The Santa Clarita Child & Family Center held its annual board installation on Thursday. 

 Due to the pandemic, the ceremony was held virtually during the organization’s monthly board meeting. Assemblywoman Christy Smith installed both the new officers for the 2020/21 fiscal year and four incoming board members.

The executive board members for the upcoming year are Cheri Fleming, chair; Marc Winger, EdD, vice-chair; Steven Zimmer, treasurer; David Wong, MD, secretary; and Michael Berger, immediate past chair. 

 Newly installed board members include William Cooper, Jean LaCorte-Kiczek; Taylor Kellstrom and Jennifer Lee.  Members Fred Arnold, Perry Smith, Staci Daniels-Sommers and Gloria Mercado-Fortine complete the 13-member roster.

“I am thrilled to participate once more in the Child & Family Center’s board installation,” said Assemblywoman Smith. “In times such as these, the Center and its dedicated leadership demonstrate the critical services our nonprofits provide to our community”

The volunteer board members are the fiduciaries who steer the organization towards a sustainable future by adopting sound, ethical, and legal governance and financial management policies, as well as by making sure it has adequate resources to advance the mission.

Child & Family Center provides comprehensive prevention, early intervention, diagnostic evaluation and behavioral therapeutic services, outpatient drug and alcohol treatment and domestic violence services for children, adolescents and adults in the Santa Clarita, Antelope and San Fernando Valleys. The Center has been providing services to the community since 1976. 

This past year the organization encountered many challenges and achieved significant accomplishments under the leadership of Dr. Joan Aschoff, CEO and the Board of Directors. The agency’s clinical response team responded immediately to the Saugus High School shooting in November, and then offered ongoing group therapy to the students, teachers and parents who were affected by the tragedy. 

The organization was forced to pivot when the pandemic began in March, completely shifting the method of providing services from in-office therapy to a telehealth model. 

“This year brought many challenges for Child & Family Center including closures caused by wildfires, a building flood, and then a pandemic, but through all of this we never lost sight of our mission to provide quality care to those most in need,” said Aschoff.  “Although we moved almost all of our services to a telehealth model, we were able to provide quality care to over 2,000 individuals and families.”

The agency received accreditation from the national Joint Commission organization in February 2020. The certification signifies that the organization complies with the highest national standards for safety and quality of care and is committed to continually improving patient care. 

The Center also received the Guidestar Platinum seal of approval, showing a commitment to transparency by providing up-to-date information that allows potential donors and funders to make educated decisions.

In addition, the Agency’s Doctoral Internship was granted Membership to the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral & Internship Centers (APPIC), an organization that matches graduate students to internships, fellowships, and postdoctoral training positions. APPIC Membership helps to recruit high-quality candidates for the Agency’s Doctoral Psychology Internship. 

“I’m so proud of the many accomplishments that were made this year in spite of the increased challenges,” said Fleming.  “The work of the Child & Family Center is probably more important than ever before.  I am truly honored to serve as chair of this extremely dedicated board of directors.”

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