| For Youth Serving Agencies | Spring/Summer 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 & EventsJPTP Is Going Green! In the future, there will not be hard copy JPTP announcements sent to agencies. We are going green! We will only be sending out the JPTP bi-monthly announcements via email. If you are interested in being on the JPTP Listserv, make sure to provide us with your email address when registering at regional workshops or contact Conference Specialist Kim Bryant at (918) 660-3700 to give us information. Professionalizing Youth Work in Oklahoma Conference a Success!!
This year's 4th annual conference entitled The Other 23 Hours: A Time to Build, brought over 200 child and youth workers from across the state from nearly 65 different agencies and youth serving organizations. The conference also received media coverage from several area Tulsa television stations both on the 6:00 pm and 10:00 pm news! The focus of the conference was to provide participants additional skills and tools necessary to be a successful child and youth worker. Opening statements were heard from Lt. Governor Jari Askins who voiced her legislative support for the profession of youth work and encouraged participants to become involved by making their legislatures aware of the needs of this very important profession. Thanks to several sponsoring agencies, each participant received a resource toolkit to add to their professional libraries. The toolkit was comprised of several publications from the unique aspects of youth work which provided group experiences and ways to connect with young people. The keynote address was provided by Ruvin Mundin from Seattle, Washington. Mr. Mundin spent his early years experiencing childhood trauma and later became a chronic runaway at age 12. Ruvin shared his experiences in an effort to compel others to consider how his story may have been different, and how we, as a society, can keep our youth from going down a similar path. To celebrate the accomplishments of youth workers, the annual Youth Worker of the Year Awards were presented during the luncheon. The awards were again sponsored by the Oklahoma Association of Youth Services (OAYS). This year, over 26 youth work professionals were nominated in eight categories. Representatives from the Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth reviewed the nominations and made the final selection in each category. Congratulations to the many youth workers that were nominated for all of the categories! The final winners were:
Cliff Aldridge, Oversight Specialist for OCCY, was also given a special award for his many years of service and dedication to the field of youth work. Cliff will be retiring this summer and has been instrumental in promoting and developing this conference, in addition to promoting the professionalization of youth work in Oklahoma. ShiAnn Evett, direct care staff with the Genesis Project and winner of the Youth Care Professional of the Year (working with ages 6-12), commented, "It was awesome and very cool to win an award for what I enjoy doing. Being able to feel you are making a difference with children is very special." The other winners were also surprised by their nomination. Juli Skinner, Tribal Case Manager, Cherokee Nation Indian Child Welfare for nine years said, "I am very shocked and honored that I won this award." Juli works with youth ages 13-18, and co-workers indicated how much her passion and caring shows for the young people she works with. When she is not on duty, Juli can be found attending many of the youth functions such as school plays and sporting events. View conference slideshow. Featured JPTP AgencyPeppers Ranch Foster Care Community
JPTP spotlights Peppers Ranch Foster Care Community located in Guthrie, Oklahoma. Peppers Ranch has recently changed their model from a traditional group home setting to a Foster Care Community for both boys and girls of all ages. Peppers Ranch recognized the need for additional foster parents in the child welfare system and hopes this is one way to affect positive change in the children and youth they serve. When we asked Amber Given, program director, what she was most proud of at the Ranch, she replied, "We strive to make these children feel like they are in a home setting and are part of a family. We want them to feel like they belong and are connected to the community. We do this by engaging our children and youth in activities such as sports, band activities, cross country teams, FFA projects, or wherever their interest lies. We also have an outstanding riding program that has proven to be very successful."
One foster parent writes about an 11 year old boy in their care, "With the support of the horse program director (Mr. Frank), this child has been able to make the connection of taking care of the horses and forming that bond with them and comparing it with relationships with people. How you treat the horse, is how it will treat you back, the same as people. He has learned more in horsemanship than any other activity or counseling session he has been involved in. He has opened up and talked more about his past experiences since living at the ranch in the past three months, than he has in the past six years. The foster parent indicates, he is healing daily." Peppers Ranch Foster Care Community also provides a structured environment in which they challenge and encourage the development of responsible behavioral skills, academic standards, social discipline, spiritual principles, and physical activity. Since sibling relations are emotionally powerful and critically important, Ms. Given indicated they place strong emphasis on keeping sibling groups together. Many of the homes on campus have sibling groups that live next door to each other, providing the opportunity for family connection they might not otherwise experience in out-of- home care. Despite their pain and hardships, Ms. Given says, "These children are remarkably talented and resilient." Ms. Given also indicated that it is the goal of Peppers Ranch to provide youth the tools to not just get by in life, but to become happy, healthy, successful, and independent adults. For more information call: (405) 348-8333 visit their website at www.peppersranch.com Research & Promising PracticesThe Importance of Professional Development for Youth Workers In a Child Trends brief, the authors, Lillian Bowie and Jacinta Bronte-Tinkew, discuss the relationship between best practice care to children and youth and a well-trained youth worker staff. This brief stresses the significance of professional development in youth programs, identifies core competencies for youth workers, highlights training delivery models, and sets forth next steps for professional development that benefits staff in youth programs. Click here to download brief (.pdf) Leadership Impacts Job Satisfaction Among Social Workers In the journal article, Organizational Leadership and Its Impact on Social Workers' Job Satisfaction, Kathy Elpers and David J. Westhuis report that social workers' perceptions of leader behavior significantly affected job satisfaction. A national sample of 833 practicing social workers rated their supervisors on measures of expected and actual leadership behavior and also rated their own job satisfaction. A larger difference between social workers' expectations and perceptions of their supervisor's leadership behaviors was associated with greater job dissatisfaction. Click here for article Parental Reaction Has Huge Health Impacts for LGBT Youth A new study released from The University of California-Berkeley reports that certain brain functions of some low-income 9 and 10-year-olds are deficient compared with those of more affluent children. Researchers found a similar pattern to what's seen in patients with strokes - areas of the brain which control higher-order thinking and problem solving were affected. The study provides evidence that poverty impacts the neural systems of poor children, affecting language development and 'executive function,' or the ability to plan, remember details, and pay attention in school. According to researchers, such changes are reversible through intensive intervention such as focused lessons and games. Learn more Positive Youth DevelopmentInternet Socializing Critical to Teen Development All those hours teenagers spend socializing on the Internet are not a bad thing, according to MacArthur Foundation. University of California Irvine researchers found that although it may look as though youth are wasting time, their participation is giving them the technological skills and literacy they need to succeed in the contemporary world - learning how to get along with others and manage a public identity. Researchers interviewed more than 800 young people and their parents and observed teenagers online for more than 5,000 hours. The study did find that teens aren't taking advantage of the many learning opportunities on the Internet. Learn more Grants for Teen-Led Community Project Using Music DoSomething.org and the GRAMMY Foundation have teamed up to award $25,000 in community action grants to fund teen-led projects that use music to make a difference. Grants are for $500 each, and applicants must be 19 or under. All projects should demonstrate the theme of using music to make a difference in local and/or global communities. Projects should strive toward measurable impact and can be a one-time event or an ongoing program that implements an original idea for solving problems and creating change in local communities. Learn more Youth Courts: A Concept That Keeps Growing The Global Youth Justice Movement documents the evolution of youth courts in the U.S. In 1993, fewer than 75 local youth and teen courts existed in about a dozen states; 15 years later, more than 1,000 local communities operate this type of juvenile justice program. Historic numbers of youth and adults are involved, more than 111,000 juvenile cases were referred to local youth and teen courts and more than 133,000 volunteers help with the disposition of juvenile cases. In the majority of youth courts, the offender has acknowledged his or her guilt and participates in a youth court voluntarily, rather than going through the more formal, traditional juvenile justice procedures. Download report Public PolicyOklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy Releases 2009 Legislative Agenda The Oklahoma Advocate details policy recommendations of the 2009 legislative agenda for children, youth, and families. Some items on the agenda include supporting efforts to reduce the "cliff effect," requiring private insurance to cover expenses for autism spectrum disorders, creating an initiative to help youth transition to adulthood through education, behavioral health, social services, and employment services. Learn more about the policy reccommendations (.pdf) Nonprofits Spend Under 2% of Budgets on Advocacy A recent survey found that the ability of nonprofit organizations to influence public policy is limited by lack of staff and confusion about the legality of such advocacy. Groups surveyed by the Johns Hopkins Institute for Policy Studies cited lack of time and resources for the dearth of broader advocacy efforts: the vast majority of nonprofits devoted less than 2 percent of their budgets to advocating for policy change. Large groups and those working in the areas of family, children, and elder services were the most likely to be engaged in policy advocacy. Researchers noted that the survey should serve as a call to the nonprofit and philanthropy sectors to boost the resources and training devoted to this function. Learn more Creating Path to Good Jobs for High School Dropouts The Center for Law and Social Policy released a paper on strategies for connecting high school dropouts between ages 16 and 24 to pathways for postsecondary credentials that have value in the labor market. Examples of innovations in policy, program delivery, adult education, youth development, dropout recovery, and postsecondary education are discussed. The researchers urge federal officials, governors, school administrators, college officials, workforce leaders, and employers to provide leadership in building the supports to bring dropout youth back into the education and labor market mainstream. Learn more Greenbook Updates on Child Welfare and Domestic Violence The Greenbook Initiative, a federal project that focuses on the intersection of domestic violence and child maltreatment, conducted pilot studies across the country, and longitudinal research exploring the efficacy of interventions that address both issues. This national evaluation project continues to provide new information about promising practices in child welfare and domestic violence prevention and services. For a comprehensive collection of Greenbook publications, visit the website: Events & TrainingsOklahoma Teen Conference July 23-24, 2009 Teen Addiction Severity Index Training July 22, 2009 and November 18, 2009 Psychological First Aid: The Acute Disaster Intervention of Choice July 24, 2009 Oklahoma Association of Youth Services (OAYS) September 16-17, 2009 Zarrow Mental Health Symposium September 17-18, 2009 OkCARE Fall Meeting November 5, 2009 (tentative) National Runaway and Homeless Youth FYSB Grantee Conference November 17-19, 2009 Resources At-a-GlanceTips to Professionally Package Your Supervision by Frank Delano and Jill C. Shah As a result of our career experiences as supervisors, looking at the literature, and enriching discussions in our trainings, we have developed a working definition of supervision. This definition we feel can serve as a guideline for supervisors to use to as a model for their practice. Our definition is: Supervision (F. Delano and J. Shah) The definition clearly relates to what complex and far ranging process supervision is, but we do feel there are some simple tips for supervisors that can move them along the road to being a more effective supervisor:
For more information concerning supervision tips, plan to attend the JPTP supervisory workshops throughout the 2009-2010 training year. For registration call Kim Bryant at (918) 660-3700 Youth Care Work
Cultural Diversity and Social Skills Instruction: Understanding Ethnic and Gender Differences provides information for teaching social skills to students from different racial and ethnic backgrounds. Dr. Gwendolyn Cartledge focuses on working with the four largest minority groups, e.g., Hispanic American, African American, Native American and, Asian American. In addition, she addresses differences in teaching social skills to male and female students. This is a good resource for supervisors, trainers, and program development specialists. You can order this resource from our online catalog. http://www.nrcys.ou.edu/catalog.shtml Establishing Tribal Court CASA Boards and Advisory Committees Court-appointed special advocate (CASA) programs and advisory committees developed for Tribal courts have proven to be effective mechanisms for advocacy in child abuse and neglect proceedings involving Native American children. The National CASA Association has published a manual defining the primary functions and responsibilities of both the board of directors and advisory committees of these programs. The guide can be downloaded from the National CASA Association's website. Online Training in Child Welfare Legal Matters The Court Improvement Training Academy (CITA), a resource hosted by the University of Washington, School of Law, has developed a variety of training courses facilitated by experts in the child welfare field. Child Welfare Law, The Hague Convention, Racial Disproportionality, and Visitation are among some of the topics covered. This academy was created to provide a learning community for judges, lawyers, and other professionals involved in the juvenile court dependency process. There are several other topics of interest. |
