Somerset Home for Temporarily Displaced Children
Jeffrey Fetzko, ACSW, LSW, CFRE
Vol. 3, No. 20, October 6, 2005
The Executive Director's News is published specifically for the employees of the Somerset Home. This issue and past issues of this newsletter are available on our web site at http://www.somersethome.org/main/pages/employee_newsletter.htm.
Council on Accreditation Reaccredits Somerset Home Until 2009!
Nikki DeSouza, Brahma House director (L), Anne Bradley-Sosis, associate executive director, Jeffrey Fetzko, executive director, and Alex Ciccone, TLP director are all smiles after receiving the accreditation plaque from the Council on Accreditation.
It’s official! The Council on Accreditation (COA), an international, independent, not-for-profit, child- and family-service and behavioral healthcare accrediting organization, has given Somerset Home their seal of approval.
COA partners with human service organizations worldwide to improve service delivery outcomes by developing, applying, and promoting accreditation standards. In 2004, COA accredited or was in the process of accrediting more than 1,500 private and public organizations that serve more that 7 million individuals and families in North America, England and the Philippines.
COA views accreditation as a catalyst for change that builds on an organization's strengths and helps it achieve better results in all areas. We were evaluated against best-practice standards, which are developed using a consensus model with input from a wide range of service providers, funders, experts, policymakers and consumers.
We should all feel proud of this accomplishment. It takes every staff member doing his/her job well and consistently to pass an accreditation review such as this.
Once again, I would like to recognize our COA Coordinator, Anne Bradley-Sosis who along with Alex Ciccone, TLP director and Nikki DeSouza, Brahma House director, worked diligently to make this re-accreditation become reality. The programs of Somerset Home are now accredited until 2009.
My Place I Deck Project Begins
The deck replacement project at My Place I started last Tuesday. The old deck was removed and materials were delivered last week. The entire project is expected to be finished this week. My Place I will also benefit from extensive site work (landscaping, patio, basketball hoop) which may be completed later this fall, weather permitting.
My Place II Capital Project Continues
Our latest support for My Place II is a $5,000 grant from the New York Mercantile Exchange and $4,000 from the Deluxe Foundation. We continue to look for a suitable location and raise funds for this exciting new program. We hope to be operational by December 2005.
Free Flu Shots for Somerset Home Employees
On Tuesday, November 15, between 4:00 and 5:00 PM at Passages we will once again be offering free flu shots for all Somerset Home employees. Family members may also get flu shots for our cost of $25 (make checks payable to Somerset Home). Please let your supervisor know so we can get a rough count of how many to expect. Please try to come as close to 4:00 PM as possible.
The 7th annual Run for Runaways will be here before we know it! We still need major sponsors, ad sponsors, and volunteers to help with our big event on November 5, 2005. Please contact Carla Grabert or Tracey Costanzo if you would like to serve on the committee or help with one of the many tasks involved in this exciting event. Check out the web site at http://www.runforrunaways.com for more details. Funds raised go to directly benefit our residents. I look forward to seeing you there!
If you haven't done so, please set up your personal fund raising page today. Click on the box or paste the url below into your browser to set up your page:
http://www.active.com/donations/campaign_public.cfm?key=annualrfr7th
Setting up a fund raising page is an easy way to raise funds for Somerset Home programs.
As always, thank you all for your continued hard work on behalf of our youth.
