Name: Andrea Owen
Program: 27/41 – Cedar House/ Malu
Job Title: Program Manager

What did you do yesterday? 
We started our day with a staff meeting to touch base on general information and followed up on incident reports from the weekend. Recently, we had a youth return to our care. She is not the biggest fan of our structure and rules; however, she knows that she needs to follow them. We discussed staff working with her to get her out and doing school activities since she is not currently enrolled in school. She is a high-risk youth, so working on household process such as housekeeping and laundry are a great steppingstone for her. We are working through some behavioral issues so that she can get back to living on her own in a safe and healthy atmosphere. These are common topics for us to all discus during the meeting.

Out of everything you did yesterday, what was normal and/or typical?
I worked on incident report follow ups, acclimating youth into the program, and generally touching base with staff on any concerns.

Do you work with clients or customers? 
Yes, it’s not as often as I would like, but we have wonderful Behavioral Intervention Support Specialist (BISS) staff that help out a lot. Our Residential Coordinator takes on a lot of items and oversees the back end. I know some of the youth from when I was on the floor and I enjoy checking in with them and seeing their progress. At Cedar House, we work with Social Workers and with DSHS. I also work with our main contact at WA State Department of Children, Youth, and families (DCYF). We discuss information on any children that might need to be admitted into SA’s program as well as his ideas about the screening to make sure that we have complete communication.

How do you personally show a deep profound respect towards clients and customers?
It’s extremely important that we listen to the youth and give them time in all situations. Our policies and house rules are stricter in this program because our youth are usually high risk. By listening to their concerns and to what’s going on we can see how to best work with and support them.

If I could talk to your customers or clients, what would they say are the ways your respect them and show the SA Values?
In our area of work, you get individuals who don’t want to be there. However, the feedback we receive after services is that they were grateful that we prioritized the youth’s safety, that their needs were met, and everyone always had a choice. We don’t automatically discharge youth for having bad behaviors, because there is always room to grow. The people we work with appreciate the consistency and respect that we offer by giving the youth a chance to earn back trust if it has been lost. We pride ourselves on being a resource for parents.

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