THE VILLAGE PROJECT:

The Village Project team worked closely
with “Andrea” and her foster parent to help her ...
with a successful transition from foster care/probation
to an independent adult life.

            “Andrea” was one of many children in a large family with parents who could not care for her. She grew up in Napa and spent most of her childhood being moved around from relative to relative and from foster home to foster home. She suffered neglect and abuse during this time. In her Child Protective Services file there are 27 referrals for incidents of child abuse perpetrated against her.  She attended numerous different schools during this time and as a result, her education suffered. She is a very intelligent young woman, but was never in a school setting long enough to excel.

            When Andrea became a teenager, still with no stable home life, she made some poor choices.  She became involved in a gang and with drugs and alcohol. In the spring of 2007 she was detained in Juvenile Hall, pending disposition by the court.  And Andrea was pregnant.

            During the time she was in Juvenile Hall Andrea attended Crossroads, the Napa County Office of Education (NCOE) school operated in Juvenile Hall and worked very hard.  She decided she did not want her baby to have a childhood similar to her own.  Andrea was able to pass both the math and language arts sections of the High School Exit Exam.  During this time in Juvenile Hall she was awaiting the decision of the court about her future and awaiting the birth of her baby.

            In the summer of 2007 she was released on probation and placed with a wonderful
foster parent in Napa. This foster home had no other children at the time and the foster mother was able to give Andrea all the guidance and nurturing she had been denied in her young life. Andrea gave birth to a beautiful baby boy in September 2007. Her foster mother
instantly became “Grandma” to the baby, and Andrea and her son thrived under her care.

            The Probation Department referred Andrea to the Village Project, a program funded by SB163, which supports families with children who are risk for placement outside the community.  ParentsCAN has two staff members who work with Village Project families as part of a team providing “wrap around” services.

            The Village Project team worked closely with Andrea and her foster parent to help her succeed in school, take care of her needs and the needs of her baby, and help her with a successful transition from foster care/probation to an independent adult life.

            Andrea attended New Beginnings, a high school program run by the Napa Valley Adult School, for teen parents and pregnant girls. The program allows the girls to bring their babies into the classroom until they are old enough to attend the daycare provided on site. 
Andrea continued to work hard at school and at home learning to take care of her baby. She completed all the credits required for graduation in the spring of 2008, about the same time as her 18th birthday.

            On June 7, 2008 Andrea graduated with the Adult School, and was chosen to represent New Beginnings as a speaker during the ceremony. She was also chosen as Student of the Month by the Napa School Board and made a speech in front of that body.  Andrea was awarded the “If Given a Chance” scholarship for college which will continue every year through graduate school as long a she remains enrolled in an educational institution.

            Andrea is now making a home for her baby and working on goals for her future and the future of her son.

ParentsCAN is proud to have been part of the support network to this young woman who has overcome difficult obstacles and achieved success in her life.

 John graduated from the Village Project. 
The outcomes for John and his family have far
exceeded our initial hopes for him. 
He is a boy with a huge heart
and courage and will probably accomplish
much in his life.

            “John” was enrolled in the Village Project (Napa County’s wraparound services program) on January 19, 2006. He was living with his father, who is disabled, and John had not attended school for over 18 months. There had been brief periods of Independent Study but not enough for him to earn any credits. At the time, he was 13 and should have been in 8th grade. He had severe anger issues and paranoia, as well as agoraphobia.
            He came to the Village Project through the Probation Department; he had assaulted his father, the police became involved and he was arrested and placed in Juvenile Hall. He has diabetes and, at the time of his arrest, it was untreated and out of control. Prior to being arrested, he had been airlifted to Children’s Hospital in Oakland because of dangerously high blood glucose levels. When he was booked in Juvenile Hall, his blood glucose levels were again dangerously high.
 
           The staff at Juvenile Hall was able to monitor his health and his medications, and he managed to gain better control of his diabetes. He was at risk of being sent to a residential treatment program and was instead referred to the Village Project, placed on Probation and released to his father. The first priorities of the family and team were to treat his diabetes and get him into school.

            The Village Project work is done through “team meetings” with the families. Team meetings were a struggle since John did not want to attend them. At first, he would stay in his room while his team met in his living room. Slowly, week by week, he began to move his chair into the hallway, where we could hear him but not see him and eventually, he joined the group. 
   
         In July, 2006, after a weekend of dangerously high readings and with the support of the Village Project team, the family members were able to take responsibility for getting John to the doctor when necessary and to give him his medications.  He was then able to stop using insulin and control his diabetes with diet and oral medication. The hope is that John will eventually be able to take care of himself.
        
    John suffered from paranoia and agoraphobia and it been impossible for him to go to school or even venture outside the house at times. As meetings continued, his school issues were addressed. The team felt he could not cope with attending full time at a regular school. There were several meetings with the School District involving up to 20 professionals each time in an effort to find a placement which would be appropriate. He was placed in a special day school with very small classes and the team’s hope was that he would be able to attend at least 2 or 3 days per week.

            He surprised everyone! He attended school sporadically at first and then regularly and by June, 2006, he had completed all the work necessary to matriculate to High School. He remains at the special day school and is now earning High School credits.  John still has a problem with paranoia but his anger issues have been resolved; he is attending weekly anger management therapy and is being treated by a psychiatrist with whom he has been able to build trust.
        
    In December, 2006, John graduated from the Village Project and is now on a regular probation caseload, which will probably be dismissed in June, 2007. The outcomes for John and his family have far exceeded our initial hopes for him. He is a boy with a huge heart and courage and will probably accomplish much in his life.