Blue River Services, Inc. (BRS) is a private, non-profit organization founded in 1959 by six families that believed that all people are capable of learning when given the opportunity and appropriate support services. With this guiding philosophy for more than 58 years, BRS has consistently expanded its services to meet the needs of community members and help people with disabilities and the general public overcome barriers to independence.

BRS strives to reach its motto of “People Serving People” by providing exceptional services for all ages, from infants to seniors, in all areas of life and levels of ability.  The agency offers services through 13 departments, and in fiscal year 2017, served 17,000 individuals in 33 Indiana counties.

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Blue River Services, Inc. received the Outstanding Family-Friendly Business Award from the Chamber of Commerce of Harrison County at its 84th annual meeting held April 4 at Horseshoe Southern Indiana. The 14th largest non-profit in the Louisville metro area, Blue River Services received the award in recognition of its programs benefitting families in Harrison County and beyond.

“It is their passion for improving people’s lives by providing the opportunity to succeed and the support to make it happen,” said Jason Copperwaite, Chairman of the Board of the Chamber of Commerce of Harrison County, in presenting the award. “They continue to find solutions to support the people and communities they serve. Please join me in congratulating the 2018 Outstanding Family-Friendly Business Award recipient, Blue River Services – People Serving People.”

Daniel J. Lowe, President and CEO of Blue River Services, Inc., second from left, accepted the award,  presented by, from left, Copperwaite, Lisa Long, President of the Chamber of Commerce of Harrison County, and Jeff Shireman, previous Board Chair.

Neither wind nor rain… On a breezy Tuesday morning ahead of stormy weather in Harrison County, Lacey Mitchell, left, and Stephanie Rex, plant pinwheels in support of Child Abuse Awareness and Prevention Month. After the first federal law to protect children from abuse and neglect was passed in 1974, it wasn’t until 1982 that additional efforts were made to identify and prevent child abuse, and the first National Child Abuse Prevention Month was designated in April. Now, leadership in the Children’s Department at Blue River Services, Inc. help bring awareness to the cause by placing pinwheels along sidewalks in Corydon. The blue pinwheels also represent the innocence of childhood and stand as a reminder of the great childhoods all children deserve. Blue River Services, Inc. leaders will once again participate in the Harrison County Prevent Child Abuse Community Awareness Event. Please join us Tuesday, April 24, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the YMCA, or call 812-364-1142.

Blue River Services, Inc. has received funding for the 21st Century Community Learning Center grant that will provide afterschool programming at North Harrison, Morgan, East Washington and Medora schools for the next four to eight years. Blue River Services was awarded $300,000 per year and Medora Community Schools, in partnership with Blue River Services, was awarded $175,000 for programming at the elementary and Jr. High schools.

The original grant cycle is for four years, beginning with the 2018-19 school year. However, for the first time, if grantees remain compliant with all expectations during the initial four-year period, the state will allow them to request annual extensions for four additional years.

The 21st Century Community Learning Centers (CCLC) program is a federally-funded program that provides at-risk students a safe environment during non-school hours. Programs may be held at one or multiple sites, which may be in schools, or community or faith-based facilities. All centers must provide a range of high-quality services to support regular school-day academics and development, including tutoring and mentoring, academic enrichment, such as homework assistance, reading, math, science, and technology programs, service learning, character education, physical education, recreational activities, and dropout prevention.

Healthy Families Program Offers New Parents Source of Comfort, Hope

In rural Crawford, Washington and Harrison Counties, single parents and poverty rank especially high. With 2,547 single parents in the tri-county area in 2016 and 6,812 food stamp recipients in 2017, the area also is known for its continuing drug epidemic.

Just ask Crystal Hess, a single mother who struggled with drug addiction for many years.

With the help of Healthy Families, though, Hess has become a nurturing mother, wife, homeowner and restaurant manager. The state-funded program, offered by Blue River Services, Inc. in Harrison, Washington and Crawford Counties, offers new and expectant parents free, voluntary and confidential assistance. Hess successfully graduated from the program in January 2018.

A Family Support Specialist, who helps parents like Hess cope with stress, identify needs and build on strengths, can even help families with parenting skills and developing goals. The ongoing services also include screening for post-partum depression, a grave condition affecting Hess, along with 600,000 other women in the United States annually, according to the Centers for Disease Control. With referrals to community resources and doctors, and developmental in-home assessments, Hess and her son also began receiving services through First Steps after Healthy Families staff identified a developmental delay. Her son received in-home speech and language therapy through First Steps, and at 3-years-old, he is now eligible to participate in an Exceptional Learners program at North Harrison Elementary.

Blue River Services, Inc. has been awarded the highest level of accreditation by CARF International for its programs in Employment Services (Supports, Job Development and Organizational Employment); Community Integration; Home and Community Services; Respite Services and Supported Living.

This is the eighth consecutive survey Blue River Services has been awarded a three-year accreditation, which demonstrates the agency’s commitment to exceptional personalized care, accountability and satisfaction of persons served.

CARF International is an independent, non-profit accreditor of health and human services providers and a public seal of trust and commitment to quality based on internationally accepted standards.

For additional information about the CARF accreditation process, please visit www.carf.org.