Appreciations
JusticeWorks Top Workplace Award
We are honored to have recently received an award by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette which recognizes JusticeWorks as one of the Pittsburgh region’s Top Workplaces!
On Thursday, August 22nd, senior managers Dipesh Chauhan, Rebekah Smith, Errone Cody, Matt Davin, Jeff Ralph, Annette Trunzo, and Justice Work’s President Daniel Heit were pleased to accept the company’s award. What makes this honor truly special is that it is awarded based upon survey responses from the JusticeWorks’ staff. We are honored to have a team of such talented and dedicated individuals who do whatever it takes to achieve positive outcomes for the children and families we serve.
In a letter to all JusticeWorks’ staff, President Daniel Heit said, “I am proud that our commitment to be an employee-centered and positive place to work is working. In human services, it’s the humans who make a difference, and each of you do!”
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette specifically sought to recognize businesses with values, connection, effectiveness, engagement, and leadership. Congratulations to everyone for upholding these standards each and every day. Justice Works Youth Care will strive to continue to improve our services for those we serve and the nearly 100 counties in which we provide care.
JusticeWorks YouthCare Chosen for Community-Based Program of the Year!
On July 19, 2019, we were informed that the Pennsylvania Juvenile Court Judge’s Commission (JCJC) had chosen JusticeWorks YouthCare to receive the 2019 Community-Based Program of the Year award.
We were nominated by the Berks County Juvenile Probation Department. JusticeWorks and Berks County Juvenile Probation have maintained a strong partnership for over ten years. We know our good work depends on our collaboration with our public partners. Berks County Juvenile Probation has been an exceptional supporter and creative partner in the success of the youth we serve.
We also want to thank our incredible staff. We understand that having an atmosphere conducive to achieving positive outcomes depends entirely on having a positive staff culture. We know that our employees are vital to our success as an organization. They prove it on a daily basis, year after year.
Furthermore, thank you to our Program Director, Rebecca Bieber, for her strong leadership and commitment to quality care. Rebecca is a great example of JusticeWorks’ value of promoting from within! In 2008, Rebecca began her career as a Family Resource Specialist. In 2013, she became our Director of Berks County!
JusticeWorks will receive the award at the 2019 James E. Anderson Pennsylvania Conference on Juvenile Justice to be held on November 6-8 at the Harrisburg Hilton and Towers. The conference is sponsored by the Juvenile Court Judges’ Commission, the Pennsylvania Council of Chief Juvenile Probation Officers, the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, and the Juvenile Court Section of the Pennsylvania Conference of State Trial Judges.
We are honored and thrilled to receive this prestigious award!
Praise from Monroe County Children and Youth Services!
Hello JusticeWorks Team,
I just wanted to send a quick email to acknowledge Dalton White, he is currently working with a family for one of my cases and they cannot speak any higher of him. This family was not the easiest to deal with and yet he completely turned their home around for the better. The mother explained to me (the caseworker) that “ Dalton doesn’t choose a side and will tell both myself and my daughter when we are wrong, now we work together and I don’t wait for her when I drive her to places, I know I was mean to my daughter and I have to stop. Dalton showed me that I need to give my daughter more freedom and he showed her that she needs to listen to her mother.” The mother feels Dalton really helped their family in such a positive way and I just wanted to share that with you guys. You have a great team over there.
Sincerely,
Kimberly Walter
County Caseworker
Monroe County Children and Youth Services
Kimberly, thank you for recognizing the amazing work of Dalton. Dalton, we value and appreciate the high standard of care you offer to the families we serve. People like you make an incredible impact on the community we serve.
JusticeWorks Visit Coach Recognized for Outstanding Work
Email from Megan Coppock, caseworker in Chester County in praise of Rebecca Piorko-Shelly, Visit Coach with JWYC-Chester:
“I would like to take a moment to let you know just how amazing our Visit Coach, Rebecca Piorko-Shelly has been with our family since she joined our “Case” in August of 2016. She was an integral part of our family for approximately 15 months. In that time frame she has gone absolutely above and beyond what was required of her. Rebecca worked so hard to ensure our visits were successful. She educated herself on Bobby’s* diabetes, helped us plan special outings for Bobby, provided transportation for every single visit, no matter how inconvenient it was for her, just to make sure Bobby was never disappointed. Rebecca grew very fond of Bobby and our entire family (my husband, myself and our older 2 sons) and provided very effective “therapy”, communication skills, parenting tools and behavior techniques that contributed in our success. She was the liaison between us and Bobby’s Foster parents, and on many many occasions she would sacrifice her own time to ensure our visit took place. That’s how vested she was in our success. Any family that has the privilege of her as their Visit Coach is absolutely blessed as they are acquiring a hardworking, professional, compassionate and knowledgeable asset to their Team. Rebecca makes being in such a difficult, often traumatic situation very bearable. We would not have been able to endure half of the heartache we went through had it not been for her.
Justice Works is very lucky to have such an amazing person on their team because she embodies every aspect of success. Our family is a true success story and Rebecca was an integral part of that success! I wish her all the happiness she has allowed our family to have, one hundred fold.
Gratefully yours,
Mr. and Mrs. Smith*
*actual names are not used
Thank you, Megan Coppock for sharing this positive feedback and for being such a good working partner. Thank you, Rebecca, for “going above and beyond” for your clients and their family. Your dedication and contribution to the JWYC mission are appreciated and achieve positive outcomes.
Visit Coach, Brenda Arellano, Helps JusticeWorks-Ohio Make History
Pictured: JWYC Visit Coach, Brenda Arellano
Brenda Arellano, JWYC Visit Coach, makes history by successfully closing our very first reunification case at our JWYC- Ohio branch! The referral was made to JusticeWorks because we had a skilled bilingual professional on staff.
Brenda worked diligently with the family since receiving the case on March 1, 2018. Not only did Brenda establish goals around the children’s needs and explained additional “next steps” for both parents to achieve reunification with their children; Brenda, whose native language is Spanish, also identified additional barriers that were presented while working with the family and with other Spanish speaking families, not only in Ohio but at all JWYC locations. Brenda assisted in the translation of JWYC documents from English to Spanish so that families understood the information presented and were better connected to the services provided by JusticeWorks YouthCare. Being able to communicate with the family and translate information was also beneficial as she frequently communicated with the family’s caseworker, supervisor, and GAL, by phone and submission of weekly progress reports, which helped to reunite the family in a little over two months; sooner than anticipated. The family was relieved that Brenda could not only understand them, but was also there to help break the communication barrier between all parties involved in their case.
Congratulations to Brenda for making JusticeWorks Ohio history and embracing our mission!
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Adams County FGDM Conference Receives Praise from Participants and Stakeholders
Ellen Miller, JWYC Supervisor in Adams County
JWYC Supervisor, Ellen Miller was recognized by Jessi Coy, Program Director at Adams County Children and Youth Services, through an agency-wide email regarding a FGDM meeting that was coordinated and facilitated by Ellen with the Adams County staff. Ellen and her team, consisting of Morgan Henson, Heather Smith, Tara Marquis, received praise, not only by Adams County CYS staff and other participants, but also by Kevin Campbell, who is an internationally known youth permanency expert, founder of the Center for Family Finding and Youth Connectedness, and developer of the Family Finding model. Great work, Ellen!
Email 1 – From Adam’s County CYS:
As part of our Family Engagement Initiative, we have an awesome opportunity to get feedback from Kevin Campbell on specific cases. Tonya* was one of those cases we brought to his attention and he provided some suggestions.
JWYC staff – Morgan Henson, Ellen Miller, Heather Smith, Tara Marquis, and many others worked hard to build her support network and schedule a meeting to surround Tonya* with love and care. That meeting happened on Tuesday night and yesterday. Tonya’s network will continue to grow as we move forward with building these supports!
What a testament to how hard everyone is working on building networks! Great job to everyone involved! More success stories to come.
Jessi Coy, MSW
Program Director
Adams County Children & Youth Services
Email 2 – From a Foster Mother:
Just wanted to reach out and say that was an awesome gathering yesterday. It was informative, business-like yet personable and comfortable. Thanks for all you and the crew of people do. I know it’s not easy.
Have a good evening,
Lori*
Update: The past six months, Tonya* does not require agency involvement for visits between her brother, and other family supports. These visits are happening naturally through the support of her foster family. Everyone involved is excited to hear about Tonya’s* success at the next Youth Transition Conference in August!
Thank you Ellen, Morgan, Tara, and Heather for your hard work and dedication to the JusticeWorks’ mission. Thank you, Jessi and Lori for your kind words and recognition of our staff.
