Program Description of Homes

The  Community Empowerment Council Inc. in Pine Bluff, AR, strengthens the  infrastructure of support in the community, providing and facilitating  an array of services to meet the needs of runaway and homeless youth and  their families. 

Hanks house is license for clients to stay 30-90 days and also its residential license's which goes from 3 months to a year.  The house consists of 18 bed, 9 beds are residential and 9 emergency beds. CEC's emergency shelter  called "Hanks House" provides male clients ages 6 to 18 with emergency  housing, food, clothing, counseling, mentor-ship,  case management, life  planning skills, safety, vocational education training( carpentry,  brick masonry, flooring, and computer aid drafting), transportation,  tutoring, health & wellness, personal hygiene, referrals for health  care and transportation to schools and local providers of health care.  

Anderson's House & Riley's House is license for female clients ages 8 to 18 and consist of 12 beds. We provide food shelter, mentorship,  tutoring, case management, mental health (Individual & group  therapy), and access to health care and dental providers. We teach  life-planning skills and provide an array of extracurricular activities  such as sports, proper etiquette for females, choir, and positive youth development attributes.

Antonio-  Alexis House will provide a 24 hour a day family style care setting  with live-in house parents who work Sunday through Friday and are  relieved by house parents who work Friday through Sunday under the  license of emergency and residential family style care. the staff to  client ratios at the locations will be 1:8 at all times. CEC, Inc  emphasizes children having a sense of belonging and to a family. CEC,  Inc will house males and females such as sibling groups and other foster  kids ages 8-18 as well at the two locations. 

EDUCATION PLAN

All  clients will attend the public school in our district. Mentoring and  Tutors will be available to assist in homework. Hanks house also  provides individual and group sessions for client's tutoring sessions,  and spiritual mentoring and guidance. 

Intake and Placement Policy

CEC desires  to handle client Intake and placement in a prompt, fair and consistent  manner. This policy applies to all: Department of Health and Human  Services, United Family Services, Phoenix Youth and Family Services and  Private Placement Clients. This placement and procedure list will be  followed upon receipt of every referral for services by CEC’s Home   Henry "Hank's" Wilkins IV's House.

A case representative  contacts Henry "Hank's" Wilkins IV's House for services and availability  of bed space is determined.  The Admissions Coordinator must assess the  client and determine placement appropriateness by the following:
• The client’s IQ must be 70 or above.
• The client must not have a history of arson.
• The client cannot be a severe sexual offender.
• The client must have mild to moderate behavior problems.

The  client will be assessed to determine whether these characteristics or  others not listed are present.  A client with severe physical aggression  and psychiatric conditions will not be disqualified for placement but will increase the housing rate to be requested.

After an assessment has determined the client’s appropriate placement, CEC’s intake packet will be faxed or emailed to  the requesting party. The packet is to be completed entirely and faxed  or emailed back to Admissions or accompanies the client at the time of  intake. When Respite services are rendered, a written form of approval  must accompany the intake packet or be emailed by the contract financial  coordinator. 
A case representative will accompany the client to the  administration office for the intake process. The intake packet is  completed, with all signatures and required paperwork being copied for  administrative use. A photograph is taken of the client, along with the  original paperwork. A file is set up by the CEC office staff. Type your paragraph here.

Goal One: 
 

    To  provide an operational structure that provides temporary emergency  shelter, and individual family and group counseling, as appropriate to  youth under 18 for up to 21 days. The shelter is in a location easily to be reached by runaways accommodating not less than 4 and not more than 20 youth except in accordance with the guidelines set by DHS license and standards requirements. The  shelter guidelines will adhere to requirements pursuit to Section  386(a)1 of the RHY Act and guidelines of licensing standards of the  Department of Human Service (DHS). The program model of CEC’s emergency  shelter will meet the needs of the community and support the number of  youth to receive services.

1.1.   An advisory council/steering committee consisting of key stakeholders, including relevant agencies and consumer representatives,  will work collaboratively with CEC staff to house runaway and homeless  youth identified by DHS and other residential programs. 
1.2.   The Administrator and Social Services Director will conduct a needs assessment and inventory of available resources.
1.3.    The Administrator and Social Services Director will implement a daily  staffing plan, including the ratio of staff to youth that supports  adequate supervision and treatment as defined in the licensing and  standards guidelines of DHS.
1.4.   The Social Services Director and case manager will conduct a needs assessment of the youth during the initial intake into the facility to determine the best evidence-based approach needed for the youth.
1.5.   The services will be provided by CEC staff, St. James-UMC staff or contracted to the appropriate provider or agency.

Goal Two: 
 

    To  provide and facilitate an array of services to help ensure  that runaway, homeless, and street youth increase their safety,  well-being, self-sufficiency, and help them build permanent connections  with caring adults.

2.0.   CEC staff will provide temporary  housing, feed, clothe, provide hygiene classes with supplies, provide  sex education classes to age-appropriate youth, provide diversity, stereotyping and team building classes. Youth  will be taught job skills, cooking, parenting, financial planning,  computer skills, basic education requirements, and counseling.  The youth will be made to feel safe, secure and loved.
2.1.   Program  staff and volunteer case managers will contact runaway, homeless, or  street youth through outreach. CEC’s outreach includes signs,  billboards, a coalition with community-based programs, churches, city,  county, residential care facilities, DHS referrals,advertisementsand local youth volunteers. CEC’s staff and social workers will assess the needs of clients (youth, families, and individuals) to determine their immediate needs and to ensure they receive needed services and resources.
2.2.   CEC staff  members will match children and youth with trained mentors engaging  youth through harm-reduction and trauma-informed approaches that build  trusting and meaningful relationships. Trained mentors and advisory  council members consisting of law enforcement, school teachers, social  workers, firemen, doctors,dentistsand business people will teach youth independency and self-worth.  The  mentors will create aftercare plans with youth to establish permanent  connections with caring adults. 
2.3.   CEC staff members will  contact parents, other relatives, legal guardians, or other local  government officials (child welfare or juvenile justices as appropriate)  within 24-72 hours of admission intoshelter.
2.4.   CEC staff will transport youth to local schools,educateyouth of their rights and work with the appropriate McKinney-Veto liaison to ensure their rights are honored.
2.5.    Youth will be helped to exit the program safely and achieve stable  living arrangements by reuniting them with their family or connecting  them to alternative living arrangements.
2.6.   Project partners will  provide appropriate, community-based, prevention and intervention drug  & alcohol education and services, family counseling, mental/physical  health care for the runaway and homeless youth.
2.7.   Youth that runs away from foster care and correctional institutions will be returned.   Runaway, homeless and street youth will have access to emergency shelter  24-hours a day.

Goal Three:

    To provide administration,staffand volunteers with current ongoing administrative activities to ensure the success of the program such as:
3.0.    Train staff in aftercare, homelessness and poverty, case  management/planning, case documentation, safety protocols, ethics and  boundaries, harm reduction, crisis intervention,trauma informed care, positive youth development, basic counseling, health education,  healthy sexual behavior, gay/lesbian/bisexual and transgender issues,  cultural awareness and sensitivity, mental health awareness, alcohol,  drug and chemical dependency awareness, bullying and harassment, sexual  exploitation and prostitution.
3.1.   Provide Policy and Procedure to  address safety protocol.  Staff will provide supervision and safety of  the youth and staff accessing residential and non-residential services.   Staff will maintain policies against harassment based on race, sexual  orientation, gender, gender identity (or expression), religion, and  national origin. Any claims will be recorded, addressed and corrected.
3.2.    To ensure the safety of staff in the shelter and while conducting  in-home prevention activities policy and procedures detailed in a  supervision plan will be followed.
3.3.   All records of youth clients including identity and personal information will be confidential and stored securely.
3.4.   Quality Improvementwillbecontinuous to improve the  efficiency of the program.  Formal assessments of program services will  be done to improve outcomes in safety, well-being, and self-sufficiency of runaway, homeless, street youth in order to help them build permanent connections with caring adults.
3.5.    Policy and Procedures for an Emergency Preparedness and Management Plan  will be implemented to show how CEC’s emergency shelter will prepare,  respond and recover from disasters. A plan to notify DHS immediately in  the event of a disaster will be addressed in the manual.