Choose One Finalist to win the Hedi Levenback, SVN Provider of the Year Award.

Members Vote Here

Nominations are in, and it is now time for SVN members to help choose the Hedi Levenback Provider of the Year Award winner! Our award committee has narrowed down nominations and have chosen seven candidates that we feel have all done an incredible job at demonstrating exceptional skills in the delivery and implementation of supervised visitation programs.

This award is a high honor, and it is important to us that you, as a member, take a stand to recognize fellow SV providers for their hard work and dedication to the field.

Member votes are due by Friday, March 2, 2012.
The winning provider will be honored at the 2012 Annual Conference in Orlando, and will receive free registration and two nights lodging for one individual to be present to accept the award.

Hedi Levenback was a founding member of SVN, and a pioneer in the field of supervised visitation. She co-authored the SVN bylaws and was the first chair of the Standards and Guidelines Committee. These standards and guidelines professionalized supervised visitation and continue to guide us in our important work.

Please read the following provider descriptions and decide which provider you feel best meets the criteria. *Provider descriptions come from nomination form entries.

Here are the finalists:

Kelley Beckett

is the Program Manager at the Buckeye Ranch Visitation and Exchange Program in Columbus Ohio. Kelley should win this award for multiple reasons. Kelley came into the Buckeye Ranch Visitation and Exchange Program as the program was starting up. She was able to organize the schedule for families in a way to make the system most efficient, and she has demonstrated exceptional management techniques to her staff. She has created a bond not only with her staff, but with the families as well. She was recently featured in a newspaper article in the Columbus Dispatch, where a client was asked to explain the program. Because Kelley enforces safety and customer service, the client explains how safe she felt when she had to bring her child to visit.

Kelley has submitted numerous applications to organizations for grant funding. Each time Kelley has applied for a grant, she has been approved for the max amount. She has never been denied funding. She has been able to get over $550,000 for our program through the grants. She is articulate and proficient with the application process. She also has formed relationships with important individuals in the community including the Judges and Magistrates, Attorneys, GAL's, Chief of Homeland Security. All of the relationships she has created have added to the support our program needs to stay open.

Kelley was recently voted as the Chair of the Supervised Visitation Network, Ohio Chapter. She also received recognition from the Licking County Juvenile Court Youth Responsibility Project 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009.

Gayla Gouge

joined The Parent Child Center of Tulsa in September 2008 to lead the Supervised Visitation Program. At that time, the agency was one of the only supervised visitation programs in Oklahoma with membership in the Supervised Visitation Network. The program was small, provided only observational visitation, and was only available to families who were self-referred or had a court order, usually through family court. In three short years Gayla has added supportive visitation to the services offered, raised awareness within the child welfare system of best practices in visit supervision, and specialized the way visitation is provided to infants and toddlers. Gayla Gouge should win this award because she has transformed the PCCT Supervised Visitation program from a respectable little program into an excellent program that is now available to many more people in need of these services than before she came. More importantly she has raised the bar in both Tulsa and Oklahoma for what supervised visitation services should look like.

Within her first year in the position, Gayla cemented collaboration with the Tulsa Area United Way, the local and state Department of Human Services, and another partner agency to begin providing a spectrum of supervised visitation services to parents whose children were in DHS custody. Families Together started in July 2009 and supports permanency for children in DHS custody by providing safe, professional visitation services free of charge to families whose children are in DHS custody. Children visiting through this program receive on average three times more visits with their caregivers than they would if DHS were providing the visitation. Gayla gathered information from SVN partner agencies and networked with SVN colleagues to garner the resources necessary to implement Levels I (Observational) and II (Supportive) of a three tiered model while partnering with Family and Children's Services to provide Level III (Family Therapy) services. This involved implementing new processes, creating new forms, hiring and providing additional training to staff, and collaborating with personnel from other agencies in the child protection community in Tulsa. After the initial grant funding cycle was complete, DHS agreed to continue funding the services due to its proven success.

One personal attribute that allows Gayla to be such a positive force in supervised visitation is that she is a lifelong learner who is collaborative in nature. This led to several successful collaborations, a recent nomination and subsequent election to the SVN Board of Directors, and an integration of infant mental health best practices into the daily operations of PCCT's supervised visitation services. Gayla has put in place policies and documentation process that ensure that the reactions of young children at visitation are not missed at PCCT.

The Parent Child Center is known in Tulsa for its premier Supervised Visitation program and the Family Courts refer their clients to us due to Gayla Gouge's direction and insight.

The Family Nurturing Center (FNC)

was the first provider of Supervised Visitation in the state of Florida. Since 1993, FNC has worked continuously in the field of monitored custody exchange and supervised visitation. The executive director also serves as the President of the Florida Chapter, and has been working with Senator Wise and Representative Atkins to pass legislation that will adopt the recommended standards of practice as the new Supreme Court minimum standards for the State.

The board chair of FNC states of the executive director, Stella Johnson: "Her dedication, enthusiasm, common sense, and pure diligence, along with her extraordinary ability to work with other non-profit agencies and people have brought FNC to a whole new level. She has expanded our agency into the Nassau and Clay Counties, and she is right behind legislation for supervised agencies across the State. More importantly, she has taken the agency from a negative cash flow to a $100K cash surplus by broadening our financial resources, multiplying in-kind facility and man power resources, and simply managing well our budget and staff."

FNC deserves to represent the legacy of Hedi Levenback based upon the following substantial accomplishments:

- commitment to serve our large community by opening satellite centers in underserved areas

- partnerships with other providers which provide comprehensive services at the most cost efficient rate

- development of a state of the art record system that maximizes our capacity and streamlines operations while improving client relations

- initiative in spearheading legislation to improve the quality of care on a statewide level

FNC has a long history as an innovator in the field of supervised visitation. Since being established as the first visitation center in the State of Florida, the organization has made continual progress in developing a community of nurturing care for children, led by parents and supported by everyone who touches the life of a child. FNC works in partnership with a host of other community partners. By operating in a community based setting, FNC works as a holistic partner with other organizations to ensure that families have access to comprehensive resources. FNC pride themselves in having meaningful, collaborative partnerships which go beyond a typical referral exchange. For example, their alliance with Hubbard House Outreach Center allows their caseworkers to have immediate contact should victims of domestic violence come to FNC for services. This is one step to ensure that a victim has an advocate and is less likely to get lost in a shuffle of referral forms. The center also serves as an ACCESS location, providing the ability of both FNC clients and the local residents the ability to apply for food stamps and other assistance. They partnered with Learn to Read to provide space for their programs. During the tax season, the United Way Real Sense campaign provided free tax return services for lower income clients at the center as well. FNC remains committed to leveraging relationships with other service providers to ensure comprehensive access to services designed to alleviate issues of poverty and abuse.

Peggy Mosshart

is a phenomenal person, dynamic in every way. Much like Hedi, she a pioneer. After going back to school to obtain her degree in social work, Peggy started a successful supervised visitation business that was much needed in her community. She is also taking courses to become a certified guardian. Her Supervised Visitation business has a positive reputation in that the judges and attorneys assign clients to her from the bench. She has received many awards and recognitions from the university she attends for her outstanding performance, but locally there is no outlet for acknowledging excellence in this line of work. Her highly regarded reputation among the attorneys and judicial system speaks to her quality of work.

"She is the hardest working person I have ever met, and because of her tenacity she has made it possible for many noncustodial parents to have safe, productive, and fun interactions with their children. She has made it her own business and thus able to meet the parent needs. She travels, works nontraditional hours, and supervises in nontraditional settings. Peggy is absolutely outstanding and I cannot think of a better person to honor the integrity of your business. She has started from nothing and used your publications and support to build a business that is thriving. All the while putting herself through college."

Pierre Neron

is the Coordinator of the Supervised Access Program for Timmins and District which is operated by Child and Family Services of Timmins and District. He is also the Chair of the highly successful Ontario Chapter of SVN. When Pierre started working in supervised access he started from scratch. He has since become one of the leaders in the field in Ontario, particularly in developing training materials.

Aside from building his program when he was hired, Pierre has developed an excellent training curriculum for his staff based on the Ministry of the Attorney General Training Standards and Best Practices. The curriculum is multi-media and contains resources and evaluation tools.

Pierre put in many hours to develop this curriculum while still doing his full-time regular workload of being Coordinator for his centre.

Pierre has developed an amazing curriculum and method for new staff in supervised access. He shared his materials with his colleagues from across Ontario in a presentation at one of our Coordinators' meetings.

Pierre has never attended an SVN conference out of Canada because his organization has a policy of not sending staff out of the country. Winning this award would allow a very dedicated professional to come and learn and share from others.

Judy Newman

has been a driving force is establishing Supervised Access Programs in Ontario, Canada. She is the manager of the Supervised Access Program, Ministry of the Attorney General which has 74 site locations across the province. Judy oversees funding contracts with service providers and works with them to develop policies, procedures and training. Judy is a registered professional social worker who previously worked at the Office of the Children's Lawyer with children and families involved in high conflict custody and access disputes, where she conducted investigations and assisted children's counsel to represent the interests of children before the court. Her work has led the way in ensuring SAPs are informed, supported, funded and always aware of new legislation and best practices. She is a recipient of the Judith Wallach President's Award, which recognizes her contribution to the profession. Judy is a member of the SVN Board of Directors, is chair of the Standards and Guidelines Committee, and is also a member of the Training Committee. She is also frequent workshop presenter at SVN Conferences.

"Since I have been with the SAP, I do not think I have met anyone who has been so driven and aware of the challenges we face. Judy can always be reached for advice and everyone I have met that knows Judy always comments on how she is a SAINT. She is always looking to improve the program. Judy has established a wonderful supervised access program in Ontario and is constantly advocating for the advancement and improvement of the services we provide."

The New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NYSPCC)

was established in 1875 as the first child protection agency in the world. Today, they provide programs aimed at the prevention of child maltreatment or the lessening of its harmful effects. The NYSPCC's leadership, spirit of innovation and focus on best practice service models enable it to continue developing initiatives that respond to the needs of its clients.

Under the guidance of Hedi Levenback, MSW, the NYSPCC's supervised visitation program was established in 1992, serving as a beacon of hope for families struggling to restore their fragile relationships. Building on the solid foundation Ms. Levenback established, The NYSPCC continues to be a leader in the supervised visitation field 20 years later. The NYSPCC's model therapeutic supervised visitation program, The Positive Parenting Plus (PP+) Program, is the first of its kind in New York City. The Program focuses on restoring healthy and appropriate parent-child relationships by providing parenting skills workshops, individual parent coaching sessions and, when needed, mental health assistance for children with a history of family violence. The NYSPCC has also developed a range of specialized services that specifically target the unique issues fathers face as they work towards restoring their relationship with their child(ren). No other program in the metropolitan New York City area offers the comprehensive services that the PP+ Program provides.

The NYSPCC is the only agency in New York City providing bilingual (English/Spanish) therapeutic supervised visitation services free of charge seven days per week, including three evenings. All of the PP+ Program staff is trained in providing interventions and utilizing approaches that reflect the cultural diversity of New York City. The NYSPCC is also dedicated to ensuring the safety of all participants in the program: special security precautions have been implemented, including staffing the program with security personnel who have received the New York State Security Guard Certification, and staggered arrival times and separate waiting areas for custodial and non-custodial parents.

The NYSPCC's staff maintains a strong presence in the supervised visitation field. Katheryn Lotsos, Director of Clinical Services, is a member of the Board of Directors of the National Supervised Visitation Network, where she co-chairs the Training Committee. Brenda Tully, Assistant Director of Clinical Services, is a member of the National SVN Credentialing Committee. Xuan Tran-Walsh, Supervised Visitation Program Manager, is the Secretary of the New York State Chapter of the SVN.

The NYSPCC advocates for best practices in the supervised visitation field, and NYSPCC staff has authored many articles and training modules that were published in journals, newsletters and training manuals.

More info about The Hedi Levenback Award

Hedi Levenback, M.S.W. was a pioneer in the field of supervised visitation. She was a founding member of the Supervised Visitation Network (SVN) and was instrumental in bringing together providers and interested professionals to its first meeting in New York in 1992. Hedi co-authored the SVN bylaws and was the first chair of the Standards and Guidelines Committee. These Standards and Guidelines professionalized supervised visitation and continue to guide us in our important work.

Hedi was the first director of supervised visitation at the New York Society for Ethical Culture and started up and then led the supervised visitation program at the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. She presented workshops on starting a supervised visitation program at the first two Annual Conferences of SVN in the early 1990s. Hedi wrote the chapter on "Setting Up a Program" in the NYSPCC Professionals' Handbook on Providing Supervised Visitation.

Hedi Levenback contributed significantly to the advancement of supervised visitation from what she described as "an evolving social service" to what is now a fully fledged social service improving outcomes for children and their families throughout the United States and around the world.

SVN members can nominate an individual or organization that they feel demonstrated exceptional skills in the delivery and implementation of a supervised visitation program. Self nominations are also allowed. The selection committee will judge nominees on the following criteria:

The winning individual and/or program will be honored at the 2012 SVN Annual Conference in Orlando. SVN will cover the registration and two nights lodging costs for one individual to be present to accept the award.

Members Vote Here