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New Mexico
Angela Vachio |
Angie Vachio, co-founder of the Peanut Butter & Jelly (PB&J) Therapeutic Preschool and Executive Director of PB&J Family Services, Inc., headquartered in Albuquerque, New Mexico, has dedicated her life to protecting children at-risk of abuse and neglect. Founded in 1972, the Peanut Butter & Jelly Therapeutic Preschool is a family-focused child abuse prevention program, which uses interactive parenting to help families develop the skills to provide safe and loving homes for their children. It has evolved from a volunteer organization into a nationally accredited, comprehensive family services agency with programs in five counties in central New Mexico. Under Ms. Vachio's leadership, PB&J is one of the few agencies in the United States to have developed effective programs to serve the children of incarcerated parents. PB&J's ImPACT program, operational in four New Mexico correctional facilities, is designed to re-unify children with their incarcerated parents and to re-establish the family unit once the incarcerated parent is released. In 2001, the National Institute of Corrections selected PB&J as one of only five agencies nationwide to receive a grant to develop a model system of care for children whose parents are incarcerated. In the year 2002, Ms. Vachio received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from the University of New Mexico in recognition of her achievements in serving children and families.