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About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (March 23, 1981)
Page 12 March 23,1981 Community services reorganized for better efficiency by Marsha Shewczyk Confusion about where to go for what services may exist in the community since the recent reorganization of the Health and Social Services Branch in Warm Springs. The changes were made not to confuse everyone but in an effort to increase efficiency and to avoid duplication of services. What was previously known as the Family Resource Center has been divided into two separate departments. It used to include the Group Home, the Outreach Program, the Pre- Adolescent Treatment Home and the Foster Placement Pogram. Now, one depart m en t is in v o lv e d w ith residential treatment known as Youth Services and the other new department deals with the outpatient treatment service, now c a lle d C o m m u n ity Counseling Services. The Alcohol Program has also been affected since it handled both outpatient and residential patients.lt now deals exclusively with a residential program leaving the outpatient treatment to the C o m m u n ity C o u n s e lin g Service. The directors of the three existing departments. Youth Services, Community Counsel ing Services and the Alcohol P ro g ram claim th a t the changes are for the better. Once the transition is complete, says Alcohol Program director Gordie K napp? things will be running smoothly and we will be able to serve the community better.” . Youth Services Included within the Youth Services department are all residential treatment programs designed with children and adolescents in mind. The actual physical location of these programs remains at the Group Home and the Path Program, also known as the Vernon Jackson home. Other residential care is based in foster home settings. Close tabs are kept on those in foster homes, a responsibility of the Group Home where director of Youth Services Merrill Featherstone has her office. Children and adolescents who are placed in either the group home or the PATH care unit are not necessarily court referred although that is often the case. Residents may come to the homes voluntarily. Featherstone feels that the care homes “need not be a place to put “bad" kids. It could be a place to strengthen family ties and make both children and parents aware that there are many options in their lives that are open to them.” She feels that sometimes being closely involved in a family situation will blind family members to o th e r w ay s o f liv in g . Sometimes it is good to step out and take a look. A t th e G ro u p H om e adolescents from ages 12 to 18 can find a place to stay where counselors are available. An effort is being made to establish a day program for adolescents who seek a more structured day. They will have a place to go before and after school with' planned activities and group with which they can associate. A tu to r would be made available to them upon request. - Whether a youth is placed at the, hom e through court psychiatrist. Som etim es a person just needs another person to listen to him, commented Weist. Like the Youth Services, the Counseling Service encourages indepen dent thinking and self help. It offers direction. Someone interested in seeing a counselor on an outpatient basis for any reason has only to call the Community Counsel ing Service. An interview will be set up at which time information will be gathered. A counselor will be assigned to the client for long range counseling. Alcohol Program P e o p le w h o r e q u i r e residential treatment due to alcohol related problems are re fe rred to the A lcohol Program. The only outpatient service available there is the antabuse program. Prior to reorganization the alcohol program included outpatient treatment, labor- m an a g e m e n t re la tio n s counseling and drug counsel ing. The crisis service is still a Working with children— S ta ff members Yvonne L eno and Bonnie Teeman work with young people part of the program offering 24 hour service for problems in the home environment p rovided at the Group Home. which require involvement such as suicide, family fights The only gap in the family unit” as much as’ and severe depression. procedings or voluntarily seeks help at the group home, the residential treatment program possible, says Wiest. The four P rim a rily , th o u g h , the treatment includes every effort Featherstone feels is one left by counselors available at the alcohol program deals with to encourage the youth to act the absence of a detainment Counseling Services receive alc o h l re la te d p roblem s. in d e p e n d e n tly and w ith fa c ility aw ay fro m th e continuous training and “gear Clients are referred by the court r e s p o n s i b i l i t y . P a r e n t a l community. In the currently themselves to working with the or come in on a voluntary basis. participation is also invited and existing residential treatment entire problem. They are also Director Knapp says “35 to programs there are no external working to alleviate future 40% of the residents are self encouraged. The pre-adolescent treat controls; no locked windows or problems,” Wiest says. She referred.” ment home (PATH) is another doors. In some cases a child will goes on to say, “the counselor Knapp says he likes to see the Ph ase of th e re sid e n tia l not stay in the home. Director helps a person sort out how patients stay for at least 30 days things go wrong and how to treatment program designed Featherston says, “sometimes in the residential care unit. specifically for infants and there has to be that external cope with problems.” They can stay longer if they control to treat a child who is children up to the age of 12. The Community Counseling continue to advance in the Children may be in the home out of control. Sometimes Service also contains within it treatment process. They might containment is treatment. Kids for one reason or another. be working in various ways th e L a b o r M a n a g e m e n t Featherstone recognizes that are very reasonable once in Program. Previously this was a toward recovery by develop “we all need help occasionally.” control.” function of the Alcohol ing socially or occupationally. A critical stage does not need to Program, since the reorganiza Knapp says an alcoholic is be reached before help is tion it has become a part of impaired in all phases of his life Community Counseling sought. The residential “homes outpatient services. Labor so work must take place in all are a resource,” Featherstone Service Management relations demand areas. Although housed in the same savs. attention when, because of a Since a few responsibilities The foster care homes are building as the Group Home problem, work is affected. It have been removed froth the another part of the Youth and Youth Services office, the does not demand residential Alcohol Program and turned Services. When necessary, a C o m m u n ity C o u n s e lin g tre a tm e n t but o u tp a tie n t over to the C om m unity Service provides support to counseling may be essential. child might be placed in a Counseling Service—“we can resident outside the family clients in a different way. The better concentrate on what our A nother aspect of the job environm ent. This would concern in this newly created is to serve the community happen when it is for the departm ent is solely for C o m m u n ity C o u n s e lin g better,” We can act “more to outpatients treatm ent. The Service is the Prevention and the purpose of our existence,” welfare of the child. The first choice is the home of a relative.. Director of the department, C o m m u n ity E d u c a t i o n Knapp says. But any home which is selected Barbara Wiest says they see Program. Under the direction people at the Counseling of Caroline Cruz, mental m u st m eet c e r tif ic a tio n The A lcohol P ro g ram ’s requirements. Foster Care Center who do not need health and social issues are existence seems to be quite Counselors are available to residential care for treatment of presented to the community. important as 65 to 85% of the Prevention of problems must reservation’s population are work with the extended family their problems. The C ounseling Service begin in early stages. If people affected by alcohol in some for bring them up to the required standard for foster provides assistance with any knew how to help themselves a way. 45 to 50% of these are number of problems froth problem might not get into a under the age 30. According the homes. The foster parents involved family counseling to drug and critical stage. An example Priscilla Frank, “Children in the program are offered alcohol counseling. Child would be one sighted by begin to experience their first every assistance available. related problems can also be Alcohol Treatment supervisor episode of being drunk about F e a th e r s to n e an d o th e r brought before the well trained Priscilla Frank when she says the age of 8 years.” The family workers help them to deal with counselors as well as personal that by the time many young is involved in the problems of the intracacies of being a foster troubles. The counselors are people reach their eighteenth each individual member it is birthday they are already in the true but the alcohol program parent. Raising other people’s trained in many areas. Oftentimes problems are m iddle stages of alocholism. children is much different than must concentrate on treatment All levels of professional and| of the individual leaving family raising one’s own children, interrelated. For example, Featherstne says. “The whole where there is family bickering para-professional counseling is counseling to the Community issue of attachment and then there may also be an alcohol o b ta in a b le th r o u g h th e Counseling Service. losing someone has to be dealt problem. The counselors “try C o m m u n ity C o u n s e lin g Each of the programs is to work with people in the Service, including a part time with.” designed to fit the needs of a |Branch Manager j particular segment of the Warm Springs community. And each is structured to enable the program to work to g e th e r o r w ith o th e r departments. The total scheme is comprehensive and working to w a rd s a lle v ia tin g th e difficulties involved in living in today’s modern society. The I programs were created and exist for any community member who wants to make use of them.
