June 5, 2000
Buckner program gets troubled families talking
___By Russ Dilday
___Buckner News Service
___Bill Herrin slowly eased open the door to Robyn's bedroom and peered into the darkness. The 14-year-old's silhouette barely could be seen where she had taken refuge under the bed covers, withdrawn and refusing to talk with family members for hours.
___It seemed Robyn was in trouble everywhere she turned. Truancy at school was an ongoing problem. She was awaiting court dates for the misdemeanor offenses of burglary of a vehicle and unauthorized use of a vehicle. She had locked herself in her room after an argument with her mother over her lifestyle and the posters of heavy metal bands she had hung on her wall.
IN BEAUMONT, Cyndi and her daughter, Robyn, began working out their differences with the help of STAR caseworker Bill Herrin.
___That's when her mother, Cyndi, called Buckner's Services to At-Risk Youth program, known as STAR for short, for help. Robyn had been enrolled in a school-based STAR program led by Buckner and had responded well to caseworkers in that program. Buckner sent caseworker Herrin to help.
___"Robyn?" Herrin whispered into the room, getting no response. He called again. Still no answer. Sensing she would continue to be silent, Herrin sat down on the edge of Robyn's bed and began talking to her.
___"He came in my room 'cause I didn't want to come out," recalled Robyn, now 15. "I was under the covers, and I was tired of talking to people."
A TEENAGER grimaces as he receives a distasteful lesson in making poor choices during a STAR group session.
___"My name is Bill, and I want to help you any way I can," he told her. "I will be a mouthpiece for you and represent you when you talk to your parents."
___That short promise began a six-month dialogue between Robyn, her mother and her stepfather that has turned Robyn's life around.
___STAR is a state initiative funded by the Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory Services to help stabilize family problems and turn them around through outreach, crisis intervention, emergency residential services for youth, short-term counseling and skills training for families.
___Developed in 1983, STAR seeks to address the gap in services to youths and families who do not meet the criteria for Child Protective Services or county juvenile probation programs. To do this, STAR contracts with community agencies such as Buckner to provide services to youth and their families in an attempt to help them resolve problems leading to family conflicts, running away, truancy or delinquent behavior. STAR also offers school-based services through creative partnerships with schools, leading youth skills groups and incentive programs.
STAR CASEWORKER Yolanda Medina checks a parent's "homework" during a Positive Steps communication class. Homework assignments for parents and their children include learning long-term communication skills.
___Buckner Children and Family Services provides STAR contract services in several counties through its Beaumont, Dallas, McAllen, Harlingen, Longview and Burnet offices.
___Ann Johnson, STAR program supervisor for Buckner Children and Family Services in Beaumont, said Buckner's partnership with the state in the STAR program "gets us in the front door for us to minister in a very real and practical way."
___The Beaumont STAR program served more than 700 families last year. In addition to in-home case management, the Buckner STAR team in Beaumont also offers school-based skills training and court-ordered group classes.
___At one Beaumont truancy group session, STAR caseworkers Jason Myer and Joey Martin recently involved five teenagers in making pancakes--but with the wrong ingredients. One taste from a brave volunteer was enough to send him for a quick drink of water.
___It was a lesson on making right choices.
___"Each day, good ingredients or bad, what you're making is what you end up with," Myer told the group. "It's either good habits or bad habits."
___One of the participants, Jermaine, has tried to focus on good habits since he and Myer first began talking.
___"When I first met him, me and my mother weren't getting along all that well," Jermaine said. "First, it was just me and him talking, telling him all my problems and bringing my mother into it. We started getting along great, and Jason helped us work things out. My main problem has been with my stepfather. That didn't work out, and all of us were ready to give up, but we worked out a plan, and my mother was gracious enough to let me make some rules. Things have been much better."
___STAR's success often hinges upon the basic concept of opening channels of communication between parents and children. It is communication Herrin focused on as he began to help Robyn and her mother repair their relationship.
___STAR counselors often use written contracts to ensure communication. The contracts list parents' expectations of their children, such as behavior, household duties or school attendance, and the rewards--or consequences--of not following those expectations.
___"If somebody will go in and listen to them and help parents find a way to provide an environment for their gifts to be exercised, I don't think any child is so bad they can't learn how to do things right," Herrin said. "I see myself as an advocate for families. I try to listen to what's being said, gain confidence with a family and from there make some sort of concerted decision."
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