24
Adolescent Consultation Services 2011 Year-End Report

2011 Year End Report

Embed Size (px)

DESCRIPTION

2011 Year End Report

Citation preview

Page 1: 2011 Year End Report

Adolescent Consultation Services2011 Year-End Report

Page 2: 2011 Year End Report

2

Page 3: 2011 Year End Report

To Our Donors and Colleagues

Children first! This was our rallying cry throughout 2011.

Children suffering from trauma; children with mental and behavioral health problems; children with learning disorders. All of these court-involved children needed help to get back on track so they could get on with their lives. That was, and is, our job: to help them quickly before they lose valuable years that can’t be regained.

You helped us do this.

You helped us work on the micro level—child by child, parent by parent, family by family. You also

helped our work on the macro, policy level—seeking improvement in the laws affecting kids, and seeking increased funding statewide to serve them.

There are holes in the systems of care that children can fall into. And in these stretched-thin times, it can be a struggle to get systems to work together. That’s our job. ACS specializes in finding solutions that fit the shape and size of these kids and families. We tirelessly advocate for them and pursue whatever it takes to connect them with services.

We need you to give to ACS. You can help us help these kids. You can also help support our efforts to increase funding for the Juvenile Court Clinics statewide and support legislation that improves justice for kids. I hope this report will convince you to renew your determination to do everything you can, in whatever role you play, to work with us and the kids and families we serve to get their lives back on track.

We ask you to continue to walk alongside us as we carry on this work. We need your help, just as these kids and families need ours. You know how important it is or you wouldn’t be reading this now. Thank you for all that you do to support positive directions for these kids.

Rebecca Pries Executive Director

In this report...

2 Thanks from Lia Poorvu, Board President

4 A Conversation with Judge Fearey

6 Celebrating Jane: 37 Years Helping Kids in the System

7 Kids in Crisis — ACS November Event

8 Collaborations: MAJCC and CYV

9 Kids and Judges Day Puts Ideas into Action

10 Marissa: Overcoming Underly-ing Issues

11 Pierre: Tenacious Advocacy Changes His Life

12 Data and Trends: Demographics

13 Data and Trends: Trauma and Mental Health

14 ACS Spectrum of Services

Sustaining Positive Changes

15 ACS Service Area map— Middlesex County

ACS History

16 Financial Reports

18 Congratulations to Veteran Staff

19 ACS Welcomes New Staff

20 Thank you to our Donors

23 Motherhood Group

24 Mission Statement and Board of Directors

Page 4: 2011 Year End Report

4

Judge Margaret S. Fearey came on the bench in the early 1990’s when Massa-chusetts established a statewide system of Juvenile Courts. Judge Fearey re-tired at the end of 2011, after 16 years on the juvenile bench. The following are excerpts from an interview with Rebecca Pries.

Juvenile Court—A Team Effort

Judge Fearey: “It’s a team effort in the Juvenile Court more than any other place. All of the various groups work together—from Clerks to Probation to the Court Clinic to Court Officers.”

Probation officers and CHINS

“Our Probation Officers are extraor-dinary. They’re social workers with a little tough love added —incredible individuals who do amazing work. They get very involved with the kids. Often they’re the first adult in a child’s life who has standards, who will say, you need to do X and this is why. And if you don’t do X, Y will happen. And it does. In my view, the CHINS (See page 10) law works if the relationship

between the child and the Probation Officer works. In terms of the out-come, the relationship between the Probation Officer and the child can really affect the outcome.”

Juvenile Court Clinics

“The Court Clinic is completely important to what we do. It’s abso-lutely necessary. I don’t think we’d be a real Juvenile Court without the Court Clinic. Not only for things like Competency to Stand Trial evaluations and for help in finding groups and treatment options, but for the evalua-tion piece in particular. Court Clinic evaluations make it possible to make suggestions to the child and family that protect and rehabilitate the child and family and protect the community through less recidivism.

“The Court Clinic really goes above and beyond. I know the Framingham Juvenile Court clinicians spend hours doing things that probably another agency should be doing but isn’t. And they were able to get all the parties together, coordinate something like a treatment plan, and get it done. It’s just amazing.”

A Conversation with Judge Fearey

“ Probation officers are social workers with a little tough love added.”

“ As a former juvenile court

judge, I have seen firsthand

the enormous capacity of

children to change and

turn themselves around.

The same malleability that

makes them vulnerable to

peer pressure also makes

them promising candidates

for rehabilitation.”

Gail Garinger, The Child Advocate of Massachusetts, NYTimes Op-Ed, “Juveniles Don’t Deserve Life Sentences”, March 14, 2012.

4

Page 5: 2011 Year End Report

5

Looking back, what was the most troubling part of sitting on the bench?

“There are always certain cases that are incredibly difficult—cases where you really don’t know what happened. You’ll never know what happened. And you don’t know what the truth of the situation is. You hear six dif-ferent stories and the consequences are tremendous—for example in a case where parents might have their rights to parent their children ended. Neither you nor anybody else, except for the people who were present at the incident—and maybe not even they!—know in some objective reality what happened. So you have to really exercise yourself to try to tease out the different perspectives and be open to all of them. And sometimes it comes down to the burden of proof. It really does. When you’re on the bench with one of these cases, the burden of proof is not abstract at all. It is very real. And that is how you have to look at this decision.”

How did you manage hearing 50 to 60 cases back to back? How did you deal with the cumulative impact of so much sadness, things gone awry?

“I’ve always thought of it as being like an ER doc. You have to have a certain professional distance. You must have a good sense of triage when you have 50 cases to review that day. You can say, I don’t know yet what happened, so I shouldn’t be inserting myself at this point. The time for me to insert myself is way down the line when we have a plea bargain to review or we have a decision to make on the case.”

What do you think about the current initiative to Raise the Age of the Juvenile Court Jurisdiction through age 17?

Rebecca: “If you were still on the bench, would you find it a huge chal-lenge to hear cases of 17-year-olds charged with delinquency offenses? You would likely need some judicial training around it, but with that, do you think that would be a huge chal-lenge to Judges? To the Court itself?”

Judge Fearey: “I don’t think it would be a major challenge. It might be a bigger challenge to DYS because raising the age would increase their population. But, I think that it’s more clinically appropriate for 17-year-olds—they are not emancipated yet—to be in the Juvenile Court. To me, the fact that they’re not included creates problems—problems for police officers and for others in the Court. Because parents of 17-year-olds still have a right to be heard and they still have a right to be there. Yet I think in the police community, there’s often the feeling of, ‘Well, they’re 17. We can interview them without their parents here.’ And they’re right. On the other hand, that creates a fundamental prob-lem in terms of the parents’ rights to still be involved.”

Thank you, Judge Fearey, for your remarkable years of dedicated service in the Middlesex Juvenile Court!

“ There are always certain cases that are incredibly difficult—cases where you’ll never know what happened.”

Page 6: 2011 Year End Report

6

“ Thank you, Jane, for doing so much for so many!”

-Tom Leggat, ACS Board Member

Celebrating Jane: 37 Years Helping Kids in the System

In June, ACS—with friends, support-ers and newly donated art from the Art Connection—celebrated Jane Siegel’s long and successful career at ACS. Lia Poorvu, President of the ACS Board of Directors, invited guests to join in celebrating Jane’s career—37 years of stellar social work helping thousands of vulnerable, court-involved youth and families.

“A Lasting Impact”

Dr. Dan Jacobs, ACS board member and former Director of the Cambridge Court Clinic, spoke of the length and breadth of Jane’s career. He remem-bered 1974, the year he hired Jane, and noted the lasting impact of her contribution. First Justice Jay Blitzman cited Jane’s “special affinity for engag-ing clients in the most difficult of circumstances” and commended her for receiving the Recognition of Distinguished Service award from the Department of Mental Health.

The Jane Siegel Fund

Rebecca Pries, Executive Director of ACS, announced the establishment of the Jane Siegel Fund for Excellence in Social Work. This fund commemo-rates Jane’s commitment to exem-plary clinical social work on behalf of high-risk, court-involved children and families, as well as her pivotal role in training hundreds of graduate social work students and mentoring new ACS clinical staff. Past students attended the open house to celebrate their former supervisor and teacher! The Jane Siegel Fund will be used to support future training and advance-ment of ACS social work staff.

Massachusetts Citation for Excellence

The big surprise of the evening was a Citation for excellence given to Jane from Massachusetts State Representa-tive, Aaron Michlewitz. Presented by legislative aid Blake Webber, the Citation recognized her years of dedicated service as a clinical social worker for ACS.

Newly donated art from The Art Connection

Susan Collings, Executive Director of The Art Connection, was thrilled to see the new art on display. Artists Fran Grossman and Faith Hyde took part in the festivities and enjoyed seeing how their art helps make ACS a welcoming environment for clients.

The evening was a rousing celebration of Jane’s footprint on ACS and the positive impact of her work. In the words of ACS Board Member Tom Leggat, “Thank you, Jane, for doing so much for so many.”

Blake Webber, Jane Siegel, Rebecca Pries, Lia Poorvu Jacquie Kay, Deb D’Arcy, Soledad Valen-ciano, Lia Poorvu, Janet Davidson

Page 7: 2011 Year End Report

7

Friends of ACS, donors to the program, and colleagues in the field joined us at the historic Union Club of Boston to learn about ACS services for kids in cri-sis. Lia Poorvu, ACS Board President, welcomed the widely diverse audience, noting that this diversity demonstrates the complexity of ACS’s work.

The audience enjoyed three thought-provoking talks by Dr. Jill Durand, an ACS clinical psychologist, Dr. Michael Jellinek, Chief of Child Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital, and Dr. Debra Pinals, Assistant Commissioner for Forensic Mental Health. Moderating the evening was Gail Garinger, first Child Advocate for Massachusetts; she acknowledged the importance of the Juvenile Court Clinics, as they integrate with all other services.

Dr. Jill Durand talked about three kids in crisis, explaining that ACS clini-cians are called in when a child verbalizes suicidal threats or behaves in an alarming way that requires

immediate attention. The interface between the child’s needs and the court process makes these evaluations particularly specialized and difficult to perform.

Dr. Michael Jellinek pointed out that clinicians enter these crisis situations in a child’s “moment of desperation.” He asked the audience to imagine being a child facing “all those adults in court”— the child’s unbelievable vulnerability leads to many psychiatric emergencies.

Dr. Jellinek suggested that systematic, early screening by pediatricians could identify kids as high-risk for a psy-chiatric condition. Ideally, this would prevent potential emergencies before they occur. Dr. Jellinek also recom-mended that a common tool, such as the Child Global Assessment Scale, be used across state agencies to assess the child’s functioning. Such a scale would provide the basis for a standardized and reliable way of communicating the needs of a youth in crisis.

Dr. Debra Pinals emphasized the reality of the sad and often tragic emergency situations, in addition to the depth of knowledge required by the Juvenile Court Clinicians who handle them. She said that Massachusetts excels above all other states in providing Juvenile Court Clinic services to youth and reminded the audience that “the importance of what we do today really does implicate generations to come.”

Rebecca Pries concluded the evening by saying, “ACS could not do this difficult work without the support of the people in this room.” She invited the audience to visit our clinic sites and website where they will be welcomed by the James Baldwin quote --“For these are all our children;” a hallmark of our commit-ment to treat court-involved children as we would our own.

Kids in Crisis: Psychiatric Emergencies in the Juvenile Court was the topic of the ACS November 17 Event.

“ The importance of what we do today really does implicate generations to come.”

-Dr. Debra Pinals

“ Without ACS, there would be a lot of kids who aren’t getting the services they need.”

-ACS Board Member, William Paine

Attendee Gale Munson engaged with the evening’s topic and other ACS supporters.

Debra Pinals, Gail Garinger, Michael Jellinek, Jill Durand

Page 8: 2011 Year End Report

8

Massachusetts Alliance of Juvenile Court Clinics (MAJCC)

In 2005, ACS brought together the agencies that run the Juvenile Court Clinics statewide, and united them into an advocacy group called the Massachusetts Alliance of Juvenile Court Clinics (MAJCC). MAJCC makes a convincing and compelling case for the needs of court-involved youth and educates hundreds of legislators and stakeholders. ACS continues to administer and lead this group’s advocacy, outreach, and communications. The MAJCC web-site, built and maintained by ACS, is www.kidsandthelaw.org/majcc.php. ACS receives separate funding for MAJCC from the Gardiner Howland Shaw Foundation and C.F. Adams Charitable Trust.

Cultivating Youth Voices (CYV)

ACS, along with 4 other youth-serving non-profit organizations, formed a Learning Network called Cultivating Youth Voices (CYV) in 2008. ACS serves as the lead agency for this project, which aims to empower youth to speak out about their experiences in the juvenile justice system. With this group, ACS held the first-ever Kids and Judges Day in Massachusetts (See full story on the following page).

Senator Flanagan visits the Worcester Juvenile Court Clinic, a member of MAJCC. From L to R - Laura Candelaria, Elissa Noonan, Senator Jennifer Flanagan, Director Julie Ann Lamacchia, Mathilde Pelaprat, Doreen Bell

Collaborations: MAJCC and CYV

Page 9: 2011 Year End Report

9

In 2009, ACS led the formation of a start-up coalition called Cultivating Youth Voices (CYV), which involves like-minded organizations serving low-income, court-involved youth. The Coalition expands the reach of ACS to populations in other counties in the Commonwealth, and is comprised of Children’s Law Center of Massa-chusetts, Citizens for Juvenile Justice, Health Law Advocates, and Salvation Army / Bridging the Gap. The goal of the coalition is to empower court-in-volved youth by amplifying their voices to the authorities making decisions that will shape their futures.

Challenges abound, including issues of stigma and confidentiality, as well as the teens’ distrust of adults and well-founded hesitations about the system. Most of the youth we interact with have not had positive experiences at court and believe that the courts are not designed to help them. We hoped that Kids and Judges Day would pro-vide our youth with a positive experi-ence so that they change their outlook about court. We wanted them to feel empowered to express themselves.

On April 26, 2011 ACS led CYV in hosting the first-ever Kids and Judges Day event in Massachusetts at the Cambridge Juvenile Court. Kids and Judges Day brought court-involved teens face-to-face with judges of the Juvenile Court. They were given the opportunity to candidly ask judges pointed questions in small groups, and also to initiate dialogue with the judges about their perspectives on the system.

CYV is unlike any other youth devel-opment and leadership program in the state. Rather than focusing mainly on relationship issues and education, CYV’s mission is to empower children to speak out about their experiences in the juvenile justice system. These youth have powerful individual stories that illustrate the impact of mental illness, racism, poverty, and trauma on their lives and on their treatment in the juvenile court system.

• 70%ofourteenparticipantsreportedthattheywouldencourageotheryoungpeopletotakepartinameetingwithaJuvenileCourtJudge

• 75%reportedthatKidsandJudgesDaywasavaluablelearningopportunity.

Judgesinvolvedreportedthattheynotonlyenjoyedtheexperi-ence,butthatitwouldinfluencethewaytheyworkwithyouthandfamiliesinthefuture.

Kids and Judges Day Puts Ideas into Action Cultivating Youth Voices (CYV)—an ACS-led Learning Network

“ What makes you determine whether or not you want to lock up a kid?”

Saving one high-risk youth from a life of crime, heavy drug use, and dropping out of school saves society more than $5 million.

Mark A. Cohen, author of “New Evidence on the Monetary Value of Saving High Risk Youth.”

A teen’s question to the Judge

Page 10: 2011 Year End Report

10

In March 2011, 13-year-old Marissa was really struggling—staying out all night, refusing to go to school, cutting herself, drinking. In desperation, her mother reached to the Court for help by filing a CHINS Stubborn Child Petition*. When she heard the case, the Judge ordered an evaluation to try to understand Marissa’s behavior and help her and her mother.

Katherine, a specially-trained ACS veteran clinician, engaged Marissa and her mother in telling their story. She heard about Marissa’s parents’ tumul-tuous separation and custody battle fueled by the father’s drug addiction. She learned about Marissa’s early trauma—exposure at age 7 to drug deals and promiscuity while in her father’s care after school.

Marissa was bright and personable—a real “live wire.” She had done well in school until, as her mother reported, her seventh grade “nightmare” year when she began hanging out with an older crowd and became sexually active. She stopped going to school, and one night, just before the CHINS was filed, she drank so much that she required treatment for alcohol poisoning.

Katherine also learned Marissa had an undiagnosed gastrointestinal disease and felt chronically nauseous. She felt worse at school and preferred to stay up all night and sleep during the day.

The evaluation was a turning point. Marissa and her mother wanted things to be better and were eager for help.

Katherine worked hard to help Marissa and her mother access services. By May most of the recommendations were in place. A social worker was coming to their home to help them repair their relationship, teachers were helping Marissa make up her work, her pediatrician was treating her GI problem, her mother had begun a par-enting group, and Marissa was a leader in the ACS Young Women’s Group.

Months later, Katherine followed up with Marissa’s mother and learned that she and Marissa were doing so much better. Marissa was “looking healthy, playing volleyball, and doing wonder-ful.” Her mother reported: “LIFE IS GOOD!”

Marissa: Overcoming Underlying Issues

“ Marissa was bright and personable–a real ‘live wire.’”

* Child in Need of Services Petition

(Stubborn Child): According to the

Juvenile Justice System reference,

Kids and the Law, a CHINS Stub-

born Child Petition can be filed by

a police officer or guardian when

“a child below the age of 17 refuses

to obey the lawful and reasonable

commands of his or her guardian,

and whose actions result in the

guardian’s inability to adequately

care for and protect the child.”

10

Page 11: 2011 Year End Report

11

Pierre: Tenacious Advocacy Changes His Life

11

Pierre was a rebellious16-year-old with a concerned mother, absent father and a significant history of trauma and neglect. In the fall, his mother had filed a CHINS Stubborn Child peti-tion* in a desperate attempt to get him some help. Pierre was out of control: he had delinquency charges, there were fights at home, he was failing at school, his moods were unstable, and he was smoking marijuana at night in his room. The Judge referred Pierre to ACS for a comprehensive psychosocial evaluation and an evaluation to see if he was competent to stand trial.

Pierre needed academic help he wasn’t getting in school.

Dr. Jill Durand, ACS Clinical Psychol-ogist, met with Pierre and his mother. Her evaluations revealed Pierre’s low academic performance and low mental functioning, yet he was not receiving special education services. At Jill’s rec-ommendation, the Court released her evaluation to the Education Advocates from Suffolk Law School who then worked tirelessly to obtain appropriate educational services for Pierre.

With Jill and others advocat-ing, Pierre finally gets help.

It was a happy day when Pierre’s minor delinquency charges were dismissed and he was placed in a long-term resi-dential program. But 6 months later, Jill discovered that Pierre still wasn’t receiving special educational services. So, Jill took action. She attended a care review meeting with representatives from the Department of Children and Families, two differ-ent school districts, Pierre’s residential placement and his Suffolk Law School Education Advocate. Jill advocated for Pierre in the meeting, explaining that his academic performance was 5 grades below grade level and that his history and behavior indicated significant trauma. After a long, heated discus-sion, Pierre was approved for not only special education services, but a resi-dential therapeutic program where he would receive mental health treatment as well as academic instruction.

Isabel Raskin, supervisor of the Suffolk Law School Education Advocates, called ACS Executive Director, Re-becca Pries to make sure she knew how valuable Jill’s evaluation and presence were at the school meeting: “They were looking for every way to not find him eligible. Jill being at the meeting made the difference between this child not being found eligible for special edu-cation and his getting an out-of-district placement—that’s how much she made the difference.”

Isabel Raskin and Jill Durand

Page 12: 2011 Year End Report

12

Data and Trends: Demographics

This chart depicts the age ranges of the clients who came in for evalu-ations and treatment in 2011. For example, out of clients ages 7-12, 87% were male and 13% were female.

Source: Fiscal Year 2011 Juvenile Court Department Statistics. The Massachusetts Court System. http://www.mass.gov/courts/courtsandjudges/courts/juvenilecourt/2011stats.html

1 in every 100 kids in Massachusetts will become involved with the Juvenile Court system by their 17th birthday.

Ethnicity

Caucasian56%

Hispanic25%

African-American 13%

Asian 5%

We address each client’s needs by seeing the whole family. Each client and family has a different set of complex needs that require varying amounts of time: anywhere from 1 hour (a quick consultation) to over

40 hours (an extended evaluation, treatment, numerous family con-sultations and follow up). In 2011, our valiant team of 7 full-time and

5 part-time clinicians were able to serve 556 kids plus their families.

Source: State and County Quick Facts. U.S. Census Bureau. http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/25/25017.html

Nearly 1 of 4 kids in Massachusetts live in Middlesex County

Middlesex County has more children than any other county in the Common-wealth. ACS is the only agency provid-ing Juvenile Court Clinic services to those kids who become court-involved.

ACS Clients: Demographics

Source: Fiscal Year 2011 Juvenile Court Department Statistics. The Massachusetts Court System. http://www.mass.gov/courts/courtsandjudges/courts/juvenilecourt/2011stats.html

In 2011, 2196 kids went before a Juvenile Court judge in Middlesex County.

An increasing number of kids are diverted from formal court proceed-ings through the Middlesex County District Attorney’s Diversion Pro-gram. The number above does not include these diverted kids.

Over half of the kids in the ACS treatment groups are first-time offenders diverted from court involvement. Instead of going before a Judge and getting a court record, they have the benefit of learning positive life skills in ACS groups.

We serve a discrete population:

0

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

femalemale

18 and over16 to 1713 to 157 to 12under 7

0

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

female

male

18 and over16 to 1713 to 157 to 12under 7

Gender

Male60%

Female40%

Page 13: 2011 Year End Report

13

Data and Trends: Trauma and Mental Health

3 in every 5 ACS clients have a history of abuse.

Source: Fiscal Year 2011 Juvenile Court Department Statistics. The Massachusetts Court System. http://www.mass.gov/courts/courtsandjudges/courts/juvenilecourt/2011stats.html

ACS Clients: Trauma and Mental Health

0

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

ACS

U.S.

Mood DisorderADD/ADHDAnxiety

Sources: Fiscal Year 2011 Juvenile Court Department Statistics. The Massachusetts Court System. http://www.mass.gov/courts/courtsandjudges/courts/juvenilecourt/2011stats.html; Statistics. National Institute of Mental Health. nimh.nih.gov/statistics/index.htm

ACS clients have a much higher prevalence of mental health disorders than their peers.

Prevalence of Mental Health DisordersNational vs. ACS ACS Clients

Out of all psychosocial evaluations performed in 2011:

Mood Disorder, ADD/ADHD, Anxiety, and Suicidality are the 4 most prevalent mental health conditions found among ACS clients, leading to a high incidence of hospitalization.

Children who experience child abuse

and neglect are 59% more likely to be arrested as a juvenile.

Source: Long - Term Consequences of Child Abuse and Neglect. Child Welfare Information Gateway.Wash-ington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2006. http://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/fact-sheets/long_term_consequences.cfm

0 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

Community Violence

Sexual Assault

Child to Parent Violence

Sibling Violence

Domestic Violence

Child Abuse/Neglect

0 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

Community Violence 58%

Sexual Assault 18%

Child to Parent Violence 38%

Sibling Violence 30%

Domestic Violence 65%

Child Abuse/Neglect 60%

Rates of Trauma Among ACS Clients

“��Numerous�studies�have�demonstrated�that�children��exposed�to�domestic�violence�and/or�child�abuse�are�more�likely�to�experience�a�wide�range�of�adverse��psychological�and�behavioral�outcomes.”Sources: Herrenkohl TI, Sousa C, Tajima EA, Herrenkohl RC, Moylan CA. Intersection of child abuse and children’s exposure to domestic violence. Trauma, Violence & Abuse. 2008; 9:84–99.

Sternberg KJ, Baradaran LP, Abbot CB, Lamb ME, Guterman E. Type of violence, age, and gender differenc-es in the effects of family violence on children’s behavior problems: A mega-analysis. Developmental Review. 2006; 26:89–112.

Wolfe DA, Crooks CV, Lee V, McIntyre-Smith A, Jaffe P. The effects of children’s exposure to do-mestic violence: A meta-analysis and critique. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review. 2003; 6:171–187. [PubMed: 14620578]

25%

63%

71% 73%

9%14% 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

Hospitalization

Suicidality

Anxiety

ADD/ADHD

Mood Disorder

45%

37%

63%

71%

73%

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

Hospitalization

Suicidality

Anxiety

ADD/ADHD

Mood Disorder

45%

37%

63%

71%

73%

Page 14: 2011 Year End Report

14

Sustaining Positive Changes

ACS Spectrum of Services

Evaluations

Evaluations of children and teens are the foundation of ACS services.

Emergency evaluations When there is a question if a child may require hospital-level care because of a risk of suicide or a risk of harming others.

Comprehensive evaluations ACS interviews the youth and family, gathers collateral information, and submits a confidential report to the Judge with specific recommenda-tions, identifying both strengths and problem areas.

Funded by:- Massachusetts Trial Court- Department of Mental Health- You (our private donors)

Therapeutic Services

Through our unique partnership with the Juvenile Court and Juvenile Probation, ACS engages adolescents and families who would not otherwise receive treatment.

Individual and Family TherapyBoth short-and long-term counseling.

Treatment Groups- Adolescent Issues Group - Anger Management Group- Motherhood Group- Young Women’s Group

Usually co-led by a clinician and stu-dent intern, focus is on skills training.

Funded by:- You (our private donors)

Specialized Testing

We routinely screen for learning dif-ficulties. We also do testing of psycho-logical processes, neuropsychological functioning, or cognitive capabilities.

Community Consultations

ACS has ties with hundreds of schools and community providers, who often turn to ACS for help: from basic court procedures to specific mental health services.

Education and Advocacy

An ACS-developed service model that strengthens the resiliency of children and families. (see below)

Funded by:- You (our private donors)

Outcomes ‘08 ‘09 ‘10 ‘11

Compliance with Treatment 82% 83% 85% 89%

School Attendance 83% 85% 90% 92%

Increased Family Involvement 83% 81% 86% 83%

Education and Advocacy (E & A) al-leviates barriers to care, and helps chil-dren and their families sustain positive life changes. ACS clinicians leverage public and private resources to find services for vulnerable youth within their home communities. Individually tailored responses, which take into

account the urgent and comprehensive needs of the child and family, are what lead to this success. In the course of E & A, ACS clinicians:

• Educate children and families about issues identified in the evaluation process—special learning needs, mental illness, substance abuse.

• Advocate for the clients and link them with community services – medical care, mental health treat-ment, in-home support for a family.

• Follow up with clients and provid-ers to help ensure that clients are actually getting the recommended services.

Year after year, E&A has been a cata-lyst for positive changes for thousands of kids and families. These boast-worthy results only exist because of the generosity of everyday people like you. ACS thanks its loyal donors for “giving legs” to these great outcomes!

Page 15: 2011 Year End Report

15

ACS Juvenile Court Clinics serve the four Juvenile Court locations in Middlesex County:

- Cambridge - Framingham - Lowell - Waltham

The Massachusetts Trial Court provides ACS with in-kind of-fice space in Cambridge, Lowell, and Framingham. We serve children and families from all 54 cities and towns in the County.

ACS Service Area - Middlesex County

Ashby Townsend Pepperell

Groton

Ayer

Littleton

Boxborough

Shirley

Dunstable

Chelmsford

Lowell*

Tewksbury

Wilmington

North Reading

Reading

Wakefield

Stoneham

Winchester Reading

Melrose

Everett

Medford

Woburn

Billerica

Carlisle

Concord

Bedford

Bedford

LincolnLexington

Burlington

StowMaynard

Acton

Dracut

Westford

Tyngsborough

Arlington

Somerville

Cambridge*

Waltham*

Belmont

Watertown

WatertownWeston

Watertown

Natick

SherbornAshland

Hopkinton

Holliston

Framingham*

Marlborough

Hudson

More than 40

16-40

11-15

6-10

5 or fewer

Court locations

2011 Client Town

*

ACS History

ACS was developed in 1973 in response to the specialized needs of court-involved adolescents, focusing on their undiagnosed learning needs. For our first two decades, we served the Cambridge region.

In 1998, ACS successfully bid on the contract to provide Juvenile Court Clinic services throughout Middlesex County. With support from private sources, ACS underwent a major expansion to respond to the diverse needs of the Juvenile Court sites in Cambridge, Lowell, Framingham, and Waltham. In 2008, the Department of Mental Health re-bid the contract and

ACS was awarded a new three-year contract for Middlesex County.

In partnership with the Juvenile Court, ACS clinicians evaluate children and their families to understand their needs and to bring together the resources necessary to find real solutions to their underlying problems.

Page 16: 2011 Year End Report

16

Financials for 2011 Year-End Report

Message from the Treasurer

The Board of ACS is very pleased to report strong financial results for 2011. We credit our donors, our staff, and the financial management of our Board and agency leadership. These all combine to help sustain and enhance the agency’s financial health.

2011 was a year of steady programmatic growth. We added a new Young Women’s Group in Framingham and an Anger Management Group in Lowell. The year also saw respectable revenues from our public/private partnership: public funding from DMH and the Mass Trial Court, and private funding from foundations and our zealous individual donors. We continue to work to increase public funding by educating the state legislature and advocating for the growing needs of children and families.

We are indebted to our commit-ted donors and wonderful staff for this solid financial report. Thank you all for what you give and who you are on behalf of the children and families needing assistance.

Jacquie L. Kay, Treasurer

Current Fiscal Year: FY 2012 (July 1, 2011 - June 30, 2012)

Income First half of FY 2012* FY 2012 Budget.

Public Sector Contracts $395,169 $772,000

Grants and Contributions $237,469 $397,000

Other Income $419 $78,000

MAJCC $8,000 $56,000

In-kind $47,000 $94,000

Total Income $688,057 $1,397,000

Investment Income/Change in Value: $176,702

Expenses

Salaries, Benefits, Taxes $457,722 $1,036,150

Occupancy (In-kind & Rent) $73,410 $123,850

Professional Fees and Insurance $46,150 $100,000

MAJCC $18,927 $65,000

Other Expenses $29,834 $72,000

Total Expenses $626,043 $1,397,000

*as of 12/31/11

Past Fiscal Year: FY 2011 (July 1, 2010 - June 30, 2011)

Program Services $1,060,634

Fundraising $70,303

Administrative $173,819

Total Expenses $1,304,756

Total Income $1,330,010

Ending Net Assets $1,475,645

Page 17: 2011 Year End Report

17

Financials for 2011 Year-End Report

Kids and the Law

The ACS publication Kids and the Law serves as a valuable resource for adoles-cents, families, and other professionals. This straightforward guide to the procedures of the Massachusetts Juve-nile Court is available in English/Span-ish and English/Khmer editions to serve English speakers as well as Hispanic and Cambodian communities.

The book is one of the resources ACS uses to help youth and their families to under-stand the Juvenile Court system.

For families

ACS has copies of the book available for families who need it - please email [email protected] or call 617-494-0135 to request a donated copy.

For professionals

Professionals and others can purchase Kids and the Law at cost. For more information, please contact us or visit: www.acskids.org

Public sector contracts

Grants and contributions

Facilities and services contributed

Program Services

FundraisingAdm

inistration

FY11 Funding Sources

FY11 Program Efficiency

Public sector contracts58%

Program services81%

Administration13%

Grants and contributions35%

Facilities and services contributed 7%

Fundraising 6%

“ Across Massachusetts, mental health

agencies are facing the strain of cutbacks

that have ripped nearly $85 million

from the state’s Department of Mental

Health budget since 2009.” Source: “Bay State Mental Health—A Funding Crisis.” New England Center for Investigative Reporting. http://necir-bu.org/investigations/bay-state-mental-health-a-funding-crisis/bay-state-mental-health-a-funding-crisis/. March 20, 2011.

17

Page 18: 2011 Year End Report

18

This year-end, ACS is

honoring our veteran staff

who have been with the

agency for over 10 years!

And we are welcoming new

clinicians! We care deeply

about the development and

longevity of our staff, as

it ensures the vitality and

sustainability of our

organization.

Felicity Turgeon, LICSW,

is a graduate of Simmons Graduate School of Social Work. Certified in 2003 to work as an ACS Juvenile Court Clinician, Felicity went on to be the co-creator of a young woman’s healthy relationships group. She has worked with hundreds of families in the Greater Low-ell area, identifying their strengths and needs through court-ordered evaluations, offering individual treat-ment, and consulting with community resources to connect them with rehabili-tative services.

Katherine T. Hughes, LICSW, JD,

has worked at ACS since 1998, when ACS first received the contract for the newly established statewide Juvenile Court. With over twenty years’ experience around domestic violence, housing and elder law, and forensic mental health, Katherine is a great resource for the staff and interns and provides everyday insights on the many dimensions of our interdisciplinary field.

Dan Sanford, Psy.D.

is a 2003 graduate of The Chicago School of Profes-sional Psychology. Com-menting on his 10+ years, he wrote: “I feel lucky to have served the children and families seen at the Lowell Juvenile Court over the past ten years. I have been grati-fied to try to help the court understand the youths from a different perspective, and to see our group treatment services grow. I offer many thanks to all of the profes-sionals who have shaped my career to this point.”

Colleen Clinkscale, LMHC

is a Framingham native who is passionate about serv-ing high-risk kids from her home community. Reflect-ing on her career path, she remarked, “I knew that I wanted to work with teens and I also knew that if they had problems or mental health issues, it was likely that they would become involved in the Juvenile Court. So I got a Master’s degree in Criminal Justice while I was getting one in Counseling Psychology.” Colleen loves nothing more than helping the most misunderstood kids. When kids are falling between the cracks, Colleen is like “a dog with a bone” until they get the services they need.

Congratulations, Veteran Staff, on 10+ Years!

Colleen and an appreciative mother of an ACS client.

18

Page 19: 2011 Year End Report

19

ACS Welcomes New Staff!

Liza Berkowitz, LICSW, C-SWHC

Liza is a valuable new ad-dition to the ACS clinical team in Lowell. She brings extensive knowledge and ten years of experience in responding to victims/sur-vivors of domestic violence. Before coming to ACS, Liza worked at The Cen-ter for Violence Preven-tion and Recovery at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center where she served as liaison with the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner and member of the Community Crisis Response Team.

Kelly Quinn, LCSW

Having worked and stud-ied in both English- and Spanish-speaking countries, Kelly’s bilingual talents make the work ACS does in Lowell more effective. 33% of our clients in Lowell are Hispanic and 25% have recently immigrated to the United States with little or no ability to communicate in English. With Kelly on our team, these clients and families no longer have to wait for a court interpreter for the evaluation to begin. Not only has the process of care been expedited, but with a deeper, unmediated understanding of these families, Kelly is able to pro-vide more comprehensive and targeted care.

Leah C. I. Labitue, MSW

As a student at Boston Col-lege, Leah interned at ACS in 2010. After graduation, she signed on as a full-time clinician. Leah’s greatest de-sire is to make a difference in the lives of adolescents by improving their quality of life. Leah’s dedication and daily motivation is guided by the wise words of Marian Wright Edelman, president and founder of the Chil-dren’s Defense Fund and an American activist for the rights of children. “If we don’t stand up for children, then we don’t stand for much.”

19

“ If we don’t stand up for children, then we don’t stand for much.”Marian Wright Edelman

ACS was proud to bring

on three new clinicians

with a range of talents and

experience in 2011.

Welcome to ACS!

Page 20: 2011 Year End Report

20

LEADERS(Gifts of $5,000 and above)

Private Sector Anonymous (2)Ronald Ansin • C.F. Adams Charitable Trust •Mr. James Champy *Roberta M. Childs Foundation **Clipper Ship Foundation *The Clowes Fund •Cogan Family Foundation •Mary W.B. Curtis Trust *The Devonshire Foundation * Nancy and Richard Donahue *Doran Family FoundationRoy A. Hunt Foundation * The Klarman Family Foundation *Mr. and Mrs. James H. Lowell, 2nd

The Ludcke FoundationMr. and Mrs. William H. Paine *James W. and Patricia T. Poitras Fund

of the Foundation for MetroWest *Perpetual Trust for Charitable Giving,

Bank of America, N.A., Trustee •Lia G. and William J. Poorvu ***Daniel E. Rothenberg **Wendy Shattuck and Sam Plimpton •Gardiner Howland Shaw Foundation **

Public SectorDepartment of Mental Health *Massachusetts Juvenile Court *

CHAMPIONS(Gifts from $2,500 to $4,999)

Amy and David Abrams †Agnes M. Lindsay Trust †

Trustees of the Ayer Home *Rhoda and Jordan Baruch *Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachu-

setts Foundation †Boston Jewish Community

Women’s FundThe Cambridge Community

Foundation ***Carnegie Corporation *Ann and Marvin Collier *The Cosette Charitable Fund *Draper Laboratory **Forest FoundationLouis H. Hamel, Jr., Esq. •Heney Family Charitable Trust •Thomas and Barbara Leggat **Edward H. Mank Foundation •MENTOR Charitable Fund •John J. Petrowsky †Beth K. Pfeiffer •Mary and David Shahian *The Frederick E. Weber Charities

Corporation **

Through a longstanding public/private partnership, we create successes for vulnerable kids and families. ACS has state contracts for a portion of our work. But it’s only with you – our individual, foundation, and corporate donors – that we can make a real difference. We make every effort to record names accurately. Thank you for contacting us if you see an error or omission.

We’ve been blown away by the number of new donors this year! They are identified with the † symbol.

Thank You to Our Donors!

“Vagabond” by Steve Barylick

“Becoming #11” by Prilla Smith Brackett

January 1 to December 31, 2011

Page 21: 2011 Year End Report

21

ADVOCATES(Gifts from $1,000 to $2,499)

Aquidneck Foundation *Judith Aronstein *Fay ChandlerSusan CulmanDaniel H. Jacobs, MD and

Ms. Susan Quinn **Middlesex Savings Bank *Dan Prigmore and Tania ZouikinEric Shank •Vivian M. Shoolman •Barbara and Michael Stedman •The Stevenson Family

Charitable Trust •William A. Thorndike

ALLIES (Gifts from $500 to $999)

Jim and Carolyn Birmingham •Pete Caron •Barbara H. Clark **Grace R. Conway •Thomas and Andrea Dupree •Eastern Bank Charitable Foundation † Robert and Esta Epstein •Ellen Paradise Fisher and

Franklin M. Fisher •Barbara LeeJohn and Kristin MacomberFran and Hugh Miller *Tim and Joanne OyerKatharine and Tony Pell •Dawn and Pete Polomski †Mr. and Mrs. William Pounds •Laura Prager M.D., and Frederick

Millham M.D. †Lowell and Karen Richards †Abby Rockefeller and Lee Halprin †Richard Wenger •David K. Wilcox and

Charlotte R. Pierce • Jane and Jamie Wilson

SUPPORTERS (Gifts up to $500)

Anonymous (1)Alice Andrus †Richard BarnumJames C. Beck •Les Boden and Judy Yanof •Jane C. Bradley †John and Angela Bryant †Katie and Paul Buttenweiser *Rebecca Cheezum †Tsunming and Esther Chen †Lael and Charles ChesterMichael Collins and Beverly Freeman†Roxann CookeDamelis and Gabriel DeVisnyeyMarian Dioguardi †Mary C. Eliot *Mary K. Eliot •Anne W. Ellsworth †Gary and Paula Fisher †

Charles Flather •Emily S. FrankJanie Fronek •Jacques and Margaret Gelin •Owen and Miriam Gingerich •Charles and Sara Goldberg

Charitable Trust *Terrie Graham †Nancy Grossman, Marilyn and Mike

Grossman FoundationSuzanne and Easley Hamner *Robie and Bill HarrisHealth Law Advocates †Howard H. HiattDeborah C. Holland •Nina HoltonLisa and Steven Honigfeld †Katherine, Ralph, and Rebecca Hughes •Faith Hyde †Theodore JacobsAlison and Dan Jaffe •Martin Kantrovitz Helen and Rudolph KassPatrick King and Sandra Moody Jacquie Kay •Judith Klau †Lawrence KotinThomas and Vera Kreilkamp •Corey Kritzman •Seth Kritzman and David CiocanMr. Henry R. Lewis *Ned Loughran †Joseph and Rachel MartinRobert G. Millar III *Susan and Pieter Mimno *“Quincy Market” by Frances K. Grossman

“Pink with Orange in Central Square”, “Rainy afternoon”, “On Western Again” by Faith Hyde

Page 22: 2011 Year End Report

22

Alex Moot and Nancy RoosaEllen G. Moot *Gale Munson, Esq. •Linda Poorvu Myers • Andrew Navarette †David and Barbara Navarette †Scott F. O’Gorman •Katherine PageShirley F. Partoll †Jonathan and Amy Poorvu **Rebecca and Weldon Pries *Laurie Raymond †Mr. Charles Thomas Ransdell †

John B. Reichenbach •David ReisenThomas and Pamela Riffin *Mr. and Mrs. David Rosenberg *Carol Rosensweig •Mimi Ross and Howard Goldstein †Stanley and Susan SabinLynda Schubert BodmanJohn and Rhoda Schwarz *Mel Scovell **Francine Sherman and Scott Tucker •Jane and Ben Siegel •Robert Silberman and Nancy Netzer

Lucretia Slaughter •Claude and Elizabeth Smith •Ed Stern, Esq.John and Judy Styer †Katharine E. Thomas †Kathan Tracy †Ms. Karen TuckerRuth Whitney †John Wilcox •Lynne and Mark Wolf •Michaela Wood †Marilyn and Irvin YalomGeraldine Zetzel *

Thank You to Our Donors!

HONORARY GIFTS In honor of ACS StaffPete Caron

In honor of Nancy DonahueRon Ansin

In honor of Tom LeggatAbby Rockefeller and Lee Halprin

In honor of Fran MillerHugh Miller

In honor of Andrew NavaretteMichaela Wood

In honor of Lia PoorvuAmy and David AbramsRhoda and Jordan BaruchBarbara LeeRobert Silberman and Nancy NetzerKitty and Tony PellWendy Shattuck and Sam PlimptonLowell and Karen RichardsLynne and Mark Wolf

Marilyn and Irvin Yalom

In honor of Lia and Bill PoorvuPete CaronJudith KlauJohn Petrowsky

In honor of Jane SiegelAlice AndrusJames BeckPete CaronJim ChampyRoxann CookeNancy DonahueKatherine and Ralph HughesFaith HydeCorey KritzmanDaniel JacobsTom and Barbara LeggatFran and Hugh MillerSusan and Pieter MimnoLia G. and William J. PoorvuRebecca and Weldon PriesLaurie RaymondTom and Pam RiffinMimi Ross and Howard GoldsteinMary and David Shahian

IN-KIND DONATIONS

The Art ConnectionThe Children’s Room †Marian Dioguardi †Michael Jellinek †Anita Wolf †

A special thanks to the Art Connec-tion and artists for donating their breathtaking artwork to our clini-cal offices. These pieces continue to brighten our hallways and enable ACS clinicians to engage with clients on an entirely different and profound level.

“Who’s He?” by Fay Chandler

† First gift to ACS• 5+ years of giving* 10+ years of giving** 20+ years of giving*** 30+ years of giving

Page 23: 2011 Year End Report

23

Support for Mothers

The Motherhood Group is a place where court-involved mothers can reflect on their roles as mothers and develop skills in mindful parenting. Co-leaders (pictured left) help the mothers sort through issues rang-ing from job skills and self-care, to custody of their children.

Women in the fall group united around their common experiences of domestic abuse. Pictured above is one mother’s artwork from a group art project conveying the challenges in her life during the past year.

Co-leaders left to right: Elizabeth Baratta, LMHC with Probation Officers Katherine Seoane, Kristen Nee, and Nancy Danforth.“ On graduation

night, the women were full of gratitude for the group, and pride and hope for the future.” Elizabeth Baratta, LMHC

Page 24: 2011 Year End Report

ACS MissionThe mission of Adolescent Consultation Services (ACS) is to support and empower children and families involved with the Juvenile Court. We provide compassionate care through comprehensive mental health evaluations, individual and group therapy, and targeted education and advocacy to the Court and to community service providers. Our specially-trained clinicians educate and strengthen at-risk youth and their families to help them make good choices, cultivate healthy relationships, stay out of lockup, and connect with the resources they need to live full, productive lives.

Adolescent Consultation Services, Inc.

189 Cambridge Street, Cambridge, MA 02141Phone: 617-494-0135Fax: 617-494-0136Email: [email protected]

Unless otherwise noted, client names have been changed in order to protect confidentiality.

Report design by Anita Wolf Design and our team at ACS of Andrew Na-varette, Lauren Fisher, Peter Herzig and Rebecca Pries.

Board of Directors

President, Lia G. PoorvuChair, Frances H. MillerTreasurer, Jacquie L. KayClerk, Barbara E. StedmanJames A. ChampyRoxann C. CookeNancy L. DonahueSilvia M. GosnellTerrie GrahamThomas E. LeggatDaniel H. JacobsWilliam H. Paine

Laura M. PragerRebecca E. PriesJane R. SiegelMary M. Shahian

Executive Director, Rebecca E. PriesSenior Clinical Consultant, Dr. David WilcoxHR and Finance, Pamela Riffin

Advisory CouncilHaley BishopGerald ChertavianMary C. EliotTracy D. GeeRobert GittensJoel GoldsteinFatinha R. KerrCharles J. Ogletree, Jr.Jorge QuirogaKatharine E. ThomasKathan Tracy