2010 An Eventful Year

Everywhere you turn during this last week of the year you hear people summing up the accomplishments of this year. The same is true here at Hillsides. 2010 was a very eventful year in many ways. What follows is just a partial listing of some of the highlights.

Executive Leadership Transition

After nearly forty years John Hitchcock retired, and in his place I began my tenure as the chief executive officer. John was without a doubt the modern day founder of Hillsides, adding many innovative programs to the residential program long associated with Hillsides. In spite of the challenge of following someone as respected and loved as John, this first year has been a good transition as we begin to set a direction for the organization into its next century.

Program Evolution

Any one of the programs we offer have seen significant changes, whether it be the introduction of evidence-based practice with its emphasis on outcomes, to the introduction of more family-centered services and how it is reducing the length of stay. These changes are having a historical impact on how Hillsides fulfills its mission.

Fiscal Constraints

Although this past year saw an improvement of the reimbursement for residential services, the severe cuts statewide of education funds has jeopardized funding for services offered at Hillsides Education Center. The constraints on public funding have made all the more significant our ability to raise $2 million a year as we did this year.

Staff Stability

In spite of the challenges, we were able to lift a yearlong freeze on salaries and provide staff with a three percent adjustment in their compensation. In an effort to strengthen our position with staff, a staff survey was conducted, clearly identifying a set of priorities.

Organizational Assessment

This year also served as an opportunity to review the position many of our programs have in this field, develop plans to sustain our position and improve upon it. Our decision this year to pursue a national accreditation and participate in a statewide benchmarking project will help to strengthen our position as a provider of choice.

Ultimate Achievement Criteria

In total, Hillsides serves nearly 6,000 individuals, including children and their families, this year. Yet the only questions that matter and serve to help truly identify our achievement are: did we make a difference in the lives of the children, youth and families we serve and what more can we do?

During this holiday season I had the pleasure of meeting many of the parents and guardians of the children we care for. Without exception, they all thanked me for what we do to support them and their children through what is a very difficult time. More than anything else their acknowledgment points to the greatest achievement of 2010….the improvement in their lives and of their children.

There is always more we can do for those we serve so let me take this opportunity to thank all of you for your support without which we could not achieve what we have this year.

Be sure of our best wishes for a happy and prosperous New Year!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays

This is the time of year when I am reminded of how great our donor community is to our children and families. The season of giving started with more than $10,000 worth of gifts from Campbell Hall. In-kind gifts have continued to come with deliveries planned for as late as Christmas Eve to provide something special for the children who will be on campus through the holiday. Thank you, thank you, and thank you!

Because of the nature of the challenges that the children and families we serve confront, there is never enough that we can do for them because their needs are so great. However, be sure that what we are able to do is greatly appreciated and has a wonderful impact on them especially at this time of year.

At the end of the day, more than anything else, we are trying to create memories for all we serve. Memories of caring people, memories of happiness in the midst of challenges and hardships, memories that restore hope and help dreams to be realized.

There are few of us who can remember all the gifts that we received on any given Christmas, but most of us can recall the folks that surrounded us at the holiday time, those who lifted our spirits and made us happy.  Our staff are those people creating memories for the children and families we serve. There task is made easier because of your generosity.

 

Once again, thanks for all that you do for those we serve. Be sure of our gratitude and that we recall you fondly during this time of year and wish for you a wonderful new year filled with many blessings.

Ho, ho, ho…

Thank you Trish Ploehn

Trish Ploehn, the beleaguered director of the Los Angeles County's Department of Children and Family Services, has been removed from her position. Announced on December 13, the Los Angeles Times website was inundated with vitriolic comments condemning her tenure. Those are cheap shots directed at a public servant who dedicated her career to serving the most vulnerable children and families in the County.

The only thing you can fault Ms. Pleohn for is her decision to take on a position that was recently described as the most thankless job in the United States, let alone Los Angeles County, four years ago. The issue was never her leadership or the policies that she advanced at DCFS, but rather a system that is inherently unmanageable for children and families so much at risk that inevitably they will be harmed.

Clearly, what is needed is to look beyond filling the director position to address the unmanageable nature of the DCFS system. Without an organizational change, whoever becomes the next DCFS director will be doomed to fail; and the children and families served by DCFS can not afford yet another failure!

This interim period is a time to re-examine the DCFS system of care and begin the process of creating an organization that is efficient and effective. The following are suggestions of some things that may be considered in redesigning the system of care.

Make it smaller

The system is too large, too bureaucratic, and too inconsistent to be effective. Size matters and, in this case, smaller is better.

Streamline the system for delivering  services

DCFS should promote and monitor its two principal functions; prevention and protective services. Rather than actually provide services, DCFS should be limited to managing the network of providers, assuring compliance with standards of care. The department should leave the actual provision of services to the providers who have a direct, unencumbered relationship with those served.

Invest in an integrated communications system

Real-time information is absolutely essential to communicate effectively and keep children and families safe. There is no excuse for outdated technology!

Transparency rules

Although client confidentiality must never be sacrificed, all other information about DCFS and providers should be easily accessible to support a client-driven, family-focused and community-oriented system of care. Accountability is essential.

This is an extraordinary opportunity to develop a better organization to serve Los Angeles’ most vulnerable children and families. Let’s not squander it looking for a “savior” or trying to find the “silver bullet.”  Rather, let us embrace this task driven by the desire to truly improve the lives of those we serve.

Residential Based Services Initiated

After years of research and months of negotiations, the much-anticipated Residential Based Services (RBS) Open Doors initiative began on Thursday, December 2. Los Angeles is one of four counties in California participating in this demonstration project. Hillsides together with Hathaway-Sycamores and Five Acres are the three area providers that have been selected to participate in this study. This demonstration will be conducted over the next 24 months. The findings will then be used to redesign how services to children and their families that are struggling to achieve some level of stability and permanency are provided. Given the research that has been done on this model throughout the country, there is reason to expect that this demonstration project will lead to significant developments in how we keep families together and sustain them effectively.

Open Doors will provide up to 24 months of care, and nine of those months may be provided in the residential treatment setting. From the very beginning of treatment, the child and family are introduced to a team of professionals that will accompany them through the whole service period.

The expectation is that this kind of comprehensive approach will provide for greater effectiveness to stabilize the child and family and develop a plan of care, allowing the family to be reunified sooner than in the current service model.

Embedded in the demonstration are the guiding principles of safety, well being and permanency. Safety is a primary issue, without it no progress can be made. Much of the initial effort with families will be to establish and confidently maintain a safe environment in the home. Also, part of the initial treatment period is the establishment of a program of services that will allow both the child and family to achieve improvement and a lessening of the condition that led them into care. Finally, the goal is to establish long-term stability so as to avoid multiple disruptions for the child and family.

Virtually all families are motivated to stay together and function well. This program is tailored to provide resources for children and their families so in spite of the many challenges they confront they might see their dream of reunification realized.

We are very excited to be part of this initiative and invite all our supporters to embrace this mission of safety and successfully returning children to their families and communities.

The Spirit of the Holiday Season still among the Hustle and Bustle

Black Friday seems to be the start of the hustle and bustle of the holiday season. Millions of shoppers get in line on Thanksgiving night for retail stores to open the following day and get the deal of the year. People attend numerous festivities, go shopping for those on their list, or plan the entertainment and menu for the family’s get together. Regardless of which it is or all, some people never forget the vulnerable children and families, who in their time of need, get the love and support from total strangers.

At Hillsides we serve on average 86 children and transition age youth as well as 6,900 children and families living in Los Angeles County. Children living at Hillsides make their holiday wish list and staff plan winter outings to fill their holiday break from school. Transition age youth recreate traditions of their own while living at Youth Moving On. Of the families we serve, we select a hundred who are in most need during the holiday season to be adopted by other families, businesses, organizations and individuals.

Holidays are a reminder for many of our children that they are not living with their families, and thus, behavioral and emotional challenges are heightened. Transition age youth, for the first time, might be spending the holidays alone. Families in crisis are stressed even more with the pressure of the holiday.

The challenges are many and the resources are limited. As we have done in the past, we reach out to our donor community to rally support for the children and youth we serve during the holiday season. At this time when our faith traditions invite us to recall the light that dispels the darkness of our world, we call upon you to help us be a “light” for those we serve.

Wish lists, winter outings, traditions, and adopt-a-family program--none of these would be possible without the support of our donors. While you may be participating in the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, you still take time to think of the spirit of the holiday season. You give willingly to those in need, bringing light and hope to a brighter New Year.

For those wishing to make a difference this holiday season, you can do so by visiting our wish list, donating towards a particular item needed, adopting a family or sponsoring a winter outing. Call Laura Kelso, director of community resources, at (323) 254-2274 ext. 251 and see where the need is most. Thank you for restoring hope in the lives of so many children, youth and families.

Believe, Books, Bond

“Literacy is at the root of a person’s ability to succeed, and the family is at the heart,” states the National Center for Family Literacy. Since November is National Family Literacy Month, we thought we would share two stories of former residents whose experience at Hillsides enabled them to read and devour books.

Emotionally challenged, Gary Drake’s mother was unable to care for her son properly and opted to place him at Hillsides.  Self described as out of control, Gary came to live at Hillsides when he was only 11 years old.  He remembers only being able to read at a second grade level when he was in fifth grade. Gary also despised homework. While he lived at Hillsides, staff would drive him weekly to the University of Southern California's tutoring program to learn how to read.

“I learned how to show up no matter what is happening,” Gary said. “I was forced to look at the consequences for your actions. If you don’t read, life is harder than it already is.”

Living in a structured environment like Hillsides helped him in many more ways than just reading. He learned to negotiate with others, live among a diverse group, and manage different projects. Today, Gary is a general contractor to celebrities like Sting, Madonna, Jim Carrey, and others. He credits part of his success to the various skills he learned while living at Hillsides.

While he still does not like homework, Gary understands the importance of literacy, encouraging and supporting a structured environment in his own home that requires reading time. With four children in elementary school, Gary, with support from his wife, leads a model home of children participating in extracurricular activities like piano, surfing, gymnastics and Taekwondo and doing homework.

For John Downes, his experience at Hillsides inspired him to become an author of seven books -- three novels and four non-fictions. After World War II in 1946, John’s parents divorced. In the following summer they took the train to Los Angeles, where his mother arranged for him and his sister to live at the Episcopal Church Home for Children, known as Hillsides today. John was seven years old at the time, and lived in the Boys Cottage, while his sister, Joan, two years older than him, lived in the Girls Cottage.

“I became a voracious reader when I lived there. Not only did I read the entire series of The Hardy Boys books, but I read practically everything else in the library. I was in awe of anyone who could write stories. I told stories to the boys in the Boys Cottage,” John stated in an email to Hillsides. “Some Friday nights, a man named Luther came and told us ghost stories. They were very scary. He did it without notes or pauses. It was very inspiring for me.”

When John and Joan left the home and moved to Salem, Oregon, he continued to “invent stories, write them, and relate them aloud to my friends. Even in the Boy Scouts, I was sought out at camporees to tell stories.”

While in high school, his journalism teacher saw his writing ability and became a strong influence in his life. In his adult years, John pursued screenwriting and two dramas were optioned by producers at major studios.  However, nothing was produced. In the 1990s John wrote his first published novel, A Few Deadly Friends, which was an adaptation of his first screenplay, Criminal Bent. It was the first of three novels, all different genres -- mystery, literary fiction, war novel.

Literacy is important to our social, economic and political environment. Teaching the significance of reading and the skill to the children and families we serve is a lasting benefit. Hillsides’ children’s library rivals any other library in the city. We have an amazing collection of more than 8,000 books and about 14 reading groups. Author visits engage and inspire our children and students at Hillsides Education Center. Sherri Ginsberg, our librarian, customizes any volunteer’s talent with a reading workshop to bring a higher rate of participation by our children. We are so pleased to hear that a child, for the first time, read an entire book—all because they were motivated by the author or the volunteer that gave their time to explore a world of imagination, laughter and hope.

Have you read a book lately? Have you volunteered lately? What do you do with your family to encourage reading? Share your stories with us.

Changing Our Community with a Giving Heart

In the United States alone, there are more than a million charitable organizations, and Americans give more than $300 billion annually to charitable causes (Giving USA Foundation). On November 15, we celebrated National Philanthropy Day®, the special day set aside to recognize and pay tribute to the great contributions that philanthropy—and those people active in the philanthropic community—have made to our lives, our communities and our world, as stated in the Association of Fundraising Professionals’ website.

Change the World with a Giving Heart, the theme of this year’s National Philanthropy Day, brings to light the goodness in each person and organization that contributes to vulnerable children and families like those served by Hillsides. Our donors, volunteers and child advocates, with their treasure, time or voice, help us continue to create safe places for children who have experienced traumatic childhoods and suffer from emotional and behavioral challenges. Families in need of Hillsides’ resources and professional mental health expertise are afforded these services because of our donors who give willingly to our mission. Transitional aged youth find a safe place, mentoring and mental health support at Hillsides Youth Moving On because of the combined efforts of many organizations, corporations and individuals who believe in former foster youth having an opportunity to journey through young adulthood successfully.

Last week several organizations that support our mission were recognized at the National Philanthropy Day Awards luncheon presented by the Association of Fundraising Professionals.  A hearty congratulation goes out to Print Interactive Radio and Television Education Society (PIRATES), Pasadena Independent Schools Foundation (PIS), and The Weingart Foundation for their commitment to serve nonprofits in Southern California. Both PIRATES and PISF are primarily volunteer-driven organizations themselves. Their commitment to serving nonprofits has been noticed and we recognize your dedication to the children and families we serve. Weingart Foundation was pivotal in our Youth Moving On’s capital campaign and continues to support our mission.

However, we continue to ask ourselves: What do the children need? What additional resources can we provide families? What does it take to help them? There is never enough that we can do for the children and families we serve. This year we raised $2.2 million to address all the needs of the children and families. That’s the kind of investment that donors, corporations, and foundations make alongside with volunteers and child advocates. The partnerships we make help us leverage the dollars that we have to provide for vulnerable children and families whose needs are tremendous.

We applaud Hillsides donors, corporations, foundations, volunteers and child advocates for changing our community with your giving heart. Together, we strive to create safe places for vulnerable children and families that need our love, stability, comfort, hope and resources to have brighter futures. Thanks for lighting their way and ours.

Political Gridlock

Now that the election is over, many of us are trying to figure out how to position ourselves to address the pressing needs of vulnerable children and families not only in California, but throughout the country. Unfortunately, it would seem that all the post election posturing indicates a continuation and, perhaps, a worsening of gridlock in both Sacramento and Washington, DC. This is exactly what we don’t need; this kind of inaction and failure of leadership jeopardizes the children and families we serve.

There are no easy solutions--quite the opposite! In the midst of all political bravado, children and families are suffering, services have been limited, if not all together eliminated, entitlements have been suspended, and our focus has moved from the plight of our neighbors to ideological debates.

In Sacramento--The disastrous actions by Governor Schwarzenegger to eliminate child care subsidies and support for working families, together with the elimination of funding for the education of special needs students, must be addressed immediately as Governor-elect Brown assumes the position and the legislature reconvenes.  Although temporary measures have been put in place, the long term uncertainty of funding continues to jeopardize services to these vulnerable populations.

In Washington, DC--Just as medical entitlements for children and youth have been established in recent healthcare legislation, repeal and revisions are being suggested, making uncertain a pathway to enable states to access funding to assure compliance with these new measures. The Fostering Connections Act, landmark legislation passed three years ago to advance services to children and youth, continues to have funding jeopardized by a shifting sense of priorities in Washington. Years after supporting a gathering to address the issues of vulnerable children and families and establish some clear priorities as well as a plan of action, the call for a White House Conference goes unheeded.

Some would say these are unprecedented times and, as a result, we can no longer accept “business as usual.” From what I can see, not much has changed on the political front; and the sense of urgency is driven by political grandstanding rather than the desperation that many feel in a time of economic constraint.

We hope the stalemate in government will ease and, in spite of temptation to join the fray, we need to encourage our civic leaders to not lose sight of the pressing needs our children and families face each day.

So in an effort to get beyond the impasse, let me suggest:

1.      Check the ideology at the door

2.      Focus on tangible, immediate needs of the most vulnerable

3.      Set and maintain priorities for the utilization of limited funds

4.      Don’t be short sighted

5.      Insist on proven and efficient methods of delivering services

We live in hope!