January 9, 2018 - ChaddsFordLive.com

CASA announces new executive director

Leigh Anne McKelvey was named executive director of CASA Youth Advocates, nonprofit that recruits, trains and supports volunteers to advocate for the best interests of abused and neglected children in the Delaware and Chester County child welfare systems.

McKelvey succeeds Anne Shenberger, who led the organization through a financial and structural turnaround during her nine-year tenure. Shenberger will continue her involvement with the organization in the role of strategic director.

Since 2007, McKelvey has worked for CASA Youth Advocates, most recently as assistant executive director, promoted from program director when Shenberger and CASA’s board of directors selected her as Shenberger’s eventual successor.

“Leigh Anne’s natural leadership ability, combined with her passion for CASA’s mission, make her the ideal candidate to continue the momentum we’ve built under Anne. Leigh Anne’s contributions as assistant executive director were invaluable, and she’s more than ready to take the helm. In addition, we’re thrilled that Anne has agreed to continue with CASA in a strategic capacity. We’re fortunate to be in such a strong position,” said CASA Youth Advocates’ board chair Anthony Cavaliere.

Under Shenberger’s mentorship, McKelvey played an instrumental role in CASA Youth Advocates’expansion, in which the organization quadrupled its operating budget to $1 million, tripled its staff to 9, and increased the number of cases it served by nearly 40 percent to 134 in 2017. In 2015, the organization expanded its services beyond Delaware County by contracting with Chester County as well.

“All of this growth translates to more services for more abused and neglected children as we partner with county child welfare agencies to achieve better outcomes for children,” explained McKelvey. “It’s a trend I want to continue.”

As executive director, McKelvey’s first priority is to build CASA’s infrastructure to sustain the organization’s recent growth, including an assessment and overhaul of technology and human resources management, as well as an eye on expanding the organization’s individual donor base.

“Focusing on the internal first will help us move to the next level of sustainability and growth,” said McKelvey.

Continuing to build relationships with other agencies in the child welfare system will be another major focus for McKelvey, who is already well-connected in the field. She has held several leadership roles in the region, including chair of Delaware County’s ACT 33 Child Fatality and Near Fatality meetings — state-mandated multidisciplinary reviews of all fatal and near-fatal incidents involving minors in order to develop better methods and procedures for prevention and intervention.

As a faculty member and field liaison for West Chester University’s Graduate School of Social Work from 2011 to 2016, McKelvey kept current on the latest trends and research in the field while building connections with resources throughout the region. She was also recently invited to join the Board of the Friends of the Delaware County Women’s Commission.

From the very beginning of her career, McKelvey has been involved with different CASA organizations in some capacity, dedicating over 14 years of service under the CASA model. She always knew she wanted to work with children, and first discovered her interest in the child welfare system through volunteer work at a residential facility as an undergraduate.

She went on to earn her master’s degree in social work with a certificate in child welfare from the University of Pittsburgh. It was during this time she heard a representative from CASA of Allegheny County speak.

“I had never heard of CASA before, but I instantly felt that was where I needed to be,” explained McKelvey, who was inspired to spearhead a social work internship with the organization.

Prior to McKelvey, the University of Pittsburgh had no internship ties with CASA, and CASA of Allegheny County had only taken legal interns, never a social work student.

McKelvey’s spring 2004 internship with CASA of Allegheny County led to a part-time job with the nonprofit, and later a full-time position after graduation—a post she held until 2007 when she moved to this region and began working for CASA Youth Advocates in Delaware County.

As the sibling of two younger sisters adopted from the child welfare system and the relative of a biological parent involved with the system, McKelvey brings a unique perspective to her role. She resides in Delaware County on the Delaware-Chester county border.

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WSFS announces actions related to the tax

WSFS Financial Corporation, the parent company of WSFS Bank, announced in a press release a series of actions resulting from the enactment of H.R. 1, also known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, and other decisions that will impact earnings for the fourth quarter of 2017. These actions include writing down a deferred tax asset, the planned surrender of bank-owned life insurance policies, realizing a fraud loss charge, and a periodic grant to the WSFS Foundation.

“The enactment of recent tax reform legislation along with continued strong core performance, positions us to further invest in our business and the communities we serve,” said Mark Turner, chairman, president and CEO, WSFS Bank. “These decisions will also enable us to focus our attention in 2018 on key performance metrics and exceeding goals set in our Strategic Plan.”

The impacts to earnings described in this release are preliminary estimates and subject to additional procedures which could result in material changes to the preliminary estimated impacts to earnings noted below. These additional procedures could result in material changes to our preliminary estimates during the course of our preparation of condensed consolidated financial statements as of and for the quarter and full year ended December 31, 2017.

Deferred Tax Asset Write-Down

The enactment of H.R. 1 results in significant changes to the U.S. tax code, including a reduction in the top corporate income tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent, effective Jan. 1. As of Sept. 30, 2017, WSFS had a net deferred tax asset totaling $29.4 million. As a result of the reduction in the corporate income tax rate, WSFS is required to revalue its net DTA at Dec. 31, 2017. WSFS estimates the revaluation of its DTA will result in an incremental income tax charge of approximately $12 – $13 million in the fourth quarter of 2017. The company anticipates a negative earnings per share impact of approximately $0.37 – $0.40 resulting from this income tax charge. WSFS expects to recover this charge through lower taxes by the end of the third quarter in 2018.

Surrender of Bank-Owned Life Insurance

WSFS periodically reviews its various tax-advantaged investments. In light of the current higher interest

rate environment, the lower corporate tax rate, and the tax-equivalized yield on its Bank-Owned Life Insurance (investments, WSFS will surrender all BOLI policies in 2018, as the returns on such policies are no longer accretive to the Company’s expected high-performance goals for return on assets. In addition, the decision to surrender the policies was based on ongoing administrative complexity and a reduction in insured interest coverage, as a significant majority of those insured are no longer current Associates. WSFS’ decision to surrender the policies will result in an incremental income tax charge of approximately $8 million in the fourth quarter of 2017. The Company anticipates an impact on EPS of approximately $0.25 resulting from this income tax charge. The timing to surrender the BOLI policies in conjunction with the new tax rates represents a $3.6 million savings over the prior tax rate environment.

Fraud Loss

WSFS will record a pre-tax operating expense of approximately $2.8 million from a fraud loss in the fourth quarter of 2017, resulting from a scheme to defraud the bank that was previously disclosed in a current report on Form 8-K on June 22, 2017. The previously viable business loans associated with this relationship became delinquent when the individual decided to immediately wind-down and liquidate the assets of his business due to the significant reductions in revenue that occurred once his indictment was made public. WSFS is pursuing all available remedies, including working with insurance carriers to recoup the loss and believes it has a strong case for recovery in 2018. The company anticipates an impact on EPS of approximately $0.06 resulting from this pre-tax operating expense.

Grant to the WSFS Foundation

As a community-based organization, and consistent with WSFS’ mission, We Stand For Service, the company contributed $1.5 million (pre-tax) to the WSFS Foundation in the fourth quarter of 2017. This generational donation matches the only other grant made to the Foundation when it was formed in 2003. The grant will help fund the next generation of improvements in the communities served by WSFS Bank. The WSFS Foundation primarily focuses on educational programs for children in grades K-12 who live in underserved communities and who attend public schools. WSFS Bank anticipates an impact on EPS of approximately $0.03 resulting from this pre-tax expense.