More than 40 people showed up for Emporia’s Social Rehabilitation Services open house this morning to learn more about what the agency has to offer.
SRS’s Regional Director Cyrilla Petracek, said they changed this year’s open house in response to comments received from last year’s. This year, everyone who entered the building was given a map. Various stations were set up throughout the building and employees were at them answering questions.
A formal presentation of what SRS offers was given to the audience, which ranged from social workers to mental health professionals and school counselors.
The Emporia SRS office is a part of a 17-county region that covers 15,000 square miles. Within the region there are about 395 staff members who cover a population of about 360,000 people, Petracek said.
Petracek said everything that SRS does is centered around its mission statement, which is to protect children and promote adult self-sufficiency. Petracek said the vision is to partner to connect Kansans with supports and services to improve lives.
“No organization can do it on their own,” Petracek said.
There are six regions in the Kansas SRS system, Petracek said.
“We have enjoyed a really rich partnership in this region,” she added.
There are about 950 access sites in Kansas and one-third of them are in the south-central region. Each is dedicated to serving the customers in the best way, Petracek said.
“We believe that everybody needs to be treated with respect and dignity,” she said. “If we make a mistake, we’ll admit it. That open and honest communication never goes wrong.”
About two years ago, SRS came up with four outcomes or goals to better serve the community. The first goal is to make sure customers are satisfied.
“Customer satisfaction has driven everything we do,” Petracek said. “Every single person in SRS wants to achieve customer satisfaction.”
Many clients see SRS as a last resort, and the organization is looking to change that.
“The last thing anybody wants to do is come to an SRS office,” Petracek said. “We don’t want to be a last resort, we want to be a resource. I don’t want people to be afraid to come in. We really are here to help and offer hope.”
The other goals the agency has set are making sure children thrive, that families achieve maximum efficiency and that families are helped to live in a safe and stable environment.