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Youth, I.N.C. names Rehana
Farrell Executive Director
as the next generation of leadership
Youth, I.N.C. – Improving Nonprofits for Children announced today the appointment of Rehana Farrell as Executive Director. Farrell will be responsible for continuing the legacy of success that Founder, Steve Orr, created over the last 20 years helping nonprofits serving children in New York City grow and develop their organizations.
Youth, I.N.C. harnesses the energy and talent of New York's business leaders to help the City's most promising grassroots organizations create opportunities for children. Using a venture philanthropy model, Youth, I.N.C. teaches nonprofits to fundraise, develop their boards and use strategic planning and metrics to increase their impact. Youth, I.N.C. also directly invests in its nonprofit partners with capacity building grants. Since inception, Youth, I.N.C. has raised over $50 million dollars, transformed 120 nonprofits and impacted the lives of over 600,000 youth in New York City.
"I am delighted that Rehana Farrell has decided to join Youth, I.N.C. as our new Executive Director and I am confident that her wealth of experience in both financial services and non-profits will strengthen our organization," said Rick Schifter, TPG Capital and Co-Chair of the Youth, I.N.C. Board. "I am also pleased to announce that John Waldron, Co-Head of the Investment Banking Division of Goldman Sachs, has agreed to Co-Chair the Board of Youth, I.N.C. with me. John has made a significant contribution to our success and we will benefit from his vision and leadership in this role."
John Waldron added, "It's an exciting time to become Co-Chair of the Youth, I.N.C. Board, working closely with Rick and Rehana to take Youth, I.N.C. to the next level in the years to come. I would also like to acknowledge that we wouldn't be where we are today without the tireless efforts of our Founder and outgoing Executive Director, Steve Orr." Steve will now lead the National Advisory Board where he will cultivate this group of established business leaders to expand the reach and impact of Youth, I.N.C.
Youth, I.N.C. celebrated its 20 year anniversary in 2014. As such, the hire of Farrell comes at a time when the organization and board members have diligently evaluated and appreciated the growth and success of the organization to date and are ready to take the next step in their mission to bring innovation, leadership and support to their nonprofit partners.
Farrell joins Youth, I.N.C. with over 20 years of financial services experience. Most recently, she was the Chief Operating Officer of Cain Hoy Enterprises, a private equity firm in New York, which she joined from Guggenheim Partners where she served as Chief Administrative Officer of Guggenheim Investments. Prior to that, Farrell worked at Merrill Lynch and Prudential Financial. She holds an MBA from Columbia Business School and a BA from Smith College. She has been an active alumna of both institutions and also works closely with numerous nonprofits nationwide.
"For over twenty years, Youth, I.N.C. has engaged with venture philanthropists and the business community to try to level the playing field for children living in New York City," said Farrell. "I look forward to contributing to the future success and growth of the organization and building on the strong foundation that Steve Orr, our Founder, created. I am thrilled that Steve will now lead our National Advisory Board and help us achieve our full potential."
On Wednesday, January 28, 2015, Youth, I.N.C. will host its Fourth Annual Innovators Breakfast at Wells Fargo featuring Jonathan Grayer, Chair and CEO of Weld North and former CEO of Kaplan, Inc, moderating a discussion with Joel Klein, CEO of Amplify and former Chancellor of NYC Schools, and Amy Kadomatsu, Co-Founder and President of ROKO Labs.
About Youth, I.N.C.:
Since 1994, Youth, I.N.C. has invested in and transformed over 120
youth-serving nonprofits to improve the lives of children in New York
City. After 20 years, Youth, I.N.C. continues to transform the way
nonprofits do business – raising over $50 million for New York City
nonprofits and impacting the lives of over 600,000 youth. By harnessing
the power of venture philanthropy, Youth, I.N.C. continues to educate,
empower and transform grassroots organizations helping children in New
York City. To learn more about Youth, I.N.C. visit:
www.youthinc-usa.org.
Press release: PRNewswire-USNewswire
26 January 2015
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28 JANUARY
As the rate of children with autism in the U.S. continues to grow, a new study published in top-ranked journal Pediatrics shows that medical professionals can’t rely solely on their clinical judgment to detect autism risk.
The study finds that 10-20-minute observations, such as a pediatric exam, don’t provide enough information about symptoms associated with autism. Within that short window, many children with autism display mostly typical behavior and may fail to receive a referral for further autism testing, even if a few autism symptoms are noticed.
“One of the biggest problems with early identification of autism is that many children aren’t identified until they reach the school system,” said the study’s lead author and BYU assistant professor Terisa Gabrielsen. “This means that they have missed out on some prime years for intervention that can change a child’s outcome.”
Last year the CDC released a report stating that 1 in 68 U.S. children has an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). That’s a 30 percent increase from 1 in 88 from two years earlier. These increases mean an increased demand for autism referral decisions
The study in Pediatrics looked at children 15-33 months old, with autism experts analyzing 10-minute videos of the children’s behaviors during evaluation in a clinical setting. Children with autism, speech delays and typical children were included. The researchers wanted to document the ratio of typical behaviors vs. atypical behaviors exhibited and the corresponding referral decisions based on the observations. They found that within the brief timeframe of 10 minutes, children with autism exhibited much more typical behavior than atypical behavior overall, making it easy for clinicians to miss detecting autism risk. In the study, even the experts who reviewed the videos missed referrals for 39 percent of the children with autism, based on the brief observation alone.
“It’s often not the pediatrician’s fault that referrals are missed,” Gabrielsen said. “Even autism experts missed a high percentage of referrals within that short timeframe. Decisions for referral need to be based on more information, including autism screening and information from parents. We’re hoping that this information can really empower parents to talk with pediatric care providers about their concerns.”
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends formal screening for autism at 18 and 24 months, but universal screening has not been fully adopted in pediatric primary care. The screening tools are also available for parents. These simple, standard tools for autism screening, such as the M-CHAT-R checklist and the CDC’s Learn the Signs. Act Early campaign, are not perfect, but they are freely available, and can help parents learn what to look for as their child develops.
“Certainly, some young children with autism are clearly impaired and easy to recognize,” said one of the other authors on the study Judith Miller. “However, this study looked at the entire range of children who present to the pediatrician’s office, and we found that many children’s impairments are not immediately obvious. For those children, formalized screening instruments and more time with a specialist may be critical.”
Gabrielsen, an assistant professor in BYU’s Counseling Psychology & Special Education department, and Miller, who is now at the Center for Autism Research at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, worked on the study with four other researchers. There were both school and clinical psychologists on the research team, and they worked in partnership with a large, independent community pediatrics clinic. The research began as a core group of autism experts at the University of Utah. The researchers are now affiliated with BYU; the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia; the University of Wisconson-Madison’s Waisman Center; Cleveland Clinic Children’s; University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Asheville; and Tulane University.
The University of Utah Department of Pediatrics and the Centers for Disease Control contributed funding for the research. Granger Medical Pediatrics and Wee Care Pediatrics were two clinics who assisted in the study.
Although there are still many unknowns about autism, one thing researchers do know is that early intervention makes a difference. If autism can be identified in the toddler years, intervention can begin while the brain is still rapidly developing and outcomes can change. A more comprehensive screening process, with parents and care providers working together, can have a great impact.
“Parents see their children at their very best and very worst,” Gabrielsen said. “They’re the experts for their children. They can be educated about signs and symptoms, and need to help their care providers by speaking up if there’s a problem and being involved in referral decisions.”
News release issued via the Brigham Young University
| Study in Pediatrics
January 15 2015
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27 JANUARY
Steamers open healthy food options
Krista Davis, child nutrition director for the Cleveland School District, is making leaps and bounds in regards to nutritious meals for students.
Cypress Parks Elementary and D.M. Smith Middle School will both be installing new kitchen equipment, including combination oven steamers, which will replace the existing fat fryers.
This healthy change is made possible by a Nutrition Integrity grant that Cleveland School District received this year from the Mississippi Department of Education Office of Child Nutrition, funded by the Bower Foundation.
According to a press release Davis said, “A combination oven steamer uses super-heated steam to cook foods with less fat, saturated fat, and trans fats. Since school meals are such an important way to insure that our children are fit, healthy, and ready to succeed, we want the foods we serve to be as nutritious and appealing as possible.”
The new equipment will help the foodservice staff improve the 15,000 breakfasts and lunches served every month to students and staff in the Cypress Park Elementary and D.M. Smith Middle School cafeterias.
Installing new kitchen equipment and lower-fat cooking methods are two of the many ways that Cypress Park Elementary and D.M. Smith Middle School is focusing on the health of students.
“We recognize the critical connection between good health and success in the classroom, so we are extremely excited to have the opportunity to make our student’s meals even healthier,” said Cypress Park Principal Angela Towers.
“In addition to replacing our fryers with this new combination oven steamer, our school writes a monthly newsletter that includes healthy recipes and physical activities for the whole family to enjoy. Each student participates in 150 minutes of health and physical education each week and our teachers also take brain and body breaks with their students by using Move to Learn videos in their classrooms. We have also had a Zumba Fun night at one of our recent Parent Teacher Student Association nights," said Towers.
Davis said there are plenty of healthy options that will now be offered to students in place of fried foods.
"We now can cook items such as French fries, tater tots, chicken tenders, crispy baked chicken, and fish in the combination oven steamers. Basically anything that can be fried in a deep fat fryer can be cooked in the combination oven steamer.
“The new ovens have an automatic browning and crisping setting in the final stages of the cooking process for anything that you would desire to have a crispy texture; just as you would from a deep fat fryer, but minus cooking oil and fat," said Davis. "The ovens can also be used to bake bread items and steam vegetables. Vegetables are able to retain their natural color so they are more vibrant when cooking from a combination oven steamer," she said.
Davis said after winning this grant, four out of the ten schools in the district will have the combination oven steamers. When asked what she would love to see happen at the school district in regards to nutrition, Davis had several ideas.
"I think it would be wonderful to start seeing school gardens and incorporating nutrition education, which I know some schools currently do integrate nutrition education in the classrooms. Again, to swap all of our fryers with combination oven steamers would be ideal.
“Our district follows the Health Hunger Free Kids Act, which requires calorie minimum and maximums for specific grade ranges, maximum sodium levels, and maximum saturated fat percentages. Each student is offered a variety of low fat milks, all grains are whole grain, and students are required to take a fruit or vegetable. Of course, students may take all fruits and vegetables offered if they wish," said Davis.
"We also participate in a elective program which requires us to serve minimum amounts of vegetable subgroup varieties throughout the week: dark green, red/orange, legumes (beans/peas), starchy and the other vegetable sub group.
“Each vegetable subgroup has higher concentrations of specific vitamins and minerals, which is why it is so important to eat from a variety of vegetable subgroups. Part of the purpose of the Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act is for students to learn what a well-balanced, nutritious meal should look like, should taste like, and how it should make them feel—energized and overall healthy," she said.
"My hope is for these students to request meals at home to mimic the same pattern as they receive at school, so they can continue to receive healthy meals at dinner and weekends. Hopefully when students start preparing meals for themselves they will also continue the pattern of choosing whole grains, fruits, vegetables, low fat milk and lean proteins," said Davis.
According to Let's Move!, a comprehensive initiative, launched by the First Lady, dedicated to solving the challenge of childhood obesity within a generation, over the past three decades, childhood obesity rates in America have tripled, and today, nearly one in three children in America are overweight or obese.
The numbers are even higher in African American and Hispanic communities, where nearly 40 percent of the children are overweight or obese.
According to the website if the problem is not solved, one third of all children born in 2000 or later will suffer from diabetes at some point in their lives and many others will face chronic obesity-related health problems like heart disease, high blood pressure, cancer, and asthma.
Press release
23 January 2015
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23 JANUARY 2015
A series of no bullying articles in the spotlight today
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21 JANUARY 2015
NEW YORK
Governor seeks lighter penalties on juvenile offenders
Gov. Andrew Cuomo called Monday for easing penalties on 16 and 17-year-olds charged with crimes, limiting the outside income of legislators, and fixing New York’s failing public schools.
The unusual Martin Luther King Day holiday press conference came as Cuomo is trying to get a jump on his 2015 State of New York Opportunity Agenda Wednesday, when he will release a 2015-16 budget plan and deliver a State of the State speech that was postponed because of his father’s death.
Cuomo alluded to his family’s grief when asked by a reporter how he was holding up. “As far as the past two weeks, I’ve had better past two weeks to tell you the truth,” Cuomo said at the tail end of a press conference that otherwise focused on juvenile justice reform and the session ahead.
“You look at the Census tracts where a lot of people who go into the criminal justice system are coming from, they are the same Census tracts that have the failing public schools and have had failing public schools for a long time,” Cuomo said, endorsing the recommendations of his Commission on Youth, Public Safety, and Justice.
“About 250,000 children have gone through what we call failing public schools. Can you imagine that? But we sit in this building and talk about it, talk about it, talk about it (while) 250,000 children go through failing public schools.”
He said he supported that recommendations of the commission calling for “juvenile processing for all but serious crimes of violence; access to programs and services tailored to support rehabilitation for all minors under age 18; sentencing for all but the gravest crimes of violence be customized to youth rather than adult sentencing structures; opportunities to move beyond commission of one nonviolent crime as a youth; and removal of all minors from adult jails and prisons.”
“One of the proudest legacies I can leave when I am finished with this job … (is) I want to say I closed more prison cells than any governor in the history of the state of New York,” Cuomo said. “And I believe we are going to get there.”
New York’s prison system has steadily downsized in recent years as a result of a dropping crime rate and a change in the criminal justice system’s handling of people caught possessing or selling drugs. But New York remains as one of only two states in the U.S. that offer no option to treat 16 and 17 years old as juveniles after they are arrested and charged with a crime. That has prompted a “Raise the Age” push to repeal New York’s law.
“Black and Hispanic youth make up 33 percent of 16- and 17-year-olds statewide however they also make up 72 percent of all arrests and 77 percent of all felony arrests across the State,” Cuomo’s commission reported Monday. “Young men of color make up 82 percent of youth sentenced to adult confinement, according to the State Division of Criminal Justice Services.”
The report said “800 inmates in local jails and state prisons are under 18 years old. They are twice as likely to be physically harmed by other inmates and staff per the Building Blocks for Youth, five times more likely to be sexually assaulted per the U.S. Department of Justice, and eight times more likely to commit suicide per the Campaign for Youth Justice. The numbers are daunting and make clear that the State must change how it treats incriminated youth.”
Also Monday, Cuomo called for creating a commission to look at pay rates for statewide elected officials and legislators, and creating a “two-tiered legislative pay schedule that would set one salary for elected officials who do not earn any outside income and a lower salary for those who do.”
Outside income would also be capped and new restrictions would be put into place to prevent conflicts of interest in representing outside interests while simultaneously serving as a state official. “This commission would be charged with not only evaluating pay, but also legislative per diems, expense reimbursement, and other non-salary benefits.”
Saratogian News
19 January 2015
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19 JANUARY 2015
Taking stock of today's teens
See: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/Taking-stock-of-todays-teens-288592401.html
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16 JANUARY 2015
CANADA
Nunavik prepares to open doors to family-safe havens
“The ultimate goal is to reduce the number of children going into foster care"
The Nunavik community of Kuujjuaraapik has helped to breathe new life into its old municipal office over the last few months. That building, which has undergone a remake, will re-open its doors later this month as a “family house” – a community-run centre where families in crisis can receive support. And it will be the first family house to open under a Nunavik project aimed at restoring social peace in the region.
The project’s goal: to keep adults out of jail and provide Nunavimmiut children with healthier lives.
“In the coming weeks, we’ll be putting up the sign and buying the furniture ahead of our grand opening on Jan. 31,” said Raymond Mickpegak, who works as an agent for Nunavik’s regional partnership committee, which oversees a number of social regulation projects in the region.
The house’s sign, which will read Tasiurvik – that is, a place to hold hands – will welcome families to use the space for their own self-improvement.
‘We’re learning as we go,” Mickpegak said. “This is a new project in Nunavik, and there are no guidelines – this is community-based and responds to what the community wants.”
There are other similar projects in the region. Family houses have operated in Puvirnituq and Inukjuak, while Quaqtaq is home to a healing centre.
But Kuujjuaraapik’s future Tasiurvik will become the first to open under the Regional Partnership Committee and $1 million in funding from a Quebec organization called Avenir d’enfants.
A 2007 report by the Quebec government found serious gaps in youth protection in Nunavik and noted, among other shortfalls in services, an increase in the number of Inuit children put into foster care. Even today, more than 1,000 Nunavimmiut children are reported to the provincial department of youth protection every year.
The report recommended making “children and families a key priority.”
“The ultimate goal is to reduce the number of children going into foster care,” Mickpegak said. “If there’s a situation in the community, this place could be used by the police and the Department of Youth Protection as a place to meet with family members,” he gave as an example. “There’s no other place to do that in the community.”
Tasiurvik will host regular programming, from beading nights, parenting workshops such asthe baby book project, and an upcoming community kitchen class.
A social worker will work from the family house one day a week, Mickpegak said. And the services offered at the facility will respond to needs identified by organizations and people in Kuujjuaraapik.
“It’s what we want as a people,” he said.
At meetings last November, the Kativik Regional Government councillors expressed their support for the family house project. The hope, they said, is that the centre will be successful enough in Kuujjuaraapik to expand the idea to communities across the region. And in fact, under the Regional Partnership Committee, another family house project is already underway in Kangiqsualujjuaq, which has recently secured a space and a board of directors.
At that recent meeting of the KRG in Kuujjuaq, KRG chair Maggie Emudluk emphasized that Nunavik needs to look at what it can do before children are taken in by youth protection.
“There are many children being taken by youth protection. And sometimes they can be taken by the extended families, but, most times, they’re sent to other communities,” Emudluk said.
“So these family houses that we’re planning are to prevent children from being taken through the system,” she said. “In a community, when there’s a family problem, the family house would be assisting the family to help them through the rearing of the children.”
Once the family houses are up and running throughout Nunavik, Université de Montréal researcher Sarah Fraser will work with their co-ordinators to document how the houses are used and look at their impacts on local families.
You can watch a short video produced about
Kuujjuaraapik’s Tasiurvik family house here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3nNHh-IRmk&sns=em
SARAH ROGERS
13 January 2015
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14 JANUARY 2015
Lennox Humphrey's new children's book makes alphabet fun
Author Lennox Humphrey has been a youth mentor and educator for the past nine years. A father of four young children, he is no stranger to children's books and the like. Frustrated at the lack of imagination required to enjoy many of the books he read to his children, he decided the only solution was to write one himself.
Humphrey invites young and old readers alike to visit the special zoo in his new children's book, Rhyming Alphabet Zoo (published by Trafford Publishing), which takes readers to a land of entertainment and rhyme.
Rhyming Alphabet Zoo guides young readers through the alphabet, pairing name-appropriate animals with each letter. Having children of his own at various ages and reading levels, Humphrey ensures his book will be entertaining to children of all ages, while challenging them in different ways.
An excerpt from Rhyming Alphabet Zoo:
"Hey look over there where the land starts to slope. I think I see our first A animal the Antelope. What other A animals might there be in this park? Oh but of course there is our jolly Aardvark. He eats all the bad ants in the park, even the one hiding under tree bark. Before we leave the A park let's just wait, wait, wait! I've found our last A animal and it's an Ape, Ape, Ape!"
Rhyming Alphabet Zoo
By Lennox Humphrey
Softcover | 8.5 x 11 in | 62 pages | ISBN 9781466975972
E-Book | 62 pages | ISBN 9781466975965
Press release: Digital Journal
13 January 2015
http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/2434950
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12 JANUARY 2015
Alaskans are caring and generous. We should agree we can't avoid our responsibility to improve life for the more than 2,300 foster youth for whom the state is the legal guardian, even in tight budgetary times. We become the legal guardian once the state removes a child from their home. We should treat foster youth as we'd want our own children treated.
We can't just perform the first step, and remove them from a broken family. Once we separate a child from their parents we should do all that's feasible so foster youth have real opportunity in life, a caring home, help with the trauma of having no family, and a fair shot at school and career success. No one would blame children who've been taken from their parents for no fault of their own.
There are good people in private and public agencies working hard to make a difference. But we can do better than the roughly 20% homelessness rate and 24 percent incarceration rate that exists for Alaska's foster youth.
Homelessness jumps closer to 40 percent if we count youth who "couch surf" with friends. From 2007-2011 when those youth were counted, that was the rate.
We should do better than only partially implementing the languishing 2011 study Governor Parnell commissioned on how to improve foster care. Shelving the bulk of these requested recommendations isn't a solution.
In tight times we have to prioritize. Children are not a luxury project that should fall off the priority list. We need to work together to find efficient and effective solutions to make life better for youth, who often get uprooted between five, and sometimes more than 20 foster homes.
Both the governor and I have pushed efficient reforms. We've worked to get donated laptops to foster youth so they can have a better chance to succeed in school. We've worked to get stores to volunteer to sell clothing to foster youth at discounted prices (more stores always welcome!). We've worked with the Legislature to help get volunteer mentors to youth so they have a stable adult in their lives as they transition from foster care. We've spoken to community groups to try to recruit needed foster and adoptive families.
The needed improvements that aren't free will save money, and reflect our humanity. Youth failure, jail, prosecutor, public defender, probation officer, police, public assistance, and homelessness costs dwarf the cost of increasing success and jobs. That's something many, but not enough youth achieve.
Fixing things is better than blaming people. Alaska leaves front-line social workers with caseloads that are often double the national standard, or worse. It's too easy to blame staff for doing a stressful job with not enough support. New social workers have such high caseloads they typically leave Office of Children's Services within two years or less.
Add that to the reality that nearly twice as many Alaska youth suffer abuse and neglect than youth nationwide, and you start seeing why social workers need time to work with these young Alaskans.
One thing we can do is make sure Alaska does a better job getting youth a permanent home, by reunifying youth with their natural parents if that's healthy, or by finding a good family for them to live with. The national standard is to reunify youth, if safe, with their parents within 12 months, or to find a different permanent home within 24 months. We fail on both counts. Youth bounce too many years between unfamiliar homes with unfamiliar social workers.
We have a shortage of foster homes, so youth bounce between emergency homes, and homes that have too many foster youth. We need to do more to recruit strong foster and adoptive parents. Roughly 800 youth are currently waiting for adoptive homes.
And for youth who have suffered emotional trauma, and who need the stability of a home, we should make sure they are allowed to remain in foster care until age 21, the statutory limit Alaska and most states have. We terminate homes before age 21 for too many youth. Youth who've been traumatized have a greater need for a responsible adult in their lives, which they lose when foster care ends.
We need to implement the 2011 study the state commissioned, which shows we have a major shortage of help at OCS. Overburdening caseworkers so they don't know the youth and families they work with isn't workable.
Giving youth a real chance in life isn't a partisan issue. Let's work together to make 2015 the year we improve Alaska's foster care system.
Rep. Les Gara & Amanda Metivier
9 January
Rep. Les Gara (D-Anchorage) and Amanda Metivier, Executive Director of Facing Foster Care in Alaska, are both former foster youth and have been advocates for foster care reforms.
http://www.thebristolbaytimes.com/article/1502its_time_to_prioritize_foster_care_in_alaska
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