OUR MISSION:
Try-Again Homes, Incorporated is a private, non-profit corporation committed to providing safe nurturing places for children in need and dedicated to the growth, development, and empowerment of individuals and families for healthier communities.

• Download the Foster / Adoptive Parent Application (Pennsylvania)
• Download the Foster / Adoptive Parent Application (West Virginia)
• Download the Release of Information (Fairmont, WV)
• Download the Release of Information (Parkersburg, WV)
• Download FAQ's about Foster parenting
• Download Foster Parenting Forms and Medical Worksheets
• Employment Opportunities

Each month, Try-Again Homes, Incorporated will feature a different training Try-Again Homes and continuing education article.  Please read the latest Foster Parent Training and Continuing Education Article.

15TH ANNUAL SPORTING CLAYS SHOOT

Try-Again Homes, Inc. and Community Action Southwest will hold a Sporting Clays Shoot  on Sunday, September 25, 2011 at Hunting Hills in Dilliner, PA. Do not miss this incredible opportunity to have an amazing experience at Hunting Hills. This unique event partners sport and game with charity and goodwill, creating a winning combination for everyone involved!

If you would like to participate in our annual Clay Shoot, please contact Sheree Paschal at 724-225-0510, ext. 345 for more details or complete the attached brochure and email to slong@try-againhomes.org. To get additional details, download the brochure.

OUR HISTORY:
Try-Again Homes was incorporated as a private, nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation in 1976 by a group of ministers and lay people who felt a strong need to help abused, neglected and troubled children and families. Today, we serve more than 800 families throughout Pennsylvania and West Virginia annually. Our cost-effective, progressive programs are alternatives to institutional care and are geared to enhance and strengthen the lives of our families.

Board President's Message:

Brian J. Smith
As with all operating entities, TAH is constantly challenged to allocate their limited resources to achieve optimal results. However, unlike for profit entities where results are measured by monetary means, results at TAH are measured by the improvement in someone’s quality of life. It is for this reason that the directors, officers, and employees remain steadfast in their dedication to the continued growth and improvement of the Agency.

Fiscal 2008 was both challenging and rewarding, with continued expansion of programs and services along with other improvements. Fiscal 2009 will undoubtedly prove to be equally challenging, given the continued soft economy and the resulting adverse impact on individuals within our communities. However, I am confident that TAH is properly prepared to meet whatever challenges may be presented, and to continue serving the needs of the children and families in our region.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE:

Gwendolyn T. Davis, MPA
“Great necessities call our great virtues” - Abigail Adams

Fiscal year 2008 was a year of transition and new challenges for the families we serve. As families we serve have seen an uncertainty in the economy around them, the need for services has changed as well. Many more families have seen a greater and changing need for assistance. To assist children, youth and families in this time, Try-Again Homes has been cognizant in shaping services provided to address the nuances of the challenges today.

Try-Again Homes has continued to focus on the need of the community and children we serve. As we continue to strive to be a leader in quality services in the community, we continue to be appreciative of the graciousness of the community who has supported the efforts of Try-Again Homes and continues to do so in turbulent economic times. We have so many who have put forth their efforts to assist in anyway they can such as donations and general community support.

As we work toward our strategic plan in the years to come, it is with great honor and responsibility we look to provide quality services to create healthy communities.

Clinical Director's Report:

Alison Leon,  MA, LPC, LSW, ALPS
Clinical Director
In these difficult economic times, Try-Again Homes, Inc. continues to push forward in an effort to provide quality, cost-effective services to the children, youth, and families we serve. It is an unfortunate irony that at the very time more and more members of the West Virginia and Pennsylvania communities served by TAH are in need, the funding streams that make those services possible are also negatively affected by the economic downturn. It is this very fact that makes it imperative that we continue to strive to provide high-quality services that demonstrate excellent stewardship of the funds with which we have been entrusted.

Along these lines, the Quality Improvement Committee of TAH has continued to expand and include all aspects of our agency: services, human resources, finances, and risk management. The inclusion of all agency departments has the effect of improving communication, streamlining problem-solving, and setting up contingencies to address any unusual or emerging trends and concerns that may arise, as well as helping us to maximize the impact of the funding dollars that we receive or are granted.

One new area of focus in the past year has been the emergency response initiative that was introduced by Christie Cross after the PA Foster Care program was invited to participate in a county-wide plan for Fayette County Children’s services. The emergency response plan that was created allows for communication with our clients, foster families, and staff in the event of an emergency as well as emergency procedures and equipment for each of the TAH offices and Residential Facilities. Staff from each program and office cooperated in this effort and brought about a comprehensive plan for Try-Again Homes, Inc. across both states that should suffice in the event of a local or national emergency.

As always, the Foster Care Outcome Reports prepared monthly by both state’s foster care programs not only indicate a high quality of foster care provision as indicated by the safety and security standards; but also a high degree of family involvement, close supervision and cooperation between TAH and our foster families, and excellent permanency outcomes for the children leaving our foster care programs. We believe that the visitation component of foster care provision allows us to increase family reunification and create better outcomes for those children for whom reunification and/or kinship care is not an option. The two West Virginia offices have had the good fortune this year to be able to add to the comfort of these visits by adding playground equipment and outdoor furniture to accommodate a much more natural, family-friendly environment in which these visits can occur.

All programs are currently involved in the CQI process and there is good participation across program staff. This raises the awareness of all staff to issues of quality and ultimately the outcomes that these programs produce. In going forward the hope is that those programs that produce good outcomes and are effective, family-friendly and as non-restrictive as is feasible will rise to the surface and be recognized as worthy of continued funding.

Kimberly A. Gavran, Director of PA Operations

Being the current Director of Operations at Try-Again Homes, Inc. and an employee for 18 years, I am fortunate enough to have explored many creative avenues and myriad of possibilities on which we continue to embark while maintaining a strong commitment to youth and families we serve.

Although financial struggles abound across the state in some of the programs we offer to youth and families, this past year, has allowed us to open another office in a neighboring county of Westmoreland. The visibility has been meaningful for those to see the commitment of Try-Again Homes, Inc. staff. Our involvement with the National Family Development Training and Credentialing Program validates the strength-based approach we deliver in all of our services.

Our agency will continue to open new doors as others close in the upcoming year but through perseverance, we will continue to focus on serving our community. I think it is important for me to thank all of you for your dedication and for the many relationships Try-Again Homes has established over the years. It is important that you know we listen, appreciate and act on your needs while continuing to adapt to the ever-changing needs of youth and families.

Child Welfare Through Community Building
We know that no one child and family serving system has the mandate, resources, or reach to address the personal issues or social and community conditions that are related to risk factors faced by families involved with child welfare systems. Hundreds of thousands of children and families are helped every day by the child welfare system and other child and family serving systems. Millions more, however, do not have access to available, appropriate, or equitable services and support. For far too many children and families, the failure to meet these human needs and basic rights has significant consequences. This includes lives filled with pain, suffering, and quiet desperation. Even so, Try-Again Homes has learned and on occasion succeeded. Community building is becoming an essential part of all aspects of Try-Again's development. When we work in or influence these systems, fundamentally change our roles with one another, change our relationships with the children, youth, and families we serve, and actively engage community stakeholders, we provide more strategic supports and can collaboratively achieve more effective outcomes for this most vulnerable population. This is the work before us. Community building helps return social work to its core mission of addressing families social, economic, and emotional needs. What is different from the past and reflective of visions of the future, is that in community building, the social worker's role is to build capacity in families and communities as they define their own goals, solutions, and assets. When community's residents do this, they learn they are capable of change and capable of caring for other families and neighbors. As you review our fiscal and operational performance over the 2006 & 2007 fiscal year, you will undoubtedly notice some thematic continuums within all our programs, and their ability to offer services to each and every child. It is our belief that with the continued support of individuals, corporations, and the foundations, this trend will continue and even flourish.