Ed Series Updates

Dawn Farm will present the following Education Series programs in November 2007:

"Alcoholics Anonymous: An Informal History " will be presented on November 20, 2007; 7:30 pm to 9:00 pm, by Jim Balmer. This NEW and exciting slide presentation will provide an overview of the founding and growth of A.A., and a brief overview of the 12 Steps.

"Alcoholics Anonymous: A Panel Discussion " will be presented on November 27, 2007; 7:30 pm to 9:00 pm. This presentation will provide a lively, moderated panel discussion regarding alcoholism and addiction, personal recovery, and individual participation in 12 Step programs.

All Education Series programs are presented in the St. Joseph Mercy Hospital Education Center auditorium, 5305 Elliott Drive, Ypsilanti. All programs are free and open to all; presentations are intended to have broad appeal and are geared toward a diverse audience. No registration is required. Each workshop is approved by the Michigan Certification Board for Addiction Professionals (MCBAP) to provide 1.5 free CE hours. All staff are invited to attend, and we will be grateful for your help in informing clients, families and others!

The full Education Series schedule along with details, directions and a flier can be accessed from http://www.dawnfarm.org/edseries.html. You can also contact me by e-mail or at Detox with questions.

The "Teens Using Drugs: What To Know and What To Do" two-part workshop series will be presented on November 6 (part 1, "What To Know") and November 13 (part two, "What To Do") by our friend Ron Harrison. For information about this series, please see http://www.teensusingdrugs.org. (Please note that MCBAP CE is not provided for this program.)

Thank you,

Matt Statman

Team Leader, Dawn Farm Detox; and Education Series Coordinator

734/669-8265 (at Detox)

mstatman@dawnfarm.org

Counseling 101

I never heard anything from anyone about tomorrow's Addiction Counseling 101, but I think I never ask you to let me know if you plan to come.

So, I'm rescheduling tomorrow's. The new schedule is:

• November 1st, 1:30 to 4:30
• November 9th, 9 to 12

Let me know if you plan to attend. CAC credit will be awarded.

A true story

I was sitting at the dinner table when my kids were comparing how much each of them had drank from their cups. Then, my son asked, "what's the longest anyone has ever gone without having anything to drink?" I told him that I thought that 7 days is the longest a person could go without anything to drink. He said, "No. I met a man at Dawn Farm who said that he hasn't had anything to drink for a year!"

NIAtx project

We have an exciting opportunity at outpatient to be part of a federal research project on process improvement for treatment providers. On 10-31-07, our mentor will be here to learn a little about Dawn Farm, go through our preliminary data, and help develop a change plan. From 9:30-10:30, there will be a general meeting at the barn to discuss the project. All staff are welcome.

Rethinking confrontation

I'd like every Dawn Farm employee to read this article and I'd like it discussed in staff meetings.

This isn't to suggest that I think there's a problem, just that it's an important topic and something we should always pay attention to.

I'll be at staff meetings at Huron, Daybreak and Detox next week. Let's discuss it in those meetings.

Thinking about getting an MSW?

For those of you considering pursuing an MSW, Julie Harkema from EMU will hold an informational meeting on November 14 at 12:30pm in the Barn.

From Jess

Hello:

DF's rising stars Matt Statman and Nancy Thom will grace the airwaves once again on CTN Cable Channel 17, to inform the Universe about the DFES and the good work that DF does. The taping was done today, and will be aired on Access Soapbox, which will broadcast on Cable Channel 17 starting this Sunday and run for two weeks on the following schedule:

Sundays 5:00 PM
Mondays 6:30 PM
Tuesdays 11:30 AM and 9:30 pm
Wednesdays 10:30 AM and 6:00 PM
Thursdays 7:30 PM
Fridays 12:30 PM
Saturdays 3:30 PM.

Don't miss it! :)

Jess

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Essential Learning

Our online training through Essential Learning is now up and ready to go! I will be visiting all of the sites in the near future to show people how to use it, but I’ve written some instructions if you want to get a head start. Check the sections below for information about how to log in, how to learn how to use Essential Learning, how to access additional courses, and what courses will count for CAC or CAAC hours, or towards social work license CEUs.

If you have any questions about using this program, please contact me by phone at the Farm, or by email.

Logging in to Essential Learning

To log in to Essential Learning, click here. You may want to add a bookmark so you can come back. This link will also be available soon on the Staff Start page.

When you follow the link, you will see this on the screen:

Every time you login, you will need to complete all four fields on this screen (this will be simpler in a few months)

1. In the company name field (first field), type: dawnfarm

2. In the company password field, type: recovery

3. In the full name field, type your name, with a space between first and last (capitalization doesn’t matter). The system has your name as: Jason Schwartz

(If you would like to how the system has your name, send me an email at akraemer@dawnfarm.org and I can change it for you.)

4. In the password field, enter the password you sent me: kev00jane

5. Click on the Go button or hit enter. This will take you to your Learner Profile page, the main page in Essential Learning where you will access all of the trainings.

Using Essential Learning

The learner profile screen will look like this:

This page will allow you to access all of the assigned trainings, which will be coming soon, as well as the many other courses available to you for CAC or CEU hours. The best place to start is by reading the QuikGuide, by clicking on Quik Guide in the upper right where I’ve highlighted. You may also want to watch the instructional videos, just to the left of the Quik Guide. There are three videos, each about 4 minutes long, which will help you learn how to use the site.

In the center area is where you will see the assigned trainings. Everyone has the Welcome to Online Learning course assigned, which will help you learn to use the website. You should complete this before trying anything else, so you know how to use the program. Start the course by clicking on the name, highlighted above. The Quick Guide or videos will tell you how to go through the course material. Be sure to go through all of the course material and take the test to get credit for taking it. Once you’ve taken this course, you are ready to look at some of the other courses available to you.

Accessing Other Courses

To access other courses, click on Other Courses Offered by dawnfarm, which I highlighted above. That will take you to a page that looks like this:

To display all of the courses available, click the GO button on the right. You will probably want to use the circled Accreditation Category drop down menu to choose courses that will meet CAC or CEU requirements, which I will explain in the next sections. Select the accreditation type you want to see and then click go. To start a course, click on the course name when it appears below.

CAC & CAAC Courses

Only some of the courses will count towards a CAC or CAAC. We will be providing some more information and training soon about how to work towards these. In the meantime, if you want to work towards one of these, you should only select courses that fall under one of these three Accreditation Categories:

· MCBAP (Michigan Certification Board for Addiction Professionals

· NASW (National Association of Social Workers)

· NAADAC (National Association of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselors)

At this time, only these courses are approved for use towards a CAC or CAAC. A maximum of 200 hours can be done online for a CAC, half of which must be related towards substance abuse. A maximum of 100 hours can be done online towards a CAAC, half of which must be related to substance abuse.

More information will be coming soon!

Social Work License CEUs Courses

Up to 10 of your 45 required hours to renew a Social Work License may be done online. The only approved courses are under the ASWB (Association of Social Work Boards) Accreditation Category.

More information will be coming soon!

Online Training Up and Running

Our online training service, Essential Learning, is up and running! Follow the link to get to the website, and check your email for information on how to login and start taking courses. Contact me at akraemer@dawnfarm.org if you have any questions, or to let me know what you think!

Addiction Counseling 101

I've scheduled 2 more Counseling 101 inservices and I'm calling it Addiction Counseling 101 so that attendees can get specific CE credit for CAC certification. The dates are:

• 10/26/07 1:30 to 4:30
• 11/1/07 1:30 to 4:30

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Priority Health

From Bev:

Priority Health has a useful website. Go to priorityhealth.com and register. You need your unique contract number from your Priority Health card to register. Once registered, you can view past claims, order a new ID card, and change your primary care physician, among other things.

EMU's MSW program

I received this email today. Let me know if you'd be interested in having her come out. I'll arrange it if we have enough people interested.

I am interested in connecting with agencies that have employees interested in our MSW Program. I am specifically trying to find agencies with non-BSW employees as my focus is to recruit for the Full Program this year, although I want to talk to those people as well! I am happy to come out and speak, answer questions etc. Do you think Dawn Farm would have enough interest for this? Let me know and in the meantime I am attaching a flyer giving details about the information sessions I hold - the first one is this Saturday.Thanks and see you soon.,

Julie Harkema
MSW Admissions Coordinator/Lecturer
jharkema@emich.edu
734-487-4206

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Client Handbook

Here's a message from Julie Boster. She's working on a client handbook and we decided that it would be great if this could be a client-driven activity. We'd like to get clients or alumni from all programs to think about what might have been helpful for them when they entered treatment or transitional housing, and develop materials for new clients. We can have an agency-wide section and programs can have their own program-specific section:

Hello Everyone!

I am working on compiling a client handbook that we will eventually provide to all new clients entering Dawn Farm. I would love to have client involvement in the creation of this handbook. I would like to have one staff person from each site to ask a few clients for their participation in this process. Participation would involve the client giving their input about what type of information would have been helpful to them when entering treatment and then actually developing a handout with that information. For instance, I currently have a few Farmers updating the Group Aspects handout and Farm Rules handout. I plan to also ask a Farmer to write a description of the milieu group process including the definitions of resentments, concerns, appreciations and dishonesties and the rationale behind airing them both in group and in recovery. Also, I plan to ask Aftercare clients to give input. Please email me directly if you are interested in representing your site and enlisting client participation for the handbook.

Thank you,

Julie Boster

Priority Health

If you do not have your new Priority Health card yet, they may not have your current address. Please call Beverly.

Volunteer of the Month

Saul Allen has been volunteering at Detox since May of 2007. Saul is not only an extremely creative and improvisational chef and a very willing volunteer, he is also a great role model and supports our detox clients. Saul has been available many times on call and comes right in when he is needed. Saul routinely offers his experience, strength and hope as an inspiration. Saul has also been known to help clients make it to Detox and make it to their next step in treatment. Detox staff are very grateful for Saul.

Employee of the month

Rick Weirich is often one of the first people to show up in the morning and one of the last to leave. He always works hard to make sure every job is done well and completely, and always has time to help the clients and staff with minor repairs that come up. He regularly comes by on the weekends, and sometimes on his days off to make sure that all of our sites are in good repair. He is always patient with new requests and never complains about the extra hours or the additional work that always comes up.

Priority Health

On October 1, we began our first benefit year with Priority Health. We selected them because we believe that they offer good coverage at a very competitive price. But we want to know what you think. Please give Jim, Jason, or Beverly any feedback that you have (good or bad) so that we can evaluate Priority Health as the year progresses.

We've gotten two pieces of feedback so far, one bad, one good. The good is that Priority appears to make visiting specialists easier. The bad is that some Care Choices primary care physicians (PCP) have not moved to Priority, so check with you're doctor to make sure that her/she is a Priority PCP.