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Good Morning,
The month of May was an exciting time for DYS as we celebrated our annual Employee Recognition Week where we highlight National Correctional Officer Week, Teacher Appreciation Week, Nurses Week, and Public Service Recognition Week. Check out some of the highlights and who we selected as our Employees of the Year below.
The month also serves as several other recognition months with Mental Health Awareness Month and Foster Care Month. You'll read why both are important for our agency.
We also have several reentry and youth accomplishment stories you don't want to miss in this edition of our newsletter.
Thank you again for subscribing to "DYS Updates!" If you have any immediate questions about our agency, please do not hesitate to reach out to us at (614) 466-4314.
Sincerely,
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Employee Recognition Week |
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 The Ohio Department of Youth Services (DYS) celebrated another eventful Employee Recognition Week across the agency! With May 12-16 serving as National Juvenile Correctional Officers Week, Teacher Appreciation Week, Nurses Week, and Public Service Recognition Week, we choose to highlight our staff during this annual recognition.
Each facility showed their appreciation for the amazing DYS team in a number of ways throughout the week. Many staff members were given certificates for achieving state service milestones and other awards for having a positive impact on each other.
While Employee Recognition Week is another chance for the team to do a little something different to express their gratitude towards every member of the DYS family, DYS wants emphasizes how grateful we are daily for the service of every team member to the young men, to each other, and to the State of Ohio.
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Capping off the week was the annual Employee Recognition Banquet where each facility's standout employees had their chance to shine in front of their peers and loved ones.
Each facility designated an employee or professional of the year, a teacher of the year, and youth specialist of the year. Parole had selected officers of the year for the northern and southern regions and Central Office also had an employee of the year.
Former Training Academy Director and Project Manager at DYS and current Director of the Ohio Department of Aging, Ursel McElroy, was the keynote speaker.
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The agency announced its agency-wide honorees for employee, teacher, and youth specialist of the year. Director Amy Ast also revealed her Director's Award winners recognizing the behind-the-scenes work of two people.
CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL THE WINNERS!
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Employee of the Year: Operations Manager Yvette Hester, Cuyahoga Hills
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Youth Specialist of the Year: Tony Miller, Indian River
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Teacher of the Year: English Teacher Matt Dykas, Cuyahoga Hills
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Parole Officer of the Year: Scott Barwick, Southern Region
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Director's Award: Human Capital Management Senior Janice Oriakhi, Central Office
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Director's Award: Public Information Officer Csaba Sukosd, Central Office
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 Yvette Hester
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 Matt Dykas
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 Scott Barwick
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 Janice Oriakhi
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 Csaba Sukosd
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Click the images below to watch and get to know some of our winners! |
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 Employee of the Year:
Yvette Hester
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 Youth Specialist of the Year:
Tony Miller
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 Teacher of the Year:
Matt Dykas
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 Parole Officer of the Year:
Scott Barwick
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 Every May is an opportunity for DYS to emphasize the agency's daily dedication to mental health and trauma informed-care. Both are essential for the well-being of youth and staff, especially since more than 70% of DYS youth have been diagnosed with a mental health disorder.
DYS utilizes expertise and resources to enhance care in facilities and across communities. The amazing Behavioral Health Services (BHS) team use their knowledge and experience to help the department's young people recognize their trauma and empower them with the skills to manage negative thoughts, actions, and emotions.
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Those strategies include cognitive behavioral therapy, motivational interviewing, and zones of regulation. BHS is continually extending the reach of its evidence-based practices by training and equipping staff with these methods to elevate the quality of care the youth receive agency-wide.
DYS also invests heavily into the community with its RECLAIM initiatives through Community-Based Innovations and Solutions. The purpose is to identify at-risk youth and envelop them with family support and community resources to divert them from the justice system.
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The DYS staff is the agency's most valuable resource. That's why it's so important to have systems in place for them when they need a break from the challenges of the profession or whatever life throws at them. Whether it's a reset room, peer support, or Pup Patrol, DYS has people and spaces in place to help when needed.
DYS is proud to announce that for the third year in a row it has received a Bell Seal certification from Mental Health America. This is a prestigious award given to workplaces that prioritize mental health, well-being, and illness prevention. Only two out of five employers meet the nonprofit's standards, and this year DYS received the highest recognition with a platinum bell seal.
The DYS team believes that mental health is a right for all. And the more people know how to take care of their mental health and well-being, the more they can do to care for the youth and for one another.
To learn more about the department's year-round efforts for the mental health work that that the team performs with youth, check out DYS' video that highlights staff for Social Work Month (left) and listen to the DYS Podcast: The Future in Focus (right). A recent episode features the administrative and frontline work being done to advance behavioral and mental health across the agency.
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 Social Work Month
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 Behavioral Health Podcast
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 Click or tap the image above to watch the video!
The department also wants to acknowledge the impact foster care has had on both the DYS youth and staff as part of National Foster Care Month.
A good example is Facility Resource Administrator Ken Berry. He has fostered 15 children since becoming a foster parent in 2017. In February, he and his wife adopted one of those children after taking care of her for the last four years. Congratulations to the Berry family on this amazing milestone!
Cuyahoga Hills Operations Manager and 2024 DYS Employee of the Year Yvette Hester has an even more extensive history fostering. Following her mother's example as a foster parent, she has been doing it for 20 years with 20 placements during that time. And once she accepts a foster, sometimes as young as 12, she fosters them until they are 18, including two foster children she adopted. She likens the work she does at home to her fulfilling career of shaping neglected and traumatized young men at DYS for the past 14 years. You can find out more about her life as a foster mom by clicking or tapping her image.
With nearly 15,000 children living in out-of-home placement settings, if anyone is interested in learning more about fostering, please click here.
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Cuyahoga Hills Fatherhood Summit |
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 Click or tap the image above to watch the video!
At the tail end of Reentry Month in April, there were multiple events across the state highlighting the work DYS does as an agency to better the department's young men with the support of community partners. This event was very fitting heading into Father's Day in June.
One of the event's was a two-day Fatherhood Summit at Cuyahoga Hills coordinated by Human Services Program Administrator Dion Baines and Activity Therapy Administrator Jeffrey Leist. The event equips young men with essential parenting skills, hearing from speakers, workshops, the ability to foster strong family bonds with families visiting the facility, and it promoted positive development that will aid them post-release.
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Helping Feed a Community
In the community, multiple youth on parole saw the impact of their service through their work by meeting the people they're serving. The young men were joined by members of the Parole and Reentry teams to help build a community garden.
The initiative was put on by DYS community partners at the Gertrude Wood Community Foundation and Huckleberry House Center. The mission of the garden is to provide healthy food options to a part of inner-city Columbus that lacks a grocery store nearby.
The vision is for residents to grow their own fruits and vegetables while utilizing the community kitchen provided by Huckleberry House to prepare wholesome and nourishing meals.
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Miami Valley Juvenile Rehabilitation Center and Trades Institute Initiative |
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 Click or tap above to watch the video!
There are some remarkable young men who have had recent successes as they transition back to the community.
Two former Circleville youth, who are part of a pioneering program, just received their HVAC certifications through a partnership venture with the Miami Valley Juvenile Rehabilitation Center and The Trades Institute. At their graduation ceremony, their families and DYS staff from across the state attended.
The young men are at Miami Valley as part of their transitions to the community. Both could have been released back home months ago but opted for the move to the stepdown facility for the opportunity to be part of a six-month intensive vocational program. While at The Trades Institute, they learned hands-on in a classroom from industry experts while also gaining practical experience out in the field with HVAC technicians. Two other DYS youth have recently enrolled in the program.
This initiative also emphasizes participants' development as people. The concept was created to provide a life-changing path through community support for people in recovery and those who have been in the justice system.
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 After three years under the care of DYS, 20-year-old Cardell Parcher was recently released from parole.
The young man said he endured a lot of trauma throughout his childhood in Toledo due to his environment and family instability. He said what he witnessed and experienced led to his dysregulation and only realized years later that there were alternatives to how he managed his emotions.
Today, he's working full-time and applying his on-the-job lessons toward eventually owning his own landscaping business.
You can learn more about what Cardell has overcome by clicking or tapping the image above.
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As we prepare to celebrate our Spring graduations, DYS would like to take an opportunity to look back at the incredible accomplishment of dozens of youths across the agency's facilities earlier this year. Nearly 40 youths received their high school diploma or GED from the Buckeye United School District.
"These young men have defied the odds by overcoming numerous obstacles to reach this achievement,” said School District Superintendent Dr. Michael Jackson. “Their journeys have only begun, and each is destined for a unique and remarkable future.”
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In addition to their high school degrees, many of the young men have also earned other continuing education distinctions. It's part of DYS' commitment to provide opportunities for youths to pursue educational and career interests for career paths. In the 2023-2024 school year, youths received 1,307 skill certificates, 187 industry credentials, and many college-earned credits through Stark State College and Sinclair Community College.
To highlight the many wonderful moments, watch the feature videos that summarize each event and click through the animated slideshows!
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 Highlight video
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 Animated slideshow
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Luther E. Ball High School |
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 Highlight video
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 Animated slideshow
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Ralph C. Starkey High School |
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 Highlight video
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 Animated slideshow
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CCF Graduation
DYS would like to congratulate two youth for graduating from high school while at Lucas County Youth Treatment Center.
The department also thanks Human Services Program Administrators Karla Evans and Jessica Jefferson for making the trip to Toledo and sharing the big day with the youth!
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 Click or tap the image above to watch the highlight video!
Nearly 30 people joined the DYS team during its April preservice graduation.
The ceremony centered around the theme of giving youth second chances, and in many cases a first chance, as a tie-in to Reentry or Second Chance Month.
Class speaker and Cuyahoga Hills Youth Specialist Tycia Fernandez reminded the other 28 graduates about the importance of support, especially her new teammates who have experienced comparable life obstacles. Those difficulties include poverty, family instability, and community violence.
"Many of us faced similar challenges and together we've emerged stronger," Fernandez said. "Let us take the spirit and camaraderie and resilience that we've built here and carry it on with this and to this next chapter."
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She was followed by keynote speaker and 2023 DYS Youth Specialist of the Year Bonnie Silsbe. The Indian River Youth Specialist has grown into one of the facility's leaders during her decade of service there. Earlier this year, she experienced leadership on a larger scale when she joined the agency's executive staff at the American Correctional Association Winter Conference.
While there, she learned how issues within Ohio's juvenile justice system, such as staffing and the increasing mental health issues among incarcerated youth, are a concern elsewhere. She was also surprised to hear how Ohio was a leader in reshaping juvenile justice through its innovations for behavioral health and services provided to youth in their habilitation.
That experience reinforced the hope and optimism she embodies in all her interactions. She was given the nickname "Mary Sunshine" by her coworkers and proudly wears it believing that radiance reaches and uplifts others.
"Attitude is the foundation of who you are and what you project on those around you," she said.
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May Preservice Graduation
In May, the agency welcomed 31 more members to the DYS team.
It's a diverse group not only because of their experiences, but the nine different roles they will be filling within the agency. DYS believes that having a wide representation of individuals helps meet the needs of the youth and the communities the agency serves.
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DYS Podcast: The Future in Focus Ep. 5.
In this latest episode, Public Information Officer and program host Csaba Sukosd and his guests discussed what the day-to-day management at a facility looks like, all the supervision and care required for each youth, and some of the programs to aid youth in their transformations.
The panelists for this episode include Deputy Director of Facilities, Programs, and Operations Chris Freeman, Unit Manager Charle Locklear, and Youth Specialist Tony Miller.
You can also listen to the series by following us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and iHeartRadio. You can also watch each episode on the DYS YouTube channel.
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New Judges Visit Circleville
Multiple jurists who recently began their tenures on a juvenile court bench recently visited Circleville to get a better understanding of what happens to youth when they're sentenced to a DYS facility.
The visit was part of new judges orientation. The orientation consists of in-person experiential learning as they familiarize themselves with their new roles and responsibilities. For juvenile court judges, they're required to visit a state correctional facility.
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Superintendent Andrea Jones welcomed Juvenile Judges Rebecca Bennett (Scioto County), David Engler (Trumbull County), Matthew Kreitzer (Stark County), and Amy Stoner (Lucas County).
Jones gave them an overview of the facility, statistics, and a tour. A youth provided their perspective of what life is like within DYS. Director Amy Ast and Assistant Director Ginine Trim also shared some background information with the judges.
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DYS Staff Attend OWSA
Several members of the DYS team recently attended the Ohio Wardens' and Superintendent's Assocation (OWSA) Conference with the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. The annual event is attended by wardens, superintendents, regional administrators, unit management leaders, and many others.
This conference gave some of our staff the opportunity to network, attend workshops, and much more with professionals in DYS' line of work here in Ohio.
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Youth Resources
Columbus:
Cincinnati:
Cleveland:
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2025 Ohio Travel Guide
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Click here or the Ohio Travel Guide image to get your copy!
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