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3 honored for their devotion to children’s health, wellness
By SEAN BARRON
AUSTINTOWN
Three area professionals with careers dedicated to children’s health and wellness were given an award during a banquet and ceremony at The Upstairs Restaurant on Mahoning Avenue.
Recipients of the D&E Counseling Center’s Children’s Mental Health Crystal Heart Award on Thursday were Marla Joliff, Janet Weisberg and Germaine Bennett.
Joliff is director of student personnel for the Youngstown city schools. Among other things, she has been instrumental in ensuring the schools have access to mental-health support services.
Weisberg is the Raymond J. Wean Foundation’s program officer of the Early Childhood Development and Social Services department. She has worked with numerous social and health-care organizations to provide technical assistance in furthering their efforts to help young people at risk for behavior and emotional challenges.
Bennett is a former assistant superintendent for Youngstown city schools. For more than 25 years, Bennett, who has served on many Mahoning and Trumbull county organizations’ board of trustees, championed and addressed the needs of youngsters with emotional and behavior problems.
Criteria for the award includes the length of careers devoted to advancing children’s mental-health care; contributions to the growth and/or improvement in children’s mental-health prevention and treatment services; assistance in the growth and sustainability of programs and services to prevent emotional disabilities; and public or private advocacy for influencing policies and practices toward advancing treatment for children.
The D&E Counseling Center, which has locations on Belmont Avenue, Youngstown, and Javit Court, Austintown, is a nonprofit community mental-health agency that provides comprehensive behavioral-health services to children, adolescents and their families.
The center, offers psychiatric services as well as individual, group and family counseling, assessment, community support and case management.