Miller first recipient of Summit County’s Champion for Children and Families award
AKRON - The Village Network (TVN) Executive Director James T. Miller was honored Thursday, April 22nd at the annual Alliance of Summit County Child Caring Providers awards breakfast. Miller is the first recipient of the Alliance's Champion for Children and Families Award. He was recognized for his dedication to improving the quality of life for abused and neglected children in Summit County.
The award ceremony was part Summit County's Child and Family Awareness Month celebrations. Miller was one of 12 individuals honored for their roles in serving Summit County children and families in need.
"Jim Miller is deeply committed to the welfare of vulnerable children in Summit County and Ohio," said Deb Rex, president of Alliance of Summit County Child Caring Service Providers. "Quietly and persistently he advocates for policies, services and practices that really work for children and their families."
Miller has been with TVN for 23 years. Before taking the helm at TVN, Miller was the clinical director and the associate director with oversight responsibilities of all programming and staff. Under his watchful eye, TVN has grown to multiple locations across the state serving over 600 boys and girls daily in residential, day treatment, treatment foster care and alternative school programs.
In 2007, TVN was named Agency of the Year by the international Alliance for Children and Families. The non-profit agency operates two Akron facilities providing co-educational residential and day treatment, treatment foster care, crisis assessment services and respite care. The agency also services boys and girls in other TVN facilities depending on the nature and extent of their needs.
Figures from 2002 - 2009 alone show TVN provided specialized services for more than 600 at-risk children in Summit County. Over that same time period, the need for TVN's services increased 227%.
TVN-Akron partners with Summit County Children Services (SCCS), Summit County Job & Family Services (SCJFS) and Temporary Assistance to Needy Families to provide In-Home Family Stability Services for children and families receiving SCCS services.
The agency is partnered with SCCS and the National Institute of Mental Health on a two-year pilot program in Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care (MTFC). The specialized foster care program provides opportunities for troubled youth to successfully live in families rather than in group or institutional setting.
Several prestigious Summit County foundations have donated dollars to TVN-Akron. The Akron Community Foundation donated substantial dollars to upgrade the local residential facility turning it into a secure but comfortable, non-institutional setting.
The Martha-Holden Jennings Foundation purchased equipment to create a digital art lab and the Mary and Dr. George L. Demetros Charitable Trust FirstMerit Bank, N.A., purchased beginners' level music instruments and sheet music for the a new music program. The funds purchased 12 keyboards with tutorial programs and 8 Fender acoustic guitars.
"Jim is a strong believer in public-private partnerships and was the prime mover to establish the strong and growing partnership between SCCS and the Alliance of Summit County Child Caring Service Providers," said Rex.
Miller is the recipient of the 2008 George Steven Award recognizing his valuable contributions to the Ohio Association of Child Caring Agencies (OACCA). He holds a master's degree in social work from The Ohio State University and he is a Licensed Independent Social Worker.