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Founded in 1862, McQuade is a private, accredited not for profit organization dedicated to providing therapeutic residential care, special education, community group homes, emergency shelter services, and community based prevention programs for special needs children and their families. | ||||||||||||||||
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"It took me a while, but once I realized that the McQuade staff was really going to make me go to school, I decided to just give in and go. I began to get the hang of it, and the past 2 years have been great!" Mark- a student at the Kaplan School for Special Education
Children's Stories
Each child arrives at McQuade Children’s Services
with a unique set of challenges and histories. Some have a history of
suffering physical and mental abuse or neglect. Others have learning disabilities.
All are severely emotionally disturbed and have behavior problems at home,
in public school, or in their community. These children rely on McQuade
to help them heal, positively change their lives, and triumph their futures.
This past year, McQuade supported more than 1,000 children in crisis to enable them to remain with their families. We helped more than 180 children achieve academic and behavioral success, and assisted more than 600 children to learn to address their personal and family issues. Even though the numbers are impressive, it really boils down to one child at a time and the best way to tell the McQuade Story is to tell you the stories of the children we help.
That Easton Girl
A young woman known
by some at Newburgh Free Academy as “That Easton Girl,” Shaniqua
had a reputation for fighting and for skipping school. Things got so out of
hand that even NFA’s “Twilight” Alternative Education program
was stonewalled by this angry16 year old.
Enter Kim Cannon, a caseworker for McQuade’s PINS Diversion program. Her
assignment was to build a rapport with this girl, her teachers, her parents,
and liaison with all to improve Shaniqua’s attitude, attendance and grades.
“At first I said I wasn’t interested…the whole 9,” said
Shaniqua. “Kim was just another person I had to deal with and she sounded
like my mother—annoying. I zoned her out.”
But Kim kept visiting her… at home, school, calling, taking her to anger
management class, and confronting her about being truant. “I’d give
Shaniqua suggestions about how to handle conflicts differently and she’d
just say “well…” but I knew she was listening. And I worked
with her Mom and Dad too, so that we all supported each other and tried new
ways of communicating.”
“I put on the thickest attitude at the beginning,” said Shaniqua.
“But I started peeling—layers started dropping.”
By spring Shaniqua enrolled in NFA’s culinary arts program and was loving
it. She started calling Kim daily. Her fighting stopped. Her grades went up…by
fall they were up dramatically—into the 90’s! “My Mom didn’t
believe it was my report card when I showed it to her,” said Shaniqua.
“My friends say I’m different now…I’ve grown up. I’m
in the gospel choir, on the NFA Step Team…I had a summer job at Young
and Unique Day Care, and now I’m working at Polo in Woodbury Commons.
And no one is going to stop me from going on to college. I can’t wait
to start the rest of my life.”
Loveasia's Story
When Loveasia enrolls in college this fall, her parents
won't drop her off, she won't have all new clothes or a new laptop, and
she won't be going home on weekends or holidays. No, when Loveasia goes
'back to school' she is taking a huge step toward life on her own.
Loveasia was 15 when she first came to our girl's group home in Cornwall, and she came with a huge chip on her shoulder. She had been truant from public school for almost two years, and had failed 9th grade twice. Her mother vacillated between loving and accepting her, and shutting her out. Loveasia's 'friends' encouraged her defiant, boy-crazy, freewheeling lifestyle.
Initially, she stubbornly tried to keep to her old tactics: refusing to get up to go to school, not doing her chores, and even failing 9th grade a third time. As she describes it, "It took me a while, but once I realized that the McQuade staff was really going to make me go to school, I decided to just give in and go. I began to get the hang of it, and the past 2 years have been great!"
Loveasia graduated from Cornwall High School. She was named 'Princess' of the Senior Prom, was on high honor roll, served as a candy striper for St. Luke's Cornwall Hospital, belonged to Future Business Leaders of America, and was presented the Sojourner Truth Award from Orange County Community College.
"I owe a lot of my success to McQuade," she said at her graduation party, showing everyone the photographs from the Prom. "I look back at how I was when I came here, and it's almost like it was another person: I can't believe that was me."
Asked how she felt about graduating from high school, she replied, "I'm really happy ... it's been a long time. But I'm a little scared about what happens now because I won't be coming back to the group home, and I won't have the staff to help me. It's almost like they are my parents and now I have to leave them. It's hard."
As a College freshman Loveasia is majoring in criminal justice. "I want to be a lawyer. I've always wanted to be a part of the system and help people from the inside. Plus, I like to get my point across, and that's a good way to do it without getting in trouble," she explained. "I'm so proud of myself! I finally did it!"
Michael's Story
Michael is 14 years old. He comes from divorced parents,
both of whom are substance abusers. Since Michael can remember, he was
shuffled between them, never living in one place for more than a year.
While he has always been fed, clothed, and had a roof over his head, his
parents did not pay much attention to him. No one ever asked him how he
was, who his friends were, if he had homework, or how he was doing in
school.
Michael had great difficulty in school, caused trouble at home, and by the time he was 12, he started to do drugs and drink alcohol. His parents never sought extra help for him and he fell through the cracks as a result of constantly moving between schools. The situation worsened to the point that he was found unconscious from a drug overdose and hospitalized. His parents, involved in their own drug use, again did not notice. Still acting out, he was arrested for shoplifting, put on probation, and forced to go to therapy. He was diagnosed with depression and attention deficit disorder, for which he started to take medication. He decided to stop taking the medication a month later.
In early 2005, Michael was placed into the McQuade residential treatment program and started attending The Kaplan School. Upon his arrival, Michael was completely defiant of authority and all rules. Though he had a tremendously poor view of himself and lacked confidence, he acted like a "tough guy," cursed out teachers, and fought with other students.
Michael had never had a positive, caring adult role model. At home, no one had ever asked him to do his chores, homework, or behave. It was at McQuade that he first experienced working with adults who could be trusted and who cared about what he said and did. Through Michael's determination and the perseverance of the McQuade treatment team, Michael began to slowly experience some small successes.
Within a few months of living and going to school at McQuade, Michael began to respond positively to the idea that we don't give up on kids because they are having problems. His attitudes began to change and his self-concept showed significant signs of improvement.
Michael grew to the point that he helped others with their homework, did his personal tasks in the living unit without being asked and achieved in school. His behavior became predictably positive and he became a model for the other students to follow. He also began to participate in the Kaplan School-to-Work Program in which he went to a job placement two hours a day as part of his school program.
Despite repeated efforts to reach out to Michael's parents to involve them in his program here at McQuade, they continue to focus solely on their own problems. As a result, Michael does not go home and he spends his home visits here. In all likelihood he will spend the Holiday's here. Still, he has suffered no relapses and is thriving. He will most likely go on to be placed at our boy's group home in Washingtonville. McQuade's caring and committed staff has brought out all of Michael's strengths. Now, Michael is very articulate in expressing himself and especially his dreams for his future. He wants to be a businessman and wear a suit to work. He enjoys playing the guitar, basketball, and video games.
Michael now knows that he can only change himself and that there is another, better, more productive and fulfilling way to live. We hope that what Michael is learning at McQuade will allow him to grow up to become a caring adult, a contributing citizen, and a good parent.
Michael is a wonderful example of the tremendous will of the human spirit that all of the children at McQuade have within them.
Edwin's Story
Edwin is 13 years old and has been part of McQuade since August 2005. Edwin
truly benefits from many of the services and resources McQuade offers.
Residential Program
Edwin lives with seven other boys aged 9-14, in a cottage in McQuade’s
New Windsor Residential Program. Since coming to McQuade, Edwin has grown
to accept the constant love and caring shown to him by staff. He has learned,
through staff’s consistent discipline, that he is held responsible
for his behavior and must respect others. As part of the cottage schedule,
Edwin has been taught to set the dining table, clean up after himself,
and do his laundry. Edwin knows the rules of McQuade better than any other
child. He follows the rules, knows the routine and thrives from the stability.
For fun, Edwin likes watching cartoons, especially Sponge Bob, and is
forming friendships with his cottage-mates.
Kaplan School
Edwin is in the middle of his second year at the Kaplan School. He is
learning how to read and write and focus his attention by studying daily
with a tutor. Edwin has a great work ethic, moving past setbacks, not
giving up, and building on his successes. He takes care of the plants
in the classroom and looks forward everyday to counting his recyclable
bottles and cans. His teacher uses this as an exciting way to teach Edwin
multiplication, since he must multiply the number of bottles by five cents
everyday until he reaches five dollars, at which point he can bring the
bottles to the store for money. Edwin donates the money he raises to the
Veterans home. He also recycles newspapers to bring them to the Veterans.
Edwin loves to please, receive personal attention and listen to stories,
especially when the teacher uses Edwin’s name as the character.
Food is probably Edwin’s biggest love and he can’t wait to
bake cookies in class every Friday. Painting and drawing are also where
Edwin likes to put him time. For recess, rather than play sports, he carries
his art supply box around with him and draws outside. With the help of
his teachers and peers, Edwin is truly blossoming in school.
Social Work and Emotional Therapy
At McQuade, Edwin’s Social Worker, Rebecca, works with him and the
other boys who live in his cottage, to heal emotionally and build their
self-confidence. Rebecca explains that Edwin is very curious and makes
many profound observations about his environment. He is driven by positive
attention and connects with people, even though sometimes he does not
like to talk. Edwin has a remarkable effect on people, including his previous
Social Worker who comes all the way from Kingston to visit with him on
the weekends. She brings her dog, which has become a terrific way for
Edwin to verbalize his positive feelings, not only about the dog, but
about her. Edwin is proving himself to be a very loving, caring, upbeat
child.
Mentoring Program
Edwin has a mentor, Everett, who is 24 years old and works as a Systems
Consultant at Applied Systems Technology (AST) in Cornwall. Everett is
one of the only consistent, caring people in Edwin’s life who is
not staff. Everett has enriched Edwin’s life by working with him
to develop his trust in people and in himself. One day, Edwin explained
to Everett that he wanted to work at Dairy Queen when he gets older. Everett
helped Edwin process that idea by working with him on a business plan.
They formed a “business” called King Edwin’s Ice Cream
Stand and they “hired” employees (Edwin’s fellow cottage-mates)
and marketed their business to McQuade staff with flyers. King Edwin’s
Ice Cream Stand took place on a Tuesday afternoon in the dining room and
made a net profit of $120, which Edwin and his “employees”
used to go out to dinner. This exercise was a great way for Edwin and
his peers to learn about business and boost their self-confidence. Everett
and Katherine Keating, McQuade’s Mentoring Coordinator, recently
helped Edwin make his Halloween costume, a “Gold Vampire.”
Edwin was very appreciative of his costume and proud to wear it at the
Kaplan School Halloween party. Everett continues to meet with Edwin weekly
to help him with his homework and talk about whatever Edwin wants to talk
about.
Recreation
Edwin has progressed so much at McQuade he is now taken on almost every
community trip because of his good behavior. He recently went to Rye Playland
and went on all of the rides, a big accomplishment for Edwin. Edwin likes
to be in water, and can’t wait to learn how to swim in the new Kaplan
Aquatic Center pool next summer.
Edwin is a wonderful example of the tremendous will
of the human spirit that all of the children at McQuade have within them.
Edwin continues to build upon his successes through guidance, supervision,
consistent discipline, and loving care from our staff. He has formed friendships,
takes an interest in school, acts appropriately and shows respect for
his peers and McQuade staff.
