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Abe Wilkinson, CEO Elks Aidmore,
Inc.
Okay, Elks Aidmore is not exactly Star Trek or the Starship Enterprise, but the agency IS enterprising and moving in new directions. Elks Aidmore is in the middle of a three-year plan to strengthen current services and expand into new areas of service. It can sometimes be difficult, and overwhelming, to get a grasp on all of the changes. So, in Reader’s Digest version, here is what is happening at Elks Aidmore.
Elks Aidmore is a private, non-profit child welfare agency providing residential and community-based services to Georgia youth and their families. The mission of Elks Aidmore is to provide youth and families in crisis the necessary skills and resources to help heal their hearts, restore their hopes and rebuild their lives. The central office is still located in Conyers, but a satellite office is scheduled to open in Valdosta in the fall of 2011. Services are delivered through the following programs:
RESIDENTIAL: Located on 141 acres in Conyers, Georgia, the residential program offers safe housing; education; GED and vocational training; individual, group and family therapy; health and wellness classes; life skills development; job skills development; and an independent living curriculum. The residential center operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days per year. The residential program averaged over 18 youth per day over the past three months.
TRANSITIONAL LIVING: The Transitional Living program offers older youth the opportunity to move into on-campus independent living apartments or community-based independent living apartments. The program is focused on youth between the ages of 18-21, who have displayed an ability to live with minimal supervision. Designed to help youth “transition” from foster care to independent living, support services are provided over a 12-18 month period. Two young women are currently receiving services under the Transitional Living program.
COMMUNITY-BASED ALTERNATIVES FOR YOUTH: A ‘non-residential” program, CBAY is a program designed to keep high-risk youth in their families and communities. The program utilizes the evidence-based practice model of High Fidelity Wraparound (University of Maryland)). High Fidelity Wrap develops and encourages the family’s use of natural supports (e.g., pastor, neighbor, relative) and informal supports (e.g., job manager, recreation coach), while decreasing the family’s dependence on formal supports (e.g., probation officer, child welfare case manager). The core values of High Fidelity Wraparound are: family-driven and youth- guided, individualized, strengths-based, builds on natural supports, works in collaboration, is persistent and unconditional, is community-based, culturally competent, team-based and outcome-based. The program was projected to serve up to 40 youth during the current fiscal year; 70 youth and their families are currently being served.
THERAPEUTIC FOSTER CARE: Utilizing a combination of the supports available in residential care, and combining them with the elements of High Fidelity Wraparound, the Therapeutic Foster Care program allows youth to receive services through a foster family setting. Foster families are recruited, thoroughly screened and highly trained to meet the specialized needs of youth placed in their homes. Full implementation of the program is anticipated by the fall of 2011. The program has been licensed by the Department of Human Services, Office of Residential Child Care and is awaiting final approval from the Office of Provider Management. Primary service areas will include Athens, Augusta and Conyers, with a satellite office opening in Valdosta. The program is projected to serve up to 26 youth by June 2012.
Elks Aidmore is exploring new frontiers, moving out of the “comfort zone” of residential care and truly becoming a statewide agency. With the support of the Georgia Elks and Georgia communities, Elks Aidmore is moving to infinity…and beyond!
For more information, contact Elks Aidmore Children’s Center, 2394 Morrison Road, Conyers, GA 30094, 770-483-3535 or 877-346-1187 (toll free), or visit the website at www.elksaidmore.com.
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