Appreciations
Weld County, Colorado JusticeWorks Prevents Residential Treatment!
Program Director, Christopher Williams and Family Resource Specialist, Namuyaba Temanju
(Email from a DHS caseworker to the Program Director)
“I have JusticeWorks in the home providing services for the Thompson* family. The JusticeWorks Family Resource Specialist (FRS) has been really helpful to the family. Currently, JWYC services are set to close at the end of December. A team meeting was held this past Monday, and we discussed how impactful JWYC services have been for the family. David Thompson* qualified for residential treatment, but the DHS team has not been able to find him a bed. JWYC has been able to support the family so effectively through this time that the team decided to pursue ongoing in-home treatment rather than continuing to look for residential providers.”
This was a great compliment as we head into the holidays.
Christopher Williams
JWYC Program Director, Colorado
♦Thank you, Chris, for sharing a great holiday story! Thanks to our Family Resource Specialist, Namuyaba Temanju! Namuyaba’s dedication and skill helped prevent out-of-home placement.
*Names have been changed.
Make A Difference Day: Schuylkill County
Commissioner Hess presenting Samantha Gerdeman with a Certificate of Appreciation for participation in Salvation Army Pottsville Corps’ Make a Difference Day!
On November 13th, 2019, our Schuylkill County team was recognized with a Certificate of Appreciation for their participation in the Salvation Army Pottsville Corps’ Make a Difference Day! County Commissioners Gary Hess and George Halcovage were speakers at the event, and our award was presented by Commissioner Hess.
The Schuylkill team received soup spoons as a thank you for their participation in the event.
Our team was recognized for hosting a “pop-up” soup kitchen in downtown Pottsville. Two of our own, Vince Troutman and Renee Warner, made the soup. Many of our Schuylkill County staff donated drinks, crackers, rolls, and/or their time to help serve those in need. We offered 36 quarts of soup to almost 100 people in only three hours!
“Pop-up” soup kitchen in downtown Pottsville.
Next year, the Schuylkill County team plans on expanding their efforts by recruiting some of their peers in nearby counties. We look forward to growing this new JusticeWorks tradition!
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.
