Director's Corner

A New Year, New Opportunities
With the new year comes an opportunity to reflect on where we are and new directions we may want to pursue. DePaul Family Services is committed to looking at new and innovative ways of providing services and responding to the needs of our clients. During the past year, we have developed and expanded our Mental Health Support Services for older adolescents and adults who need individualized care. We have also provided Behavioral Specialists in schools for children who need extra assistance in the classroom setting. Both of these services are available in our Roanoke, Lynchburg and Danville offices.

Several of our program staff have attended trainings on attachment parenting and the importance of children having strong attachments to their families, whether they are birth, adoptive or foster families. We have integrated training on attachment into our pre-service and in-service trainings for foster and adoptive parents and in our work with birth families who are in difficult situations. We believe that having an understanding of attachment issues and the effect of dysfunctional attachment on children is vital for parents to understand their child’s behavior in the context of their past. Those of you who have attended foster or adoptive family training in the last year may have noticed the new emphasis in our training curriculum.

This winter and spring the Board of Directors and the Management Team of lead staff members will be developing the strategic plan for the agency’s growth and development in the next several years. We will be looking at new avenues of service as well as reviewing our current programs. This will help us provide effective services in areas of community need.

With the new issue Caring Chronicle, will become a quarterly newsletter. We will continue to have all of the same features as previously and will add new stories and features as well. We welcome your feedback regarding the newsletter. Our goal is for it to be an informative newsletter which will give our community a better understanding of our mission and our day-to-day activities and services.

Sue Bentley
Executive Director
DePaul Family Services