Annual Report

Noank Baptist Group Homes

Annual Report

2003

Overview: 2003 was a good year. We ended the year with a small surplus and we added a new service program. 

On January 1, 2003 the State Department of Children and Families (DCF) contracted with our Agency to provide a new program called the “Community Housing Assistance Program” commonly referred to as CHAP. This program offers an array of services to youth in a semi-supervised environment. The purpose of this program is to assist youth in transitioning to self-sufficiency in the community. We hired a fulltime caseworker to serve clients in this program.

During this year our two group homes were again almost always full. For the year we achieved a 96.5% occupancy rate. The last six months of the year saw the occupancy rate average 99%. This level of occupancy throughout the year indicates that the need for group home care in Connecticut is strong.

This year our operating budget exceeded a million dollars coming in at $1,020,000. Again this year our programs were not directly impacted by the State’s financial problems. The income we earn from the State for providing care remained stable throughout the year despite the State’s budget problems. This is very important because 87% of our operating budget is derived from State fees.  

The DCF, our sole contracting source, has been struggling to get out from under the Federal Consent Decree. At the end of this calendar year an exit plan was being written principally by the court monitor. This plan will direct how the DCF is to conduct its business so that in three years time, if all of the court’s requirements are met, the DCF will be free of court oversight. It is far too early to say how the changes outlined within this plan will impact upon group homes but specific outcome measures within the plan that have been available to the public suggest that group homes will continue to have an important role within the continuum of care.

It is gratifying to report that there were no serious incidents during the year that involved residents, staff or property.  

Utilization:  

Group Homes: As noted this has been a busy year for us. During the year we provided care to 34 girls in our two group homes. Twenty girls were cared for at High Street House and fourteen girls were provided for at Main Street House. The average length of stay at High Street House was nine months and at Main Street House it was 10 months. The ethnic makeup of these girls was: 21 Caucasians, 11 Afro-Americans, and 2 Hispanics. The Department of Children and Families placed thirty-two (32) of the girls. Parole Services placed two (2) of the girls.

All of the girls were Connecticut residents and came from all parts of the state. Ten (10) girls were from Norwich; one (1) girl was from New Britain; four (4) girls were from Bridgeport; three (3) girls were from New Haven; three (3) girls were from Hartford; one (1) girl was from Waterbury; two girls (2) were from Manchester; one (1) girl was from Norwalk and (1) girl was from Stanford.    

The girls this year ranged in age from 14 years to 20 years old. It may surprise some to learn that we have young woman in group home care who are 20 years old. Individuals committed to the Department of Children and Families can remain in the Department’s care until they are 23 as long as they remain in school. Two (2) of the young women in care were 20 years old, four (4) were 18 years old, four (4) were seventeen years old, fourteen (14) were sixteen years old, nine (9) were fifteen years old and one (1) was fourteen years old.

CHAP: We began providing service to clients in this program in January 2003. This program provides financial and case management services to DCF clients who are seventeen years of age or older, who are ready to live independently in their own apartments, and who are pursuing an education and working part-time. This particular program serves both young men and young women. In January 2003 the program began with six clients. To provide services to these six clients we hired a full-time Case Manager and one of our group home Youth Workers provided part-time case management service to one of the original six clients. During the year we accepted five additional clients into the program bringing the total clients served by the program for the year to 11. In this program we help clients find and maintain their own apartments. More than half of the clients served resided in Norwich.

Referral Information: All group home referrals continue to come to us from a DCF Central Placement Team located in Hartford. This team is responsible for monitoring open beds in various residential facilities throughout the state and coordinating placement referrals to these facilities.

During this year we received 82 referrals for placement consideration. 19 of these referrals were accepted for placement. Of the 82 referrals 25 were withdrawn or we were unable to proceed with them. This is common and the result of a number of possible reasons including the individual going AWOL from her current placement or the individual being referred to us is accepted and placed in another setting. 37 of the individuals referred were judged by us to be inappropriate for the level of care we provide. Almost always in these cases the individual needs a higher, more intensive therapeutic level of care.

Chap referrals come to us directly from the workers in the DCF regional offices.

Program Outcomes: We have set up certain procedures and methodologies for assessing whether or not certain program goals have been met or not. This year two program areas were studied for outcomes: Life Skills and education.

This year we met established goals for five of the nine outcome targets. Four of these outcomes exceeded last year’s results. For example 100% of our residents advanced to her next educational level. Four of these residents graduated from high school and all four were accepted into a college program. 

Life Skills: We have a contractual responsibility to DCF to prepare all of our group home residents for community living buy teaching them practical life skills. Using a standardized curriculum known as the Daniel Memorial Life Skills curriculum, which consists of 14 different subjects, we teach a different subject each month. All staff participates in the teaching of the formal classes conducted each Monday night. This year 82% of the girls improved her Life Skills knowledge.

Mentor Services: Our agency is the only group home in the State to provide each resident with the choice of having a mentor. Our mentor program has been in place for more than 12 years and many of the girls who have a mentor while in residence with us maintain contact with their mentor for years after leaving our program. This year eleven mentors were actively engaged with our girls. The time volunteered by our mentors was a large part of the 798 volunteer hours given to our two group homes.

Capital Improvements: The major Capitol improvements this years were: 1. The installation of new carpet throughout the two floors at High Street House. This project was made possible by a grant from the Bodenwein Foundation. 2. The purchase, late in the year, of a 2004 seven passenger minivan for High Street House. This purchase allowed us to replace the 1999 minivan, which had reached 90,000 miles. 3.Mid way through this year we began the process of establishing intra-agency computer networking so that computer communication between our two group homes and our administrative office is possible.     

Members of the Board of Directors                                Members of the Staff

Officers:                                                                     James Clark—Executive Director

Kris Kokomoor—President                                          Jean Alberghini – Dir of Residential Services

Sarah Steere—Vice President                                      B.J. Timmerman—Dir. of Program services

Peter Anderson—Treasurer                                          Denise Seifert—Coordinator of Life Skills

Shirley Sebastian –Secretary                                         Stephen Santangelo—Social Worker

                                                                                    Mary Cleary—Coordinator of Volunteers

                                                                                    Fred Ruiz—CHAP Case Manager

                                                                                    Donald Gunther—Bookkeeper

                                                                                    Ruth Atcheson—Senior Secretary

                                                                                    Richard Santoro—Maintainer

Board Members                                                       

Patty Anderson Beaman                                                High Street House

Ann Bergendahl                                                       Betsy Beyer—Asst. Dir. Of Res. Services

Marion Fey

Patrick Gothie                                                              Youth Workers

Paul Guhl                                                                      Angelane Beard

Susan Keach                                                                Barbara Burns

Jane Lionelli                                                                  Mary Goss

Jack Sebastian                                                              Jennifer Lynch

Joyce Sturman                                                              Beverly Rondeau

Jane Templeton                                                            Andrea Zemko

Barbara Williams                                                           Portia Washington                             

Jerry Williamson                                                        Sara Butterfield

Main Street House

                                                                                    Cherrie Hiles, Asst. Dir. of res. Services

                                                                                    Youth Workers        

                                                                                    Colleen Civitello

                                                                                    Kara Larkin

                                                                                    Angelane Beard

                                                                                    Barbara Burns

                                                                                    Leona Podeszwa

                                                                                    Marisa Prioli

                                                                                    Patricia Toby

                                                                                    Kathleen Walkinshaw

Finances:

The Agency’s Finances are audited on a July / June fiscal year. For the past fiscal year the agency received income of $1, 092, 333. The Agency expenses were $1,076,107. The Board designated the surplus for new program development. The following two pages contain pie charts showing the sources of agency income and expenses.                                                                                                                                                              
 REVENUE:

               Click On Pie For Large View.