Critical Analysis: Umbrella Services

Critical Analysis Report Wilmington University Sheronda King

Critical Analysis: Umbrella Services

Critical Analysis Report: Umbrella Program Vision Quest provides umbrella services to delinquent youth statewide. Umbrella services are a combination of multiple services provide to ensure the needs of each youth is reached. Some services that fall under umbrella services are Accountability, ART (Aggressive Replacement Training), Casey Life Skills, Community Services, CBSC (Cognitive Behavioral Self- Counseling), Guided REC, Street Smart, and sanctuary sessions. Each program provides group and individual engagement with youth family specialist and program manager. The

umbrella services address the eight PACT criminogenic needs. Accountability, ART and CBSC programs focus on the addressing the attitudes and behaviors of the youth. Street Smart, Sanctuary, and Street Smart focus on addressing current relationships. Casey Life Skills and Sanctuary contributes to skill development. Casey Life Skills and CBSC address the current school status of each participant. Current use and free time are addressed through Guided REC, Street Smart and Community Services. Street smart explores Alcohol and Drug use in depth with the youth. The umbrella programs are provided for both northern and southern Delaware. Both northern and southern Delaware is managed by two separate individuals. Layanda Dowell operates northern Delaware. She is the program Director Carlton Adams manages the lower

Delaware region. In Northern Delaware, the program administrator has four zones to provide services. Each Zone has program supervisors and two youth family specialists. Typically, Lay has meetings with all the program managers. The services are provided through the Youth Family Specialists. The Youth Family Specialist ensures that all participants are visited once a week and they attend all required activities. Our youths are referred by the courts and probation

Critical Analysis: Umbrella Services

officers. Most of the community service activities are recommended through the probation officers. The program manager oversees all of the cohorts and reports information to the PO, Director, parents, and school officials. If I were the Director of the northern Delaware programs, I would completely change the street smart program. I believe that street smart needs to change

from a closed group setting to an open group segment. The child is not allowed to miss 3 meetings. Once a child misses 3 meetings, they are forced back on the waiting list. I would

also increase the required staff to facilitate the training and group session. I would require all staff to participate in the facilitating the meeting once a month. I have noticed that the same to individuals have been facilitating most of the meeting on Tuesday and Thursday. I think making it mandatory for everyone to participate in training; it will create fairness in the environment. I would also change the training to personalize the session to meet the needs of each person. I feel that the street smart program is not a personalized enough to meet the needs of our youth. Everyones knowledge is not the same others. The length of the session or training needs to be shortening. The information we must provide to the youth can be lengthy. Capturing their attention through lecture is not efficient. I would make the session more of a debate than a lecture. I would probably keep the time frame of the group session for street smarts. Most of our participants are able to attend on Tuesday and Thursday. I also like the extended invitations that Vision Quest offers to the parents to participate in the street smart training. We are funded through a state contract. There isnt many ways to find new funds for the organization. I would increase the delivery of each service to meet the requirements of the state contract. By making positive changes to our services, I hope that we are able to increase

Critical Analysis: Umbrella Services

the funds the state is willing to provide. When the services are modified, we can trust that the performance will increase. If I were a director of Vision Quest, I would look for possible candidates with team player skills, flexibility, time management and organized traits. Flexibility is crucial for all staff to have at Vision Quest. Only the admin team has set schedules from 9am-6pm. A team

servicing the youth must be flexible to meet the need of the child. In many cases appointment do not work with some of our youth. Crises occur periodically, and our staff must be able to meet with the parent or child with flexibility in their schedules. Time management is very important to the employee of Vision Quest. Because there are no required times frames to meet with our youth, our staff must be able to meet with all youth once a week. Having great time management allows our team to be able to work directly with the youth and also complete all administrative work. Being organized is essential to working in any organization. I would look for an individual who is well organized because the material of this job can easily become time consuming and chaotic. In order to operate as a whole, I would look for employee those posses the team player characteristics. Vision Quest touch lives together and not only individually. Working as a team will increase our performance as a whole. Overall umbrella services cover a wide rearrange of services that Vision Quest provides. I would slightly change the Street Smart program. Personalizing the Street Smart session will benefit the youth in the long run. I would keep the two staff scenario to facilitate the training and session, but I would also make it mandatory for everyone to facilitate. Increasing the performance as a whole will increase our chances to receive more funds the following year from the state. For future employee and interns, I hope to find individuals who have good time management, organization skills, and flexibility and is a team player.