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Six months after starting as program director, Morgan Herda is still wondering what a “normal” day looks like at Southwestern Youth Services in Magnolia.
She started in April just as the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the Department of Corrections and prompted new operating procedures for SYS.
“We really had to hit the ground running,” Herda said. “Kids couldn’t go home. They couldn’t have visitors.”
Southwestern Youth Services is a non-secure residential treatment facility that provides care, education and behavioral programming for at-risk young males.
Herda immediately made it her priority to help the boys make the best of what were already disheartening life circumstances.
“My most important job is to make sure our kids get everything that they can from this program, benefitting from what we’re trying to teach them,” she said.
Her first order of business was to help facilitate communication between the students and their loved ones via Zoom or other online means.
At the same time, she and executive director Jeremy Hough continued implementing state and federal requirements for pandemic safety.
This included distributing hand sanitizers, taking students’ temperatures twice a day, implementing mask policies, sanitizing common areas and developing a plan for a COVID infection — which so far hasn’t been needed.
“So, it really came down to ‘What can we allow?’” Herda said. “Can we allow anyone off campus? What do we have to do on campus?”
When asked how the students are responding, Herda sighed.
“They’re frustrated,” she said. “Mostly because they can’t see their families. Right now the only off-campus travel is for medical appointments, so they’re getting anxious.”
While some off-campus activities have resumed this fall, summer was most disappointing.
“A lot of them usually have work opportunities in the summer, and we had to cancel all of that,” Herda said. “And it’s really heartbreaking, because that’s when they can get out and earn money.”
But she praised the youth and the staff for positive attitudes.
“Honestly, they’re handling it very well. We’re really lucky with this group of kids,” Herda said.
“They’ve had a lot of patience. They’ve been helpful with cleaning the building, they’re making sure they use hand sanitizer, wearing masks when they’re in therapy.”
Riding out the pandemic
The facility normally operates at a capacity of 28 students, but that number dropped to 20 amid the pandemic, according to SYS education director Carole Naasz.
“There’s no transportation between entities … DOC, DHS, no travel,” Naasz said. “That was one of the hits we took.”
As a result, many young people in the criminal justice system were frozen in time.
“What’s really unfortunate is that court stopped,” Naasz said. “So any student waiting for a court appearance, sorry. They just have to chill where they are, whether it's here, home or JDC juvenile detention center.”
Herda said it’s just one of many pandemic side effects. “Everyone got put on hold because of it,” she said. “There was no movement between placements and residential.”
The result was that some students who were bound for Magnolia didn’t get there, and some who were graduating from SYS couldn’t leave.
Herda said students work their way through five levels of privileges toward completing the program.
“We had one kid on his highest level of privileges for a long time, but we couldn’t move him,” she said. “He was here an extra four months and didn’t need to be.”
Independent life skills
To make the most of their time in Magnolia, students in an Independent Life Lessons class learned how to do home improvements.
“We basically remodeled the whole building, and the kids did 90 percent of the work,” Herda said. “They were involved in changing out furniture (donated school furniture from Luverne district) and painting … The kids took so much pride in it.”
Grays and blues were chosen for primary wall colors as another way to instill calm in the building.
“A lot of these kids go through chaos all the time, so my main goal was for things to be calming and comfortable for the kids,” Herda said.
That also meant designing living quarters that felt less like residential treatment and more like home.
For example, glow-in-the-dark stars shine from ceilings in bedrooms and day areas have brighter lighting and cheery decor.
Treating the whole child
Treatment and education at SYS go far beyond paint colors in a room, however.
“Mental health is so important, and the kids are different than they used to be in terms of their coping skills,” Herda said.
Naasz has been with the Magnolia facility for nearly 20 years and said programming has shifted with the clientele it serves.
“We used to get criminals and criminal behavior, like gang activity and car thieves,” she said.
“Now it’s kids that struggle more with mental health. The ones with criminal backgrounds are at home on ankle bracelets. The kids that are here need more structure and treatment.”
Herda said it’s important to recognize that SYS students today are products of their environments, having experienced abuse, neglect and often severe trauma.
“Each kid is different for how to respond to them and treat them and how you work with them on how to handle stress and triggers,” Herda said.
“The kids here have made mistakes or they’ve had a rough upbringing but every single kid here right now is so special in their own way.”
A COVID Christmas
The annual SYS Angel Tree in the front lobby will not be accessible to the public this year, due to pandemic restrictions.
The tree bears cards with requests from SYS students, and churches, families, individuals, organizations and businesses collect the cards at fulfill wishes.
Naasz said she’s working with a few locations in Luverne for potential SYS tree displays, and she’s hoping gifts still come in for the Magnolia students.
“The holidays will look very different here,” she said. “We can’t have people come in.”
Christmas wishes will be published in the local newspaper, posted on the SYS Facebook page and people can call SYS at 507-283-4425 for gift ideas.
Gifts can be dropped off at the west door of the facility by pressing the doorbell for staff to accept the items.
Young director steers Magnolia program to meet changing needs of youth
Morgan Herda grew up in Rock Rapids and knew at an early age where her career would take her.
While a student at Central Lyon High School, she found herself drawn to classmates who were struggling and would get them help.
She earned her bachelor’s degree in child, adult and family services at Iowa State University with a minor in criminal justice.
She graduated in May 2017 and completed two internships at Southwestern Youth Services in Magnolia before moving to the East Coast to be with her sister for two years.
But she knew she’d be back.
“When I left here, I told people I left a lot of my life here,” Herda said. “So when this position opened, I decided it was a sign that I was ready to apply.”
Her predecessor, Jeremy Hough, is now executive director, replacing Don Johnson who retired.
Herda’s job duties include policy implementation, student referrals, managing 24-hour operations and overseeing the staff of 37 people, 30 of them full-time.
And, she jokes that she cleans toilets too.
“Humor is important,” she said. “If you don’t have fun, no one would come to work.”
SYS education director Carole Naasz said she appreciates Herda’s lighthearted approach to their stressful responsibilities.
“Morgan has brought new energy to us,” Naasz said. “She has refocused the staff. As humans we all get in ruts. It’s fun to come in and see what’s going on, what the plan is and where we’re headed.”
And, Naasz said, “She’s very team oriented. I don’t know how we would get through if we weren’t.”
Herda said teamwork is important for the program to succeed.
“We all can help the kids and be on the same team, and that’s our goal together,” Herda said. “I came here with a lot of changes and new ideas, and the staff here has embraced them.”
She said being young helps her connect with the teens in the program.
“I would say a lot of my own life experiences and being able to relate with kids has set me up to help them through the experiences they have gone through,” she said.
“I guess I see myself as a role model, too, not just the program director that they have to listen to.”
Naasz said this is important, considering the students’ backgrounds.
“A lot of adults in their lives have been punitive,” she said. “Morgan has changed that from being punitive to being trustworthy and someone they can talk to.”
Herda said she looks forward to operating SYS without pandemic restrictions, but she said her goals for the program remain the same – to help the students.
“I really want the community to understand what we do here and see how hard the staff works here with the kids,” Herda said.
“What we do here is life-changing for the kids, and it’s so rewarding to be part of that.”