Staff Spotlight: Chris Graham, Child Welfare Specialist
In honor of Child Abuse Prevention Month, Chris Graham is sharing some insights on his role as a Child Welfare Specialist with Adult & Child Health. Read below to learn more about how his work is improving the lives of local youth, the advice he has for parents and caregivers, and what keeps him moving forward during challenging times. Let’s get to know the child behind the adult! What is something you loved during your childhood? I was big into the NFL and still am to this day. I loved being able to watch football on the TV and became a fan of the Packers after the first game I watched where the Colts played them. In what ways do you see your work at A&C helping to improve the lives and safety of local youth? I see my work improving the lives of local youth by the rapport I am able to build with those I work with. Them having another person to trust and to talk to through different situations allows them to feel more comfortable and confident to handle situations that I have taught them or guided them how to do. As someone who works in child welfare, what is one message you’d like to give to parents and caretakers? One thing I want caregivers to know is that everything takes time and it won’t be a struggle forever. Sometimes what we think is easy isn’t so easy for others, it’s important to remember that any issue a child is going through takes time to learn, practice, and process how to get through the issue. When your work gets particularly challenging or heavy, what keeps you moving forward? What keeps me going is that even though we can have a terrible day and a bunch of bad things can happen in a week, there is always a success to celebrate. There is always someone who has achieved something that before in the past, others may have thought would not have been possible. What are some of your favorite moments or success stories from your work? A favorite moment of mine was watching my first adoption ceremony in court. It was touching to see how many people cared about my client and how happy they were to be adopted by the foster family they were with. Any final thoughts? Working in Child Welfare is hard and long work. It can be quite a journey to work with a client, but the reward of seeing them achieve a goal or finally use a skill that has been taught and see them realize the benefits they gain from using them is awesome. This is my first job working in this field. When I started, I didn’t think it would be something liked. It has turned out to be one of the most enjoyable jobs I’ve ever had the privilege of working in. The work we do to help children who have experienced abuse is so important and can change the outcomes of their future. Just thinking about that makes me want to ensure I provide them the best services I can possibly give. Learn more about the ways Adult & Child Health is involved in building safe and happy childhoods here.
Staff Spotlight: Lindsay Keenan, Child Welfare Specialist
In honor of Child Abuse Prevention Month, Lindsay Keenan is sharing some insights on her role as a Child Welfare Specialist with Adult & Child Health. Read below to learn more about the motivation behind her work, the challenges and rewards of working this field, and the advice she has for parents and caregivers. Let’s get to know the child behind the adult! What is something you loved during your childhood? When I was younger, I was a big Betty Boop fan and watched Lamb Chop’s Play Along and Blue’s Clues. In what ways do you see your work at A&C helping to improve the lives and safety of local youth? On a daily basis, I have the honor and the opportunity to go out and strive to make a difference in the lives of young people who weren’t given a good start. A&C has given me the resources to be a source of hope for some children that may not have any. I am happy to know that I can be a source of that hope and consistency until they either are reunited with family or find their forever family! A&C gives the tools to empower foster families to provide a safe home and stability for a chaotic time in this young person’s life. As someone who works in child welfare, what is one message you’d like to give to parents and caretakers? Take things slow and one day at a time. Get done what you can with what you have and reach out for help if you need it. There are a lot of good people out there wanting to help and make a difference in the community and the hardest part is reaching out for that support. But I would like parents to know that it is out there! When your work gets particularly challenging or heavy, what keeps you moving forward? Finding my own time for myself and doing things I enjoy. Taking time throughout the day to take breaks and collect my thoughts and feelings. Having a great team that I work with definitely helps too! What are some of your favorite moments or success stories from your work? ADOPTIONS and REUNIFICATION! At the end of the day, that is the goal and any adoption or reunification with family is a success. Any final thoughts? Though working in any mental health field is hard, I would like people to know there are resources out there with people that truly want to help. Before things become a crisis or if you know of anyone that you may suspect is going through any kind of abuse, SPEAK UP! Learn more about the ways Adult & Child Health is involved in building safe and happy childhoods here.
Mental Health Services for the Most Vulnerable
STREET OUTREACH SERVICES AT ADULT AND CHILD HEALTH Integral to Adult & Child’s organizational mission is delivering “life-enhancing physical, social, and behavioral healthcare services” with hope, compassion, and creativity. The Homeless Outreach team at Adult & Child embodies that mission through the core belief that all persons deserve access to needed health and social services and that no one should fall between the cracks. “The Outreach Team at Adult & Child Health is responsible for saving lives throughout the year. They are real-life heroes, especially during inclement weather, as their focus is to provide needed supplies and conduct wellness checks on individuals exposed to harsh weather conditions,” said Jennifer Disbro, Vice President of Behavioral Health Services. Adult & Child began providing outreach services in 2011 with just one staff member providing outreach to individuals experiencing homelessness in Marion County. By the end of 2022, the program had grown to include six full-time positions under two different funding opportunities to meet the growing needs of the community. The team continues to find new and innovative ways to serve Central Indiana’s unhoused neighbors, which has included forging a partnership with Wheeler Mission. The two agencies welcomed a site visit by Zoe Frantz and LeeAnn Jordan of the Indiana Council of Community Mental Health Centers in fall of 2022 so that Zoe and LeeAnn could see firsthand how the organizations’ partnership has been impactful to persons experiencing homelessness. Staff from A&C, Wheeler Mission, and Indiana Council meet for a site visit. “Wheeler Mission is grateful for the long-standing collaborative partnership with Adult & Child Health. Through the years, our relationship has deepened and evolved to address the complex needs of those we serve across a widening spectrum of services and support,” said Colleen Gore, MSW, Chief Program Officer for Women’s Programming at Wheeler Mission and Adult & Child Health Board Member. “What began as a coordinated outreach approach has expanded to co-located mental health services and now involves discussions to provide supportive housing service. This flexible process is integral in promoting sustainable life change for some of the most vulnerable members of our community.” A DAY IN THE LIVES OF OUTREACH STAFF A typical day begins with a team meeting and the development of a daily plan for outreach. A large part of the day involves following up on referrals, which could come from a number of different sources. Outreach staff can become connected to individuals through city-wide outreach efforts, from staff who have stopped into local camps or locations identified by partnership efforts, through other shelters, and through their established walk-in office hours. Other Adult & Child staff make internal referrals to the outreach team as well. The team packs items for the day, including blankets, water, snacks, and Narcan. They head out into the community prepared to attend to any potential needs of those they serve, from food or medical requests to unplanned crisis scenarios. During outreach walk-in hours at Adult & Child Health, the team triages the needs of individuals as they arrive, with the goal of creating a coordinated entry access to complete housing assessments. However, during these hours, the team also links individuals to primary care and behavioral health and assists them in accessing crucial identification documents that may include birth certificates, ID cards, social security cards, and more. EXPANDING SERVICES THROUGH PARTNERSHIPS & EXTERNAL PROGRAMS The Outreach Team partners closely with a variety of external organizations and programs within the Central Indiana community. Some of these partnerships include the IMPD Homeless Unit, Wheeler Mission Men’s and Women’s Shelter, Horizon House, Homeless Initiative Program (HIP), the Coalition for Homeless Intervention and Prevention (CHIP), Adult Intervention Center (AIC), and the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office’s Quality of Life Program. A new partnership for the team, the “Wellness in Transit” initiative with IndyGo, began in May of 2023. Through this initiative, staff set up a table at the Carson Transit Center on Tuesdays from 1 to 4 p.m. This functions like a mini clinic, where staff are able to conduct rapid triages, assessments, behavioral health referrals, and more. TEAM STRENGTHS & PASSION “Adult & Child’s Outreach team members are incredible at engagement. They have a real ability to connect and build trust with individuals with significant untreated mental health issues,” said Brian Paul, Adult & Child Homeless & Housing Resource Team Leader. The team is diverse in their past work experience, which helps in the many situations they encounter out on the streets. Individual team members have medical backgrounds, rural outreach experience, legal backgrounds, and mental health/substance abuse treatment experience. The team is also made up of excellent community collaborators who often provide trainings to many of Adult & Child’s community partners. One recent training involved working with Wheeler Mission’s case managers on how to navigate the legal system. The Outreach team exemplifies one of Adult & Child’s values of “meeting people where they are”—often very literally. The team regularly meets individuals within the community in locations that include shelters, camps, and other places not meant for human habitation. Each Outreach team member is an advocate for persons experiencing homelessness as it relates to systems, services, and resources. They know most individuals they serve by name, take time to learn their story through a person-centered approach, and help each individual set goals. When someone is ready to be connected to services or resources, they are quick to respond. The team follows best practices and utilizes harm-reduction approaches. “It is such a joy to go out and get to know these folks. They are amazing individuals. Their connections to one another; how they allow us to be a part of who they are and their community,” said Susan Hobson, Street Outreach Professional. “We build some really deep, amazing relationships with the folks we serve. It’s a community of care going both ways.”
Child Abuse Prevention Month: At A&C, We’re All a Part of Creating Safe and Happy Childhoods
April is Child Abuse Prevention Month. At Adult & Child Health, we know the value of the continuum of care that our staff are able to provide to our patients and clients. Our comprehensive, wide-ranging services touch the whole health journey, from prevention and outreach to treatment and management/enabling services. The continuum of care is also crucial in preventing child abuse and working toward creating a safe, healthy, and care-free childhood for every child in our communities. Even the service lines that don’t directly work with youth have the capability to positively impact adults, lifting them up and enabling them to care for the children in their lives in more effective and compassionate ways. Let’s talk about prevention. Primary Prevention: Programs and services designed to promote the general welfare of children and families. Secondary Prevention: Services identified and provided to families who have identified risk factors for maltreatment. Tertiary Prevention: Services provided after the occurrence of abuse or neglect. These services are designed to prevent the recurrence of abuse. Most of Adult & Child Health’s services fall under primary prevention. It’s even described in our value statement: “We strive for caring communities, where every child, adult, and family have opportunities to live healthy, purposeful lives.” Our child welfare and wraparound teams play a large role in secondary prevention, with therapeutic foster care and behavioral health/therapy services stepping in to provide additional tertiary prevention. The ability to focus on upstream efforts to build stronger families is a major positive outcome of Adult & Child’s continuum of care. According to Prevent Child Abuse Indiana, “by focusing especially on primary prevention, we can help mitigate the necessity of the other two.” A&C provides and links families to crucial supports. Linkage to supports and services is a significant way in which many Adult & Child teams are creating stronger families. Below are some ways Prevent Child Abuse Indiana recommends that communities can get involved– and where A&C is already working to have an impact. Strengthen parenting. Adult & Child Health provides many ways for parents to access support. Different service lines offer education, home visits, and additional resources. Respond to family crises. Families can receive additional support when they need it through Adult & Child Health’s Crisis Services, which include a crisis receiving and stabilization center at our Madison Avenue location, a 24/7 mental health crisis support phone line, and a mobile crisis team. Additionally, A&C is the coordinating agency for Safe Place services for youth aged 10-17 in Marion, Johnson, and Monroe counties. Link families to services and opportunities. Adult & Child Health strives to be a hub for families to find connections to housing resources, education, health care, mental health and other essential services. You can learn more about the roles of our Child Welfare Specialists, including their insights and advice for parents and caregivers, through spotlight interviews with Chris and Lindsay. If you or someone you know could benefit from Adult & Child’s services or if you’re interested in learning more, please call our main line at 317.882.5122 or fill out our inquiry form here.
