To expand its services to Lorain County, Berea Children’s Home & Family Services in Berea, Ohio, opened a new facility, the Family Life Child Care Center, in May. The 21,500 square foot, state-of-the-art facility can serve up to 200 children. It features 11 classrooms, a large gymnasium, a library, and a playground. Children will also be able to participate in art, music, and dance.

The facility offers the Family Life Child Care Program, year-round child care, a prekindergarten program, and summer day camp.

 

Developing Berea’s services in Lorain County has lead to a large increase in clients served. “Within the last year alone, our ability to serve Lorain County has increased substantially,” says Andy Cooper, director of community counseling at Berea. “Our clientele has grown by 50 percent.”

Berea staff see this as only the beginning, looking to expand in the future. “Everything we have done in Lorain County throughout the past year has been well received. We look to continue this trend into the future, building a long lasting relationship with Lorain County,” says Richard Frank, president and CEO at Berea.

The National Association of Social Workers of Illinois (NASW-IL) honored Gene Svebakken, president and CEO of Lutheran Child and Family Services of Illinois (LCFS), headquartered in River Forest, Ill., with its Lifetime Achievement Award in social work. Hans Svebakken accepted the award on behalf of his father, who was unable to attend.

“Gene is a visionary leader, challenging Lutheran Child and Family Services of Illinois to project itself into the future so that services will be in alignment with communities,” says Brenton Diers, director of Lutherbrook, who nominated Gene Svebakken. “His strong social work leadership has resulted in an organization that provides both excellent social work services to the community and a great workplace for social workers.”

 

Also in the news from LCFS, the organization was one of 15 nonprofits to receive a grant from the Community Foundation of the Quincy Area. LCFS was awarded for its high quality work in the Quincy area. The grant will support the LCFS counseling program.

Family Service of the Piedmont in Jamestown, N.C., has entered into a new partnership with the Greensboro Police Department. The partnership, called the Child Response Initiative (CRI), will provide psychological and crisis assistance to children and families affected by violence and trauma. It will help parents and caregivers better understand the reactions of children exposed to violence in their homes and neighborhoods. CRI will also provide assistance to children and families in obtaining services such as therapy, legal advocacy, and community resources.

“An experience that is emotionally painful, distressful, or shocking often results in long lasting mental and physical effects on children,” says Lisa Duehring, coordinator for one of Family Service's Children’s Advocacy Centers. “Reaction to trauma may appear immediately, or days or weeks later. With early intervention, the severity of the trauma can be significantly reduced.”

Greensboro police officers underwent training and received materials to distribute to families. Lindy Beauregard, CRI advocate, works closely with police officers, including riding along on patrols, to educate and assist police in responding appropriately when children are involved in a violent crime. Families that need services meet with Kelly Deane, CRI therapist, who assesses their needs in areas such as substance abuse, counseling, or domestic violence.

“We’ve had an overwhelmingly positive response from the police department. They are very excited,” Duehring says. “We have had over 100 referrals from January 2009 to present (spring 2009). Our hope is, if we show success in the eastern district, we can expand to other areas of Guilford County.”

Funding for CRI comes from the Governor’s Crime Commission and the United Way of Greater Greensboro.