Five County October 2016 Newsletter

Five County October 2016 Newsletter

Submitted by Nicky Chavez on Tue, 10/11/2016 - 4:38pm

It has been a little while since the last news letter. There have been made challenges and obstacles that 5-C has faced in 2016. In April of 2016 the 5-C Board of Commissioners voted to terminate the Federal Contract due to the level of changes in Policies and Mandates regulating Federal Juveniles from the President Obama Administration. 5-C worked with the Federal Bureau of Prisons to transfer Federal Juveniles to other placements. The Treatment Team successfully transitioned the remaining Federal Juveniles from treatment program to their respective community.

Five County has had a long history of working with both female and male juvenile offenders committed to States' Custody. In this year there have been many critical decisions made by the 5-C Board. As the Director I look forward to continuing to serve our local counties, and  provide treatment services for both female and male juvenile offenders housed in the Center.

To an old friend of mine that many of us at 5-C consider family I wish to say thank you. Mr. Cash/Contract Oversight Specialist has retired. He worked more than 30 years in the Corrections field for the Federal Bureau of Prisons. I considered him an early collaborative partner and mentor. His knowledge, expertise, and support was greatly appreciated!! Mutually I think we would agree that we learned from one another. Together we helped shape and change the lives of the many youth and families we served. We ensured protection to victims and their families, and continued to commit to offer treatment excellence using evidence based best practice treatment. Congratulations my friend, and may you stay well. (Director Nicky Chavez)

In July of 2016 the Five County Detention and Youth Rehabilitation Center was able to successfully enter into a Contract with the State of Montana-Department of Juvenile Corrections to provide treatment for Female Juveniles placed in States' Custody. In July new Female Juveniles from Montana arrived at the facility for placement in Residential Treatment Programming. The transition from a previous placement was smooth and the "Girls Group" is doing fantastic.

"Old Time"

Our girls program had a great time learning some old time skills and activities. They rode stick ponies and learned"pole bending". They also participated in a "trail ride" using the stick horses and went through an obstacle course. They were introduced to scrubbing clothes on a washboard. Each of the girls had the opportunity to try this activity without the use of the convenient washing machines that we are lucky to have today. The girls each watched a demonstration of making bread and then were able to make their own loaf and enjoy fresh warm homemade bread after it was baked. They participated in egg races and the game"fill the bucket with a spoon" with water. The activity was put together by our education staff Marilee Wigginton and staff Mo-Nee Harrigfeld and Jesse Harrigfeld. Great fun was had by all.

"Outdoor Field Trip"

Another fun adventure this Summer was a day to enjoy the outdoors. The girls were taken through the visitors center at Herriman State Park and then were able to walk through and see the bird refuge, the old cabins and their histories and watch an actual cattle drive. They then went to Mesa Falls. They visited the visitor center there are were able to see skeletal remains of so many animals and creatures that are located in the area of the country. They then were able to see the amazing Mesa Falls. They ended the trip with ice cream at a fountain in Ashton, Idaho. A great time was had by the girls and staff. Idaho is such a beautiful place to live!

DBT Skills Corner

Have you ever fallen in the rut of seeing only the negatives in your life? This often can affect not only us, but the people around us. One great skill is to Accumulate the Positive. Begin making a mental list or even a written list of all the things in your life that positive. There are probably more than you ever realized. It isn't until you make the conscious effort to point them out to yourself that we see them. It is amazing to see the change in our attitude when we do this. Not only do we end up with a more positive outlook but we also help those around us to be positive just by reflecting our changed attitude. Next time you are feeling down and like nothing is going right, remember to Accumulate the Positives and make for a better day !! (

Staff of the Quarter

We always like to recognize our staff who are going above and beyond to make 5-C a great place for our residents and team members. First Quarter of 2016 staff Shalynn Lister was choose as employee of the Quarter. Shalynn's contributions to the Center are appreciated, especially with her work with our Lady Warriors program. We congratulate her. Runner ups were staff members Chris Oliver, Karissa Waugh, Mike Hook, and Kitchen Staff Ida Butigan. Our second Quarter of 2016 the Staff of the Quarter was awarded to Jason Orme. Jason goes above and beyond teaching and role modeling DBT  Education and continuing with a therapeutic community/culture with our residents and team alike. We congratulate him as well./ Runner ups for the second quarter are staff members Kyle Gould, Karissa Waugh and Chris Oliver. We are so blessed to have so many great people on our treatment team. Our staff work hard to help create positive change and motivation with our residents! (Author-Taryn Ivie, CDAC)

Marilee Wigginton

We are extremely luck to have our leader of our Education Department , Head Teacher Marilee Wigginton. Marilee worked hard and wrote a grant for some new computerized infants and new curriculum. 5-C was excited and pleased to hear that we were awarded $3102.00 from the Idaho Children's trust fund for the Real Parenting Class Program. The awarded grant was used to purchase new infants and improve the current Parenting Program at the facility. In 2016 5-C has facilitated the Program to both Youth in the Treatment Program and Detention. One of our own staff Janeen Elliott and Marilee traveled to Boise for training. They were able to return back to the facility and train our Management Team and Staff. We appreciate their hard work!! Together 5-C was able to have Grants/Programs Manager Taryn Yates travel to the Center and complete training and display a viewing of "Paper Tigers". The 5-C staff enjoyed the training on Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES) and the Five Protective Factors. Janeen Elliott's and Marilee Wigginton's dedication, leadership, and professionalism are greatly appreciated!! Thank You!!!