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Listen to thisI first met Department of Health and Human Resources Secretary Karen Bowling two years ago as a member of the West Virginia Commission to Study Residential Placement of Children, which was created by an act of the state Legislature in 2005 to establish an integrated system of care for youth at risk of out of home care.
I was and continue to be very encouraged by the remarks Secretary Bowling made during my first few meetings with her, as well as her continuing leadership on the commission that is comprised of representatives from DHHR, providers, the court system, education, families, youth and communities. Secretary Bowling stated that the time for studying is over and that we needed to begin acting to transform our system so that West Virginia kids' needs are met in their home communities. She also made it very clear that those youth in the permanent custody of DHHR were her kids and that she had no greater responsibility than to make sure their needs are met. She challenged each of us then and continues to challenge us to work in partnership to transform our system to work for our kids.
I have had the opportunity to be involved in and see demonstrable change in the right direction for "our" kids because I believe that it is not only the public sector's responsibility to protect and care for our most vulnerable kids, it is all of our responsibility.
Whether we are private providers, DHHR, the court, the faith community or individuals, it will take all of us to transform our system and communities to ensure that our kids' needs are met in their home communities. We must have a common vision and identified community leaders to keep our kids safe, well and in their home communities. System transformation will not be as easy as saying we will choose one treatment modality, setting or intervention over the other or completely halting the use of out of home care. We must universally assess our kids' needs and strengths to put together the best plan to meet their needs in their home community.
We also need to aggregate these assessed needs to guide our development of treatment and interventions in communities that may be lacking resources. DHHR, Juvenile Drug Courts, providers and other child serving systems are already implementing this type of universal assessment. I believe this will correctly inform our leaders as to the needs of our kids and their families and identify service gaps in our communities.
The next step is to make sure we are working together in public/private/family/community partnership. I am very proud to be involved in many such partnerships. Bureau of Children and Families (BCF) Commissioner Nancy Exline is working with all out of home providers in West Virginia to redefine what residential treatment, shelter care and foster care will look like in West Virginia going forward. She has challenged us to partner together and work together to design a family guided, youth driven continuum of care that is driven by child and family needs, is community-based, and that is utilized as an intervention to provide proven evidence informed treatment with the main goal of returning the youth to their family or family type living situation as soon as possible.
I am very pleased with this approach because provider, family and community input is critical to redefining a full continuum of care that meets kids' needs.
There will be times that residential treatment is needed. A system of care must have services at all levels of the continuum because children and youth frequently require access to all levels for at least a period of time. A broad and diverse array of supports can improve outcomes by tapping into the right services, at the right time, at the right frequency, and for the right, most productive duration.
I believe we are moving in the right direction to ensure that West Virginia kids get what they need, when they need it and where they need it. I challenge all West Virginians to explore ways they can participate and get involved in being part of the solution for achieving our common vision of making sure West Virginia kids are safe, happy, well and able to pursue their hopes and dreams.
Susan Fry
29 June 2015
Susan Fry is a graduate of Marshall University with a master's degree in counseling and a bachelor's degree in social work. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor with 32 years of experience in the child welfare and behavioral health field.
