Established in 1975, Stepping Stones, Inc. is a nationally accredited, fully licensed child welfare provider with over thirty years experience in working with West Virginia’s troubled and troubling youth and their families. The therapeutic milieu is family centered and youth focused and provides youth with an opportunity to enhance cognitive competence, internalize coping skills and develop an “I Can” attitude. Through restructuring, re-education and reintegration, Stepping Stones seeks to strengthen the youth’s relationship with family and community. The Program firmly believes that discovering and uncovering the connectedness of the youth and his family with the community is paramount in treatment delivery.

Overarching all of Stepping Stones programs is the ecological focus of the Re-ED model. Re-ED is a strengths-based approach that focuses on resiliency; complimenting Re-ED, the Programs use supporting tenants derived from the Circle of Courage and strength based asset development that builds protective factors. The Programs safe, nurturing and creative learning environments challenges each youth to optimize his potential spiritually, emotionally and physically. Respect for self, respect for others and accepting responsibility for personal actions are emphasized throughout programs.

Accredited through the Council on Accreditation for Services for Children and Families, Stepping Stones, Inc. is dually licensed through the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) Office of Social Services and Office of Behavioral Health. The Service Array includes:

▪	Residential Treatment: Level I, Level II and Specialized Step-Down
▪	Chafee Transitional Living Program: Scattered Site Apartment Living
▪	Youth Transitioning Program: Supervised Apartment Living
▪	Community Based Team: Prevention & Reintegration of youth from Out-of-State Placements
▪	Socially Necessary Services: Parent Education; Comprehensive Assessment Services

Stepping Stones, Inc.’s Administrative and Residential site is located in Lavalette, WV on 166 acres in rural Wayne County just 20 minutes from the service rich area of Huntington, WV.

▪	Mailing address: p.o. box 539 Lavalette, WV 25535
▪	Physical Street address: 1235 Buffalo Creek Road, Huntington, WV 25704
▪	Directions from Huntington, WV: Route 152 to Lavalette; right onto Rt 75; left onto Buffalo Creek Road; travel four miles; then right onto our Driveway.
▪	Phone: 304/429-2297	▪	Fax: 304/429-8365	▪	Web: www.steppingstonesinc.org

We are most effective when...

▪	Preservation services are used to directly alleviate the risk of family separation
▪	A strengths-based approach is used.
▪	The family’s culture, values and beliefs are respected
▪	Parents/Caregivers are the primary resource for their family members.
▪	Parents/Caregivers have the primary responsibility for the well-being and safety of their family members
▪	Parents/Caregivers are able to effectively advocate and negotiate systems (i.e. Court, educational, medical) on behalf of their family members
▪	Family participation in the program is genuine and grounded in strong relationships with staff.
▪	The focus of family intervention is responsive (changes as the needs of the family change).
▪	Interventions reduce stress and strengthen adaptive coping behavior
▪	Families are provided safe opportunities to problem solve
▪	Mutual and reciprocal informal support systems are utilized
▪	Parents/Caregivers can articulate the strengths, needs, developmental level and goals of their family members.
▪	Coaching and consultation is used to support the parents/caregivers in their role

©S. Stones, Inc. 08-02

COMPREHENSIVE ASSESSMENT AND PLANNING SYSTEM
Stepping Stones, Inc. participates in WV’s Comprehensive Assessment and Planning System (CAPS). CAPS was developed to assure the uniform assessment of children and families receiving services through the WV Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) Child Protective Services (CPS) and Youth Services (YS).

Stepping Stones performs Mobile CAPS: assessment of children/youth who currently reside in the community in a family setting. Mobile CAPS is designed to assess the strengths, needs, barriers and resources of these children/youth and their families to prevent out-of-home care placement and/or assist in the identification of appropriate community based treatment alternatives and/or interventions. CAPS include a structured child assessment as well as a family assessment.

Stepping Stones is available for CAPS in the Wayne and Cabell County areas of WV.

SYSTEMATIC TRAINING FOR EFFECTIVE PARENTING - STEP
Stepping Stones provides a weekly STEP Parent Education Group as part of our Residential & Community Programming to our families. Nationally trained, Stepping Stones has four Staff Trainers and two Trainers of Trainers for STEP. The Agency provides structured developmentally appropriate STEP training for Parents of Teens, Children and Young Children.

Witnessing the turmoil families experienced when at-risk of separation and/or how disenfranchised the families felt when a child was in out-of-home care, was program changing. Nicolas Hobb’s vision of a family liaison that would work within the ecology of a family has been reinforced again and again as we dedicated staff to family work. Our STEP Groups are comfortable, family oriented and provides a supportive environment for parents who are experiencing challenges with their kids. Our STEP Groups are held in the evenings and we always provide dinner to our families and an extra opportunity to be with their children before, during and after the Groups.

Community Based STEP Groups, open to other community families, may be offered from time-to-time. Please feel free to contact our Office for more information.