Highlights
Virtual 2020 Celebration & Awards
On January 14th, KYJO got together to look back on the year that was 2020. Everyone gathered together virtually to celebrate the accomplishments and outstanding acts of our staff during this past year. The get together took place via Zoom and included games and an award ceremony. Congratulations to all of our 2020 KYJO staff award winners!
KYJO Events & Outings
To kick off 2021, a handful of KYJO residential staff and residents enjoyed a hike around Millerton Lake. Enjoying the beautiful California winter weather, they hiked around the lake and enjoyed the scenic views at the top. This outing was just the first of many outdoor adventures KYJO will be partaking in during 2021.
Foster Family Agency
As KYJO staff reflects back on the challenging year that was 2020, we would like to acknowledge the hard work that our FFA staff and foster parents put forward to produce strong placement numbers. In 2020 KYJO FFA served 70 foster placements. Of those 70, the largest majority have remained in stability with KYJO foster homes while in long term care or continuing the reunification process with biological family. With such a large number of placements reunifying, KYJO foster families did an excellent job in managing behaviors and aiding biological parents towards stability with their children. Attached below is a chart outlining all of the 2020 outcomes. FFA staff and our foster families are looking forward to continuing to make a difference in the Central Valley foster care community in 2021.
| Outcomes | |
| Reunification | 11 |
| Adoption | 4 |
| Placement Change due to Behavioral Concerns | 1 |
| Emergency Placement | 1 |
| Transitioned to a higher level of care (group home) | 3 |
| Transitioned to Placement with Family | 8 |
| Receiving Reunification Services (Still placed with KYJO) | 13 |
| Stable in long-term foster care services (Still placed with KYJO) | 25 |
| Emancipation | 1 |
| THP | 1 |
| Re-entry Into Care after Reunification | 2 |
| Total Clients Served | 70 |
| Outcome Percentage | |
| Positive Outcomes | 35% |
| Stable Services provided by KYJO Resource Parents | 60% |
| Change of Placement | 5.00% |
Employee Spotlight
Staff Anniversaries
Much gratitude to our KYJO staff celebrating anniversaries this month! Thank you for your hard work and dedication to KYJO.
2 years: Uriel Amezcua, Veronica Welch
4 Years: Gina Cantu
Please welcome Cameron Ferrero as our new Human Resources Assistant. Cameron is a former Foster/Adopted child, who spent time as a resident at the Craycroft residential facility in 2005. He is very passionate about making a positive impact on children who are from similar backgrounds as his. He believes that with the proper support, any child can rise above circumstance to achieve success, happiness, independence.
Cameron recently have graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration (Human Resources option) from California State University, Fresno. An accomplishment a small percentage of those from his background achieve. He is very pleased that he will have the opportunity to feed his passion while working at KYJO.
He is hopeful that his success story will have an impact on our residents, wishing them the same resiliency and success he has achieved. In his free time, Cameron likes to dive into a plethora of diverse interests including computer technology, music, sports, bodybuilding, and cooking. He is looking forward to getting to know the KYJO team better and hopes to be of great service to all.
Community Spotlight
A special thank you to our 2020 Community Partners…
Dr. Juan Bautista
Thank you to Dr. Juan Bautista, MD of Bautista Medical Group. He is a former teammate and lifelong friend/supporter of our Executive Director Kevin Jordan. He and his father are a vital part of the Fresno medical community. Graciously lending his expertise to those in need of treatment and advice.
This past year, he and his medical practice volunteered their expertise/supplies to provide rapid Covid-19 tests and medical treatment in the recovery process.
In addition, he is also always extending himself and his family practice to KYJO in any way that is needed. KYJO staff can be provided physical examinations, immunizations and medical help from his office. This summer he also purchased a large portion of fireworks from our Phantom fireworks booth, donating his purchases to families in the community. Thank you Dr. Juan Bautista and Bautista Medical Group for your continued support of KYJO in 2020.
Gabralle Conroe
Gabrelle Conroe sits on the KYJO Board as our Secretary. She is a Fresno, California native who has dedicated her professional career to working within the Central Valley community. In 2020, Gabrelle facilitated a number of virtual staff trainings to help ensure KYJO stayed up to date with CARF accreditation requirements. KYJO is grateful to Gabrelle for extending her time and knowledge to KYJO staff and residents. We are looking forward to continuing this partnership in 2021.
Kevin’s Huddle
Happy 2021 KYJO family,
If we as a society learned has learned anything this past year. It is to recognize and celebrate the small victories in life! Many times in life we have failed to pause and celebrate the little things, like getting out of bed or taking a walk on the beach. During tough times such as these, it is imperative that we start celebrating every victory and accomplishment no matter how big or small it is. Starting your day off simply having gratitude for waking up is a great way to start your day celebrating the “little things.”
Expressing gratitude during a global pandemic has been difficult for many. For a lot of us, there has not been much to celebrate, which is why I would like to make a point to highlight the happy moments recently occurring within the KYJO family. Our residential safety inspection conducted by our worker’s comp carrier produced outstanding results due to the ongoing determination & diligent work from all departments!
This month we celebrated two residential program completions, resulting in one resident going to a foster family and the other being reunified with their family. Kudos to Hazel and Celeste staff for helping these residents reach this accomplishment.
In our Hazel residential youth home, staff has witnessed a resident’s behavior turning around after they focused their rehabilitation efforts on the resident’s interests and love of outdoors. All of the hard work and creative therapeutic interventions from Hazel staff are noticed and greatly appreciated.
As begin to move through 2021, let’s continue all of these total team efforts!
Kevin Jordan
Executive Director
Donations
Our doors are always open to donations for our Residential Group Homes and foster youth. We are in need of:
- Athletic shoes, hiking boots and river sandals (variety of men’s and women’s sizes)
- New pillowcases and bath towels
- New or gently-used sweatpants
- Paper products (toilet paper, tissues, and paper towels)
- Kitchen supplies (aluminum foil, zip lock bags in sandwich and one-gallon size)
- Cleaning supplies (no-ammonia all-purpose cleaners, laundry detergent, dishwasher soap)
- New, unopened packages of athletic socks – crew or low cut – and boys’ and girls’ underwear
- Personal hygiene items for boys and girls (deodorant, hair supplies, bar soap, toothpaste/toothbrushes, body lotion, etc.)
- Gift cards to grocery and retail stores (Target, Wal-Mart,), restaurants/coffee shops
- Movie, bowling, skiing or swimming passes or tickets to sporting events, concerts or plays
- Arts and crafts items (yarn, beads, art paint, construction paper, poster board)
- Board games, puzzles and playing cards
Amazon Smile
KYJO Enterprises, Inc. is now a featured organization of the Amazon Smile Foundation. Amazon Smile is a charitable extension of Amazon that allows consumers to donate a portion of their purchases to the organization of their choice. Most products that are featured on Amazon are eligible for Amazon Smile with 0.05% of profits being donated. Please visit https://smile.amazon.com to learn more about the program and to sign up to have your Amazon purchases benefit KYJO.
