Ranch Ehrlo administrative float Maureen Jory feels a deep connection to Ranch Ehrlo Society’s new mandate, and she sat down with us to talk about it.
For the past year, we have been training staff across our agency in CARE – Children And Residential Experience, created by Cornell University. One of the goals of CARE is to bring all employees of our vast agency together, to ensure that no matter our job description or department, we are all using the same principles and working together for a common goal of creating the best possible outcomes for our clients.
“I love that the primary focus is the needs of the child. I think a lot of people say that but I really believe that’s what Ranch Ehrlo means,” Maureen said.
Maureen experienced the foster and residential care systems as a child, and thus describes her experience with CARE training as “looking from the inside out.” She truly understands the importance of making our clients feel valued, safe, and important so they can begin making steps toward a brighter future.
For her part, Maureen strives to connect with everyone she interacts with on a daily basis – and as a office float who moves between all of Ranch Ehrlo’s programs on an as-needed basis, she sees a wide variety of clients and staff.
“I’ve always believed that relationship is huge. I really like to get to know people,” she explained. “I like to know people by name. I like to call them by name and find out a little about them.”
She has seen the power of repeated, positive interaction in her role, as well. When she first met him, one young client ignored her cheerful hellos. Today when he sees her, he smiles and greets her, first.
Maureen believes that having the entire agency undergo CARE training will improve our clients’ experiences.
“When everyone has the same mind and same heart, our clients will know that. They’ll feel it. It won’t just be the directors, or unit managers – they’ll feel it from every part of the agency. To me, that’s huge. Being able to look at this as someone who’s coming from the other side – I know they’ll feel it,” she said confidently.
