Where There’s Hope,
There’s Help.
We believe hard work and dedication speaks for itself. We are committed to helping children and families in the community.
We are Paragon Youth & Family Services.
Who We Are
Paragon Youth & Family Services is a community and strength based Social Service agency that was created to bring hope to youth and families who have become involved in the child welfare or legal system. Through home-based services, court-ordered participation, and our community partners, we help youth and families rediscover their better selves, allowing them to restore hope and rebuild relationships.
We knew we could infuse more passion and power into the work we are called to do. And to do that, we knew we had to build the right likeminded team with the right skills, and endless will to build a better agency. From there, we decided we would be the “paragon” social service agency in the State of Indiana. Our plan is to do things differently. Clients deserve more than just box checking. By training our team to be professional, empathetic, and genuine, our goal is to deliver life changing experiences. We meet out clients on their level of understanding and provide a tailored plan of care (added with community resources) to help guide them to meeting their best selves.
The Diamond Model
Paragon Youth & Family Services embodies the formation of a diamond as it’s model. Like diamonds, children and their families may need time and added pressure to develop into; brilliant, bright, and indestructible families. Paragon Youth & Family Services believes that a child or family who embodies or displays the attitude of a diamond, will have gained the confidence and perserverance to detour from roadblocks that may come. Like the formation of the diamond (from a lump of coal) the start may seem ugly, worthless, and un-measureable, but the end result is priceless and Paragon.
Prior to relocating to the State of Indiana, Julius received his Bachelor of Arts in Education, and is inspiring to be an Educator. During his last semester of student teaching, Julius realized that he wanted to serve the community first hand, and a different career path was taken. After graduating, Julius started his career working at an established Social Service agency in Kenosha, WI. where he served as a High School Liaison to at-risk teens. While serving as a High School Liaison, Julius’ positive attitude and commitment to helping the community were noticed by the Kenosha Police Department, and he was recruited to become a Police Officer. Julius started his career with the City of Kenosha Police Department and later served as a Middle School Police Liaison.
Julius also served as a Sensitive Crimes Officer, handling those difficult reports which involved crimes against children. This experience changed Julius’ life and it was then decided that Julius would serve children and their families for a lifetime. Julius left the Kenosha Police Department after an eight year career, and relocated to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he served as a Family Support Specialist at Children’s Hospital. The experience at Children’s Hospital, further extended Julius’ knowledge and willingness to help children and families in the community. Amongst other things, Julius provided Supervised Visits and Father Engagement services to a caseload of twenty to twenty-five families.
In 2015, Julius decided to relocate to the State of Indiana, to be closer to his family. Julius needed a way in, so he started his career with the State of Indiana, Department of Corrections, where he served as a Correctional Officer at an adult facility. Julius was awarded numerous awards for his hard work. Among those awards, was the Department of Correction Outstanding Officer Award, given to those Correctional Officers who promote positivity, good work ethic and excel in work performance. In 2016, Julius was promoted to Case Manager at a State of Indiana, Juvenile Detention Facility, where he served as a Unit Counselor. Shortly after his promotion, Julius transferred to the State of Indiana, Department of Child Services. Julius served as a Family Case Manager Trainer and Field Mentor for two years, before being promoted to Family Case Manager Supervisor. In 2021, Julius returned to the police force to serve as an officer in the state of Indiana.
In 2018, Julius founded Paragon Youth & Family Services. Julius served as a community volunteer for programs which served at-risk teens, absentee fathers, and other victims of Child Abuse and Neglect. It should be noted that Julius funded his own community events. In 2019, Julius returned to the Department of Child Services where he continued to serve as a Family Case Manager Trainer and Field Mentor. Julius was awarded honors, which acknowledged his work performance. The highest honor coming from the State of Indiana Governor’s Office, which acknowledged Julius’ professionalism, and willingness to serve the children and families of Elkhart County.
Julius continues to serve the children and families in the State of Indiana and has become a small pillar in the community. He continues to provide services aimed at the at-risk population in hopes of making the community better.
Indiana Family & Community Data Indicators (2018 - 2021)
Our Services
We provide quality youth and family support in terms of service, technical expertise and advice.
Listed below are the core services we offer.
Intensive Day Treatment Service
Our Intensive Day Treatment Service is a comprehensive program designed to address the needs of youth (ages 10-17) who have been adjudicated by juvenile court, whose problematic behavior puts them at risk for an out-of-home placement. This program uses the concepts of positive youth development (in the areas of home, community and school) to provide services to help youth successfully complete their supervision and refrain from new delinquent acts.
The goal is to improve decision making, and assist parents in establishing clear, consistent rules and age appropriate expectations. Because of the intensity of the program, our Youth Workers have daily face to face contact with the child, at least one times per day, and conducts daily early afternoon and late checks of the child’s whereabouts. Our Youth Workers conduct family meetings once per week, to ensure that treatment goals are being met. This program provides services 24/7 365 days of the week due to the intensity of services.
Homemaker/Parent Aide
Our Homemaker/Parent Aide service is geared to work with families referred by Joint Services, to maintain safety in homes where children are at-risk for removal or who are unable to appropriately fulfill parenting and/or homemaking functions. This program works collaboratively with Indiana Department of Children Services’ (DCS) and Probation. Our Parent Mentors address a wide range of concerns including safety, parenting, household management, nutrition, safe and stable housing, service acquisition, education, employment, medical, mental health and substance abuse issues. Emphasis are placed on helping families develop formal and informal systems of support and resources. Teaching by demonstrating, to build self-sufficiency is the goal.
Father Engagement
Our Father Engagement service is strength based and utilizes both; the Case Plan provided by DCS Family Case Manager and a state approved father engagement curriculum to successfully engage fathers in services that will improve safety, stability, well-being, and permanency for their children. The idea is to educate, and help fathers navigate the sometime difficult legal processes and requirements. The Father Engagement Liaison is an advocate and most important, an educator for fathers in the community, whose children are directly or indirectly involved with the Indiana Department of Child Services (DCS) and/or Probation.
Supervised Visitation
Our Supervised Visitation service provides a safe and protected place where children can maintain, or in some cases, re-establish a relationship with a custodial (and in some cases non-custodial) parent. The Family Stabilization Visitation Specialist Facilitates court ordered visits between children in the custody of the Department of Children and Families or Juvenile Probation and their biological parents.
Home-Based Family Case Management
Our Home-Based Family Case Management service is designed to preserve the family unit. These services are delivered through both home and community services. Our Family Support Specialist assist with domestic violence awareness, child development, conflict resolution, problem solving, age-appropriate discipline, communication, setting boundaries, just to name a few. Our Family Support Specialist work to increase family communication and behavior modification that leads to successful parenting.