Business Services provides the opportunity to have a positive impact on the Kenosha community through the provision of employment related services to local employers. The vision and efforts of the Business Services team also directly impacts job applicants, local organizations and the general well-being of the community.
Services coordinated revolve around a single point of contact for employers, providing employers with hiring assistance, including hosting of Job Fairs and employer specific On-site Recruitments, referrals to business resources, and job matching using the Resume Matrix. The outcomes of employer outreach contacts are reported to benefit job applicants and local organizations.
Career assessment and counseling services are provided through the Kenosha County Job Center. Increased self-awareness and occupational information facilitate better employment and career decisions for program referrals and the general public.
A wide range of assessment tools are used to measure reading and math levels, training potential, vocational abilities, computer skills, and work related interests and values. Both paper-and-pencil tests and computer software assessments are available. Additional services include transferable skills analysis and assessment of workplace interpersonal skills.
Career resources include interactive computer software programs, occupational videos, and printed materials. One-on-one discussion with staff is the key element in assisting individuals to develop a realistic employment or career plan. For referrals from such programs as Wisconsin Works (W-2), Food Share Employment & Training (FSET), Workforce Investment Act (WIA), and Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR), a comprehensive report is developed for case management detailing results information and recommendations for individual employment plans.
PSG is a registered vendor with the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR) to provide services to DVR consumers in Employment Readiness Evaluation, Job Preparation and Job Development, as well as Career Assessment.
An Employment Readiness Evaluation provides an assessment of an individual’s job readiness through an in-depth review of their resume, application, references and interviewing skills. A report with recommendations on improving their job readiness is submitted to a DVR Counselor to assist them in developing an Employability Plan.
Job Preparation includes all the activities necessary for individuals to become job ready, including resume development, successful interviewing techniques, using the Internet for job search, creating cover letters and thank you notes, and practicing relevant job seeking skills.
Job Development is the application of a consumer’s job readiness skills to secure employment. Often times, a paid work experience is necessary to hone an individual’s work skills before obtaining unsubsidized employment. Staff works with employers to arrange for work experiences and/or job placement, matching consumers to positions for successful outcomes.
The Electronic Monitoring Program (ELM) offers an alternative to incarceration and out-of-home placement for juveniles in Kenosha through the Kenosha County Division of Social Services.
ELM is an effective tool for the monitoring of a client's adherence to court order or case manager restrictions. The monitor creates an electronic record of client movement to confirm compliance with house arrest or curfew.
Violations are reported to workers on a daily basis. Clients usually are on the program for 15 – 30 days. Program capacity is ten.
This program provides home-based, intensive family treatment that addresses the multiple determinants of serious antisocial behavior in youth who are involved in the Kenosha County Juvenile Court System. Referrals are received through the Court Services Unit of D.C.F.S. The program is designed to involve therapists intensively with the families of referred youth through multiple weekly contacts in the home and other community settings that will allow assessment of the impact of the multiple systems in the ecology of the family. Interventions are designed to address sequences of interactions within those systems that maintain the identified problems. The therapist will use the strengths in those systems as levers for change. The design of this program is based on the Multisystemic Therapy approach.
The primary goals of this program are to reduce delinquent behavior, prevent out-of-home placements, and to improve family functioning in such a way that the family is able to maintain those improvements after program involvement is ended. The program is designed as short term with a targeted average of five to six months of service.
The purpose of the Families First Project is to provide intensive case management services to children with severe emotional disabilities (SED) and their families who are at risk of psychiatric inpatient hospitalization or other out-of-home placements. Case management services will incorporate the wraparound model of service delivery using multi-disciplinary treatment plans to identify needed services, document case files in accordance with MA regulations, commit to the concept of families being equal partners, development and coordination of services based on families strengths as well as their needs.
This multi-disciplinary team model includes the family as equal partners, case managers as mediators, family advocates and others selected by the family as members of the team, as well as representation from community providers (mental health/ AODA/schools/juvenile justice/child welfare).
Referrals can come from the Department of Human Services, Crisis Intervention programs, schools and/or the community.
Outcomes of service plans will be evaluated by satisfaction of families as well as other indirect outcomes such as school GPA, reduction in school tardiness, reduction in delinquencies, and individual based goals in the Plan of Care.
The Home Detention Program provides frequent and consistent monitoring of youth detained in their homes or other non-secure living arrangements. Home Detention serves as an alternative to secure placement for juveniles in need of added structure and monitoring. The program monitors compliance with court ordered or case manager mandated restrictions placed on youth prior to (and after) the court disposition hearing.
Staff contact youth one to two times daily at home or school. Youth who are given a curfew are placed on a contract that requires them to call staff from their home at their assigned curfew time. Staff randomly call back after the assigned curfew to ensure compliance. School attendance is checked on a daily basis.
Violations are reported to case managers daily. Attendance printouts and client contact summaries are delivered to case managers weekly and are available at every court hearing.
The maximum caseload for this program is 25 – 30 youth. Youth can be on the program as long as the court deems necessary, but involvement is usually 30 – 60 days. Staff is available seven days a week, 24 hours a day via pager.
The Intensive Aftercare Program (IAP) provides services to youth placed out of their home in corrections, residential treatment, foster care and treatment foster care. IAP works with the youth and the institution or foster home to ensure that an effective plan of care is established to address the current treatment needs so that the youth can be returned home or to a less restrictive placement as quickly as possible.
IAP staff attends all case staffings and reviews. They also visit the youth in placement minimally once a month to monitor their progress. IAP provides transportation to families so they can be a part of their child's treatment. IAP also provides transportation for home visits in addition to daily monitoring of youth while they are home on visits.
Once youth are released from placement, IAP staff will monitor their compliance with their aftercare plan for a minimum of 90 days.
IAP also provides services to child welfare families whose children are currently in or at risk of being placed in foster care. IAP works with families who are close to completing their conditions of return.
The Bridges Program is a joint effort between the Kenosha County Division of Social Services and the Kenosha Unified School District (KUSD). The focus is on students that have been expelled from their school and have gotten approval from the school board to attend the center. We also service first time delinquents, status offenders, and other "at risk" juveniles who are violators of school attendance requirements. The Bridges Program utilizes a number of resources sequentially, progressing students back into the conventional school environment. Participants are regular education students between the ages of 12 and 18.
The program is intended to be a short-term interim placement for struggling students who need one-to-one attention in order to plan for graduation and career preparation and to re-engage in an appropriate educational environment. This program is designed to allow the instructor to work with students and their families to determine the appropriate educational option available through KUSD. This process includes an in-depth review of the educational history of students as well as individual assessments to ascertain students' academic strengths and to assist in career-preparation planning. Limited academic instruction is available through independent study in a modified schedule, including PLATO computerized curriculum, until an appropriate comprehensive educational setting can be determined.
Our philosophy, derived from Native American tradition, focuses on "The Circle of Courage" as the cornerstone of creating a positive educational climate for today's discouraged youth. The "Circle" affords students the opportunity to achieve success by touching on four areas of personal growth: The spirit of belonging; the spirit of mastery; the spirit of independence; and the spirit of generosity.
The purpose of the Gang Resistance and Service Projects Program (GRASP) is to reduce gang activity in Kenosha County by incorporating interventions to address the range of personal, family and community factors that contribute to juvenile delinquency and gang activity. This program plans and facilitates incentive-based educational, social, family, recreational and community services that are intended to provide at-risk or gang-involved youth, under the age of 18, with a positive alternative to gang and/or delinquent activity.
GRASP also works directly with youth ordered to perform community service work or restitution through a Juvenile Court order or deferred prosecution agreement. Work performed by youth is age appropriate and focuses on building skills for future employment.
The TIME Program was developed in 1985 as a self-contained, complete, alternative school to meet the needs of adjudicated, emotionally disturbed and other high risk youth who are unable to function in a conventional educational setting. The program was developed, in part, out of a growing concern over the high drop-out rates of emotionally disturbed youth who were also experiencing difficulties within their families or with the Juvenile Justice System.
Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse counseling, anger management, individual, group, and family therapy is an accepted part of the daily curriculum. As a result, it is not uncommon for individual students to be involved in one or more treatment related activities on school grounds, as well as the home or clinic setting.
Our philosophy, derived from Native American tradition, focuses on "The Circle of Courage" as the cornerstone of creating a positive educational climate for today's discouraged youth. The "Circle" affords students the opportunity to achieve success by touching on four areas of personal growth: The spirit of belonging; the spirit of mastery; the spirit of independence; and the spirit of generosity.
High School Liaison Program: The High School Liaison Program's prevention and intervention efforts address the needs of youth (ages 14-17) who are currently at-risk for academic failure or dropout. This program provides services for youth and families referred by Kenosha County Department of Children and Family Services, Prevention Services Network (PSN) and Kenosha Unified School District. Liaisons are stationed at Tremper, Bradford, Reuther and Indian Trails High Schools.
Middle School Liaison Program: The Middle School Liaison Program's prevention and intervention efforts address the needs of middle school aged youth who are at-risk for truancy, academic difficulties and delinquency. Many of these identified youth will also be at-risk for gang involvement as well as alcohol and drug abuse. Services will be provided to these youth and their families at Bullen, Lincoln and Washington Middle Schools.
Elementary School Truancy Reduction Program: Services are provided to families that assist parents in engaging in their child’s education in order to reduce their child’s truancy and promote educational success. Elementary staff will work with families to create individualized strategies and support services in order to provide concrete supports to parents to prevent truancy, ultimately resulting in increased success for students.
WIA Youth Employment Program: In conjunction with the Boys & Girls Club of Kenosha, this program provides case management services to WIA eligible participants, ages 14 to 21. Case management services and follow up are essential for participants to become positive, contributing workers and citizens. This program increases awareness of attitudes, expectations and performance associated with the world of work.
The Comprehensive Alcohol and Drug Treatment Program (CADTP) is designed to work with adults who have abused or are addicted to heroin and/or alcohol and have a history of criminal behavior or psychiatric hospitalizations. Through intensive case facilitation, medication assisted treatment and alcohol and drug counseling, the program provides participants with the necessary skills, resources and treatment to become more productive members of society. The program works closely with the Department of Human Services' Division of Aging and Disability as well as other community based agencies to access resources for housing, employment, transportation and economic support.