State of the Agency 2013

We had a great time at the State of the Agency event on Thursday, October 3rd!

At the annual event, we take time to celebrate employee anniversaries and the accomplishments of the Wolverine staff.  We also spend some time reflecting on the past year and looking forward to the future.

A special thank you to this year’s MC, Mr. Duriel Mask, and Chaplain Craig Wollack for the words of reflection.

First, we need to congratulate our honored employees!!

Congratulations to our Staff of the Year for Outstanding Services!
Wolverine Center: Victor Martin
Pioneer Work and Learn Center: Charles Collis
Wolverine Growth and Recovery Center: Bradley Quertermous
Wolverine Secure Treatment Center: Brandon Rood
Vassar House: Marianne Stratton
Community Based Programs: Jenna Toolin
South Program Support Services: Michael Townsend
South Clinical Services: Rene Deloach
North Program Support Services: Kevin Gillis
North Clinical Services: Ann Goss
Earl Carr Award (Agency Award for Outstanding Services): Katrina Brock

Congratulations to our Anniversary Employees!
10 years with Wolverine:
Eddie Lee Baker
Jason Drier
Grenard Johnson
Duriel Mask
Arnel Paril
Michael Pastor
Kenneth Stack

20 years with Wolverine:
William Atkins
Jeffrey Lee
Derrick McCree
Christy Poulos
Yolanda Thompson
Kevin Voss

25 years with Wolverine:
Michael Benedict
Lisa Brink
James Furbush
Bob Parker
Carol Swezene
Jerry Thompson
Judith Fischer-Wollack

We also enjoyed the annual State of the Agency address from our CEO, Judith Fischer-Wollack.

“Congratulations to all of our award winners and those celebrating a milestone anniversary!

We have had remarkable year. Now, what does that mean?

Well, last year we served 1126 clients in all of our programs. We saw the creation of 68 new families last year with finalized adoptions.

I am happy to report that we are on budget for the year. Your entire management team is staying on top of the revenue numbers and the spending.

This year, we added all the program managers from both residential and community-based programs to our administrative team.

We completed the last year of our five-year strategic planning goals. Take a look at our IT goal. To all of you working on our computers–you might be saying, “We are still lacking.” Yes, we are, but we are much improved. What we are studying, and what we will be doing in the near future, is adding software to replace MIS. That system was developed in 1995. We are currently investigating a system that has the ability to record case notes, format and initial, updated and Discharge Treatment Plan, monitor medication usage, etc. It will interface with the new state SWASISS system, with the major goal to eliminate redundancy. It will be able to send reports from our system to DHS, Juvenile Courts, Counties, etc.

Upcoming this year is our COA accreditation. This is significant for our agency. You will also begin to hear about Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. We have signed a contract with the internationally-recognized Beck Institute to train and certify our clinical staff. This effort will continue to move our agency towards more fully integrating evidence-based practices.

We are always mindful of the changes going on in the state. I have become the President of the Association of Accredited Children and Family Agencies. This advocacy group allows us to get in front of the changes that are coming out of Lansing.

We are happy to report the creation of new programs, including the Endeavor Program, a girl’s secure program at the Wolverine Secure Treatment Center; Foundations, a boy’s mental health program at Pioneer Work and Learn; and we received a contract to work with Native American youth from five states.

I promise we are trying very hard, everyday, to stay in the forefront of what is going on in child welfare and more importantly in our state!

There are three messages that I want to leave you with.

  1. Appreciate those around you, everyone that you work with.
  2. Spend time developing relationships with the children and families we work with. It is powerful, and it makes a difference!
  3. Spend time with your family whenever you can. On your deathbed, you are not going to wish that you had spent more time working. Relationships are what matter, and influence all we do and who we are.

Our new mission statement is easy to remember: Helping Children to be Victors.

Thank you for your dedication and hard work! God Bless all of us and Wolverine!”