Somerset Home for Temporarily Displaced Children
Jeffrey Fetzko, ACSW, LSW, CFRE
Vol. 4, No. 10, May 18, 2006
The Executive Director's News is published every two weeks, specifically for the employees of the Somerset Home. This issue and past issues are available on our web site at http://www.somersethome.org/main/pages/employee_newsletter.htm.
20 Year Celebration for Anne Bradley Sosis
Anne pictured with long time employees, Marshall Christie (17 years) and Alex Ciccone (18 years).
Anne Bradley Sosis, associate executive director, has just celebrated 20 years of service with Somerset Home. Anne started as a youth counselor/recreation coordinator in 1986. She has worked in many jobs including Brahma House director. Anne is primarily responsible for coordinating fund development, strategic planning, accreditation and a million other things. We congratulate Anne on her first twenty years!
Whitney House and My Place Landscaping and Capital Projects Continue
The past two weeks have been consumed with capital and landscaping projects at our two new TLP programs. The shed at Whitney House has finally come to rest on its new concrete pad and the new parking lot is paved at My Place. A volunteer crew from J & J helped us with a major lawn clean up project at Whitney House and we are now ready for trees and shrubs to be planted. Construction is scheduled for the new Whitney House deck by the end of May.
In addition to our My Place and Whitney House projects, both Passages and Brahma House benefited from two large volunteer groups from National Starch who raked, mulched, and planted beautiful flowers. Our facilities never looked better!
The new parking lot has been completed at My Place. We expect the trees and shrubs to be planted within a week!
The Whitney House shed finds a home on a new concrete pad.
Whitney House has a new 2006 Dodge Caravan.
My Place has a new pergola to care for our (inherited) 80 year old grape vine.
CDBG Grants Approved
Last week we received notice that $96,000 in new grants were approved for next year's projects. Included are a new emergency exit (basement stairs) for Whitney House, bathroom renovations for Passages and ongoing support for our Pathways school based youth services position at the Vo-Tech.
Do you have student loans? Can you use $20,000?
Check out the Social Services Student Loan Redemption Program
Last year, Acting Governor Richard Cody, appropriated $3.5 million for the Social Services Student Loan Redemption program to provide incentives for college graduates to work in the social services field with public or non-profit social service agencies. The program is designed to address the current and projected shortage of social service direct care professionals in the State of New Jersey, and to ensure the provision of quality services to persons in need of services, including persons with mental illness, developmental and other disabilities.
The Social Services Student Loan Redemption Program will provide loan redemption to recent college graduates who are hired as full-time direct care professionals at public or non-profit social service agencies. In exchange for full-time employment at a qualified facility, the program will redeem student loan amounts of up to $20,000 to finance the undergraduate or graduate study of eligible program participants. Redemption of loans under this program may not exceed $5,000 per year of the principal and interest of eligible student loans in return for satisfactory completion of a full year of approved employment. Applicants can not be in default on any student loan.
To participate in the program, applicants must be a resident of the State of New Jersey, must have been hired as a direct care professional within one year after completing a bachelor's degree program, or a graduate degree program leading to a master's degree in a human service discipline, such as social work, psychology or counseling, or a health related profession, such as, occupational, physical or speech therapy. Participants will be required to enter into a written contract with HESAA specifying the duration of required service and the total amount of loans to be redeemed in return for service. Eligible candidates must have been employed at the qualified facility on or after the date of enactment of the program (July 14, 2005).
A "direct care professional" means a professional staff member at a qualified facility who provides one or more of the following services: counseling, physical, occupational, recreational or speech therapy, case management, vocational training, assistance with activities of daily living, medication management, budgeting assistance, addiction treatment services, nutrition; and other clinical services.
A "qualified facility"
means one of the following:
1) A facility operated by the Department of Human Services (DHS) that provides
direct care services; 2)
A county psychiatric hospital; 3)
A facility operated by the Juvenile Justice Commission (JJC); 4)
A veteran's memorial home operated by the Department of Military and Veterans
Affairs; and 5)
A non-profit agency in the State that contracts with DHS or JJC to provide
direct care services to persons served by the Department or Commission.
Although the program will not become effective until January of 2006, HESAA is currently taking anticipatory administrative action in advance of implementation. Applications and informational brochures are available on the HESAA web site located at www.hesaa.org.
If you would like additional information on the Social Services Student Loan Redemption Program, please contact Steven A. Tessitore at (609) 588-3214 or stessitore@hesaa.org.
As always, thank you all for your continued hard work on behalf of our youth.
