Meeting Highlights Youth And Family Services Merger Progress

By John Voket

This time last year, representatives from two separate local counseling and service agencies met together to announce a pending merger. And now, 12 months later, many of the same representatives gathered again to update the approved merger’s progress.

Part of the team now heading up Newtown Youth and Family Services gathered at the Booth Library November 27 to look back on a busy year, and forward to all the possibilities resulting from the combination of outreach, programming, and counseling provided by the formerly independent agencies.

The new organization’s co-chairs, Chris Gardner and Laura Miller Kurtz, welcomed core staff and volunteer supporters, heard from new Executive Director Beth Barton, handled some annual financial “housekeeping” matters and received reports from the group’s facilities, fundraising personnel, and finance committee chairs.

According to Mr Gardner, who spoke to The Bee following the meeting, the planned merger is going well. He noted that representatives began meeting as a merged entity in September, and that the organization is still on track to be fully merged and functioning in all respects by July 1, 2007.

Mr Gardner said that some aspects related to the merger are actually ahead of schedule, pointing out some staff changes and the shift of all Newtown Youth Services counseling programs to the Family Counseling Center.

“Both organizations received grants for substance abuse counseling and programming this year, so we’re in the process of redirecting that funding through Youth Services to Family Counseling,” Mr Gardner said.

The shift of counseling services, which began September 1, was not scheduled to happen until January 1. But the move is in line with the organization’s goal of maximizing service offerings with funds available, and directing the delivery of services where they can be handled with the utmost efficiency.

“As Family Counseling Center, Inc and Newtown Youth Services [NYS] proceed with their merger, the focus is on ensuring that public and private funds are used in the most effective way in order to have a bigger impact on the community and the people who receive services,” he said. “The merged agency’s mission is not just to reach more children and families but to positively impact the children and families they do reach.”

Mr Gardner said in order to accomplish its mission the merged agency has to demonstrate financial viability.

“One way is by not duplicating services that are overlapping, such as counseling services for children and families. Family Counseling Center, Inc is state licensed by the Department of Public Health and the Department of Children and Families with a psychiatrist as medical director,” he explained. “It makes sense to have only one entity providing counseling and allowing NYS to focus on the positive youth development programs they provide.”

He added that in the coming weeks, NYS will be adding a staff person that will assist with intake and processing as possible counseling clients approach or are referred to the youth agency.

“If the Family Counseling Center’s strength and primary focus is counseling, then it makes sense to refer that component of the NYS service to them while we complete the merger process. What the new agency will provide is a continuum of service for counseling,” he said.

“In the meantime, any child who needs someone to talk to, regardless of the complexity of their problem, should not hesitate to call either NYS or Family Counseling before the merger officially takes effect. Their call will be handled in a timely and efficient manner.”

Positive Youth Development

According to Mr Gardner, the state mandates all towns and cities provide youth service bureaus offering a ratio of 80 percent positive youth development to 20 percent counseling. In the next seven months, he said, NYS will strengthen its positive youth development offerings to meet that mandate.

He said the plan is to launch of an after-school initiative that will likely encompass all local students from elementary through middle school.

“We’re still in the discussion and implementation phase, but our goal is to involve the students themselves in determining the kind of programming that will get them excited and keep them coming back,” he said. “Right now we’re thinking the program will offer a combination of social activities and maybe some support groups.”

In keeping with the goal of minimizing spending for nonprogram purposes, Mr Gardner said the new organization will be aggressively seeking a community partner, either municipal or private, to help provide a new home for the merged agency. He referenced a neighboring community’s youth and family service agency with access to a school district building under a $1 per year lease arrangement, and is hoping to negotiate a similar situation somewhere in Newtown.

“The merged agency has made a commitment to its funders to utilize funds in the most effective way,” he said. “United Way of Northern Fairfield County has been very supportive of the merger as well as many other local entities including the Greater Danbury Non-Profit Resource Center, which has funded a technology assessment and technical assistance for tackling challenges around operations, governance and sustainability.”

The youth agency has also recently adopted a quality control program that Family Counseling Center has been required to conduct as a condition of its state licensing and accreditation, Mr Gardner said. The new procedure will require all department heads throughout the organization to review programs, procedures, and outcomes every quarter under the direction of Ms Barton.

A combined fundraising program will also result from the merger. Mr Gardner said there are plans for a fundraising gala next spring on March 24, a second late summer marathon, and possibly a fun family event similar to the successful duck race held in town each year.

“We’re talking about a golf ball drop, where each person makes a donation and gets a numbered golf ball. Then, on the day of the event, we construct a green and have a helicopter fly over and drop all the balls onto the green,” he said. “The closest ball to the pin will win the grand prize.”