| For Youth Serving Agencies | Fall/Winter 2009 |
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Kristal S. Nicholson ©2009 The University of Oklahoma National Resource Center for Youth Services
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Welcome to JPTP E-News!It is our goal to provide youth serving agencies and their staff with cutting edge news that you can use! We ask you to utilize this resource and tell others about the wonderful opportunity to get up-to-date and relevant information about the field of youth work. For more information about the Juvenile Personnel Training Program go to www.nrcys.ou.edu/programs/jptp.shtml. JPTP News & Happenings
We are happy to report the FY10 training schedule is "up and running" and on the website. Please check it out. We listened to what you had to say! You requested additional information on various subject matters, and this fiscal year the training schedule includes twenty-one exciting and new workshop topics with eleven new trainers! JPTP is committed to providing youth care professionals with the most relevant and up-to-date information about the field of youth work. If you are interested in training in the future for JPTP, contact us via email or go to our website to fill out a Trainer Abstract. Webinar Training One of the cost-effective ways of delivering training is via a webinar. JPTP embarked upon a new project by hosting a webinar for our trainers on September 11, 2009. Lou Truitt-Flanagan, JPTP program supervisor, Kristal Nicholson and Cynethia Rayford, program development specialists were the facilitators. Participants were informed about the Juvenile Personnel Training Program and given a brief history of the program. Some of the topics discussed during the webinar were: Four Core Principles, Developing a JPTP Training, and Administrative issues. JPTP plans to develop additional webinar workshops during the 2009-2010 training year. Make sure to watch your email for webinar notices. Don't Be A "NO SHOW" If, after preregistering for a JPTP workshop, you find you cannot attend, we ask that you contact our office immediately. Your prompt notification allows us to contact those on the waiting list. We can be reached by telephone, (918) 660-3700 or by email, kbryant@ou.edu. Featured JPTP AgencyJPTP Highlights the Deborah Rothe Group Home Deborah Rothe Group Home, formerly known as the North Girls Group Home, was established in 1970 in response to the need for a safe, independent living environment for teen girls who have experienced child abuse or neglect. Residents of the group home are teenagers who are in the Oklahoma Department of Human Services custody, preferably ages 15 and above, and have a history of multiple out-of-home placements. In honor of Deborah Rothe who was an advocate for children, the group home was renamed in 1996. The girls' home is located in northwest Oklahoma City and is a level D facility. The program, which has a capacity of eight residents, offers a supportive, home-like environment with close supervision and a focus on preparing residents to successfully transition from teenage years to adulthood. The group home looks and feels like a single-family residence. As you enter the facility, you are greeted by a friendly staff with a southern hospitality flare. The house is decorated with beautiful pictures of past and current residents proudly displayed on the walls and the mantel. Mealtime at the home is family style with meals being served at the dining room table on antique china (donated by a member of the community). This home-like facility allows residents a wonderful opportunity to successfully transition into adulthood while developing permanent connections and a solid support system. Dianne McDaniel, director of the Deborah Rothe Group Home, stated one of her greatest joys is "teaching resident's life skills that will assist them in becoming effective, positive and productive citizens". While skills such as money management, daily living, and job search skills are taught, the group home also focuses on skills such as decision making, goal setting, and effective communication. While JPTP staffer Cynethia Rayford toured the facility, director McDaniel shared numerous success stories of past and present residents. One of the former residents shared with Ms. McDaniel how she is now gainfully employed, has a positive support system, and is the primary caretaker for her younger sibling who was in out of home placement. She indicated she utilizes many of the skills learned while a resident at the group home. The Deborah Rothe Group Home staff consistently utilizes the JPTP trainings. Dianne McDaniel reports she is pleased and grateful for the Juvenile Personnel Training Program and indicated her staff have benefited greatly from the knowledge and skills learned from our trainings. JPTP salutes the Deborah Rothe Group Home for providing excellent care for Oklahoma's youth. Research & Promising PracticesIndicators of Child Well-Being "America's Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being, 2009" was developed by the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics. This user-friendly report discusses 40 national key indicators affecting children's well-being and the likelihood of their growing to be a productive and healthy adult. For more information about this present report and previous reports, visit the Forum's website.
A 1990-2009 study by the Government Accounting Office has found hundreds of cases of alleged abuse and death related to restraint and seclusion of children at public schools, private schools and residential treatment centers. The findings raise serious issues for families and youth serving agencies. The GAO found no federal laws restricting the use of these methods and widely divergent laws at the state level. It could not determine whether abuse was widespread, primarily because no single entity collects information on the use of these methods.
A study newly released, Serving Everyone at the Table: Strategies for Enhancing the Availability of Culturally Competent Mental Health Services, examines how mental health services organizations provide culturally competent services for racially and ethnically diverse children and families. Findings may be useful for other social services organizations seeking to increase their cultural competence and services for a diverse population. To view the full study, visit the Research and Training Center for Children's Mental Health, University of South Florida website. Depressions Risks Seen as Early as Second Grade A University of Washington study suggests that screening children for symptoms of depression can begin as early as second grade. Researchers followed nearly 1,000 children from the second to the eighth grades. They discovered five distinct patterns for the process by which symptoms of depression develop among adolescents and found that 44 percent of the children showed symptoms in the second grade. The study identified different early depression risk factors for boys and girls. For boys, behavior and attention problems were risks; for girls, anxiety was an early risk factor. Positive Youth Development
Miley Cyrus and Youth Service America have developed GET UR GOOD ON, an online network of youth supporting each other to do 'good' in their communities. With celebrities, multimedia platforms, and opportunities for grants and awards, GET UR GOOD ON provides youth with an online means to learn about, create, and implement innovative solutions to community and global issues. The interactive website is designed to recognize and showcase youth volunteer service efforts in schools and communities through photos, videos, and blogs.
With digital communication a central part of teens' lives, the Family Violence Prevention Fund is launching a national public service advertising campaign, ThatsNotCool.com, to help teens recognize digital dating abuse and take steps to prevent it. The campaign is designed to start a conversation among teens about how controlling behavior and harassment from a boyfriend or girlfriend, online or via cell phone, that can turn into abuse. It includes a youth-friendly interactive website, television and radio ads, posters in schools and malls, and "call-out cards," like the one to the right that can be downloaded. Public PolicyCutbacks in Mental Health Care Affect Juvenile Corrections As states cut mental health programs in communities and schools, there is an increased reliance on the juvenile corrections system to manage young offenders with psychiatric disorders, according to the New York Times. According to surveys of youth prisons, about two-thirds of the nation's juvenile inmates have at least one mental illness. Many mental health experts say the system is in crisis, facing a soaring number of inmates reliant on multiple psychotropic drugs and a shortage of therapists qualified to treat youth. There is evidence that mental illness worsens in the correctional setting as youth can be subject to violence, humiliation and neglect. Lawsuits and civil rights investigations have criticized juvenile corrections systems for failing to meet their obligation to prohibit cruel and unusual punishment of prisoners. Events & TrainingsOKCare Fall Meeting November 5-6, 2009 OAYS Fall Meeting December 2-3, 2009 National Runaway and Homeless Youth FYSB Grantee Conference November 17-19, 2009 Children’s Behavioral Health Conference April 28-30, 2010 Professionalizing Youth Work in Oklahoma June 2010 Resources At-a-Glance
This youth-written resource provides a forum for teens and adults to explore important issues of life in care. In this magazine, youth are given an opportunity to share their voice while gaining needed tools to succeed. It is a compilation of youth and adults educating youth and professionals alike. To access this resource, you can visit their website.
With studies showing higher suicide rates and attempted suicide rates among Native American youth, it is essential that tribal and non-tribal child welfare workers prevent and respond to suicidal behavior as it arises. The National Indian Child Welfare Association (NICWA) recently released a new resource, Ensuring the Seventh Generation: A Youth Suicide Prevention Toolkit for Tribal Child Welfare Programs. The toolkit includes information on warning signs for suicidal behavior, risk and protective factors, and prevention and intervention methods in the context of working with tribal communities. Proven Grant-Winning Tips from Grantsandfunding.net This resource offers key principles of grant-seeking along with helpful tips to avoid common and often fatal application errors on grant applications. In addition, there are a number of freshly-researched grant directories. Their directories typically offer 100-200 leads on national and regional funders for a broad range of community programs. Go to Grantsfunding.net. Thank A Youth Worker Day A collaboration of leaders and human service organizations committed to honoring the often invisible heroes who work to ensure that the world's young people are taught, developed, and mentored are signing on to make Thursday, November 5, 2009, Thank A Youth Worker Day around the globe. Information and details can be found at www.thankayouthworkerday.org.
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FY10 Training Schedule Now Available Online
Report Finds Troubling Allegations of Restraint and Seclusion 
Direct Services and Organization Cultural Competence Strategies
'Get UR Good On' Website Showcases Youth Community Service
Helping Teens Draw a 'DIGITAL LINE'
Represent: The Voice of Youth in Care
Suicide Prevention among Tribal Youth