Youth Service Bureau of Illinois Valley

HR Team at Aurora University today, connecting with students & hopefully future YSB interns or employees! ?? so many students here today, has been a great turn out!

Our Hispanic Services Team is amazing! Funded in collaboration with the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights and the IL Department of Human Services, they help over 1000 families annually.

Our HR Department is at NIU today searching for the newest YSB team member or intern! ●●●● If you know anyone who is looking for all level roles in Aurora, Rockford, Crystal Lake, Princeton, Ottawa, please reach out directly here or send an email to [email protected]

Always looking for different ways to give back to our staff… one of the ways we did that today was offering staff meditation. Meditation has been proven to reduce stress, allow mental clarity, provide healthy coping mechanisms, improve memory, and much more. We’re so lucky to have Michele Callaway on staff to guide us through this exercise! Our staff definitely went on to a more productive, relaxed day!

Check out YSB's newest Employee Spotlight--Laureen Beck! Administrative Support Supervisor and Marketing Development Assistant! Laureen is someone you can always count on for a big smile and a warm welcome. For the last 12 years she has dedicated so much of her heart and her time to YSB, and our clients. Her passion for our agency, her coworkers, and our clients only seems to grow larger each year! She is truly a joy to have on staff and we are so lucky to have her. Please learn more about Laureen Below.

Staff Spotlight! What keeps you motivated in work or life? "I am genuinely motivated by wanting to understand families and children where they are when I meet them. The idea of being able to empower those children and families that I serve to make better choices for themselves in life. For real, there is nothing more motivating than knowing I am able to help people see their own worth when they have been made to feel so small in life." What are some of the most rewarding aspects of your work? "Permanency for our children...first through return home. It is the reason that I do this job and I LOVE being able to see children safely returned to parents that have made choices to put their children and their needs above their own in order to become a better parent and member of society. I also love seeing teenagers become their own and excel in the independent world. And although bittersweet I love seeing kiddos adopted when the parents are not able to safely have them returned." How do you cope with stress and burnout in the field? "This is hard and sometimes the answer is that I don't cope well and I take the stress out on those around me that I know won't leave regardless of my harsh words and long hours. I think I try to cope by knowing when to walk away for a minute, hour, afternoon, day, or weekend. And realizing that it's ok to not always be ok and to have to walk away. That being said my coping comes through prayer and centering myself back with those I love." How do you manage work life balance? "For anyone that knows me, including my staff will probably say I don't have a balance of work and life. That is true, but my struggle for work/life balance has to do with my desire to never do a disservice to any child, parent, or family that I am entrusted with. This has been a growing balance over the past 17 years. I have to remember that I am 1 person, that I cannot do it all, and that if I do all that I can for all of the time that I am working and then when I am not working do all that I can to disconnect and not answer, not respond, and mostly be present in the moments that I am in. This is not easy and will never actually be balanced for me but I continue to make it more balanced." What are some of the most challenging parts about your job? "I find it most challenging to work in a system that is broken. The policy, red tape, and lack of consistency throughout the different agencies and court counties is difficult. It's a struggle to help all involved in the team understand the legalities and process that has to continue. It's also difficult to see a worker put their heart into helping families and watch them be disappointed, frustrated, and feeling like they have failed a child at times...It can be most challenging to be the one that has to sit with that worker through the anger, tears, and frustration and honestly not have answers that help them feel and know that they are still making a significant difference in the lives around them."

Our next staff spotlight... Stephanie Rosales! Stephanie has worked with YSB for 13 years!! She is always the first to participate in any staff event and her bleeding heart is worn on her sleeve! Read more about Stephanie below: What's your job title? - Clinical Administrative Assistant What keeps you motivated in work or life? - Bills What are some of the most rewarding aspects of your work? - Helping people, making someone smile. How do you cope with stress and burnout in the field? - Vent to my supervisor. What are some myths or misconceptions you encounter about foster care? - That the family doesn’t care about their kids. That mental health is an excuse for behavior. What are some of the most challenging parts about your job? - Keeping my desk clean.