Chehalem Youth and Family Services will continue to provide educational services such as summer school, afterschool education and high school completion. However, with a grant given through the Oregon Department of Education, CYFS is handing over responsibility for its nine-month academic program to the Willamette Education Service District.

The long-term care and treatment grant through the ODE comes out every two years for the district, which helps provide education to individuals who are being treated in the hospital or in a residential mental health program, explained Don Dorman, Newberg School District director of special programs.

For approximately the past 14 years, the district has subcontracted the grant with CYFS, allowing CYFS to run the administration of the residential program’s school, Dorman said. However, the ODE has changed its requirements and raised the standards for achievement of residential program students. “We have lots of rules, lots of requirements on special education and requirements on achievements,” Dorman said.

This created a shift in administration, as it was going to be more difficult to uphold the state standards by subcontracting with CYFS.
“WESD has more experience with education programs than nonprofit treatment staff,” Dorman said.

CYFS is a nonprofit organization that helps abused and neglected teens throughout the county. Their residential system is a year-round program in which kids live in houses throughout Newberg.

They are currently serving 175 students through a variety of services, including educational programs such as summer school, after-school education and high school completion. There will be 25 students who will attend the nine-month academic program of the WESD, said Deborah Cathers-Seymour, executive director of CYFS.

“Willamette ESD has hired our staff (and is) doing administration of that program,” she said.

Willamette ESD officials were unavailable for comment for this story.

CYFS educational programs have been transitioning out of the district’s portable schoolhouse and back into their own facilities. Willamette ESD will pick up where CYFS left off, continuing in the portable schoolhouse.

“Its my understanding (that the change) has nothing to do with CYFS staff not doing a wonderful job with the kids,” Cathers-Seymour said. “(They are) rolling out new standards that are going to have a lot more administrative involvement.”

Dorman said many regional programs like this are moving toward education service districts, and that this transition was “not a reflection on CYFS.” He added that it should not be a big change for the students. Their curriculum will not change and the educational transition will hopefully help their progress.

“Whenever there is a transition, change is difficult,” Cathers-Seymour said. She added that, while this is not what she would have wanted, she believes the students will be well served through WESD.

By Amanda Kate Winkelman, Newberg Graphic