Project Lifesaver Celebrates 10 years in Wood County

Posted 7/6/2017 by dschmutzer@co.wood.wi.us

Your support has helped us serve over 90 clients since 2007. With a current enrollment of 33 individuals, our program continues to grow.

Project Lifesaver is a rescue program for children and adults with cognitive impairments or medical conditions that put them at risk to wander and become lost. Citizens enrolled in Project Lifesaver wear a small personal radio frequency transmitter around the wrist or ankle that emits an individualized tracking signal. If an enrolled client goes missing, the caregiver notifies their local law enforcement/rescue agency and a trained emergency team responds to the wanderer’s area. Most who wonder are found within a few miles from home, and search times for participants have been reduced from hours and days to minutes from when the search team arrives.

Project Lifesaver of Wood County’s program is a combined effort of the Wood County Sheriff’s Department, Wood County Rescue, Marshfield Fire and Rescue Department, Aging and Disability Resource Center of Central Wisconsin, Stevens Point Composite Squadron, Civil Air Patrol, Pittsville Fire Department, Nekoosa Fire Department, Wood County Human Services and PIER-Parents Information Education Resources.

If you know of an individual that this may be beneficial for, please call:
For Individuals under 18:
         Contact: Wood County Human Services, Jill Jerabek at 715-389-0241
For Individuals over 18:
         Contact: Aging and Disability Resource Center of Central Wisconsin, Erin Johnson at 888-486-9545 or 715-421-0014

Human Services Move to River Block

Posted 7/5/2017 by dschmutzer@co.wood.wi.us

Human Services now at River Block (Wisconsin Rapids):

• Courthouse 
• FSET division from Centralia Center  
• 12th Street location

August 17th Move  

• Economic Support from Centralia location 

Our new address:
111 West Jackson Street
Wisconsin Rapids, WI 54495

Our phone numbers will not change.

Grant Awarded to Wood County Human Services

Posted 1/5/2017 by dschmutzer@co.wood.wi.us

Wood County Human Services—Legal Services/Crisis Intervention Unit was awarded a Crisis Training Grant in the amount of just over $34,000 to use for training purposes by June 30, 2017.

We are developing a training plan that utilizes a learning collaborative approach to strengthen the crisis response system and enhance the ability of Crisis Interventionists and community partners to provide dementia-capable services.

 The following are goals as outlined in the grant proposal:

*To improve professional understanding and awareness of dementia. This will be accomplished by holding a training with guest speaker and geriatric specialist, Dr. Suzanna Waters-Castillo.

*To provide training opportunities to community partners with a broad focus on Crisis Prevention, legal structures related to the elderly, and navigating our local resources. This will be accomplished by holding a training with speakers from ADRC, Corporation Counsel, and Wood County Human Services.

 *All APS (Adult Protective Services) workers will become certified to administer the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) tool.

 *Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) and Crisis Intervention Partners (CIP) trainings will be offered.

*All APS workers amongst other specialized workers will become trained on the Wisconsin STAR method for more effectively working with those with complex dementia.

Trauma Informed Care Approach

Posted 1/13/2016 by dschmutzer@co.wood.wi.us

The Wood County Human Services Department began learning about what it means to utilize trauma informed principles of care as part of a department wide initiative. This process began with the development of a committee that includes employees from each service area throughout the department. Our vision for Trauma Informed Care is to empower and instill hope by understanding, recognizing, and responding to the effects of trauma and creating a safe environment for consumers, employees, partners and our communities.

Trauma Informed Care (TIC) shifts the perspective away from asking “what is wrong with you?” to instead ask “what has happened to you?”. We have recently completed an agency assessment that has provided information regarding areas of strengths and areas for improvements as we continue our journey towards becoming more trauma informed.

The principles of Trauma Informed Care align with our department mission, vision, and values; we believe that embracing the perspectives learned through research, regarding how traumatic stress can impact healing and recovery, we will have better outcomes for the consumers we serve.