Thursday, September 30, 2010

September Member of the Month: Children's Home Society & Family Services

On a sunny Thursday afternoon I (Rachel) had the pleasure of meeting with Brian Stawarz, MA, LP, LMFT, Director of the Individual and Family Counseling (IFC) Program at Children's Home Society & Family Services (CHSFS). CHSFS has been a member of YIPA since 2003, and since Brian joined the team in 2007 he has been an active participant in YIPA’s quarterly meetings. He recently joined our legislative committee, as he has a strong desire for YIPA programs to survive and thrive.

He was eager to talk about the ways YIPA has helped him and his staff network with other organizations and help the program stay current with Best Practices in early interventions with at-risk youth. Two of the most memorable and significant connections Brian has made through YIPA are with the Minneapolis American Indian Center (MAIC) and with the Division of Indian Work (DIW). He was involved personally with a music group for 8-10 year-old children at MAIC, and one of his clinicians, John Wolff, LMFT, has helped with the “Healing Spirit Program,” a residence for Native American youth who have experienced up to a dozen foster care placements. Both were opportunities to connect with the Native American community and provide valuable outreach efforts. He sees his involvement with YIPA as invaluable, and hopes to continue seeking networking opportunities on behalf of CHSFS. Although he represents the entire agency at YIPA meetings, his involvement is more directed towards meeting the needs of the families and youth being served through the Individual and Family Counseling Program. There are two particular programs within IFC that receive funding through the Office of Justice Programs and YIPA; Juvenile Diversion & Restitution Services and School-Linked Intensive Mental Health Services.

Youth are referred to the Diversion and Restitution Program through local police departments and Ramsey County Corrections, where they work with the CHSFS Diversion Coordinator and their parent(s) to complete an assessment. Their diversion program follows a slightly atypical model for screening youth, using a modified form of their Mental Health Assessment. This screening focuses on emotional, behavioral and psychological functioning, but with no diagnoses made. Once the assessment is complete, they come up with a joint plan to help the youth avoid court involvement. Some of the activities recommended are: community service hours, financial restitution, apology letters to the victim involved, theft or decision-making classes, and/or therapy sessions. According to the CHSFS website, “ninety percent of youth completing the program typically have no further contact with police, based on six-month follow-up surveys.” They are very proud of the work they do, and look forward to keeping youth out of the juvenile justice system.

The second program we talked about is School-Linked Program. This service allows therapists from IFC to float among different schools within a district and provide counseling services to students, one-to-one meetings and referrals. They are currently teamed up with Minnesota Independent School Districts 622 and 625, and are finding their presence to be welcomed and supported. In their work with these school districts, they encounter many students who struggle academically, behaviorally and emotionally. The families of the children often struggle with transitions, financial difficulties and being overwhelmed with their many life tasks. Connecting the students with a counselor makes a world of difference in their lives and oftentimes the individual therapy will lead to family or couples work. Children’s Home Society & Family Service’s IFC program is a wonderful example of a well-integrated system of care between schools, government, clients and community providers. It was enjoyable to hear what a positive experience it’s been for Brian and the rest of his team. Keep up the good work!

Friday, September 24, 2010

Unleashing the Human Potential of Native American and Aboriginal Youth

Last week I (Rachel) was able to be a part of my first quarterly meeting with the YIPA membership, which was a great way to learn more about the wonderful work being done with youth across the state of Minnesota. As everyone introduced themselves and gave updates of their agencies, there was one story that stood out to me. Valerie LaFave from the Minneapolis American Indian Center (MAIC) told the group about a grant her agency recently received from the Nike N7 Fund. If you’ve never heard of the N7 Fund, I would recommend you take a peek at their website to learn more. The fund was created to help meet the needs of Native American communities, by attempting to increase their access to sports and physical activities, while simultaneously building confidence and fostering positive change. The N7 Fund awarded grants to 15 non-profit, 501(c)3 organizations – including the Minneapolis American Indian Center - which allowed them to purchase new shoes for 59 of the 78 youth they serve. That in itself is an incredible feat since according to Valerie LaFave, the Parent Coordinator/Supervisor, a handful of their families do not have an active phone, so MAIC’s staff did outreach by going to their homes and knocking on their doors. What commitment!

More exciting yet, the youth were brought on a field trip to Champs at the Mall of America, where they had a chance to select the shoes of their choice and be fitted on the spot! Valerie told the story of a little girl who was convinced she was being to brought to a low-end shoe store, but was astonished when she found out they would be going to Champs to get any sneakers she wanted! It was her first time getting a personalized pair of shoes, which struck a chord with Valerie and many others in the room as we listened intently.

It was an “aha” moment for all of us as we found out how powerful an experience it was for youth to have an opportunity to purchase shoes unlike any they’ve had before, with no strings attached. And for many, without this grant, they would have gone without new shoes at all. A parent whose three children received shoes from the grant money gleefully reported that all her kids had something great to say, as she expressed her gratitude to Valerie and the entire MAIC staff, "Thanks for the kids’ shoes! If you only knew!!! Each one of my kids had something great to say,”

“I love my golden eagle shoes!”

“My shoes will make me run so fast!”

“Nike and you are the bomb!”

By providing grants and product donations, the N7 Fund helps to fuel opportunities for Native American youth to engage in sports and physical activity, which they hope will enable them to seek positive influences and create positive change in their communities. We all know there is a connection between physical activity and the development of self-confidence, and it is fabulous to hear that the youth are already feeling more confident and positive about themselves as they embark on the 2010-2011 school year.

Friday, September 17, 2010

University of MN Resource

It’s back to school time again! Doesn’t the end of summer always seem to creep up on you with that one last trip to the lake, one last burger or brat before the grill goes back in the garage…? Of course back to school comes with all of its own excitements, too! While yellow school buses gear up and classrooms across Minnesota open their doors, another part of the state buzzes with new activity and the population of Dinkytown explodes.

It is easy to think of the University of Minnesota (Twin Cities) as a great fortress. Those inside know how to navigate its departments, but for an outsider the sheer size can be prohibitive. That is why it is so wonderful when an insider reaches out to us and is excited to share the University’s vast resources with the non-profit world.

This post is the first in a series that will explore opportunities for collaboration between The U and the youth intervention community. This week we will discuss the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs Capstone project and how programs can take advantage of free researchers!

Every year the majority of graduating Humphrey students will complete a capstone project, which is a culmination of what they have learned in their graduate program. This project is a hands-on, real world research project that links their academic interests with policy issues in the community. There are roughly ten different capstone classes (most during the spring semester) that cover a variety of fields such as: non-profit management, collaborations, government, social policy and others. Each class is taught by a different professor and has varying requirements. The common factor is that each class uses real non-profits or government agencies as its clients. As a client these groups pose a question to the students (for example, can you help us figure out what our stakeholders feel about this new initiative) and then for the semester a group of 3-6 students works on this project and provides a report at the end.

This service is free! How do you get involved? Faculty members have different approaches. In some cases, the professor will choose several projects that are relevant to their class and assign students. In other cases, the professor will make a list of options from which the students will pick. Sometimes, the students will choose their own projects. The vetting process can be complicated depending on what the professor and students are looking for. It might include a sit-down meeting with the professor or it could be a presentation and Q & A with the whole class. The best way to know is to contact the program and tell them about your interest.

Thank you to Erica Sallander with the YWCA of Minneapolis Girls RAP program for bringing this opportunity to our attention at YIPA’s quarterly membership meeting this summer. Erica recently worked with three Humphrey students to create a sustainable strategic business plan for her program. Using YIPA Social Return on Investment study and other Girls RAP data, the students helped identify ways to create a stable funding stream. What did Erica do to get three free researchers? In the spring she presented her idea to a capstone class along with about ten other programs. Then, she sat at a table as students moved around the room asking questions of each program. She waited as the students deliberated privately to determine which projects to choose. Happily, the YWCA project got chosen!

Our friends at the Juvenile Justice Coalition of Minnesota have taken advantage of this incredible resource for three semesters. What advice do these programs have for those of you who might be interested in learning more?

1. Have a champion. Connecting with a faculty member or a student before the vetting process is a huge asset.
2. Design a project that is doable in one semester.
3. Design a project that has a clear purpose and tangible results.
4. Deign a project that sounds like fun! (to public policy grad students anyway…)

Additionally, YIPA has designed a project around our advocacy efforts and applied to have our project taken on by a group of students in the 2010-11 year. YIPA’s Executive Director, Scott Beaty, will present the project to students and we will anxiously wait to hear if ours was picked.

YIPA will be working more in the future with the Humphrey to strengthen these connections and find champions for youth intervention projects. For more information contact Jessi Strinmoen, YIPA’s Director of Services at jstrinmoen@mnyipa.org.

Monday, September 13, 2010

Hello and Goodbye! By Clare Ryan, YIPA’s former Promise Fellow and Rachel Ayoub, YIPA’s new Promise Fellow

GOODBYE FROM CLARE
A year has gone by already?

Yes, it was just about a year ago that I (Clare) started fiddling around on Blogger for the first time and ended up with this blog. I am so grateful to all of the amazing people who have contributed to this collection over the year! If you want to know what YIPA has been up to, reading though old posts is a great way to catch up and hopefully learn something new in the process. The best part for me was getting to talk to so many of YIPA’s members and hear about the exciting things that they are doing for youth in Minnesota.

Being YIPA’s first AmeriCorps Promise Fellow has been an extraordinary experience. YIPA’s staff – Scott, Jessi, and Chris – are inspiring people who have put years of hard work into making Minnesota a better place for young people. They have the constantly challenging job of figuring out how to bring together diverse organizations from across the state, give them the training and support they need, advocate for them collectively and provide all of these services for as low a cost as they possibly can. It was an honor to be able to help in some small way this year.

Luckily, I am leaving this blog and my other responsibilities in the very capable hands of YIPA’s new Promise Fellow Rachel. It is my great pleasure to introduce Rachel to all of you and let her write a few words of introduction.

GREETINGS FROM RACHEL

Greetings loyal readers and helpful contributors! I (Rachel Ayoub) am happy to announce that I am the newest member of the YIPA family! I’m very much looking forward to my year of service as an AmeriCorps Promise Fellow, and am eager to find my niche in the field early early intervention. I thank Clare for passing the torch on to me, and trusting me to continue on with the wonderful work she started both with the KidsChange blog, as well as with her work in the area of best practices and evaluation processes in early intervention. Over the course of the next year, I will be using this blog to provide useful tools, helpful resources, relevant articles, interviews and personal testimonies that speak to the effectiveness of early intervention both within our communities and nationwide and give youth service providers concrete tools to help them do their jobs with youth more efficiently and effectively.

You may be wondering what qualities and experiences I bring to the table, and how I anticipate these will carry over into my year of service with YIPA. In brief, I am a 2007 graduate of St. Catherine University, where I earned a degree in Social Work. I will begin studying full-time at Augsburg College where I plan to earn a Masters degree in Social Work with a concentration in Multicultural Clinical Practice. I spent the last two years living in South Korea and working as a middle school English teacher. I also have experience working with children in the Child Protection System, as well as extensive experience with the adoption community. I have co-facilitated children’s groups focused around family, adoption, culture and identity. I am a product of the Minneapolis public school system and am very passionate about working to help at risk youth and their families stay on track!

Because I am new to this, I ask that you please help me steer this conversation towards those issues that are most valuable to you. If you have an idea for a topic, a question that you would like to ask the youth intervention community or a specific contributor, or if you have a story of your own to share I welcome you to email me at promisefellow@mnyipa.org , or leave a comment on this post. I look forward to learning more about the amazing work being done in this community!

Friday, September 3, 2010

Best Practices and Evaluation Processes

By Clare Ryan, Promise Fellow

YIPA’s yearlong look into best practices and evaluation processes in early intervention is complete! We believe that this member’s only material will help to shape a key element of YIPA’s purpose in the coming years: Supporting youth intervention program assessment and improvement and showing the world evidence that early intervention is powerful and effective.

You may be thinking that in this economy you cannot afford to take a closer look at your program, that you are in survival mode and that doesn’t leave time for evaluation and best practices. Not so! We believe that now more than ever you cannot afford to NOT take a closer look at your program. Public and private funders from the Office of Justice Programs to the Greater Twin Cities United Way are looking more and more deeply at evidence-based and quality programs. This emphasis on showing success, whether through outcomes measures or through quality measures (or both), is not going away and we need to be able to show how powerful early intervention can be.

That is why YIPA is meeting with funders and evaluators, members and other stakeholders to stay on top of new tools for evaluation and new evidence about best practices. This year’s research is just the first step, but it is an important step because it helps sets the stage for where we are right now with best practices in early intervention.

The project consists of four related documents. There is a literature and web review of sources related to evaluation, best practices and quality measures in a variety of fields related to youth work, but with an emphasis on early intervention programs. Second, we have an article based on interviews with YIPA member organizations and other relevant individuals about how evaluations of youth intervention programs are conducted in Minnesota today. Then, there is a short piece on possible next steps for YIPA and for our members based on our plans for future work around quality and evaluations. Tying this all together is the executive summary that outlines the main points from each article. The executive summary is available to all our readers on our “News” section of our website, while the more specific documents are reserved for YIPA members and are available in the “Members Only” section of www.mnyipa.org.

We hope that reading these materials will inspire you to take a deeper look at how your organization conducts evaluations and how you can strive to make your program better for the young people you serve. Here a four ways that you might be able to use this material for your organization.
1. Convince other program staff to take the time to re-think how your program evaluates its success.
2. Use up-to-date ideas and language when looking for grants and writing grant proposals.
3. Learn something more about how to read studies without getting lost in all the statistics.
4. Find your place in the bigger picture of evaluation and best practices.

YIPA wants to know: How is your organization utilizing best practices in evaluation?

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