehan and is supported by significant research. DBT is a cognitive behavioral treatment developed to treat chronically suicidal individuals diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. In addition, research has shown that DBT effectively treats a wide range of other disorders, such as substance dependence, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and eating disorders.

NGL utilizes many of the behavior skills highlighted in DBT treatment in our day-to-day support of clients. These skills help change unwanted behaviors,

emotions, thinking, and events that can cause misery and distress for clients.

Mindfulness Skills: Mindfulness skills help us focus attention on the present moment, noticing both what is going on inside and outside of ourselves, and staying connected. It also teaches how to observe and experience reality as it is, to be less judgmental, and to live in the moment with effectiveness.

Interpersonal Effectiveness Skills:Interpersonal effectiveness skills help us maintain and improve relationships. These skills teach us how to deal with conflict situations, to get what we want and need, and to say no to unwanted requests and demands in a way that maintains our self-respect and others’ liking and respect of us.

Emotion Regulation Skills:Emotion regulation skills enhance control of emotions, even though complete emotional control cannot be achieved. To a certain extent, we are who we are, and emotionality is part of us. But we can get more control and perhaps learn to modulate some emotions by using these skills.

Distress Tolerance Skills:Distress tolerance skills help increase our ability to tolerate and survive crisis situations without making things worse. These skills teach us how to accept and fully enter into a life that may not be the life we hoped for or wanted.

Using DBT in Residential Care


At NGL, clinical and direct care staff work together to enhance client skills in all of these behavioral areas. Our therapists help clients create DBT diary cards to track the behaviors that clients are trying to decrease and the skills they are trying to increase. Direct care staff then encourage and support the use of these cards throughout day-to-day interactions with clients.

Staff at NGL are also encouraged and trained to utilize the DBT skills themselves in an effort to better serve the clients. Staff participate in weekly mindfulness skills groups, where they learn and practice various DBT skills.

NGL is committed to breaking the cycle of institutionalization for the young women we serve. In order to do this, we strive to explore a variety of empirically supported treatment interventions such as those included in DBT.

For more information about DBT visit www.linehaninstitute.org

FAREWELLS This month, we say farewell to two core staff members who were integral to the start-up and current progress of Nexus Glen Lake, Associate Director Lynn Starr and Milieu Supervisor Kourtney De Vos.

Lynn Starr has been the spirit and wisdom of this program since we opened the doors in September 2015. Program Therapist, Ann, sums it up best by saying, “Lynn has been an amazing leader for our start up. She has a way with staff and clients that is supportive, yet challenges us all to do better and work harder. She is humble in all ways and serves all who encounter her. She will be deeply missed!”

Kourtney De Vos began this program as a Youth Care Professional, but her tenacity, courage and dedication quickly moved her into the role of Trainer and then Milieu Supervisor. She has been a rock for the direct care team. We wish her the best in her future career and offer a heartfelt congratulations on her acceptance into the Master’s of Social Work program at St. Kate’s-St. Thomas.

Director’s ReportNexus Glen Lake is several months into the second year of operation! We are very proud of the advancements we have made in establishing an innovative and high-quality program that serves a complex clientele of adolescent girls. I am stepping out of my role as Associate Director soon, and I am excited to share the plan for the next chapter at Nexus Glen Lake.

Michael Franke, MA, LP, our current Clinical Director, has been promoted to Residential Program Director and will take over leading the program. Michael joined Nexus Glen Lake shortly after the program opened and has been an integral part of the program leadership and success. He has more than 25 years of experience in this field and is an expert in administering and licensing residential programs. His experience has made him an excellent clinician and a role model to staff. He demonstrates unwavering commitment to our clients and to the staff, and his positive relationships with community providers has been a huge help to the program.

I am thrilled that Michael has accepted this position for the continuity it provides, but especially because of the skills and commitment Michael brings to Nexus Glen Lake! We have found an excellent candidate to fill Michael’s Clinical Director position.

We’ve also added some new members to our team!

Angela Bellmont joined Nexus Glen Lake as the Quality Improvement Specialist in January. Angela has a Bachelor’s degree in Business Communications from the University of St. Thomas and a Master’s degree in Public Policy from the University of Minnesota, Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs. Prior to joining Nexus, Angela served as a Family Foster Care Quality Improvement Specialist and as a Case Manager. Her experience also includes research and program development.

Meredith Bilse, LMFT, recently joined our team as a Therapist. Meredith holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Spanish from the University of South Dakota. She earned a Master’s degree in Counseling from Minnesota State University–Mankato. Meredith has great experience providing individual, group, and family therapy to a wide range of clients.

The true success of the program comes from the compassion and commitment of our entire group of staff, who come to work ready to be present in every way necessary for our very special clients.

Lynn StarrAssociate Director

Have an idea for a story? Contact Amy Leach, Cornerstone editor [email protected]

Employee Anniversaries

Nexus is a national nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organization and provider of youth and family solutions. Our continuum of care includes community-based family services, assessment programs, residential treatment programs, foster care and adoption programs, and on-site education programs.

Nexus, Gerard, Kindred Family Focus, and Woodbourne Center are legal entities. They are all nonprofit corporations under their respective state’s law and are qualified for state and federal tax-exemption under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Mille Lacs Academy, Indian Oaks Academy, Onarga Academy, Nexus Glen Lake, Gerard Academy, and Kindred Family Focus programs are not themselves entities; they are part of the entity that operates them. All of these programs share an underlying adherence to the Nexus Cornerstone Values and Guiding Principles.

Cornerstone is published bi-monthly by Nexus. All articles are copyrighted by Nexus. Reproduction of any part of this publication is prohibited without prior written consent. 505 Highway 169 North, Suite 500 Plymouth, MN 55441-6447 Corporate: 763-551-8640

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3 YEARSCorporate

Heather Sellors

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Elaina Martin-ElEdwin Young

5 YEARSGerard AcademyHeather Aarsvold

Mille Lacs AcademyJackie Demars

Onarga AcademyDanny Hubner

PATHJill GrotluschenBlaine Geiger

10 YEARSGerard Academy

Laura Graff

Indian Oaks AcademyMatthew Hedding-Hess

Onarga AcademyLaura Wade

Woodbourne CenterCharles Rice

15 YEARSGerard Academy

Joseph BaldusTina Kirk

Indian Oaks AcademyRachel La Gesse

Kindred Family FocusSara May

20 YEARS Indian Oaks Academy

Helen Jackson

Government & Nonprofit

March-April Cornerstone Newsletter