Core Value Winner (Relationships) – May 2020

 

Foster RELATIONSHIPS within our Community

Openness and honesty with all stakeholders make for both the best program outcomes and team culture. We, as an organization, must act with integrity, build trust with one another, and be committed to transparency about our decisions and promises.

WINNER: Cierra Phillips  

Here is what her nomination said:

I received a call from Cierra Phillips regarding a court case that was continued at least 3 times for a client who would be returning to her family home and Cierra would be sending the official discharge notification. I want to thank Cierra and the client’s team for navigating this case in a trauma responsive and professional manner. The client’s family had negative experiences throughout her time in care (pre-dating her placement at BCC) which impacted her placement at BCC. I witnessed firsthand how our team helped the family (mom) build a relationship that was based on trust. I know this case was more time demanding and difficult than most. I appreciate everyone meeting the family where they were in the process. Special thanks to Maggie for supervising a difficult visit, Donna D. for ensuring the youth’s needs were met, and both Kyle K. and Abbie W. for supporting Cierra and the youth at the court cases. Cierra was the first point of contact, and unfortunately endured most of the negative responses. She handled herself in a manner that makes me happy to have her on our team.

Congratulations and thank you!

Read more from Core Value Winner (Relationships) – May 2020

Core Value Winner (Safety) – May 2020

Safety as A Mindset

We value life, spirit, and health above all else and take action to maintain the safety of our workplaces, programs, and services. We are personally accountable for our own safety and collectively responsible for the safety of our community.

WINNER: Brianna Diggs

Bri is our health and safety coordinator and is consistently making sure that all cottages have their PPE supplies, sewing masks, keeping an inventory of our PPE materials, maintaining medication passes, conducting training for CPR and First Aid along with medication administration, while being an overall positive light on our campus. Bri is consistently helping with behavioral management and is a resource on campus to all staff.

Bri, thanks so much for being a role model to your fellow staff and our youth. Congratulations!

Read more from Core Value Winner (Safety) – May 2020

BCC Launches Caminos Nacional to Assist At-Risk Youth

BCC Launches Caminos Nacional to Assist At-Risk Youth

For Immediate Release: May 8, 2020
Contact: Kristian Sekse
Email: ksekse@everstand.org
Phone: 443.845.4395

(Baltimore, MD)—The Board of Child Care of the United Methodist Church, Inc. (BCC) announced today that it has been awarded a $6.9 million Federal grant to provide fifty (50) residential beds for children who enter the United States but who are without a guardian. This population is commonly referred to as “unaccompanied children.” The grant is funded by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). Delivering this service helps BCC fulfill its purpose: enriching communities, one family at a time.

Unaccompanied children are at significant risk of exploitation, including human trafficking. ORR partners with residential providers, like BCC, to deliver best practice and trauma informed child welfare services. Some of these services include temporary shelter, education, medical and mental health care, and, most importantly, vetting of a suitable sponsor or foster care placement for the child. The child will live at BCC for a short period of time but will remain with their sponsor (or in a Federal foster care placement) while they await their immigration court date to make their immigration case.

BCC calls this program, “Caminos,” which is the Spanish word for “journey.” As an organization BCC has been running Caminos since 2014. Caminos Nacional utilizes the skills developed delivering the program and extends it reach by providing guidance, consultation and grant management to accredited partner organizations so that they may also offer the Caminos service to these at-risk children.

BCC’s Caminos Nacional program will bring Cunningham Children’s Home of Urbana Illinois (CCH, cunninghamhome.org) and Florida United Methodist Children’s Home (FUMCH, fumch.org) in partnership with BCC. This is the first time BCC is serving as a consultant and grant manager.

“BCC’s purpose is to enrich communities, one family at a time. The partnership with CCH and FUMCH was made possible by our mutual involvement in the United Methodist Association (ouruma.org) and we are all thankful for our faith-based network! Caminos Nacional will give us the opportunity to share our therapeutic best practices with each other, which ultimately benefits everyone in our respective communities,” said Laurie Anne Spagnola, BCC’s President, and CEO. “It’s truly an incredible example of our purpose statement in action. I know we’ll learn a lot from each other and emerge stronger from working together.”

The Board of Child Care is a private, 501(c)3 nonprofit, which has been serving youth and their families across the Mid-Atlantic for over 130 years. With over 800 staff and an annual budget around $43 million, its programing continuum includes behavioral health, residential treatment, and educational services.

For more information, please email ksekse@everstand.org.
###

Read more from BCC Launches Caminos Nacional to Assist At-Risk Youth

Board of Child Care’s Caminos Program Recognized!

Board of Child Care to receive the United Methodist Association Innovation Award for its dedication to innovation with the Caminos Program.

The United Methodist Association (UMA) has selected the Board of Child Care (BCC) to receive its 2020 Innovation Award for the Caminos Program.  UMA is a membership organization whose mission is to promote, inspire, recognize, and empower excellence in human service ministries. The Board of Child Care has been chosen to receive this prestigious award in celebration of its dedication to programming innovation and best practices in ministry. Board of Child Care, Cunningham Children’s Home, and Florida United Methodist Children’s Home will accept the Innovation Award on Wednesday, April 29, 2020 during the UMA Annual Meeting in Boulder, Colorado.

BCC’s Caminos Program provides safe, secure placement options for children who have recently migrated to the United States and are seeking opportunities for reunification with family.  As part of our commitment to expanding support for this vulnerable population, BCC has been working in collaboration with two (2) other UMA member agencies to share our experience and expertise.  Cunningham Children’s Home (Illinois) and Florida United Methodist Children’s Home staff visited the Board of Child Care to establish a collaborative framework of practice that would assist unaccompanied minors with:

  • A safe and secure placement
  • Case management support
  • Clinical mental health treatment
  • Educational support in a trauma-informed manner

With this new sprinkling of thinking, agency awardees imagine that the UMA network will inspire other organizations to consider innovative ways to stretch their faith tradition to serve others in unique ways!

For more information about our Caminos Program, please click here.

Read more from Board of Child Care’s Caminos Program Recognized!

Core Value Winners January 2020

ALL-STAFF MEETING

Board of Child Care’s Core Values of Safety, Relationships, Empathy and Impact provide a solid foundation for all staff to grow professionally, personally and spiritually.

On Wednesday, January 29, 2020, during BCC’s all staff meeting, our President and CEO Laurie Anne Spagnola presented awards to several amazing team members who embody our core values to make a greater impact on the youth and families we serve.

Join us as we celebrate our BCC Core Value Award Winners.

SAFETY as A Mindset.  We value life, spirit, and health above all else and take action to maintain the safety of our workplaces, programs, and services. We are personally accountable for our own safety and collectively responsible for the safety of our community.

 

 

Foster RELATIONSHIPS within our Community.  Openness and honesty with all stakeholders make for both the best program outcomes and team culture.

We, as an organization, must act with integrity, build trust with one another, and be committed to transparency about our decisions and promises.

 

 

Listen and Respond with EMPATHY.  Empathy will guide our programming and culture at all levels. A supportive work and program environment means possessing a desire to know and understand others. We recognize that with empathy we will better understand what type of care and encouragement to provide.

 

IMPACT Drives Lasting Change.  We seek to make lasting change in the lives of those we work with by providing services that are durable, measurable, and sustainable. We will maximize our impact by investing in staff and board development. Feedback gathered from our entire community will enhance and strengthen our programs and their outcomes.

 

Read more from Core Value Winners January 2020

BACK-TO-SCHOOL 2020

The “Back to School” season is certainly different this year at Board of Child Care (BCC) much like it is for millions of families across the United States. Instead of preparing bookbags and selecting new lunch boxes, virtual learning stations and laptops are being set-up.

We need your help now more than ever to fill the gap between what stretched local school district budgets can provide and what our students with behavioral health challenges need to be successful with distance learning.

Two of BCC’s biggest costs this year will be technology and staffing resources. We’re continuing to partner with school districts to obtain technology where we can but need your help to cover any remaining expenses.

Thank you for being behind the youth we serve 100%. Your support of the Back to School appeal helps students graduate and set them up for a lifetime of future success!

DONATE NOW 

Read more from BACK-TO-SCHOOL 2020

BCC Participates in Baltimore City’s forum on Childhood Trauma organized by Congressman Elijah Cummings.

BALTIMORE —On  Tuesday, August 20, 2019, U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-District 7,  held a forum on Baltimore’s childhood trauma. Board of Child Care’s CEO and President Laurie Anne Spagnola joined youth advocate leaders from across the public and private sector to examine what causes childhood trauma and how much damage it can do, and determine how state and city leaders — and residents — can limit the impact.

 

The forum is a follow up to a July Committee hearing on “Identifying, Preventing, and Treating Childhood Trauma: A Pervasive Public Health Issue that Needs Greater Federal Attention.” For forum, highlights click here

To learn more about the impact of

Trauma and Early Adversity on Children’s Development click here.

Read more from BCC Participates in Baltimore City’s forum on Childhood Trauma organized by Congressman Elijah Cummings.

The Board of Child Care’s Early Learning Program hosts Chinese Delegation representatives in Washington, DC.

 

On Thursday, July 25, the Board of Child Care Early Learning Program hosted two representatives from the Chinese Delegation. The Chinese Delegation is on a US  visit visiting early learning programs to learn more about their best practices and teacher training in conjunction with the Office of the State Superintendent of Education. They will be bringing a group of 15 early childhood leaders from China back to BCC in late September of this year. Pictured in the photo from left to right are Dale Brown, DC Child Care Connections; Angelique Clarkbrown, DC Department of Behavioral Health; Jessica Ling, President AIYOU Education Consulting; Joseph (Jessica’s fiancé); Joan Raghunath, Krystina Johnson and David Ding Senior Advisor of AIYOU Education Consulting.

 

 

To learn more about BCC’s Early Learning Program and career opportunities click here

 

Read more from The Board of Child Care’s Early Learning Program hosts Chinese Delegation representatives in Washington, DC.

Board of Child Care Core Value Award Winners

Board of Child Care’s core values of Safety, Empathy, Integrity, and Impact provide a solid foundation for all staff to grow professionally, personally and spiritually.

On Wednesday, May 22, 2019, during BCC’s all staff meeting, our President and CEO Laurie Anne Spagnola presented several amazing team members who embody our core values to make a greater impact on the youth and families we serve.

Join us as we celebrate our BCC Core Value Award Winners.

 

Safety as a mindset. We value life, spirit, and health above all else and take action to maintain the safety of our workplaces, programs, and services. We are personally accountable for our own safety and collectively responsible for the safety of our community.

 

 

Empathy will guide our programming and culture at all levels.  A supportive work and program environment mean possessing a desire to know and understand others. We recognize that with empathy we will better understand what type of care and encouragement to provide.

 

Integrity, openness, and honesty with all stakeholders make for both the best program outcomes and team culture. We, as an organization, must build trust with our program participants by being thoughtful, transparent, and committed to our decisions and promises.

 

 

Impact drives lasting change. We seek to make lasting change in the lives of those we work with by providing services that are durable, measurable, and sustainable.  We will maximize our impact by investing in staff and board development.  Feedback gathered from our entire community will enhance and strengthen our programs and their outcomes.

                       

                            

Thank you to all of our amazing staff!

Learn more about our dynamic Board of  Child Care staff and career opportunities here.

 

Read more from Board of Child Care Core Value Award Winners