{"id":9792,"date":"2023-01-19T09:36:02","date_gmt":"2023-01-19T14:36:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/grafton.local\/?post_type=annual-report&p=9792"},"modified":"2023-03-16T15:31:49","modified_gmt":"2023-03-16T19:31:49","slug":"letter-from-our-ceo","status":"publish","type":"annual-report","link":"https:\/\/www.grafton.org\/annual-reports\/2022-grafton-annual-report\/letter-from-our-ceo\/","title":{"rendered":"Letter from Leadership"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In 2022, we were thrilled to have our students once again connecting in person with the community, playing in community basketball leagues<\/a>, participating in musical performances<\/a>, and enjoying many other activities. In addition to the long-standing connections we have in our home state of Virginia, we\u2019ve made new connections\u2014and progress\u2014beyond our state borders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In June of 2022, Grafton\u2019s new psychiatric residential treatment center in Cold Spring, Minnesota, welcomed its first client. The campus\u2014which features housing for up to 30 children, an outdoor play area, game room, offices, and classrooms\u2014offers short-term residential and educational services for children and adolescents (ages 8-21) with dual diagnoses of mental health and neurodevelopmental disorders.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Clients are referred by school districts, community-based case managers, parents, and local medical and psychiatric hospitals. Academic services are provided on-site through a partnership with Benton Stearns School District.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Our program has already made a difference in preventing children from languishing in emergency rooms for days, or even weeks, at a time. In addition, we\u2019ve integrated ourselves into the Cold Spring community by attending community activities, participating in fundraising events, and supporting local businesses, as well as hosting multiple visits from the local police department, Chamber of Commerce, and local elected officials.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Something we continue to take pride in is Grafton\u2019s multidisciplinary approach. While many organizations focus on either behavioral health or intellectual disabilities, Grafton believes that serving both populations improves outcomes for everyone. Though these client populations are served separately, our teams interact constantly, sharing the latest knowledge in their respective fields. In addition, our clinical model is informed by both behaviorism and psychotherapeutic techniques.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This approach is nothing new for us\u2014it\u2019s how we\u2019ve operated for quite some time\u2014so we often forget that it\u2019s not the norm.\u00a0But, during a recent site visit, an internationally recognized certification team told us they were unaware of any other entity that combines formal behaviorism (led by Board Certified Behavior Analysts and Registered Behavior Technicians) with psychotherapeutic techniques (led by social workers, counselors, and psychologists) and other specialty\u00a0professionals, such as speech and language pathologists and occupational therapists.\u00a0While this is considered cost prohibitive for many organizations, we know that the complexity of those we serve demands this approach. We do it because it is the best way to meet our clients\u2019 needs, regardless of the cost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2022, we were also joined by five new board members<\/a>, who help round out the extraordinary skillset and vision of the team. The deep institutional knowledge brought by our experienced board leaders, coupled with fresh perspectives from these new members, will inevitably make Grafton a stronger organization as it moves forward. Our strategic objectives in the coming year are focused on three things:<\/p>\n\n\n\n