News Feed | Page 5 of 28

Amplifying Hispanic & Latino Voices

Posted on May 25, 2022 at 12:00 pm.

The BCC Compass – May 2022

There’s beauty in the unexpected.

As we continue our work to become a more equitable, diverse and inclusive organization, I have witnessed more growth and positivity than I could have ever imagined.

I’m especially proud of our efforts to amplify Hispanic and Latino voices.

One example is our recent employee recruitment efforts for the Caminos program, which provides safe, secure placement options for children who have recently migrated to the United States and are seeking opportunities for reunification with family. About 80 percent of the children in the Caminos program are from Central America and speak Spanish, so it makes sense to hire team members who also speak Spanish.

Yet despite our usual recruitment and hiring efforts, we just weren’t reaching enough potential applicants. Last year, we began translating our recruitment materials into Spanish and posting flyers in Spanish community centers to encourage more applicants.

We also partnered with board member Gabriela “Gaby” Romo, who hosts a weekly radio show in Spanish about mental health. Board of Child Care team members are guests on the show, discussing our valuable resources with the Hispanic community.

And this spring, we added a “translate” option on the Board of Child Care website. Users can now view the site in English or Spanish.

As a result of these efforts and more, we’ve seen an increase in Spanish-speaking applicants.

We also continue to advocate for change in states like Pennsylvania, where child welfare staff must pass a medication administration test to give medicine to children. Currently, the test is only offered in English. Offering the test in Spanish or allowing a translator would help us be more inclusive and effective for those in need.

In closing, I’d like to give a special thanks to our Hispanic and Latino board members, who lend their voices and expertise to our organization every day. Roberto Allen and Gaby, none of this would be possible without your help. Thank you for your dedication to the Board of Child Care community! I look forward to welcoming even more Hispanic and Latino board members in the future.

Warmly,
LA Spagnola
President & CEO

Core Value Award Winner May 2022: Impact – Evelin Merchant

Posted on May 18, 2022 at 4:52 pm.

The Board of Child Care would like to recognize Evelin Merchant as the May 2022 Core Value Award winner for Impact!

Evelin's nomination reads:

"Evelin is an amazing social worker! She has taken the lead in planning our quarterly awards ceremonies for students at The Strawbridge School. Evelin also took the lead on creating superlative certificates and honor roll certificates for students, and they look amazing. She is very creative and talented, and she's also taken the lead on decorating for these events. Evelin has shown that seeing our student’s smiles and confidence-boosting is important to her. Her presence, creativity, and sincerity have created a lasting impact on our students!"

Congratulations, Evelin, and thank you!

Impact Drives Lasting Change

We seek to make lasting change in the lives of those we work with by providing services that are inclusive, measurable, and durable. We maximize our impact by investing in staff and board development. Feedback presents opportunity for action, which enhances and strengthens our programs and their outcomes.

Core Value Award Winner May 2022: Empathy – Paola St. Juste

Posted on May 18, 2022 at 4:43 pm.

The Board of Child Care would like to recognize Paola St. Juste as the May 2022 Core Value Award winner for Empathy!

Paola's nomination reads:

"A 10-year-old minor in Caminos had recently arrived and was very tearful. He had always slept with his grandmother and was scared to sleep by himself. Paola showed empathy and concern for the minor. She assured him that even though she couldn't come into the room, she would sit outside his room so that he would know that she was there. The minor reported that he felt much safer when she did this and asked her to do this the following night, which she did. Because of Paola's empathy for this minor, she made the transition period much more comfortable for him while he was waiting to be reunited with his father. This is just one example of how she makes a difference every day!"

Congratulations, Paola, and thank you!

Listen and Respond with Empathy

Empathy will guide our programming and culture at all levels. A supportive work and program environment means valuing the voices of all people, ensuring equitable representation, and growing a desire to know and understand others. We recognize that with empathy we will better understand what type of care and encouragement to provide.

Core Value Award Winner May 2022: Relationships – Samantha Beyzaie

Posted on May 18, 2022 at 4:32 pm.

The Board of Child Care would like to recognize Samantha Beyzaie as the May 2022 Core Value Award winner for Relationships!

Samantha's nomination reads:

"Samantha, one of the UMHC caseworkers goes above and beyond for all her caseload. However, one instance really sticks out. She has a 19-year-old male in the independent living program and went above and beyond to get him involved in a rugby team. Her goal was for him to have peers he could fit in with, gain social skills, and also work on his health at the same time! Even though the youth was not typically open to the idea and had a lot of negative behaviors toward Sam, she kept trying! The youth now enjoys the guys and the team aspect!"

Congratulations, Samantha, and thank you!

Foster Relationships within our Community

Openness and honesty with all stakeholders make for both the best program outcomes and team culture. Inclusive practices are the building blocks for trust. We create space for conversations that grow transparency about our decisions, promises, and understanding of one another.

Core Value Award Winner May 2022: Safety – Erica Gray

Posted on May 18, 2022 at 4:26 pm.

The Board of Child Care would like to recognize Erica Gray as the May 2022 Core Value Award winner for Safety!

Erica's nomination reads:

"Erica has recently taken over the oversight and facilitation of the RCYCP process. This is a certification for direct care professionals necessary to be able to do this special work. She has been a great partner and has deployed her special skills in organization and system development to ensure that the BCC care team understood the process and provides the necessary support to ensure that all are able to complete the certification. Without an active certification BCC's residential program would be missing a critical part of our care force and unable to meet our contractual obligations."

Congratulations, Erica, and thank you!

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 through a trauma responsive lens. We are personally accountable for our own safety and collectively responsible for the mental, emotional, and physical safety of our community.

I Hear You

Posted on April 27, 2022 at 12:51 pm.

The BCC Compass – April 2022

Board of Child Care is committed to a healthy culture where everyone can engage with joy and purpose. In order to achieve this kind of brave space, the agency relies on feedback from you. From Open Forums to anonymous comments provided in our online system and lots of things in between, I hear you and learn from you. This week, we kick off our semiannual, online employee survey – an important tool in measuring employees’ commitment, motivation and sense of purpose in their jobs and their views and attitudes toward our organization.

The survey is incredibly valuable, as it provides insight into what our employees need and want. It also helps me and other Board of Child Care leaders shape future policies and practices that remove barriers and build momentum so we can do our special work from an improving foundation. Some of the things we changed because of staff feedback include: more vacation time, more health insurance options and improved lighting in our communities to enhance safety. Asking staff for their ideas helps make BCC better in lots of different ways!

This year, in keeping with our Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Strategic Plan, the employee survey will give us additional insights into how people identify and where the agency needs to focus to continue our journey with honoring differences, acknowledging uniqueness and amplifying all voices. Our EDI committee helped us add several new questions to the survey, including:

Do you identify as transgender?
What is your family status?
What is your sexual orientation?
Are you a person with a disability?

We also added new statements where employees can share if they strongly agree, agree, neither agree nor disagree, disagree or strongly disagree, including:

People are treated fairly regardless of their gender identity.
I believe I work in an inclusive workplace regarding class, gender, identity, race, religion, age and sexual orientation.
I believe staff members are treated fairly at the Board of Child Care.
When I speak up, my opinion is valued.

To protect employees’ identity, survey responses are anonymous. Employees can also select “prefer not to specify” on certain questions.

While I may not have the opportunity to personally meet every BCC employee, I spend hours reviewing each survey response to understand how we can make our employees’ lives and organization great. Thank you for providing feedback. I am hearing you.

Earlier this month, we also hosted our first ever Clinician Appreciation Day. It was tons of fun with more than 50 talented clinicians and interns gathering for a day of team-building, gratitude-sharing, restoration, crafts and food. Each participant also received two hours of paid time off for self-care. Self-care helps build our resilience so we can do our special work, enriching communities one family at a time.

The event was just one of the many ways we intentionally foster belongingness that feeds a deep sense of purpose and joy at BCC. Thank you, clinicians, for being part of our team!

Warmly,
LA Spagnola
President & CEO

In Memory of Rev. Margaret “Peggy” Herr Spengler

Posted on March 21, 2022 at 4:37 pm.

A Letter from Laurie Anne Spagnola, President & CEO

The best volunteers don’t necessarily have the time; they just have the heart.

On March 6, 2022, Board of Child Care (BCC) lost a longtime volunteer and loyal friend, Reverend Margaret “Peggy” Herr Spengler.

Peggy was a “semi” retired United Methodist Pastor in the Central Pennsylvania Conference of the United Methodist Church for more than 29 years. She served in many pastoral positions and other roles, most currently as Prayer Minister for New Cumberland through Trinity United Methodist Church.

For Peggy, volunteering was a family tradition. Her father, Nelson Spengler, served on the United Methodist Home for Children (UMHC) Board of Trustees for many years and Peggy assumed his board position when he retired. Peggy served as the co-coordinator for the Auxiliary in Pennsylvania and led UMHC’s Christmas candlelight service on gift opening night from 2014 to 2019. We were fortunate to welcome Peggy to the BCC Board of Directors following the merger of UMHC and BCC in 2019. Her generosity of spirit was a tremendous asset as we worked to bring together the shared history and mission of both organizations, and we remain grateful for her time and thoughtful leadership.

My thoughts and prayers are with Peggy’s family as they mourn her loss and celebrate her life of service. Peggy will be missed by everyone at BCC who was so fortunate to have known her. Please click here to view Peggy’s obituary.

In fond memory,

Laurie Anne Spagnola, MSW
President & CEO

Core Value Award Winner February 2022: Impact – Jasmyne Holloway

Posted on March 18, 2022 at 3:49 pm.

The Board of Child Care would like to recognize Jasmyne Holloway as the February 2022 Core Value Award winner for Impact!

Jasmyne's nomination reads:

"Nurse Jasmyne is one of the most determined nurses on campus who is persistent, persevering, assertive, and goes after what she wants without allowing the obstacles to hinder her. One story that touched everyone was when she was completing a youth’s assessment with another staff (Ms. Maria). She asked the youth, “How are you feeling?”, and the youth did not respond. Jasmyne asked again, “are you sad?” the youth looked down and said “yes”. With a caring gesture, Ms. Jasmyne and Ms. Maria asked the youth if he would like to see his sister, to which he said “yes”. Ms. Jasmyne went to the sister’s cottage to bring over the youth’s sister. As Ms. Jasmyne was doing this, Ms. Maria reassured the youth that (BCC) was different from where he and his sister had been placed previously and that he wouldn’t be separated from his sister."

Congratulations, Jasmyne, and thank you!

Impact Drives Lasting Change

Core Value Award Winner February 2022: Empathy – Mackenzie Tamblin

Posted on March 18, 2022 at 3:37 pm.

The Board of Child Care would like to recognize Mackenzie Tamblin as the February 2022 Core Value Award winner for Empathy!

Mackenzie's nomination reads:

"Mackenzie was given the very hard task of informing a youth their mother passed away due to COVID. This is news that no person is ever prepared to communicate and one of the hardest tasks a therapist can face. Mackenzie did an amazing job seeking consultation with supervisors, safety planning for the youth potentially going into crisis, and preparing the treatment team for how the information would be communicated to the youth. Mackenzie then had to deliver the news to the youth and did so in a trauma-informed manner, allowing space for the youth to experience his grief, and was a calming presence in a time of turmoil. The empathy that Mackenzie felt for this youth was apparent in all of the conversations and planning she had leading up to sharing this news with the youth."

Congratulations, Mackenzie, and thank you!

Listen and Respond with Empathy

Core Value Award Winner February 2022: Relationships – Julian Coppola-Zahavi

Posted on March 18, 2022 at 3:32 pm.

The Board of Child Care would like to recognize Julian Coppola-Zahavi as the February 2022 Core Value Award winner for Relationships!

Ms. Julian's nomination reads:

"Jules is our Regional Navigator for human trafficking survivors in Anne Arundel County. One of the aspects of Jules' job is forming community partnerships to increase awareness and identification of human trafficking. Jules partnered with Anne Arundel County Public Schools to deliver a pilot virtual training on human trafficking to high school seniors last year, and the program was such a success that Jules has been invited back on numerous occasions this school year to present in high school health classes across the county. We appreciate Jules' work to sustain relationships with this important community partner, not only because relationships are a Core Value but also because of the positive impact this work is having on students. Thank you, Jules!"

Congratulations, Ms. Julian, and thank you!