(from left to right) top: Howard Traub, Program; Kelly Fitzgerald, Director of Adolescent Group Homes; Dawn Bessemer, Behavioral Health & Research Coordinator Director; (bottom) Elizabeth McCarthy, Executive Vice President of Program; Joanne Cordaro, Vice President of Human Resources; and Nancy Atkinson, Director of Program Development volunteered to serve on the Steering Committee, which began attending trainings in September.

In August 2006 the Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) announced that MercyFirst was one of five agencies to receive a grant to participate in the Andrus Sanctuary Leadership Development program and to implement the Sanctuary Model in its programs. The Sanctuary Model is a full system approach focused on helping injured children recover from the damaging effects of interpersonal trauma. Derived from an adult program developed by Sandra Bloom, MD with a 22-year history, the Sanctuary Model is organized around four core tasks associated with recovery: the ability to (1) maintain safety; (2) manage emotions; (3) deal with loss; (4) envision a better future. “We’re excited to have the opportunity to implement this Model.” MercyFirst CEO, Jerry McCaffery explains, “We are strongly committed to helping our children recover from the abuse and maltreatment to which they have been expose and which often drives their own dysfunctional behaviors. This has been a staff-driven initiative from the beginning. We see adopting a strengths-based approach as beneficial to our youth, as well as to the culture of the agency.”

“Last spring , at the suggestion of our new CEO, Jerry McCaffery, all staff were invited to participate in a Project Team which evaluated our programs and agency culture with a focus on improving on our strengths and addressing our weaknesses. The Team, which numbered more than 50 participants, was overwhelmingly in favor of adopting the Sanctuary Model because it not only provides us with a way to better support our clients and families, it provides us with a better way to support each other as colleagues and encourages leadership at all levels of the agency,” explains VP of Human Resources, Joanne Cordaro, who chaired the Strengths Based Project Team. “One of the pitfalls that rapidly growing organizations, such as ours, face is that people and departments can become alienated from each other. When we start identifying ourselves as ‘administrative people’ or ‘program people’ we loose our common focus. We are all here to support the children and families and to carry-out the mission to the best of our ability. The Sanctuary Model unites and empowers the staff by flattening hierarchical structures and encouraging collaboration of staff, our clients, and our families”

The Team submitted its proposal to implement the Sanctuary Model in May, but the costs associated with implementing such a far reaching Model exceeded

available funds. The Team began to search for alternative funding sources. “We knew this initiative was so important to the agency, but the reality was it involved in-depth, specialized training for all levels of staff, which just wasn’t in the budget,” says Director of Program Development, Nancy Atkinson. “When we came across the OCFS grant I knew it was perfect for us. We have such strong support from the staff at all levels and a genuine desire to adapt and change so we can continue to offer the best services to those in our care. I think our enthusiasm for the project made us the ideal candidate for this grant.”

In August a Steering Committee was created to help guide the agency through the training and implementation process. A Core Team consisting of about 30 staff members from all departments met in October and has been working with the Steering Committee to help implement the Model. Over the next two to three years the Steering Committee and the Core Team will be working closely to involve the entire staff, as well as the MercyFirst children and families in the implementation of the Model. “We want to shift our focus away from controlling dysfunctional behavior towards supporting the development of the full potential of our youth,” says McCaffery. “We believe this Model gives our staff the tools to do just that.”