Dr. Valerie D. Jackson, Executive Director
Dr. Jackson has a bachelors’ and masters’ degree in General Psychology from the University of Houston. Her Doctor of Philosophy Degree is in Clinical Adolescent Psychology from Prairie View A & M (affiliate of Texas A & M University). She has been involved in clinical work for the past 15 years and a college professor for 10 years. Also, she has worked in the nonprofit arena for over 12 years assisting over 100 Philanthropist with starting (i.e. incorporating, securing tax-exempt status, developing the infrastructure, budget projections, sustainability plan, etc.) their nonprofit organizations. For the past 7 years, the Dreyfus Health Foundation (DHF) – a New York based organization, has contracted her as the local Program Director for the Houston affiliate, Solutions for Better Living (SBL). She operates four major program under SBL; iServe Community-Based Education and Health Program, Depression and Anxiety Screening Project, Medicaid Case Management Program, and PSBH Community Health Workshops and Grass root Projects. She is the President/Founder of The Adolescent Center and Mental Health Services. The company is a multidisciplinary intervention and treatment center that specializes in adolescent behavior health services but not limited to that population. Serves that are offered are individual/family/group therapy, psychological testing, psychosocial assessments, support groups, case management, medication consultation, and long-term mental health treatment plans. She is the founder and Executive Director of Monarch Family Services. The agency offers adoption, foster/adoptive parent training, psycho-education groups, family reunification program, foster children therapeutic programs, and behavior health services for parents with an active case with DFPS.
Myrei C. Edwards, LCSW, LCPAA
Myrei C. Edwards, LCSW, LCPAA is a state of Texas Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Board-Approved Social Work Supervisor and a Licensed Child Placing Agency Administrator. She obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from Syracuse University in 1990 and received her Master of Social Work Degree (M.S.W.) from Howard University in 1992. She has over 22 years of experience in working in family and child welfare, mental health treatment, and the foster care and adoption field. Ms. Edwards is a former U.S. Public Health Service Commission Corps Officer, serving under the Surgeon General for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMSHA), where she conducted JACHO accreditation quality care inspections of residential treatment facilities throughout the United States. She has worked with children in the care of Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) since 1998, in positions including case manager, therapist, treatment director, and director at two child-placing agencies. She is also the founder and owner of Supportive Assistance for Family Enhancement Project, LLC (S.A.F.E. Project), a prime contractor for home assessment and screening services in Region 6 from 2008 – 2013. Ms. Edwards has completed and/or approved thousands of Foster Home Screenings, Foster/Adoptive Home Screenings, Pre-Adoptive Home Screenings, Interstate Placement Home Assessments, and Kinship Caregiver Home Assessments for DFPS. She is passionate about establishing permanency for all children in need and has also worked in the private domestic and international adoption sector for the past ten years. Ms. Edwards has assisted many families in completing domestic, international, relative, stepparent, second parent, and embryo adoptions throughout the state of Texas over the years. Ms. Edwards also facilitates adoptive home studies of U.S. citizens living abroad in a number of foreign countries. As a clinician, Ms. Edwards utilizes a number of treatment modalities tailored to the clients’ individual needs. She has worked with trauma survivors, including those affected by Hurricane Katrina, sexual abuse, and domestic violence. She has also worked with clients with gender issues, substance abuse, and families affected by divorce.
