ROCK ISLAND ARSENAL, Ill. (Feb. 9, 2024) – The Rock Island Arsenal Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation’s Child and Youth Services recently passed an Army Higher Headquarters Inspection (AHHI) that began the week of Jan. 29, and did so with less than a handful of minor infractions and a lot of accolades.
The AHHI is an unannounced inspection that takes place to all Army Child and Youth Services, but here at Arsenal CYS usually takes place later in the calendar year, until now – with the holidays barely in the rearview mirror the AHHI team happened to choose Rock Island first.
“There was no specific preparation,” said Alan Knack, chief, Child and Youth Services. “The AHHI is unannounced, and we were among the first installations inspected for the year. These results reflect the quality people working in our programs year-round and the amazing support we get from our command ensuring we are always providing safe developmentally appropriate care.”
Col. Daniel Mitchell, garrison commander, U.S. Army Garrison Rock Island Arsenal, emphasized his own thoughts and accolades about the outcome of the AHHI.
“We're always seeking to get to excellence and sometimes that's just a little bit here and there –
we can always be learning and always be growing; you can't get complacent,” said Mitchell. “We're entrusted with the children of all the folks that live and work here, it's a sacred trust, and it's clear that Alan and all of his team are bearing that trust well, and they're doing a fantastic job.
“It's no understatement to say that each individual – caregiver to supervisor – to people, parents, central employees and parents’ internal affairs are part of this,” said Mitchell. “I'm astounded that there's four findings out of like 358 inspectable areas, so that's pretty amazing, and you know, well done. You guys should be very proud of your accomplishments and your efforts.”
Jackie Nitsche, the evaluation team lead with the AHHI team out of San Antonio, Texas, went over several items in the AHHI brief held at USAG RIA headquarters on Feb. 2, but specifically emphasized one specific area she wanted to highlight.
“We had excellent examples of children interactions in both the school aged youth program and the child development programs,” said Nitsche. “So oftentimes, children with difficult behaviors, or challenging behaviors, lead to not as positive in our guidance techniques. But when we saw children that were having those challenging behaviors… we saw teachers who were able to deescalate that before it got to be a problem, and that's key, that is key.”
The nutshell breakdown of the findings of the AHHI in layman terms was said well by Knack.
“Zero commander attention items, zero repeat findings, zero OSD (Office of the Secretary of Defense) command attention items that were in our power to influence,” said Knack. “Total of four findings for entire inspection.”
When the curtain is pulled back to see the reasons behind the excellence in CYS, Knack was quick to point out the hard work being accomplished in the program.
“We have an amazing team of dedicated professionals at all levels who care about what they do and take pride in the quality of the program they deliver,” said Knack.
As to the surprise of the inspection coming so early this year and any grumbling in keeping standards so high, Knack continues to maintain a positive attitude.
“Inspections in CYS are a way of life,” said Knack. “We understand their importance, but we also understand that they are a snapshot of a moment in time. We are thrilled with this year’s outcome.”
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