This sad story is growing old. For the 10th consecutive year Louisiana is ranked as the 49th worst state in the nation – next to last – in terms of child wellbeing. 48 other states take better care of their children than we do in Louisiana.
KIDS COUNT is the national and state-level effort of the Annie E. Casey Foundation to track the status of children in the United States. The 22nd annual KIDS COUNT Data Book profiles the status of children on a national and state-by-state basis and ranks states on 10 measures of well-being.
I imagine there will always be a need for residential treatment centers. As long as there is a need, Louisiana United Methodist Children and Family Services is committed to providing excellent care for children who are unable to live in less intensive settings.
But wouldn’t it be great to live in a world where families were helped to stay together. Imagine a world where early intervention and focused prevention efforts helped families remain intact. What a beautiful world that would be!
Twenty years ago, when I worked as the Director of Admissions, I talked frequently with parents who were trying to place their children into Louisiana Methodist Children’s Home. At the time, we were a first point of contact for many families who had reached the end of their proverbial rope. We referred most families to community resources where they existed and along the way, to meet the needs of families, we created our Family Plus program which puts clinical and therapeutic resources closer to families.
It’s really simple. Children should be with their families. Even better than providing excellent residential care for children, would be to prevent the child from needing out-of-home care.
It’s not always possible, but if we can take advantage of opportunities created by Louisiana’s Coordinated System of Care to put intervention resources into a family’s home, I believe we will be able to prevent more out-of-home placements and help families remain intact.
Expect to see Louisiana United Methodist Children and Family Services expand and create new “in homes” and community-based services to intervene early in family crises. I’ll say it again: whenever possible, children should be with their families. Our mission is “Guiding children and families home to experience God’s love by following the teaching of Christ”. If it’s their home it’s even better!
Rev. Edith Louise DeVilbiss was born in Louisiana but lived in Texas and Colorado most of her life. In the 90′s, she spent four years in NW Florida. In 2001 she returned to Louisiana and considers Lafayette her home. When she was called to ministry her highest level of education was a GED. She went to college while working full time and earned a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology. She then completed a Master of Science in Counselor Education from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. She then went to Atlanta and attended Candler School of Theology at Emory University, where she earned a Masters of Divinity.
After earning her BA, she was employed with the Lafayette Addictive Disorders Clinic as the counselor for the adolescents in the program. She loved working with the young people. She says, “The struggles that they had with alcohol and other drugs was only a small piece of our work together. Along the way, I realized that there are limits to what people can accomplish on their own. However, divine intervention makes a significant difference in outcomes.”
Ms. Edie reports she is thrilled to be appointed to Louisiana United Methodist Children and Family Services. She recognizes the integral role that faith plays in the work of the organization. The agency’s effort to provide the best residential care for the young people and the support that is provided for their families are under-girded by prayer and devotions. Direct Care workers, supervisors, administrators and everyone in between all strive to demonstrate God’s love to the youth. She says, “I am privileged to have been called to this ministry with all of these beloved children of God.”
Let me begin by thanking Jody Levison-Johnson, Director of Louisiana’s new Coordinated System of Care (CSoC). She introduced me to the American Association of Children’s Residential Centers (AACRC).
The American Association of Children’s Residential Centers brings professionals together to advance the frontiers of knowledge pertaining to the spectrum of therapeutic living environments for children and adolescents with behavioral health disorders.
I have visited by phone and email with Kari Sisson, the National Director of AACRC, and have explored the excellent resources which are available to members. I visited, too, with the leadership of several other United Methodist children’s homes which are AACRC members. AACRC is an impressive organization whose member agencies are providing cutting-edge residential care to children and families across the United States.
Louisiana United Methodist Children and Family Services is the first Louisiana member of the AACRC and our timing is great. The next AACRC Annual Conference will be held in New Orleans in April of 2012.
The American Association of Children’s Residential Centers believes that children and adolescents, and their families, are entitled to treatment which offers the maximum opportunity for growth and change. Children and adolescents with behavioral health disorders present unique treatment challenges. The complexity of their clinical conditions and their developmental needs demand that many children and adolescents be served in settings that are constructed to ensure experiential learning of healthy and productive life skills. AACRC believes that clinically crafted residential treatment options, ranging from community based homes through institutional environments, are essential components in a comprehensive system of behavioral health care.
The Louisiana Office of Juvenile Justice announced it has selected the town of Bunkie as the home of a new therapeutic secure care facility for adolescents. Congratulations, Bunkie and OJJ!
Bunkie, located in Avoyelles Parish, has a long history of being concerned for the needs of troubled children and adolescents. Many, perhaps even some in Bunkie, do not remember Bunkie was the first site of Louisiana Methodist Orphanage in 1904. From those first years in a wood-framed house in Bunkie, during the last century, Louisiana Methodist Orphanage has grown into Louisiana United Methodist Children and Family Services. We now provide a broad array of residential, school, home and community-based services for children and families across the state of Louisiana.
Today, more than 100 years past our early years in Bunkie, we continue to remember the support Bunkie provided. You can learn more about our early years in Bunkie on our web site at: History of Louisiana Methodist Children’s Home.
Well done, Bunkie, Louisiana! As you have in the past, you will again play a significant role in improving the lives of Louisiana’s children.
One of the nicest things about my work is that I am a member of an incredible team of experts. Whatever the matter may be, I have access to the knowledge and experience of what is possibly the deepest and widest pool of talented professionals available in the field of child and family services.
Let me share some numbers about the professional staff of Louisiana Methodist Children’s Home, our residential treatment facility in Ruston, to illustrate what I mean. I’ve worked for the Home for 22 years. John Allen, our VP of Operations, has served for 40 years. He has seen and done it all.
Take the individuals who make up what most agencies refer to as management – we call it our Leadership Support Team or LST. The shortest length of employment among the LST is that of Rev. Edie DeVilbiss, our new Director of Pastoral Care. She has been with us a bit more than a month. The longest is Gary Rambin, our Director of Residential Services at 25 years. Between them, the members of our Leadership Support Team average 13.62 years of employment.
Not counting our Director of Clinical Services, Dr. David Wheeler (17.9 years), because he serves on our LST, our clinical staff in Ruston average 6.87 years – the longest more than 12 years. Our Residential Supervisors average 10.45 years – the newest just over a year and the longest tenure is 16.5 years.
Consider our teachers at Howard School, an alternative school on the grounds of Louisiana Methodist Children’s Home. The shortest employment is 1 school year, the longest is 31.4 years with an average teacher employment of 8.5 years. The numbers for Howard School do not include Rick Sutton, the Director of Educational Services, who is completing 20 years this Summer.
Of the 62 employees I have referenced in the previous paragraphs, the average length of employment is 10.68 years. This group has accumulated 662 years of experience working for Louisiana Methodist Children’s Home and they represent less than 20 percent of our total staff!
That’s what I mean when I say we have the deepest and widest pool of talented professionals. They love their work, they love each other, they love the Home, they love our children and families and they love our mission.
I thank God each day for all the staff of Louisiana United Methodist Children and Family Services. I ask you to pray for them each day. Their ministry is not easy. Too frequently the work literally requires “turning the other cheek”. Pray God will provide us all with patience, maturity, wisdom, grace and compassionate hearts that can endure being broken in ministry to children and families.
This has been an exciting week! We began admitting our first children into Methodist Children’s Home of Southwest Louisiana this past Wednesday.
You will remember the Dedication Service for the new facility in Sulphur was held last year on October 17, 2010. The service was attended by more than 250 people who are excited about a new ministry to children and families in the southwest corner of Louisiana.
Nine months passed between the dedication of the buildings last October and the admission of our first children this past week. Some who have been excited about the opportunity the facility provides for ministry have been curious about why we’re just now admitting children. There’s not a better feeling than to have supporters who are anxious to see activity!
I will admit, the period between the building dedication and our first child’s admission was longer than we anticipated. However, this morning as I consider it, the grace of that nine month period has been a gift very few agencies ever enjoy.
You see, it is a rare thing to create a new residential program where there wasn’t one before. The process began with an incredible gift and an idea for ministry. Funded by a major gift of the William L. Henning family and supported by congregations and individuals, Methodist Children’s Home of Southwest Louisiana has approximately 25,070 square feet of heated living space and sits on a 40-acre plot of land which offers opportunities for future development.
Following the gift, there was a time of planning, facility design and construction. Along the way we selected exceptional staff members. We opened the facilities and staff to inspections by all the regulatory bodies that ensure we meet minimum standards.
We developed a local culture and philosophy of care which is founded upon the larger organization’s mission, vision, and values – but which respects the unique energy and contributions of the local community. And we have trained staff through intensive study, role play and activities which are designed to create a cohesive team.
All of steps things require time. It has literally taken years!
The last nine months have been a special gift of time. We have been able to focus on developing the heart of the program – a mutually-supportive team of people who understand their mission and ministry to children and families. We have been blessed with time to prepare our staff with purpose and intention, unrushed by the chaos of a time crunch.
I expect Methodist Children’s Home of Southwest Louisiana will soon be considered a model agency. We’ve had the gift of time to develop the program’s heart – a prepared staff who are committed to our mission.
You can see photos of Methodist Children’s Home of Southwest Louisiana on our website at LMCH.org
The Bull Buteau Foundation of Shreveport is hosting their 2nd Annual Sporting Clay Shoot on July 30, 2011 and the proceeds will again benefit the Louisiana Methodist Children’s Home. Last year $25,000 was donated to the Children’s Home for a classroom in the new John H. Allen Career and Vocational Center and this year’s proceeds will fund a scholarship in the vocational program.
The shoot will be held at the Shreveport Gun Club; registration begins at 7:00 a.m. and a barbecue lunch and post party will begin at 11:00 a.m. Shooting teams can choose a sponsorship option of $750, $1,000, or $1,500. The cost to attend and enjoy the event and post party but not shoot is $50. Registration fees should be paid by July 15. For more information visit the Bull Buteau Foundation page on Facebook or contact vrcason@gmail.com.
Many thanks to the Bull Buteau Foundation for their generous support of the Methodist Children’s Home.
The John H. Allen Vocational Training and Career Center is located on the grounds of Louisiana Methodist Children’s Home in Ruston, Louisiana. This facility contains a barbering school, a welding center, building construction classes and GED classrooms.
High school graduation is not an option for many of our residents. The chaos of their young lives has dashed the chance of graduation. Because of their circumstances, most of our teens have never really dreamed a possible dream about a career. And we want our kids to dream BIG, possible dreams!
The Vocational Training and Career Center offers residents in Ruston the chance to receive cutting-edge training in four areas of concentration: Barbering, NCCER Carpentry, State-issued G.E.D. and NCCER Welding. Highly-certified Career and Technical Educators instruct students in job readiness classes, assist with computer-aided remediation of core skills (math, reading, grammar), and coordinate an active intern program with community business and industry leaders.
The summer of 2011 will mark the fourth consecutive year our OWL Equine Program has participated in MedCamps. Held each week during June and July, MedCamps offers incredible summer camping experiences for children with a variety of physical and mental challenges. Each session of camp targets a different disability and includes appropriate health professionals, specially trained staff and tailored activities for the campers.
Once each week, OWL staff and youth from Louisiana Methodist Children’s Home take our horses to Camp Alabama. MedCampers pet our horses and go for short rides. For some, this is the first time they have touched a horse; others have fond memories of last year’s ride. Interactions with our horses are a very popular part of camp week!
Our youth help as leaders and side-walkers. They benefit from the opportunity to serve others in their community.
