From the start, Philip showed a sincere interest, commitment, and dedication to learning the policies, procedures, and systems of his new position.

The "learning curve" associated with his position was not an issue for Philip. From the moment he completed his training, to the present time, he has demonstrated his thoroughness, time management skills, and dedication to not only our facility, but also the residents and his co-workers on a daily basis.

Philip demonstrates his outstanding work ethic through his incredible initiative, great communication skills, and willingness to learn outside the boundaries of his position. Philip is an extremely proactive staff person. Through establishing rapport and acting as a positive role model to not only the residents, but also his fellow co-workers, he is able to discuss and confront issues with the goal of resolving them before they escalate.

Philip is very team-oriented. He understands the necessity to communicate relevant information and provide proper feedback to his fellow staff and supervisors and understands the need in separating his professional and personal life. Through working together as a team and carrying his share of the workload, Philip has earned the respect of his fellow co-workers and supervisory staff alike.

Because of his commitment, dedication, incredible work ethic, productivity, attention to details, and thoroughness, Paul earned a full-time position within his first 10 months at our facility.

Philip and a fellow employee are responsible for administering our community outreach program called Operation Deterrence (OD). This program is available to parents and community agencies whose children are displaying inappropriate behavior, but have not yet entered the juvenile justice system. This experience shows them where the results of their poor decision-making could lead. Loss of freedom is the key message that is delivered to the child. Even though the child does not enter the detention environment, the message sent remains powerful. Referrals are taken over the phone from parents, caseworkers, Youth Aid Panels, etc. and a presentation date is arranged. Philip performs these sessions every Tuesday evening from 7:00pm-8:30pm at the facility and places follow-up telephone calls throughout the year to see how the child is doing and if there have been any modifications to the original negative behavior. In 2011, over 300 at risk juveniles experienced the Operation Deterrence presentation. Of these 300+ juveniles, only 2 were admitted into the detention center for future delinquent acts. Another aspect of the Operation Deterrence program are the presentations give at local schools which send an important "detention prevention" message. These school presentations have been attended by countless Lancaster County students throughout the last decade.