TESTIMONIALS
TESTIMONIALS FOR DRB CONSULTING
“DRB Consulting” demonstrated Juvenile Justice Expertise and professional delivery of service, which placed NYAP at a competitive advantage in comparison to similarly-focused youth serving organizations within our various regions. DRB assisted NYAP in revitalizing our community-based juvenile justice programs and identifying innovative best practice services, through assessing our Care Management Program, as well as our Supported Living Homes, to identify strengths and areas of opportunity. DRB went beyond our expectations to ensure we were satisfied with the outcomes at each phase of our program development and research strategies."
Edward Sparks, ACSW, LISW-S
National Youth Advocate Program (NYAP)
Executive Vice President
"In 2010, I selected DeShane to serve as one of my Juvenile Detention Center Experts in a project to audit two New York juvenile detention centers. In 2014, I invited DeShane to a small gathering of Juvenile Justice Experts and practitioners at the Annie E. Casey foundation (AECF) to discuss ways to reduce the use of room confinement as a disciplinary sanction in juvenile facilities. The meeting helped the Foundation and its grantees prepare for the release of the revised JDAI Standards for Juvenile Detention facilities in June 2014. DeShane is knowledgeable, thorough, and professional in his assessment of juvenile justice facility’s organizational culture and operations."
Mark Soler
Center for Children’s Law and Policy-DC
Executive Director
"DRB Consultants are astute in Organizational Management, specifically with managing secured Juvenile Justice and Mental Health Facilities. One thing that caught my attention with DRB was the immediacy in assessing the facility’s needs, prioritizing the needs, and his urgency in building teams to initiate resolutions. DRB was successful in pulling together a multi-disciplinary work group to complete the facility’s first “Strategic Plan.” I am very grateful for DRB’s contributions to the Washington D.C.’s Juvenile Detention Center."
Marc Humphries
Division of Youth Rehabilitation Services (DYRS)
Operations Manager of Facilities
“Mr. Reed’s presence from the beginning (at Marion County Juvenile Detention Center) has served as a beacon of light in the reform of our county’s handling of juvenile offenders. His advocacy and experience in the Juvenile Detention Alternative initiatives have helped Marion County remain true to its focus of detaining fewer offenders while keeping the community safe.”
Margaret Blythe, MD
Professor of Pediatrics & Director of Teen Care Clinical Services
Indiana University School of Medicine
"Mr. Reed took a nearly impossible task of saving a Arkansas largest residential treatment facility for juveniles, that had been allowed to slip into a rut. Mr. Reed’s ability to set a vision, and teach the vision to the staff was instrumental in the success that has been seen. I have served in education for over 20 years. Seeing Mr. Reed’s strong visionary leadership style has been a true highlight of my career. He works extremely hard to impart that vision and teach the right way to help children."
Andrew Curry, Ed. S
Arkansas Juvenile Assessment and Treatment Center
Principal
“DeShane is truly superior in his capability to immediately comprehend the real issues underlying the challenges and needs of youth who have interacted with the Juvenile Court System. He was superior in his ability to relate not only to youth, but also parents, co-workers, judicial officers, and representatives and heads of community agencies. His capacity for excellence in decision making allowed him to translate his knowledge and experience into effective action. His ability to manage crisis situations with a plan and strategy was outstanding. In all instances of decision making he consistently acted with full maturity and excellence in personal and professional judgment. DeShane Reed is a change catalyst and a transformational leader. He is truly "A Difference Maker" who has taken ownership of his career, job, and life. He exemplifies what greatness looks like in a leader. His relentless pursuit of excellence, vision for what should be, sense of urgency, ability to lead collaborations, innovativeness, strong ability to deliver results and lead organizations to the next higher levels is inspirational.”
Perry Epperly
Family Court Administrator/Chief Juvenile Officer
Greene County Family Court
“Mr. Reed understands that the formula for running a safe facility depends on efficient security procedures, functional relationships between staff and youth, and a compelling behavior management program. This belief allowed him to reduce the number of fights occurring in the facility from approximately five per day to less than five per month and to simultaneously end the facility's historic over-reliance on isolation to control youth behavior. Overall, Mr. Reed dramatically improved the lives and treatment of the youth at the Marion County Juvenile Detention Center, and noticeably increased staff morale. His management style combines clear vision and strong leadership with the patience for staff to develop the skills they need to improve the quality of services they deliver. He would be a great asset to any human services agency, and I recommend him without reservation.”
Kelly Dedel, Ph.D.
United States United States Department of Justice Consultant/Researcher
One in 37 Research, Inc.
"Mr. Reed assumed leadership of an environment that was plagued with systemic inconsistencies, low staff morale, and deteriorating customer confidence. Reed worked congenially with a host of different disciplines and was innovative as it related to problem-solving. As a result of his leadership and effectiveness, Arkansas’ largest juvenile residential facility programs showed notable documented enhancement, the staff culture was healthy, serious and critical reportable youth incidents were significantly decreased and customer relations had vastly improved."
Rickie A. Grant
G4S Youth Services, LLC
Former Regional Director
“Mr. Reed and I have worked on some very large projects together, mainly the Marion County Juvenile Detention Center CommU.N.I.T.Y Fair and the Parent Teen Conference and Resource Fair. The community fair was an event that united more the 4,500 Marion county neighbors within the toughest zip codes, and informed youth and parents about the resources available to them. This CommUNITY fair strengthened the relationship between the community and the Juvenile detention Center. There are many internal and external challenges to overcome when working to execute a project such as this however Mr. Reed proved to be capable of meeting those challenges. The event was a huge success and meet the intend goals. Mr. Reed has utilized his knowledge, skill and passion to improve the condition of the Marion County Juvenile Detention Center and he will be missed. I recommend him as an exceptional member of any team.”
Tonya Hill, BSW
Marion Superior Court Juvenile Division Volunteer Coordinator
“I have known Mr. Reed since 2009, having first met him when he became superintendent at the Marion County Juvenile Detention Center. Before arriving, the facility was under a court mandate to comply with federal regulations. The facility was described by the media as extremely dysfunctional, dirty, chaotic, over its capacity, unsafe for children, and with egregious violations of civil rights. Through Mr. Reed's leadership, a team approach was established. Swift and sweeping action was taken. Programs were revitalized and new initiatives were implemented. The students and staff responded in a very positive way and the juvenile center began to get national attention for improvements. The Annie E. Casey Foundation endorsed the system wide improvements. The transformation became a national model for juvenile detention reforms.”
Harold V. House
Former Mayor & Municipal Judge
“In Mr. Reed's duties as the top administrator of the Marion County Juvenile Detention Center, I have watched him work endlessly to provide the best professional levels of administration. His strong leadership skills, in relation to administration experience, are second to none. As the principal of the IPS Juvenile Learning Center Program, I have become very aware of the wealth of knowledge that Mr. Reed brings to the education side of this facility, as well as, the Juvenile Detention Center itself. He is a very devoted individual with heart-filled concerns for helping at-risk and troubled youth. Due to Mr. Reed's efforts and support, we were able to meet "substantial compliance" in all areas of education with the Department of Justice.”
Leon Kittrell,
Indianapolis Public School District
Principal, Juvenile Learning Center Program
“DeShane is a man after my own heart that doesn't make excuses and never holds others to standards that he himself can't surpass. He is determined, professional, driven and unwavering when it comes to standards of care and ethical responsibility. When DeShane walks into a room his presence is felt by everyone in his midst because he is confident, kind, generous, intelligent and he possesses an air of inner strength that is tangible.”
Katrenia Y. Reed Hughes, PsyD, MBA
CEO, Insight Growth Management, LLC
“Mr. Reed developed our policies and procedures, provided hands on training to educate staff and utilized his program development skill set to create our new Behavior Management System. This feat could not have been accomplished without the tireless efforts of Mr. Reed. We would highly recommend utilizing DRB Consulting for any juvenile detention/corrections-related need. This company will walk with you to see your successful outcomes come into fruition.”
Darrell Gordon, CEO
Wernle Youth & Family Treatment Center
"Barbara Reed’s outcome-based approach and dedication to see projects to full completion has resulted in exponential growth. Within 1.5 years, Barbara took a struggling NYAP-Central Region of Indiana team and built a strong professional network of professionals, tripled NYAP’s foster care census and home-based therapeutic services, stabilized Regional operations, and built strong relationships with community partners. Barbara is a transformational leader who has established an organizational culture of teamwork and continuous professional development through evidence-based practices."
Tyrone Humphrey, MS
National Youth Advocate Program-Indiana
Director of Program Development
"Barbara Reed stabilized the complexities of an under-performing clinical department at Arkansas’ largest juvenile residential treatment center. Barbara has interfaced and established good relationships with the contract administrator and ancillary support personnel while receiving accolades and acknowledgement from external monitoring sources and quality assurance groups relative to the improvements of the clinical services and depth of programming. She is meticulous and uncompromising when it comes to the ethics of her profession. Her clinical and leadership skills coupled with her administrative abilities are beyond reproach."
Rickie A. Grant
G4S Youth Services, LLC
Regional Director