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| February 2010 |
Vol 1, Issue 2 |
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| Hope Herald
Featuring news about
"Hope for a Brighter Tomorrow" | |
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| Annual Ice Cream Social is a Hit at Anne Elizabeth |
 Members of the Anne Elizabeth Shepherd Home Auxiliary recently hosted an Ice Cream Social to celebrate Valentine's Day. The girls enjoyed making their own ice cream sundaes and playing bingo with their pen pals. "This is an annual event the girls always look forward to," commented Program Director Lynne Taylor. The Auxiliary was formed in 1993 to support the residents. Their volunteers help further sustain the nurturing environment created by the AESH staff. If you would like to learn more about the AESH or the Auxiliary please call Lynne Taylor at (706) 322-8984 . |
| Bradfield Residents Put Their Best Boots Forward for Equine Therapy |
 With the help of the Muscogee County Rotary Club, Bradfield residents are participating in equine-assisted therapy. For 6 weeks, residents will experience equine -assisted therapy at Bally Cor Farm in Hamilton, Georgia. This experience offers residents a therapeutic alternative to the traditional clinical setting. Participants are working with horses to learn new skills to initiate change in their lives.  Long term benefits can include an increase in self esteem and emotional stability, and enhanced social skills and independence. In addition to a grant from Muscogee Rotary, the Newcomer's Club of LaGrange has offered significant contributions to support the purchase of boots necessary for the program. This program will help residents find a renewed confidence in themselves lost through their experiences with abuse. |
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| Our Programs |
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Columbus
Anne Elizabeth Shepherd Home
Reality House
Columbus Second Chance
Weracoba Second Chance
Chattahoochee CASA
TRUST
Community Counseling
LaGrange
Bradfield Center
Connections
LaGrange Second Chance
TLP (Transitional Living)
Coleman Center (LaGrange)
Community Counseling
Circle of Care
Adult Parenting
Comprehensive Awareness
Program
Troup Co. Prevention Coalition
Parents As Teachers
Magnolias Neighborhood (LaGrange)
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| Angstadt Chosen to Serve as Hague Commssioner |
 Twin Cedars' Executive Director, Mike Angstadt, has been selected to serve the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption. The Convention is an international treaty created to ensure that intercountry adoptions are in the best interests of children, and to prevent abduction, exploitation, sale or trafficking of children. The Convention and the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 (IAA) require the accreditation or approval of private organizations or individuals who provide adoption services to children and families. As 1 of 8 Commissioners, he will help oversee approval for organizations seeking accreditation to provide International Adoption Services. Angstadt has served as Twin Cedars' Executive Director since 1995 and has led more than 30 peer review teams throughout the US, Canada and the Philippines seeking national accreditation from COA. Angstadt has presented at the First International Convocation of the Child in Ulyanousk, Russia and plans to return in June of this year. |
| Children's Tree House, The Children's Advocacy Center of Troup County & Chattahoochee CASA Receive VOCA Funding |
 Children's Tree House, The Children's Advocacy Center of Troup County and Chattahoochee CASA, all programs of Twin Cedars, recently received VOCA (Victims of Crime Act) grant funding through Georgia's Criminal Justice Coordinating Council. Chattahoochee CASA was awarded $27,000 to help fund a new part time Volunteer Supervisor to assist with oversight of volunteers to serve children involved in juvenile court deprivation hearings in Muscogee County. Children's Tree House, the local child advocacy center, was awarded $15,000 and will hire a part time Victim Advocate. Key responsibilities of the new position will include coordinating victim outreach services for child victims of suspected sexual and/or extreme physical abuse, accompaniment of victims throughout the sexual assault exam process and assistance through final case disposition. The Children's Advocacy Center in Troup County also received a supplemental award from VOCA increasing their Federal award from $13,480 to $41,159. The funds will be used to increase victim advocacy and victim assistance. |
| "Start Talking Before They Start Drinking" Town Hall Meeting Scheduled |
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A Town Hall Meeting
Preventing Underage Drinking
Sponsored by the Troup County Prevention Coalition
"Start Talking Before They Start Drinking"
Monday, March 22, 2010
Best Western Lafayette Garden Inn
5:30 pm- Refreshments
6:00 pm- 7:30 Speakers
Resource Fair
Refreshments Provided
Door Prizes
The purpose of the Town Hall Meeting is to increase community awareness on the issue of underage drinking, identify how underage drinking affects the community, and brainstorm possible solutions. |
| Council on Accreditation Renewal |
 Twin Cedars has begun the Council on Accreditation (COA) re-accreditation process this month. It has been determined that Twin Cedars will be re-accredited using the Focused Review Track. This track eliminates about 40% of the Administrative Standards from the self study documents required for submission prior to the site visit. However, full implementation of all standards upon site visits must be visible, or reviewers may decide to rate those standards while on site. To date, we have had our initial call with the COA Intake Coordinator to assign services to appropriate service standards , and to set the site visit date. The COA Site Visit date has been set for May 1, 2011 (Sunday Records Review), and May 2, 2011 will begin board/staff/program reviews. Currently, Twin Cedars is accredited through July 31, 2011. |
| "Save the Date" for April Child Abuse Awareness Activities |
 The month of April is widely recognized as Child Abuse Awareness and Prevention Month. Twin Cedars staff is busy planning special events across the state to bring together stakeholders and service providers to renew our commitment to preventing abuse. Please join us for the following awareness events.
Macon, Georgia
Georgia Industrial Children's Home,
A Campus of Twin Cedars Youth Services, Inc.
10:00 AM
Keynote Speaker : Mark Washington
Assistant Commissioner, Georgia Department of Human Services
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April 15, 2010
LaGrange, Georgia
Coleman Community Center
10:00 AM
Keynote Speakers:
Honorable R. Michael Key
Juvenile Court Judge of Troup County
& Dr. Page Walley
Managing Director of Strategic Consulting, Casey Family Programs
This event is hosted in collaboration with the
Troup County Department of Family & Children Services
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April 22, 2010
Columbus, Georgia
Anne Elizabeth Shepherd Home
10:00 AM
Keynote Speaker : Jen Bennecke
Executive Director, Governor's Office for Children & Families.
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| Twin Cedars Announces Name Change |
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Beginning July 2010, Twin Cedars Youth Services, Inc. will officially change its name to.....
Twin Cedars Youth & Family Services, Inc.
As we work more and more with families, our focus has grown not only to include children, but also families they have come from and endeavor to return to. Twin Cedars began to broaden their depth and breadth of outreach in 1999 with the establishment of Second Chance Homes to serve teen mothers and their babies with no viable living arrangements. Today, we continue to serve families through programs such as Parents As Teachers, Circle of Care, and TRUST (Teaching Reaching Understanding Strengthening Together). Our mission is to provide programs and services empowering children, youth and families to achieve optimum potential.
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