Urgent Action Needed to Protect Youth Intervention Programs! by Scott Beaty, YIPA's Executive Director

Things are moving very fast up at the Capitol these days. The two bills in both the House and Senate that deal with Public Safety and the Youth Intervention Program have passed through there respective bodies and a Conference Committee made up of 5 Senators and 5 Representatives have been chosen to reconcile the differences in the bills.

The Senate bill language still protects the Youth Intervention Program (YIP) funding from further cuts for the remainder of this year and through 2011. The House language now protects the YIP for the remainder of 2010 but for 2011 allows for not more than a 2% reduction in funding. Of course we want to ask the 10 legislators to please adopt the Senate language. Now is the time to e-mail these legislators as it is their hope to finish by this Friday.

Below is some quick wording you can use to e-mail these legislators. If your are a constituent of any of these legislators it is crucial you do your part in sending out the letter although I am hoping everyone reading this follows through. Cut and paste and it should only take you about 10 minutes to send the e-mail to all 10 legislators.

Dear Senator/Representative XXXX,

I am writing to ask you to please fight for the adoption of the Senate language regarding the Youth Intervention Program funding in reconciling SF 3223, which you are a member of the conference committee.

This year the Youth Intervention Program has already lost 10 of the 67 programs it had in 2009 because of the reductions to the program funding during last years legislative session.

I understand that reductions need to be made to balance the budget but I am hoping that programs that have proven outcomes and a positive Social Return on Investment (SROI) - like the Youth Intervention Program does ($5 return for every $1 invested), will not be where further reductions are made for the remainder of this biennium.

Thank you again for your support!

Your Name

Your title

Your address

The easiest way to e-mail these legislators is to go to this web site http://www.leg.state.mn.us find their names under the House and Senate tabs, click on their respective e-mail address, and paste your letter into the message box.

Here are the names and districts of the legislators on the Conference Committee:

• Senator Richard Cohen – District 64
• Senator Thomas Bakk – District 6
• Senator Linda Higgins - District 58
• Senator Jim Vickerman - District 22
• Senator Steve Murphy - District 28
• Representative Lyndon Carlson – District 45B
• Representative Ann Lenczewski – District 40B
• Representative Loren Solberg – District 3B
• Representative Michael Paymar – District 64B
• Representative Pat Garofalo – District 36B

Good luck and thank you in advance for doing this!

Scott

Youth Intervention and Public Health by YIPA and Kevin Spading, Project Director Minnesota Prevention Resource Center

YIPA believes that many early intervention youth services help to prevent public health issues. Working with youth that are just starting to use tobacco, alcohol and other drugs can prevent costly future health related problems. These problems can be both physical and mental. There are lots of studies (even YIPA’s SROI research) that show the correlations between youth that quit school and take up a life of drug use and criminal behavior. This correlation is also shown in a report by Mark Cohen, an economist at Vanderbilt University.

Youth violence is another powerful public health issue that youth intervention programs help to combat. At the 76^th annual U.S. Conference of Mayors, leaders from around the country adopted a resolution that youth violence is a public health issue, argued for successful community models of youth violence intervention and stated that, “urges the federal government, states and cities to recognize youth violence as a public health epidemic that requires a sustained multi-faceted approach focused on prevention.”

Many other resources exist which indicate the powerful potential in linking youth intervention programs to public health campaigns. The American Public Health Association recently adopted 16 policies at its 137th Annual Meeting in Philadelphia. The newly adopted policies address a broad range of public health issues including urging Congress and states to fund comprehensive culturally competent programs based on scientific evidence and using guidance from the surgeon general’s 2001 report on youth violence. Urges training for state and local public health departments about the role of public health in preventing violence and in effective, evidence-based programs for youth violence prevention. Calls for the support of additional research to understand the community and societal factors that can contribute to or prevent youth violence and how such factors can be modified to reduce risk or enhance protection. Click here for a copy of APHA's full press release.

YIPA is excited to deepen our connections to the world of public health. Below are some opportunities provided by Kevin Spading of the Minnesota Prevention Resource Center, that we encourage youth intervention providers to consider:

ATOD Prevention is a year round pursuit: Spring opportunities! by Kevin Spading

Here at the Minnesota Prevention Resource Center (www.emprc.org) alcohol, tobacco and other drug prevention is a week to week, month by month and season by season pursuit.

This spring, the Minnesota Prevention Resource Center has announced our Program Sharing Call for Presentations for breakout sessions, as well as for exhibitors! On October 13^th and 14^th, we are delighted to announce that Dr. Ed Ehlinger from the University of Minnesota – Boynton Health Services and Dr Tom McLellan from the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) will come to share their vision for a prevention strong Minnesota! Like gardening, prevention requires us to be adaptable to the environment. We need to attend to community issues on a regular basis in order to see positive results for individuals, families and communities. Hearing from these leaders will help guide our work in uprooting problems associated with mood altering substances. Go to http://www.emprc.org/ps2010/ to learn how to apply!

A successful garden means we need be aware of its surroundings and address issues that emerge. The same is true for prevention. A close examination of recent upward trends in prescription and OTC medication abuse drove our theme for this year’s Spring ATOD Forums. This year’s forums will be Not What the Doctor Ordered?: Trends and Tools to Prevent Prescription and OTC Medication Abuse presented by Rick Moldenhauer, Treatment Services Consultant at Department of Human Services, Alcohol & Drug Abuse Division. For more information or to register to attend, go to http://www.emprc.org/springforums2010/.

In addition to these events, keep an eye out for another training called: " Wellness and Substance Abuse Prevention--Making the Connection". This event will be June 1^st at the Neighborhood House, Wellstone Center in St. Paul. The guest speaker will be Dr. Steve Zvonar from the Northwoods Healing Center. Since we know that wellness is such a protective factor for substance abuse, Dr Steve Zvonar will make the case for how disciplines for mental, emotional and physical wellness build protective factors for individuals and families. Look for registration information to be available on the MPRC website by mid-April at www.emprc.org.

As you consider what is happening in your community and what you may be needing to attend to, please consider making sure you remember that ATOD prevention requires time, diligence and utilization of “what works” to allow for your community to bloom with health.

As you can tell, keeping the preventionist “gardener” equipped with all of the latest tools is very important in addressing the onset of problems related to alcohol, tobacco and other drugs. I hope you will take advantage of all of these wonderful opportunities to provide best practice in the “field”.

National Youth Violence Prevention Week!

March 22 through March 26^th is National Youth Violence Prevention Week in Minnesota!

At YIPA we are writing to make you aware of it and to also encourage your organization to get involved. YIPA has been working with the City of Minneapolis to help promote their activities and they have a great week planned. Minneapolis organizations wishing to get involved and have your organization highlighted should contact Bass Zanjani at bass.zanjani@ci.minneapolis.mn.us.

Although the Tool Kit is something that the City of Minneapolis has put together, it only makes sense to us that YIPA organizations serving other communities can also use the ideas and activities that this Kit outlines to promote violence prevention in your community during the same time period.

As you read through the Tool Kit you will see many excellent ideas and activities for organizations and youth to do to promote violence prevention. We hope this is something every YIPA organization (and many non-YIPA members) can take on in one way, shape, or form. Please pay special attention to how you can get the word out through the social media and other great avenues. Make sure you contact your local media to have them help get involved in your efforts as this could be great PR for your organization. In addition to the Tool Kit there is also a pledge card that can be printed and given to the youth you serve. We see this as an especially great activity for those of you that are working with groups of youth.

If you are interested in seeing the entire Tool Kit put out by the National Association of Students Against Violence Everywhere you can visit the following web site: www.violencepreventionweek.org. This site also have a great media tool kit to help you publicize your activities.

YIPA Highlights!

For the past 30 years, YIPA has been Minnesota’s strongest advocate for youth at the state capitol. In 2009, YIPA’s advocacy for youth intervention funding (YIP grants) helped to sustain programs all across Minnesota like the Hmong American Partnership (HAP). Thanks to YIPA’s tireless advocacy for the preservation of state Youth Intervention funds, HAP has been able to continue to provide programs for delinquent boys and truant or runaway girls, impacting over 700 youth each year. Without YIPA’s advocacy, HAP would have to draw from other services to the Hmong community – services that they can ill afford to lose.

One of HAP’s YIP programs found unexpected inspiration this winter when a HAP youth worker decided to read aloud to a group of young men at a juvenile detention facility. He read from a book by Ron Glodoski about his experience in criminal and gang life – it was breakthrough with some of the toughest boys in Minnesota. The youth worker commented later that, “…Some of the kids were drug dealers too and were really touched by it. They were able to relate to it. They were able to hear that this is not an easy way to make money… and I saw that it got them thinking about how hard their lives will be if they go down this path.” Ron’s inspirational book came from the Thrive! Conference, where Ron had spoken in a session after HAP’s youth advisory board.

HAP Youth Editing Board with Mayor R.T. Rybak at the THRIVE! Conference

In addition to advocacy, YIPA has continued to provide the highest quality training services to youth service providers across the state, even during tough economic times when attendance numbers decreased substantially. In 2009, YIPA was able to reach 872 youth service providers through its training programs allowing for 21,800 youth to receive improved services and help on issues that impact their lives. In fact, 2009 produced one of YIPA’s most successful and unique training opportunities. For the first time ever, YIPA organized a statewide leadership conference specifically for youth called Thrive! Conference for All Youth. Sixty young people from youth intervention programs across Minnesota came together to learn about building a better future for themselves and their communities. Speakers came from all over the country to share their stories with this group of young leaders. Young people also shared their own visions for the future, including the Hmong American Partnership youth board, who presented strategies for community engagement. In the words of one youth worker from HAP, “The conference is a refresher. You are getting new ideas. Getting motivated. It’s kind of like a new year!”

YIPA is proud to support over 90 youth intervention programs across Minnesota like HAP by advocating for their continued resources, providing new inspiration for their workers, and giving their young people a chance to share their passion with others. In recognition of the amazing youth leadership we saw last year at the Thrive! Conference, YIPA is planning a 2010 Youth Leadership Training Conference to support young people’s efforts to advocate for change in Minnesota.

The Moorhead Police Department has been a member of YIPA for 31 years. They are a deeply rooted part of the community – young people who are originally court ordered to their programs come back freely to mentor the younger participants.

Last summer in a high-risk neighborhood a terrible shooting occurred and a teenage boy died. The shooter acted in self-defense during a break-in, but the community was outraged that the he was not tried. Racial tensions ran high that summer. In a park with a history of riots, young people gathered to vent their anger. Seeing the potential for violence, Brian Dahl, head of the Moorhead Police Department youth programs, thought quickly.

For two weeks that summer police officers took pizza down to the park every day. They waited patiently and over 40 young people came to ask them about the shooting. The police were able to explain what had happened in an open, honest way. Tempers cooled and there were no riots or retaliation that summer.

Because of a state YIP grant that provides financial support for program costs of the Moorhead Police Department's Youth Intervention Program, youth intervention officers were able to focus their time and resources to go out into the community and talk to young people. Without it, the situation could have ended much differently – with violence and numerous arrests. Instead, with the support of YIPA, some honest words and a slice of pizza saved the day.

A Balanced Approach to Minnesota’s Current Budget Deficit by Scott Beaty, Executive Director of YIPA

Yep, we have a problem in this state! It’s a $994 million problem for 2010 and 2011. It’s an even bigger problem for the 2012 – 2013 biennium as the predicted budget deficit is $5.8 billion and this does not factor in any kind of inflation between now and then.

It is clear that we have both spending and revenue issues to work out in Minnesota. Do we really want to slash and burn every State program? I hope not! Do we want Minnesota to keep turning its back on our children and youth and balance the state budget on the backs of those who need it the most? I hope note! Should we expect State programs and services to be of the best quality and show positive outcomes! Absolutely!

When the State of Minnesota has a growing prison population and the cost to house these prisoners continues to rise, does it make sense to cut early youth intervention programs like the Youth Intervention Program that has a proven track record of keeping youth from progressing into the costly juvenile justice system? No! Does it make sense to cut youth intervention programs that Economists from our very own Wilder Research and the University of MN Humphrey Institute have shown has a social return on investment (SROI) of almost $5 saved for every $1 invested? Absolutely not!

This is the time when we need leadership from the Governor and the Legislature. They need to look at every option available to help balance the budget. We know spending cuts will be part of the solution, but let’s be wise with how these cuts are made. Across the board spending cuts might seem like the fairest way to proceed but also punishes the programs that are the most effective. Quality programs and services with positive SROI’s should be maintained (note that I am saying “maintained” not “increased” right now) as this only makes sense for keeping our future costs down. The programs that cannot show quality or positive outcomes are the ones that could, or should be, reduced until they can prove otherwise. Like I said earlier, cuts alone won’t do the trick this time around so the only way to lessen the burden on our children, youth and those hit hardest by this recession is to ensure that cuts are made strategically and revenues are raised fairly. Let’s not continue our ways of being penny wise and pound foolish!

Last week at a hearing of the House of Public Finance Committee, Public Safety testified as to its programs and budget. Legislators have already begun asking why the Office of Justice Programs should not get a bigger reduction in funding. The blog Minnesota Budget Bites posted this article related to the budget and to the Public Safety issue in particular.

As many of you know, one of YIPA’s primary missions is to advocate for Youth Intervention Program funding, which comes from the Office of Justice Programs within Public Safety. YIP grants support a wide variety of youth intervention programs in Minnesota, which play a vital role in keeping communities safe and young people out of the juvenile justice system. Youth intervention service providers see the value of their work every day in the lives of the young people they serve. Legislators have a different perspective, especially in this economy – but youth intervention also has dollars and cents on our side!

We encourage ALL of you to talk to your local legislators, use the social return on investment information to make sure that they understand how valuable youth intervention is and how vital it is to the safety and well being of Minnesota.