Attention Homes director seeks more support for work with youth

RUSSELLVILLE — The executive director of Attention Homes of Northwest Alabama has asked the Franklin County Commissionto to double the county’s annual contribution for the agency.

County Administrator Leah Mansell said the previous contribution from the commission was $5,000. Currently, commissioners have budgeted a contribution of $7,500, but Allie Lee has asked for a $10,000 contribution.

Founded in 1973, Attention Homes provides an alternative to juvenile detention through separate homes for boys and girls in Florence. The organization can house up to 16 young people ages 10 to 19.

Lee said residents attend school or GED classes; participate in counseling; and learn daily living and social skills. She said the homes provide the structure of a family rather than the atmosphere of a detention facility.

“It’s not supposed to be set up like a detention [center],” she said. “It’s set up just like mine and your home is.”

Lee said staff members encourage routines that some young people may not experience at home.

“They get up, they make breakfast together in the morning,” Lee said. “They sit at the table and eat their breakfast. They go to school. They come home. They do their chores.”

She said residents also eat dinner together each evening, helping demonstrate what a healthy family routine can look like.

Franklin County has been connected to Attention Homes since the organization’s founding. Lee said the county was one of the organization’s founding counties and that its state license is filed in Franklin County.

About 29% of the young people served by Attention Homes come from Franklin County, including residents from Russellville, Phil Campbell and Vina, Lee said.

Attention Homes primarily serves Colbert, Franklin and Lauderdale counties. Lee said it plans to expand into Lawrence County when its new fiscal year begins Oct. 1.

Lee came to the Shoals to attend the University of North Alabama, where she earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in social work. She completed her first social work internship at Attention Homes before working several years in therapeutic foster care.

After several years away from social work, Lee said former Executive Director Teresa Robertson encouraged her to apply for the position. Robertson led the organization for 42 years before retiring.

Attention Homes relies on city and county appropriations, grants, private donations and fundraising. Lee said the organization does not receive per-night reimbursement when a young person stays in one of its homes, unlike some residential facilities, and it does not charge residents or their families.

“There is a lot of cutting in the grant world right now,” she said.

Lee said the organization has responded by seeking additional support from local governments, churches, foundations and private donors.

She said additional funding from Franklin commissioners would help cover houseparent and office salaries, food, transportation, fuel, utilities and insurance.

“Feeding 16 kids can be really expensive,” Lee said.

She said local churches and community groups regularly organize drives to collect hygiene items, school supplies and food to support the homes. Current needs include hygiene products, cleaning supplies and nonperishable food, she said.

Lee said each resident receives mental health and social history assessments upon arrival to help staff determine whether additional services may be needed. Staff members assign each resident to a room and chores before they begin a behaviorbased level system.

Most residents complete the program in about 35 days if they steadily progress through the levels, although some remain longer because returning home immediately would not be in their best interest, Lee said.

She said every resident has received some type of charge and is on probation, but the circumstances that bring young people into the program often are more complex than many people realize.

“Just because they’re in the court system or they’re on probation doesn’t mean that they’re just getting into trouble, or that they’re bad kids, because they’re not,” Lee said.

She said problems within a young person’s home environment often contribute to the situations that lead them into the juvenile justice system.

Lee said Attention Homes follows residents for one year after they leave by checking quarterly with juvenile probation officers. She said 89% of young people who complete the program stay out of detention during that follow-up period.

“I love it,” Lee said. “I love working with the teenagers.”

Lee said one resident recently gained acceptance into the Kids to Love program after making significant progress while staying at Attention Homes. She said staff members worked with the resident’s attorneys and guardian ad litem to help secure the placement.

She also described a resident who had stopped attending school before entering the program. During his stay, he earned his GED, and house parent Waynette McClish helped him enroll in the Job Corps in Montgomery.

Lee said the young man continues to do well there.

She also described a Franklin County resident who returned home after several months in the program. She said staff members helped ensure the teen’s medications were properly managed, connected her with counseling, and worked on anger management before she returned home.

Lee said the young woman has continued to do well since returning home and has experienced fewer family conflicts.

As executive director, she said she hopes to expand the organization’s services by adding tutoring, résumé preparation and other life-skills programs to help young people prepare for education, employment and adulthood.