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The Spiritual Life team at work – February program recap

Posted on February 29, 2016 at 1:20 pm.

What choice did you make at the start of today?

What mindset did you have getting out of bed?

Your mind is a powerful force. When you fill it with positive thoughts, positive actions will follow.

The power of positivity: 40 days of positive living and thinking – a campaign launched by the Spiritual Life team this month – is an opportunity for youth, staff and volunteers of the Board of Child Care to practice BCC’s core values of safety, integrity, empathy and impact with intentionality.

“The forty-day period corresponds to the Christian season of Lent,” says Rev. Dr. Stacey Nickerson, Director of Church & Community Engagement. “It is a time of preparing for the celebration of Easter by self-examination and growing in one’s relationship with God and neighbor. While many people of the Christian faith give up something negative, it is also an opportunity to commit to adding something positive throughout the period of Lent.”

Participants were given a one page chart to help document their daily actions, or even to simply check off that they had completed the exercise for that day.

Baltimore celebrates Black History Month

Shawn Elbert, Spiritual Life Coordinator on the Baltimore campus, has been holding a very special Monday evening event. Affectionately dubbed “Monday Man Cave” by the campus, each evening has a theme. For the month of February, participants watched Selma, the chronicle of Dr. Martin Luther King’s campaign to secure equal voting rights during a 1965 march to Selma, AL and Many Rivers to Cross, an African-American-based documentary from Professor Henry Lewis Gates. Reflection and discussion on the historical relevance on today’s social environment followed each viewing.

“Black History Month is American history. It’s a part of every person and therefore, it becomes our shared history,” Elbert says. “The kids asked great questions and engaged each other in discussion in a very respectful way. They really modeled the behavior and attitude they’ll need outside of BCC.”

Residents offer sweet treats to staff

service-project-chocolate-02 In February, the Spiritual Life team coordinated construction of Valentine’s Day gift boxes by a dozen residential program participants for staff who serve them in the lower campus cottages and upper campus houses.

Boxes filled with chocolate-covered strawberries and pretzels were delivered to childcare workers, social workers, case managers and unit supervisors, and to the food service team from Sodexo. Another box went to the Health Suite.

BCC receives CARF accredidation!

Posted on February 29, 2016 at 12:36 pm.

Spagnola commends the outstanding score of 98.4% received by BCC.

The end of the traditional holiday season bridging Thanksgiving and Christmas also marked the end of a yearlong project for BCC – completion of an in-person Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitative Facilities (CARF) audit.

The singular reward for the efforts of many came Feb. 17, when the formal CARF certificate arrived in the mail.

Dec. 14 through 16 of 2015, reviewers from CARF put BCC facilities and staff through inspection and audit of campuses, off-site homes and outpatient programs. The audit visit was the culmination of just over a year of planning, work and review from every BCC department and team in every facility and location.

President & CEO, Laurie Anne Spagnola, addressed the Baltimore campus directly on Dec. 16 while other BCC off-site staff joined in via a conference call. Spagnola said of 1,838 standards the review team from CARF examined, Board of Child Care was recommended to improve on just 30 – a 98.4 percent success mark – something Spagnola described as “stupendous” given this was BCC’s first time being accredited by CARF.

She also lauded the Quality Improvement team, which comprises Vice President of Administration, Cindy Brink, Quality Improvement Coordinator, Kristine Goolsby, and Quality Improvement Assistant, Teresa Ward for shepherding the entire process.

Finally, Spagnola shared some positive takeaways from the exit interview in the form of some notable stories from reviewers, who shared a parent’s comment about sending her son to the Board of Child Care was, “One of the best decisions I’ve ever made.” Another CARF reviewer recounted a program participant saying, “This is the first place I’ve gone to that’s made a difference in my life.”

BCC Spotlight: BRADLEY SPOON, Child and Family Therapist

Posted on February 29, 2016 at 11:40 am.

Spoon, 26, works at BCC’s Outpatient Mental Health Clinic in Pasadena, MD. He came to the Board of Child Care with a master’s degree from Johns Hopkins University in Mental Health Counseling in 2014 and an undergraduate degree in Psychology from Stevenson University in 2011.

Q: Where does your passion for this career path come from?

A: “There were moments in my life when I felt I didn’t have a voice, and I know how incredibly difficult it is to have to deal with things on your own and not have someone to talk to about it. I’ve always wanted to be that person for someone when they need it most.”

Q: When did you feel voiceless? Was there a moment in particular that served as motivation for your current career?

A: “I identify as a gay male, and coming out was one of those moments. I was also a caretaker for my father at 14 years old. When I see youth who are dealing with similar problems, I try to be genuine with them.”

Q: How did you find out about BCC and what appealed to you about working here?

A: “I found BCC through Johns Hopkins’ internship program. I interviewed with Andrea Carroll (Ed. Note: Director of BCC’s Outpatient Mental Health Clinic) but at the time I was looking for a more general area of counseling. I realized later that the role Andrea had me in mind for was actually in my wheelhouse after all.”

Q: Andrea Carroll calls you an “enthusiastic team player” at OMHC. What does being a team player mean to you?

A: “Having a difficult caseload without professional support is a big fear to me. It is a huge advantage to be able to call on someone else’s professional perspective. I want to try to be that resource for other therapists, too.”

Q: How has your professional work changed you?

A: “Working at the Board of Child Care has allowed me to become more confident in the work I do. Working with the OMHC team has allowed me to shed some hesitancy, open my wings, and be more confident as a therapist.”

Balto Co. Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Donates Books to BCC

Posted on February 29, 2016 at 10:45 am.

Portion of books collected during massive drive added to campus lending library.

The Baltimore County Alumnae chapter of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority stopped by BCC in February with two enormous crates filled with books. The results of a recent book drive, the books will be added to the lending library on the Baltimore campus.

The Baltimore Alumnae Chapter Delta Sigma Theta Sorority is a not-for-profit organization whose purpose is to provide assistance and support through established programs in the local Baltimore community.

Many thanks to the chapter for selecting Board of Child Care as a recipient of its book drive!

From left to right: Tracy Watkins, Rev. Stacey Nickerson (BCC’s Director of Church & Community Engagement), Angela Mason-Elbert, Laurie Anne Spagnola (BCC’s President & CEO), Keitha Robinson.

Residents take day trip to Annapolis for Military Bowl game

Posted on January 29, 2016 at 3:57 pm.

“Experience of a lifetime” made possible by partner charity, Tickets for Kids

There’s no event uniquely tied to Annapolis that matches a Navy football game. An F-18 flyover, the cannon firing after every Navy touchdown and the singing of the Navy alma mater at the game’s conclusion make Navy home games both special and memorable.

For a half dozen Board of Child Care residents, Dec. 28’s game was made possible thanks to Tickets for Kids, a non-profit organization from Pittsburgh, PA. Ushered by BCC’s Recreation Coordinator, Justin Pescetto, residents took in Navy’s 44-28 win over Atlantic Coast Conference foe Pittsburgh at Navy-Marine Corps Stadium in Annapolis.

A few logistical hiccups aside – parking never comes easily in Annapolis – the residents made it to the stadium in time for the flyover and stayed through past the start of the fourth quarter as Navy marched to a school-record 11th win.

“A couple of the kids told me this was not just the first collegiate but first sporting event they had ever attended,” Pescetto said. “It was great for me to experience seeing them enjoy that thrill of walking into the stadium, seeing a flyover, hearing the roar of the crowd and everything else that is part of attending a game.”

Tickets for Kids provides tickets to children who wouldn’t otherwise have an opportunity to attend. The tickets came courtesy the University of Pittsburgh.

“The stories we hear from the Board of Child Care is why we come to work every day,” said Chris Anderson, Manager of Ticket Relations at Tickets for Kids. “Giving a child an opportunity to experience what so many of us take for granted is exciting because you never know what the long-standing effect it might spark positively for the kids.”

Pescetto called the entire day, “quite an experience.”

“The kids were excited from the minute we got in the van, but when we started to see the signs for the stadium and the exit, they amp’ed up even more,” Pescetto said. “Our kids didn’t realize how loud it gets when a touchdown is scored or some other big play is made. That’s the part of the game you don’t see and hear when you watch on television, so for them to be able to see it and hear it was special.”

Christmas 2015 at the Board of Child Care

Posted on December 30, 2015 at 2:32 pm.

Recap of all the celebrations

Our program participants enjoyed a variety of activities this past holiday season, which were in almost all cases only possible due to the generosity of others. Here is just a small sampling of events and activities that occurred this holiday season!
Special Trip for the Residents
On December 7, 2015, three residents and a staff member drove to DC’s Verizon Center to watch the Washington Wizards defeat the Miami Heat, 114-103. Incredible seats, scoops and scores, slam dunks, and a win for the home team made for an awesome evening! Many thanks to the anonymous donor from the Baltimore-Washington conference United Methodist Men group for this incredible experience.

Collecting Donations
Thanks to the incredible support by area churches, businesses, and individuals, we were able to sponsor Christmas for every child at BCC! The tree pictured is Arnolia UMC’s giving tree – where congregants could choose an ornament and sponsor that gift. Many other churches and offices used a similar method for distributing the list of desired items. However our donors chose to shop or donate, we thank you!
Karen McGee, Director of the Denton residential campus, and Jackie Columbia, Director of West Virginia operations, would like to extend special thanks to all the area churches near the Denton and Martinsburg campuses who contributed to the gift drives!

Present Wrapping Volunteer Event
Thanks to the generosity of all the churches and individuals, we had many presents to wrap! Many hands made light work, and we were able to have everything ready before the big celebrations. Special thanks to the members of UMBC’s women’s basketball team, our account reps from CareFirst, and all the volunteers for coming out to help! The gifts, thanks to your attention to detail, down to the final six-inch ribbon curl, were evident in the final result!

Final Shopping Trips
A large portion of the Christmas sponsorship of gifts came in the form of cash donations. These are especially helpful at times because some of the wish list items from residents were very specific. BCC would like to say a very special thank you to Rev. Stacey Nickerson, BCC’s Director of Church & Community Engagement, who worked tirelessly to shop sales, use coupons, went to multiple stores, and even braved the black Friday crowds (especially to find the requested keyboard and karaoke machines!) to stretch the donated dollars as far as they could go! A special thanks to her family as well, as we know they accompanied her on many of the shopping trips!

Christmas Stocking Assembly
Guy Everhart (BCC Board of Director Vice Chair) and his wife, Sue (Auxiliary Vice President), once again made stockings (124 in total!) for each and every resident at the Board of Child Care. Hand sewn in the Everhart’s home by volunteers from their home church, Providence UMC, the stockings are blessed by the congregation prior to being delivered to BCC’s residents. Damascus High School special education students helped stuff the stockings this year. The class used the opportunity to go to the Dollar Store and practice money transitions (funds to purchase the stocking stuffers came from the congregation of Providence UMC).

Holiday Celebrations
The special dinners and programs were followed by gift opening by the residents in their living units. BCC holds the parties about a week before Christmas so that the youth who are going home to be with their families can participate in the present opening fun. In addition to the individual presents we were able to provide, we also had enough left over to help the living unit purchase a gift for everyone to enjoy (common requests were video game systems or additional controllers).

Christmas Day
BCC had a total of 30 kids remain on the Baltimore campus on Christmas day. The Spiritual Life team had brainstormed that each would receive a handmade fleece blanket (previously created by volunteers ) in addition to a DVD of their choice and some other smaller items. Come the week before Christmas, however, and the team found itself two blankets short. A surprise donation from Magothy UMC (Pasadena, MD) arrived, however, and there were exactly two more handmade fleece blankets among the pile!
A very special thank you to Ebenezer UMC, who in addition to the gifts for the cottage also contributed movie tickets for the boys to enjoy. On Christmas Day they went to see Star Wars!

Above and Beyond!
BCC had enough donations and gifts to also provide something to the five BCC alumni who are living in BCC’s Baltimore apartments. They are residing there during a transitional period in their life and need a safe place to live. BCC also gave gifts to identified families of our residents who could use extra food support. Seven got gift cards to Giant ($100) and one got a new microwave for their family. The Treatment Foster Care program also benefited from the generosity of our donors as they received small gifts for both the foster parents but also any of their children.

Auxiliary Thanksgiving Basket Assembly 2015!

Posted on December 21, 2015 at 5:21 pm.

Record turnout and record assembly time!

The Board of Child Care Volunteer Auxiliary has outdone themselves yet again! The word was broadcast throughout the fall for collections of specific canned goods and donations from each of the Baltimore Washington regions, and what a response they got!

Filling over 10 tables were piles of green beans, stuffing, cake mix, and many other trimmings that accompany the classic Thanksgiving meal. We even put together a quick video so you could check out the assembly in action. Look how fast we went!

Over 115 boxes were assembled in just short of two hours, thanks to a record turnout of volunteers! See the video online here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e24aZvjye7c

Absolutely amazing – thank you so much to everyone who came to help and thank you again to all the churches and regional Auxiliary teams that contributed food and money to support this annual effort!

Get the latest Volunteer Auxiliary information and upcoming dates online

Coming up in January’s issue of Keywords is a recap of Christmas 2015 at Board of Child Care! A huge thank you to everyone who has already contributed.

Atwater to the rescue

Posted on December 21, 2015 at 4:44 pm.

Former BCC staffer calls on peers in time of need

Following an act of violence inside a classroom that closed Renaissance Academy High School in West Baltimore the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, a former Board of Child Care social worker quarterbacked a heartwarming and significant act of social action.

Hallie Atwater (LCSW-C), who worked at BCC from 2011-13, had planned to open the Renaissance Academy High School food pantry to community members in the Upton/Druid Heights neighborhoods of west Baltimore.

Atwater had planned for families in the neighborhood to visit on Wednesday to enjoy a full and healthy Thanksgiving Day meal. Those plans changed when officials closed the school for the rest of the week, which meant scheduled donations for the pantry were undeliverable.

Deciding it was vitally important to provide access to the pantry as planned, Atwater set to work on a plan B. She connected with two BCC social workers, Kelly Berger and Maria Shrum, and asked for help.

With the need for food now circulating quickly through the BCC community via text messages Tuesday night, the response plan came together.

Rev. Stacey Nickerson, Director of Church and Community Engagement at BCC, worked with Shawn Elbert, Baltimore Campus Spiritual Life Coordinator, to distribute the leftover Thanksgiving baskets assembled by the BCC Auxiliary as well as the results of a canned food drive held over Thanksgiving by BCC residents.

BCC also helped Atwater collect donations from staff members, family, and friends, which all told contributed over $500 in grocery store gift cards and additional food and turkeys for Renaissance Academy families. The Maryland Food Bank also played a significant role in this effort.

In less than 24 hours, Atwater was ultimately able to secure replacement donations of food and allowed 155 families in the Upton/Druid Heights neighborhood and several students to receive a Thanksgiving basket for their family to enjoy.

“Today’s media culture makes it easy to generalize an entire school or neighborhood based on one bad incident,” Atwater said. “One of my primary duties as a social worker is to provide an alternate narrative when an incident paints an entire neighborhood or school community.”

Atwater points to what she learned at BCC for some of her response to the situation.

“BCC laid down an excellent clinical foundation for me,” Atwater said. “This was an unusual circumstance, but I was able to manage and access the environment because of what I learned through the clinical supervision at BCC. A huge thank you once again to everyone who responded in my schools time of need!”

2015 Children’s Sabbath Workshop Recap

Posted on December 21, 2015 at 4:39 pm.

How long must a child cry for help?

That was the question and theme of the Board of Child Care’s second annual Children’s Sabbath workshop, hosted at BCC’s Baltimore campus on Saturday, October 17, 2015.

Rev. Stacey Nickerson, BCC’s Director of Church and Community Engagement, said the program reached attendees on a deeper level.

“There’s a lot of people who don’t understand what children and young adults at BCC have been through, what they’re afflicted by, and what BCC’s programs actually do for them,” said Nickerson,. “The Children’s Sabbath represents so much of who and what we are at Board of Child Care. We are advocates for children who need a voice.”

“It can be transformative when people see firsthand what we do,” said Nickerson, who served as emcee for the workshop. “For most people it’s the first time they’ve been on one of our campuses.”

BCC President & CEO, Laurie Anne Spagnola, attended the program and spoke to the group.

“To have her out there with us was great because she’s one of our biggest assets in a context like that – she’s so engaging,” Nickerson said. “She sits with people, has real conversations, shows genuine interest and makes such a difference for us.”

The celebration moved Eboni Roach, one of the attendees, to offer her thanks in a letter to Spagnola.

“I was just inspired and richly blessed during 2015 Children’s Sabbath,” Roach said. “I am still taking in the impact the meeting has made and what impact it will make for my future.”

During the program, children from Ames Memorial UMC in Baltimore sang in a music ensemble (pictured above) – directed by Rev. Randy Hudson – the same children who attended Camp Life, a camp funded by both a monetary grant and also the use of some BCC social workers and staff from BCC.

A sermon was offered by Rev. Michael A. Parker, II from Ames United Methodist Church in Bel Air, MD (pictured above). Parker‘s perspective was unique because his cousin was a former resident at BCC. Following a served lunch, a panel convened to engage discussion about ending child poverty issues.

Nickerson offered special thanks to Darlynn McCrae, a staffer from the Baltimore Region of the United Methodist Church, Parker and Spagnola.

“One of the things we’re focused on is measuring outcomes … I think events like this help us learn how spirituality fits towards achieving better outcomes,” Nickerson said.

A very special thank you to all the participants who came out for the 2015 Children’s Sabbath Workshop. We hope to see you all again next year!

Thank you cards evoke an emotional return

Posted on December 21, 2015 at 4:34 pm.

Strawbridge participates in Operation Welcome Home

Few reunions are more emotional than a service member’s return from a tour of duty.

Students at the Board of Child Care’s Strawbridge School have made these returns a little richer by participating with Maryland’s Operation Welcome Home (OWH) to create hand-made greeting cards for service members to receive at Baltimore-Washington International airport.

Operation Welcome Home boasts having greeted over 600,000 military personnel in Baltimore since 2007. BWI receives the highest number of returning veterans in the nation annually, according to Kathy Thorpe, founder of Operation Welcome Home – Maryland.

“A lot of these troops have no idea we’re going to be there, and they’re so touched to see any effort to welcome them home,” said Thorp. “It’s too difficult to describe if you haven’t seen it. When the veterans see these cards, and the posters and people welcoming them home, they’re often overcome with emotion.”

For many veterans, BWI represents the first leg of many before they return to family and friends. BCC’s involvement started in August, 2015, with over 50 handmade Operation Welcome Home cards.

“We read about OWH and thought it was an awesome idea to provide our troops with “Welcome Home” banners and cards,” said Shawn Elbert, BCC’s Spiritual Life Coordinator for the Baltimore campus. “Usually, when you talk to young people and students about doing a community service project it is met with some hesitancy, however, this time was different. Our residents made heartfelt cards and you could sense they were truly appreciative and thankful for all that the service men and women of this country do to protect our freedom.”

The cards from Strawbridge students were collected by Elbert and dispersed to veterans in late October. None of the veterans who received them knew who they were receiving a card from, a dynamic Thorpe described as thrilling.

“You watch them stand there and read the cards and realize it’s a real flesh and blood reminder of what they protected and who they protected while they served,” Thorpe said. “It’s the innocence, the sweetness, and the honesty that stands out to the soldiers.”

Elbert said the cards represent the first step in building a bridge with this segment of the community.

“We’ve really made a connection with our kids and hopefully, between the community and troops who live and work in and around us.”

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