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News from the field of Child and Youth Care

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JULY 2014

30 JULY 2014

CONNECTICUT

Kelly Cronin resigns as head of Waterbury Youth Services

The executive director of Waterbury Youth Service Systems Inc., has resigned, citing “personal reasons,” according to a press release sent today by the nonprofit.

Kelly Cronin, who has spent 30 years leading the organization that provides school readiness, job skill training, truancy prevention and an array of many other child-related services, “made the difficult decision to leave” by Aug. 15, according to the press release.

“The growth of this agency from its humble beginnings to the expansive vibrant organization that serves the needs of so many children in this area is, and will always be, a great source of pride for me,” Cronin said in a prepared statement.

Jacqueline Caulfield, the organization’s director of finance and operations, has been named interim executive director by the board of directors. Cronin's position is expected to be filled permanently by January, the press release indicates.

Press release
28 July 2014

http://rep-am.com/articles/2014/07/29/news/local/doc53d699673a55e139383375.txt

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28 JULY 2014

ILLINOIS

State bans checks on crime past for job applications

Employers in Illinois can no longer access criminal background checks on potential hires until after an interview is conducted.

Gov. Pat Quinn signed into law this week a bill that prohibits private employers from asking applicants about their criminal history prior to determining if they are qualified for the job.

“Everyone deserves a second chance when it comes to getting a job,” Governor Quinn said in a press release. “This law will help ensure that people across Illinois get a fair shot to reach their full potential through their skills and qualifications, rather than past history. It will also help reduce recidivism, fight poverty and prevent violence in our communities by putting more people back to work.”

The governor’s action is, according to his statement, an effort to “ensure all Illinois’ workers are treated fairly,” and follows last year’s executive order stipulating the same consideration for applicants for state employment.

The Job Opportunities for Qualified Applicants Act, also referred to as the “ban the box” bill in reference to the box on many application forms asking applicants if they are a convicted criminal, makes Illinois the fifth state to restrict pre-interview criminal background checks.

Jay Shattuck is the executive director of the Illinois Chamber of Commerce Employment Law Council, and says while the bill does create a bit of a burden for employers, it’s a reasonable attempt to give some applicants who would otherwise be ignored a chance. “A lot of times an employer may consider an individual who was convicted of a crime many years ago but who are otherwise qualified and have a gone straight since,” Shattuck said. “This gives the applicants who do receive an interview a chance to explain what happened and make their case for being hired.”

Making it to the interview process may be the extra opportunity these former criminals need to get back on their feet, according to Shattuck, even if it means some extra work for employers. “It does add a little bit of a burden to employers looking to fill a vacancy,” Shattuck said. “If they can’t automatically look at the box and throw out applications from ex-cons, they’ll have to do more work and take more time when choosing who to interview. They’ve lost the ability to weed out the applicant list by that one box.”

The new rule only pertains to businesses with more than 15 employees on the payroll.

State Sen. Dale Syverson, R-Rockford, disagrees with the intent of the legislation, and says it will just create more work for employers and lead potential employees on. “Many companies already have rules in place,” Syverson said. “This isn’t going to cause them to change their rules, but it will cause them to have to go through a lot more interviews to hire or not hire the same people they were going to anyway.” Syverson argued that companies should have the freedom to determine their hiring rules and procedures on their own.

“By allowing applicants to undergo the interview process without being judged as unfit for employment because of their background, we will help individuals get back to work, pursue a higher education and become the responsible residents that our state thrives on,” State Rep. Rita Mayfield, D-Waukegan, said in a statement. “I believe this legislation will improve the lives of many residents and give them the opportunities they were previously unable to strive for.”

Waukegan sponsored the bill in the House, while State Sen. Antonio Muñoz, D-Chicago, was the primary Senate sponsor.

“Everyone should have the opportunity to be considered for employment,” Sen. Munoz said in a press release. “This legislation protects people with criminal records from discrimination, gives deserving people a second chance and allows them to be evaluated based on their suitability for a position.”

Gov. Quinn’s office said in a statement that this move is part of a broader agenda to “give people of all ages a second chance in life.” The office cited recent legislation signed by the governor that automatically clears arrest records for less serious, non-violent juvenile cases, and legislation that increases the number of felonies that are legally sealed and inaccessible without the court meeting strict criteria.

The legislation does not apply to jobs where employers are legally obligated to exclude applicants with criminal history, and therefore exempts some construction jobs, emergency medical jobs and security jobs.

The law takes effect Jan. 1.

Press release:
Brady Cremeens Illinois News Network
26 July 2014

http://www.myjournalcourier.com/news/home_top-news/50035431/State-bans-checks-on-crime-past-for-job-applications#.U9T7hOkcSUk

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25 JULY 2014

NEW ZEALAND

The 10 things kids need most

All kids need the basics of life – like food, warmth, shelter and clothing. But they also need to feel loved and secure. By giving our children all the things they need, we can help them be safe, strong and thrive. Read on for some ideas about how you can help the children you care for feel loved and secure. These ideas are from the parents section of the everyday families brochure.

One: Meeting their everyday needs

Babies and children need to know there is someone who loves them and that their needs will be met as soon as possible. This means:

•feeding them when they're hungry
•keeping them warm, dry and safe from danger
•helping them if they are in pain, scared or upset
•providing family routines
•making sure there is always someone you trust to look after them.

A few minutes is a long time for a baby who is feeling hungry or upset. The sooner they are comforted the safer they will feel.

Older children might be able to wait a little longer, but they still need to know that you will feed them when they are hungry, and help them when they are sad or in pain.

When I cry:
I'm a baby. I'll cry an average of two to five hours every day, it's my way of talking. Go through this checklist when I cry and it will help you work out what's wrong (and if I won't stop, just love me anyway!).

Crying checklist:

•Please check my nappy
•See if I'm hungry or uncomfortable
•Make sure I'm not in pain or have a fever (if I do, call a doctor)
•Wrap me safely in a soft blanket and cuddle me
•Take me for a ride in a buggy or car
•Place me in a bouncy chair or gentle infant swing
•Play soft music, sing or hum quietly
•Give me a soothing bath.

Two: Feel safe and secure

When children feel safe and secure, they learn to trust other people. Children who don't feel safe can be anxious and unhappy. This can affect their health and learning. But when they learn that they can trust the adults around them, it helps them grow up happy, healthy and to enjoy the world around them.

Firstly, we make children feel safe by meeting their basic needs. But we also make them feel safe by showing them that we love them.

Three: Love and hugs

Hugs and cuddles help children to feel safe and comforts them. Holding your children, picking them up, sitting them on your lap, kissing and cuddling, are all good ways to show that you care.

Babies and toddlers usually love games like bouncing them on your knee, gently tickling, and games that involve wiggling their fingers or toes can be lots of fun.

Holding a toddler's hand when out walking helps to protect them from danger and to feel safe and secure in the outside world.

Older children need lots of affection to remind them that you care. You can do this with cuddles, a 'goodnight' kiss and a pat on the shoulder. Snuggling up close while reading a story together or watching TV is great for your child and you.

Think about your childhood…
If you were bought up with lots of hugs and praise from your parents, then this will be normal for you. But if you weren't bought up like that, it might feel strange to do these things. The more you do it, the more natural it will feel. Keep asking yourself:

•What is good for my child?
•What kind of parent do I want to be?

Four: Plenty of praise

Your child wants to please you. If you praise them when they do well at something or are trying hard, it will make them want to do it again. Praising your child for being good will make them want to be good, and it will help them feel good about themselves.

Children who feel good about themselves tend to:

•learn more easily and make more effort to achieve
•get into less trouble
•get on well with others
•make friends more easily
•feel happier and more secure.

Five: Smiles

Give a new baby lots of smiles, and smiling will be one of the first things they learn to do for you.

Smiling is one of the most simple ways of helping children feel happy and safe. When you smile at children you are telling them that:

•you love them
•you enjoy their company
•you are pleased with them
•you are taking notice of them
•you are happy
•you are good fun to be with.

Smiles work even better when you are looking into your child's eyes. Good eye contact when smiling, listening or talking to your child helps to get their attention.

Six: Talking

It's good to talk and sing to babies from the time they are born. A gentle voice helps your child to feel relaxed and secure. It helps them to get to know you, and to know that you are there to look after them.

When you talk to children they soon start learning words themselves. The more you talk to them, the more they will learn.

They will also learn more if you use proper adult words most of the time. Learning words helps them to communicate and to understand more about the world. As they get older, words will become one of their most important tools.

Children with a good use of words find it easier to express themselves, to make friends, and to learn at school and at home.

Some ideas for talking to your children:

It's easy to switch off when you're busy and tired, but try to put aside a few minutes a day to talk to your child.

A quiet time together before bed: This can just be a few minutes of talking about your day and it will make it a special time.

Name games: When kids are learning words, play games like "Where's your tummy?"… "Where's the cat?"… "What's that?"

Bedtime stories: Or just read books at any time. Even if kids are young, they like looking at the pictures.

Sing: Songs and waiata are a great way to learn words.

Talk topic: Ask them to pick a topic, and you can tell them a story about it from your own childhood.

Play 'highs and lows': If your child is a bit older, talk about the best thing and worst thing that happened that day.

Seven: Listening

As they get older and more able to use words, children begin to ask lots of questions. By listening carefully and doing your best to answer their questions, you will show them that learning is fun. Listening is another way of showing that you are interested and care about them. Even when kids are asking for something they can't have, they need an answer and a simple explanation.

Eight: Learn new things

You don't need fancy toys or equipment to give your child new experiences. You can use everyday things around you, go for walks or explore the beach or park. Why not start a shell collection – or look for special stones? Or what about joining a toy library? It makes learning fun and teaches them about the world.

They need other people too – other children to play with and relationships with people of all ages.

For older children it's good to be involved in their school activities and homework, and to meet with their teacher often.

New experiences can include simple things like:

•tell a story from your childhood
•play a game: ?a boardgame if they're older
•peek-a-boo if they're younger
•or naming games like 'I spy..' •sing a song or waiata
•explore the house and garden
•read a book (even if babies like the pictures)
•teach your kids shapes and colours
•take your kids to a friend's place to visit
•praise your children for something new they did
•or something they did well
•take your child for a walk to the park, beach or anywhere near by
•do some drawing, painting or colouring
•pick up stones, look at flowers…new experiences are everywhere for kids.

Nine: Take care of their feelings

Sometimes it's hard for children to find the right words, or tell you when they are sad or frightened. Babies and small children can be frightened by anything new and different, when there is no real danger. A stranger, a clown, or a loud noise, can all be very scary for a toddler who is not used to them. Sometimes you might feel tempted to laugh, to tease them or or tell them 'not to be silly'. What they really need is for you to comfort them and give them a simple explanation. This will help them feel good about themselves, and feel OK about talking to you if they have a serious problem.

Ten: Rewards and special treats

All parents want their children to behave. If you give kids attention when they are good, it will make them want to be good more often. If you only notice them when they are naughty, it might make them want to be naughty more often. The best reward for being good is getting your time and attention. Taking time to play and have fun together doesn't have to cost money. A picnic, a walk in the park or a trip to the beach can be lots of fun.

An idea for giving kids your time and attention: Make them a scrapbook

Children love stories about themselves – it helps them feel loved and important. You could make a scrapbook or album that's all about your child from the time they were born. Put all sorts of things in it:

•a handprint
•photos
•things they've said
•a favourite birthday card.

Read it with your child as a special reward or treat – or to comfort them.

New Zealand Child, Youth and Family
24 July, 2014

http://www.cyf.govt.nz/info-for-parents/the-ten-things-kids-need-most.html

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23 JULY 2014

'EGO' gives readers a new mindset towards success

The challenges facing America's inner-city youth has been well-documented in the news media. Images of young African-American men in handcuffs often filter through evening newscasts on a daily basis. In his debut novel, EGO; Easing God Out; No, Keep Him In, author Ormond Curl interjects a countering image; one of successful young men and women undergoing a powerful transformation of financial empowerment. "EGO" is a must-read for anyone concerned with the state of the African-American community and America's inner-city neighborhoods.

"EGO" is a fictional thriller that follows Bill Sheppard, a business owner of a human resource consulting firm that has a supernatural life-altering experience with God, coupled with a miracle-filled Christian crusade trip to Africa. Once he returned, he has a God-given purpose to impact African American high school students, shifting their paradigm from apathy to a confidence originating from personal business ownership.

This highly immersive book grants readers a different view of inner city teenagers who have a willingness to roll up their mental sleeves and become a part of the worldwide EGO movement. "EGO" is a multi-faceted read that shows readers that everyone deserves a chance to succeed in life.

For more information on this book, interested parties may log on to http://www.Xlibris.com.

About the author

Ormond Curl has a thirty-year business career serving in senior executive positions with three Fortune 100 companies. He founded a private practice based in Atlanta, Georgia, specializing in retained/contingency executive search. Ormond serves The Precedent Group's clients in a variety of initiatives. Ormond is widely known as a passionate leader who believes in giving back to the world. He is an active public speaker and passionate educator. He is active in ministry through charitable and philanthropic efforts. Additionally, Ormond and his wife of thirty-six years, Debra, are involved in being a bridge to African countries in assisting needy children

EGO* by Ormond Curl
Easing God out, No, Keep Him In
Publication Date: March 21, 2014
Trade Paperback; $19.99; 198 pages; 9781493174638
Trade Hardback; $29.99; 198 pages; 9781493174621
E-book; $3.99; 9781493174614

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2014/EGO/prweb12036077.htm

Press release: PRWEB.COM Newswire
22 July 2014

http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/2068467

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21 JULY 2014

GEORGIA

Gadsden City Schools official honored as 'Anti-Bullying Hero'

Anyone who stands up to a bully could be considered something of a hero.

During Auburn University’s fourth annual National Anti-Bullying Summit last month in Peachtree City, Ga., awards were given to some people who try to stand up to all the bullies.

Felicia Simpson, the community Education Coordinator for Gadsden City Schools, was one of those honored as an “Anti-Bullying Hero.”

“Being an ‘upstander’ rather than a ‘bystander’ in bullying situations requires courage and risk,” a press release announcing the honor states, “but individuals or groups who take the initiative to be ‘upstanders’ – those people whom we describe as Anti-Bullying Heroes – become an impetus for change in schools and communities.”

Simpson said she was honored to receive the award, but she’s quick to point out, “This isn’t about me.” She said the work the Gadsden City system has done to educate people about bullying is a collaborative effort of schools and community organizations.

Attending a national conference in Washington, D.C., hosted by Safe and Drug Free Schools, Simpson learned about the destructive impact of bullying in schools. Statistics indicate that about one out of every seven students in grades K-12 is either a bully or a bullying victim.

The conference left Simpson determined to develop anti-bullying initiatives in Gadsden.

Press release
20 July 2014

http://www.gadsdentimes.com/article/20140719/NEWS/140729999?Title=Gadsden-City-Schools-official-honored-as-Anti-Bullying-Hero-

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18 JULY 2014


Youth depression thrives on silence

When Amber Cavarlez was in high school and her mother died of colon cancer, she and her Filipino Catholic family went to church and lit candles every day. But, she says, “After she passed, nothing was said about it. No one talked about it.” In her home, she says, sadness was an “invisible subject.” And when she cried at school and sought help, she received an anonymous message through Facebook that said, “Don’t cry at school because no one cares.”

She learned to keep her feelings to herself, but her family’s struggles weren’t over – her brother was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and attempted suicide several times in the following years. By then attending college in San Francisco, she often found herself emotionally unable to go to class, and was told by the administration that she’d have to improve academically or drop out.

She sought the help of a therapist on campus and eventually graduated. Now 23, she is a mentor with the Peer Wellness Program at Edgewood Center for Children and Families in San Francisco. Though doing well herself, she wishes her brother had had someone to talk to when he was in school. Young people “need someone there to ask about [their feelings], to make it valid,” she says.

Cavarlez spoke with other young people at a media forum in San Francisco last week on challenging stigmas around youth depression. Alongside the youth storytellers, a panel of experts in the mental health field weighed in on the views of depression across different cultures and a fractured system for delivering mental health services. They agreed that youth depression is more widespread than many people realize, and that it thrives on silence.

But both advocates and practitioners were above all optimistic about the future of mental health in children and youth, and expressed a growing excitement over treatment options – in the words of Patrick Gardner, founder of the Young Minds Advocacy Project, “We have a moment of opportunity to change some things. The public is engaged in a way that I have never seen before around children’s mental health,” he said.

A fractured system, but new opportunities for treatment

Gardner says that access to mental health coverage has increased dramatically because of the Affordable Care Act, and that “we can expect these resources to continue to grow.” But, he says, “We aren’t especially effective at systems in delivering services to children.”

He points to long waiting lists for services – “Because we delay access to the system, [people] drop out,” he says – as well as the need to improve the quality of care.

And the need is high, especially in California. Gardner says that mental health problems account for 85 percent of the disease burden for people between the ages of 15 and 25.

Dr. Regan Foust, the data manager at the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health, agrees. In 2012, she said, mental diseases and disorders accounted for the largest share of hospital admissions among children under 18 in California – some 12 percent of all hospitalizations. Statistics from kidsdata.org (the program that Foust manages) show that mental health problems are the most common primary diagnosis for a hospital stay for kids under 18, more common than bronchitis or fevers.

Depression in the very young

Dr. Manpreet K. Singh, an assistant professor at Stanford School of Medicine who works in the university’s Pediatric Mood Disorders Program, stressed the importance of parents and educators being able to recognize early warning signs. “These signs can be evident even as early as infancy and early childhood, especially if the child has been exposed to family stress, chaos, conflict, or trauma,” she said.

Young children who are depressed, she says, might withdraw from activities that are normally fun for them, easily anger or become irritable, have difficulty with relationships, or be extremely sensitive to rejection or failure as compared to other kids. They also might decline academically, have headaches or stomachaches that don’t respond to treatment, or change their eating or sleeping patterns. She cautions that depression tends to run in families and can transmit from parent to child.

Like Gardner, Singh is optimistic about the future of treatment. “We now know for a fact that [depression] is treatable in children,” she said.

A 19-year-old woman who spoke on the panel was one such person who was depressed from a young age. Lena’s parents are immigrants from China. Her biological father had another family in China; he brought them to the United States when she was 6 years old and kicked Lena and her mother out of the house.

“No one would acknowledge me as family. That was very hard for me to deal with,” she said. “I really had nobody growing up … I asked, ‘Why didn’t I have a father? Why was everybody else so lucky?’ I realized I didn’t like doing things anymore. I had no interest in things.”

She went to a teacher when she was in 6th grade and asked to talk to a therapist. “I would cry through the entire session,” she said. She would often think about “What [she] was taught, how [she’s] not supposed to share anything.”

The stigma across cultures

Katherine Kam, a journalist who has reported on depression and suicide in Asian American adolescents, added that “Among parents, especially in traditional immigrant households, there’s not a lot of understanding about mental illness and about depression … Parents often rejected the diagnosis because they felt that it was a very embarrassing diagnosis. It brought shame to their families.”

Counselors who work with Asian American families told her that depression is often seen as a personal weakness or a moral failing in Asian cultures, and that if a person works hard enough he or she can overcome it.

Jeneé Darden, the host of Mental Health and Wellness Radio at P.E.E.R.S. in Oakland (Peers Envisioning and Engaging in Recovery Services), spoke of a similar experience having depression in the African American community.

She would sometimes hear from family and friends, “Black women are supposed to be strong, or depression is a white thing, that going to a therapist is a white thing. I would hear, ‘You’re not praying hard enough,’” she added. “Our first step to getting help is the pastor, is the church … [I would hear] ‘Don’t take your problems to the therapist, take them to Jesus.’”

Different ways of finding help

A 20-year-old Indian American woman going by “Leela” (she didn’t want her parents to know that she had spoken publicly about her experiences) recalled having been depressed for most of her life. Her depression worsened, though, after she was sexually assaulted in college.

“My tendency is to become immobile, and I barricaded myself inside my dorm room for the rest of the year,” she said. “I did not leave. I told my parents that I was going to school but I was not.”

“When I tell my parents, I sort of feel like I have to justify the way I’m feeling,” she said. “[I say] ‘I’m not doing well in school because I’m scared.’ ‘I’m not doing well in school because some days I cannot leave the house.’”

She says that what helped her was finding other people who feel the way she does.

Robert Cervantez, 19, said that talking about his depression doesn’t help. For him, it’s being a musician that helps him cope – it gives him “an outlet to express [his] depression and [his] anger.”

Sonya Mann, also 19, called herself “genetically unlucky” coming from a family with a strong history of mental illness. She feels lucky to have had professional medical support while she was growing up, but she continues to feel shame over her depression: “Even though I’ve been told so many times that it’s not my fault, that’s it’s not a personal weakness … I don’t believe that it’s not my fault.”

She’s had to come to terms with the fact that she will likely have to manage her depression all her life. She agrees that it’s treatable, she says, but “I don’t think it’s curable. It’s something you have that you learn how to deal with.”

New ways of thinking, and looking to the future

Rob Gitin, the co-founder and executive director of At The Crossroads, which reaches out to homeless youth, said that current trends around the way services are delivered need to change. “Services are becoming more conditional, more outcome-focused, shorter-termed and more disciplined,” he said.

When kids act out in ways that are consistent with symptoms of youth depression, such as skipping school and getting into fights, “These are things that will get you kicked out programs,” he said. “You’re not doing what you’re told to, you’re being violent, you’re not engaging with services.” In their search for evidence-based results, programs end up shutting out the kids who need help the most, because those kids don’t live up to strict expectations.

And, he says, the outlook of many service providers needs to change.

“I think that a lot of the time the people doing the work make a mistake. They think that it is your job to make people feel better. It’s not your job to make people feel better, it’s your job to make people feel okay about however they’re feeling,” he says. “If you try to do that all you’re going to do is force them to deny their feelings and suppress whatever they’re going through.”

“There is no model on how you help people,” he adds. “How you help people is you listen to them, you get to know them as an individual. You learn what’s great about them and what’s awful about them, and you help them accept whoever they are and help them figure out who they want to be.”

Ziomara Ochoa, LMFT, is the supervisor of the South County Youth Team at Behavioral Health and Recovery Services in San Mateo. She primarily provides services to a Latino population, many of whom are immigrants or undocumented. Her work, she says, is moving from a focus on treatment into the realm of prevention, with programs like Mental Health First Aid, a public education program that educates participants about risk factors and warning signs of mental health problems and teaches them how to help a person in crisis.

The hope is that by educating the community through platforms like forums and group discussions, depression and mental illness in young people can be prevented through community awareness.

It’s part a movement, she says, to “integrate community-based practices that really work with our community and really validate [them] just as much as evidence-based practices.”

Kordnie Lee, a Youth Mental Health First Aid instructor with Lincoln Child Center in Alameda County, added “It’s really about giving a common language … if a young person is doing something that you don’t understand or exhibiting symptoms that you don’t understand, that you [don’t] just send them to someone else and that person’s going to figure it out. It is a community, it is a holistic responsibility that all of us have.”

New America Media, News Report, Anna Challet,
JulY 17, 2014

http://newamericamedia.org/2014/07/youth-depression-thrives-on-silence---california-data-show-shocking-impact-of-mental-disorders.php

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16 JULY 2014

New insights into the treatment of children and youth
exposed to acts of terror

In a cluster of articles released today in the peer reviewed European Journal of Psychotraumatology, researchers provide new insights into the treatment of children and youth exposed to acts of terror. The work is drawn from studies examining the mass shooting at Utoya, Norway in 2011, and two school shootings in Finland – Jokela in 2007 and Kauhajoki in 2008.

A lead researcher in the cluster is noted Norwegian child psychiatrist and terror expert Dr. Grete Dyb of the University of Oslo and the Norwegian Center for Violence and Traumatic Stress Studies.

"Terror isn't unknown to European youth anymore," states Dyb, who has authored multiple papers related to children and post traumatic stress, "yet, surprisingly little documentation exists on how outreach efforts are – or should be – conducted following terror events."

While their outreach methods differ, both Norway and Finland have been proactive in their responses, actively seeking to connect with and aid affected children and youth. This collection of papers provides insights gleaned, in party, by studying these two countries' responses.

"We know that an immediate pro-active outreach effort is vital in preventing post traumatic stress and other psychological difficulties. What became clear in our studies is that the outreach should continue for at least two years," says Dyb, pointing to a key finding in the research.

Though school shootings have seen a dramatic rise in the past decade – in the U.S. and more recently Europe – there has been a dearth of evidence-based research on what actually works in terms of intervention efforts. Unique in this collection is a study that involved interviews with Finnish victims who were asked, directly, what they felt helped.

Other key areas of the reports examine how the Norwegian outreach effort involved teachers, who were provided with materials and guidance to help aid Utoya survivors as they returned to school.

According to the papers, school system involvement should be a key element in outreach efforts. However, Dyb points out: "Teachers need, for the sake of the children, to remain teachers and not become a mere shoulder to cry on."

"Important questions for teachers to ask themselves are: How can we help them achieve what they are there to achieve? How can we help them so they continue to learn in spite of their trauma?" adds Dyb. "We can't simply allow them to be excused from school and send them home when they are having difficulty functioning at school. The rest of their lives are at stake."

"More training is needed. We need teachers to be more trauma informed. This is important for all teachers."

Press release provided by Norwegian Centre for Violence and Traumatic Stress Studies
3 July 2014

http://medicalxpress.com/news/2014-07-insights-treatment-children-youth-exposed.html

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14 JULY 2014

INDIA

Youth constitute 40 pc of road accidents: study

Forty per cent of the victims of fatal road mishaps in the country are those under the age of 24, a study released here said. The young population (till 24 years), constitutes 40 per cent of the victims, other than motor vehicle drivers, according to a report by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE).

An national assessment of road accident risk also says that as many as 53 per cent of the victims in the bracket of 25-65 years fall prey to road accidents.

In 2012, about 5,879 children in the age group 0-14 years and about 26,709 young adults in the age group 15-24 years were victims of road accidents, the report said.

Revealing another explosive trend, the report says that as much as 11 per cent of the global road injury deaths occur annually in India alone. These numbers are so high that it amounts to wiping out almost half the equivalent population of a nation like Iceland.

Over the last two decades, while the total number of accidents and injuries shows only a small downward dip, fatalities have increased sharply. The proportion of fatal accidents in total road accidents is up from 18 per cent in 2003 to 25 per cent in 2012 (as per official data). More people are dying now as cities allow vehicles to have more speed on roads, while depriving people of safe access to these same roads, the report said.

The trauma centre of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi, which can handle only 15,000 cases, reports almost 60,000 cases of accidents every year, with a 10 per cent annual increase.

Approximately 5,000 cases require major operations, the report said.

"Of the total cases reported for injuries, head injuries account for 40 per cent while orthopedic and torso injuries are 30 per cent. In cases of brain injuries, there is only 40 per cent chance of recovery," the report said.

According to a CSE official who was related to the assessment, highly motorised cities like Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi, and Bengaluru top the list with the highest numbers of injuries and deaths as recorded by the Union ministry of Road Transport and Highways.

Mumbai has the highest number of all types of accidents, while Delhi records largest number of fatal accidents among all cities. Studies also indicate that smaller cities like Lucknow, Vadodra, and Agra that have newly built highways, show increasing vehicle conflict and accident risks.

Press Trust of India
13 July 2012

http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/youth-constitute-40-pc-victims-of-road-accidents-study-114071300161_1.html

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9 JULY 2014

West Roxbury library recommends summer reads for kids

There is a wide range of wonderful books new and old for children to become engrossed in over the summer: Exciting fiction, biographies and memoirs from all walks of life, books that have been made into movies, those of local interest, and those that revolve around science, the summer reading program theme this year.

Great fiction reads include the following which have been big hits with the library’s middle school book club: "Breadcrumbs," by Anne Ursu (think Gerda and Kai in The Snow Queen); "A Tale Dark and Grimm" and sequels by Adam Gidwitz (think Hansel and Gretel); "Wonderstruck," by Brian Selznick; and "Kira-Kira," (which means glittering) by Cynthia Kadohata, a truly glittering and touching story of a younger sister taking care of her older sibling.

Also not to be missed are "The Graveyard Book," by Neil Gaiman, about a boy who grows up and out of the graveyard in which he was born; "Doll Bones," by Holly Black, which involves children on a quest to bury a doll made from the ashes of a dead girl; and "The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg," by Rodman Philbrick, a Civil War story about a boy’s search to rescue his beloved brother from illegal conscription in the Army.

Classics not to be missed are the time travel masterpiece, "A Wrinkle in Time," by Madeleine L’Engle; the Holocaust story of bravery and loyalty, "Number the Stars," by Lois Lowry; and the fantasy "The Phantom Tollbooth," by Norton Juster, in praise of education. In addition to great reads, these titles have garnered numerous awards.

Outstanding biographies and memoirs feature men and women from all walks of life who have contributed much to broaden our understanding and are an inspiration for all.

The following recommended books focus on politics, social justice, and the law: "Barack Obama: Son of Promise, Child of Hope," by Nikki Grimes; "Dolores Huerta: A Hero to Migrant Workers," by Sarah Warren; and "Sonia Sotomayor: a Judge Grows in the Bronx," by Jonah Winter.

For those who enjoy art and sports, try "Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave," by Laban Hill and "Becoming Babe Ruth," by Matt Tavares.

Other important biographies include, "Temple Grandin: How the Girl who Loved Cows Embraced Autism and Changed the World," by Sy Montgomery and "Look Me In the Eye," by John Elder Robison about autism.

Children can learn about life during the Cultural Revolution in "Red Scarf Girl," by Ji-li Jiang and life after the 1967 Six Day War in "Tasting the Sky," by Ibtisam Barakat.

Also don’t miss these books subsequently made into movies: "The Snow Queen" by Hans Christian Andersen transformed into "Frozen"; "The Secret Garden" and "A Little Princess," by Frances Hodgson Burnett; and "The Invention of Hugo Cabret," by Brian Selznick. Incidentally, Adam Gidwitz, the author of "A Tale Dark and Grimm" mentioned above, is writing a book based on "Star Wars." Stay tuned.

Gwendolyn Fletcher
8 July 2014

http://west-roxbury.wickedlocal.com/article/20140708/NEWS/140707632

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7 JULY 2014

USA

Drug-Free South: “Every penny counts when you are saving lives”

Volunteers with the Drug-Free South are saying that every penny counts in the struggle to end drug abuse.

Nashville, TN

According to the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services website, “The abuse of prescription drugs, specifically opioids, is an epidemic in Tennessee, with disastrous and severe consequences to Tennesseans of every age including: overdose deaths, emergency department visits, hospital costs, newborns with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome, children in state custody, and people incarcerated for drug-related crimes.”

The Tennessean recently ran an article titled “Tennessee teens' appetite for hard drugs grows,” in which the newspaper states, “Tennessee teenagers are using heroin and shooting up drugs at twice the national average, according to a report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And many more – roughly one in every five – pop pills for recreational use.”

“That’s exactly why we have to work harder than ever before,” says Rev. Brian Fesler who coordinates Drug-Free South, a chapter of the Foundation for a Drug-Free World. Fesler says Tennessee is in danger and, “we have to double and triple our efforts to create drug-free zones.”

Volunteer Anne Vallieres with Drug-Free South (DFS) recently contacted a teacher in Spring City, a rural area in Rhea County, Tennessee. She said crystal meth is a serious problem in Rhea County, a problem she wanted to solve. She had ordered some free materials from the Foundation’s website and wanted more, but her school did not have enough funds for shipment. Vallieres emptied her penny jar and gathered some donations to ship a DVD on the Truth About Drugs, as well as pamphlets on the Truth About Marijuana and the Truth About Crystal Meth.

This is all part of DFS’ continued efforts to create drug-free zones across Tennessee. DFS works with youth, educators, parents, community leaders and law enforcement officers to provide drug education to children and teens by working together with the Foundation for a Drug-Free World. DFS uses a series of drug education resources that work—a multimedia program that speaks to the youth of today, informing them of the truth about drugs and empowering them to make their own decisions to live drug-free.

The cornerstone of the program is a series of booklets that provide the facts about the most commonly abused drugs: marijuana, alcohol, ecstasy, cocaine, crack cocaine, crystal meth, inhalants, heroin, LSD, prescription drugs, painkillers, and Ritalin.

Drug-Free South is dedicated to handling the drug problem in Tennessee, and wants to encourage all educators to visit drugfreesouth.org to schedule a drug education seminar in their school. “2014 is the year to reverse the demand for drugs in Tennessee,” says Fesler.

Press release: PR.com
5 July 2014

http://www.pr.com/press-release/568390

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4 JULY 2014

Celiac disease genetic variant present in 90% of child cases;
Early detection more possible than ever

Eating gluten-free has become somewhat of a joke to the general public, as people adopt the lifestyle believing it to be healthier and a weight-loss solution – but many of them don’t even know what gluten is. For the roughly three million Americans with celiac disease, however, eating gluten-free isn’t a fad – consuming the protein found in wheat, barley, rye, and other grains can lead to dangerous malnutrition. Finding the disease early is critical to ensuring that kids don’t suffer from developmental delays and stunted growth. A new study funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has now identified specific genetic variants that may indicate a child’s celiac risk.

The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, was called The Environmental Determinants of Diabetes in Youth (TEDDY) consortium, and looked at both type 1 diabetes and celiac disease in kids. Nearly six percent of all people with type 1 diabetes also have celiac disease because they are both autoimmune disorders with similar genetic risk factors. That genetic risk come from variants of the HLA gene, which affects how gluten is tolerated by the immune system.

The researchers found that children with two copies of the HLA-DR3-DQ2 variant had the highest chance of developing celiac disease. Twenty-six percent of children with the variant developed celiac disease autoimmunity (CDA) – an early sign of the disease – by the time they turned 5 years old, while 12 percent developed full-blown celiac disease. Among children with a single copy of the variant, the risks of CDA and celiac disease by age 5 were 11 percent and three percent, respectively.

“By looking at the genes of the children who participated in TEDDY, we can now identify who among them is at highest risk for celiac disease, and their parents and health care providers can monitor these children to detect the disease early,” said Dr. Beena Akolkar, project scientists for TEDDY at the NIH’s National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, in a press release. The results were especially promising because 90 percent of kids with celiac disease had the HLA-DR3-DQ2 variant.

TEDDY was carried out in Sweden, the U.S., Finland, and Germany. For the celiac study, 6,403 newborns with either HLA-DR3-DQ2 or HLA-DR4-DQ8 were followed until age 5 to determine how many would go on to develop celiac disease or CDA. In all, 291 kids developed celiac disease and 786 developed CDA.

Interestingly, almost twice as many kids in Sweden were diagnosed with celiac disease than in the U.S. Sweden also had higher rates of celiac disease among kids than Germany and Finland – the researchers were clueless as to why but plan on studying the cause further. “TEDDY’s unique structure of having the same protocol in several countries enables us to search for factors that trigger the disease,” said senior author Dr. Daniel Agardh of Lund University, Sweden, in the release. “By studying similarities and differences between genes and environmental factors in these countries, we hope to pinpoint risk factors for the disease.”

Celiac disease affects the body’s ability to digest food properly. People with the disease who eat gluten experience immune reactions in the small intestine’s villi – small protrusions that catch nutrients and absorb them into the body. Gluten slowly destroys the villi, preventing the body from absorbing other nutrients into the bloodstream. Eventually, this leads to malnutrition and can cause complications in the brain, nervous system, bones, liver, and other organs, according to Mayo Clinic. Genetics certainly contribute to the disease’s risk. But some experts believe the environment also plays a part as prevalence rises, suggesting that the over-sterilization of the modern world and an abundance in processed foods are to blame, among other things.

PRESS RELEASE: Agardh D, Alkokar B, et al. New England Journal of Medicine. 2014.
2 july 2014

http://www.medicaldaily.com/celiac-disease-genetic-variant-present-90-child-cases-early-detection-more-possible-ever-291180

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2 JULY 2014

NEW ZEALAND

Toughlove to mark thirty years of service

An organisation that plays a key role in helping parents of youth at risk is to mark its thirtieth anniversary later this month.

Over the last three decades, TOUGHLOVE New Zealand has provided supportive weekly forums and tried and tested strategies for coping, to tens of thousands of parents faced with the stress and trauma of inappropriate teenage behaviour within their own families.

The anniversary is to be celebrated with a gathering of TOUGHLOVE's Parent Support Group facilitators and other volunteers from across New Zealand at Auckland's Quality Hotel Lincoln Green on the evening of Friday 25th July (see details at end of release).

The gathering is to be addressed by the Minister for Social Development, the Hon. Paula Bennett. In addition, a panel of volunteers will be discussing issues facing parents.

"Our thirtieth birthday comes at a time of heightened concern over youth at risk, which certainly acts as a reminder of how much work remains to be done," says TOUGHLOVE's National Spokesperson, Peter Altmann.

"Even so, it's no mean feat for a tightly-funded, largely volunteer organisation to have freed so many parents from the pit of despair into which they'd been cast by the inappropriate behaviour of the children they love.

"Such behaviour can take many forms. Perhaps a teen regularly plays truant from school, fails to do homework or has developed a taste for alcohol, drugs or promiscuity. Alternatively, he or she may be using home as a dumping ground, failing to help with housework, staying out all hours, going missing for days at a time or taking the family car on joy-rides.

"And, sometimes, a parent might be facing worse problems; living in fear of a potentially violent son or daughter and worrying about whether other children and family members are safe," he says.

Mr Altmann adds that most parents attending TOUGHLOVE Support Groups are sensible and conscientious people dragged down by situations they would have thought completely manageable until it happened to them and their child.

"Shame, grief, embarrassment, zero self-esteem and a range of stress-related medical symptoms are the norm, with many describing themselves as 'jelly fish parents', with no faith in their ability to make consistent decisions or follow through on them.

"It's very satisfying to be able to help these parents take control of their lives, regain their health and self-confidence, repair the damage to their families and steer their rebellious teenagers back towards the hope-filled, productive and successful futures that all caring, loving and responsible parents want for their teens," he says.

Peter Altmann points out that TOUGHLOVE Support Group facilitators have typically experienced similar issues to those faced by the parents they're helping. Feedback from parents consistently emphasises the importance they place on being able to talk to people who've also "been through it".

"Some things have changed since the 1980s. Many of us lead busier lives and parents can find it harder to devote as much time as they would like to their children. And it's also true that there are new sources of temptation available, particularly online.

"But one thing has remained constant. Parents of youth at risk still need the type of support and guidance that can only come from other parents, who've faced the same kind of trauma and come out the other side stronger, more self-aware and more capable. That's the vital ingredient that TOUGHLOVE provides," he adds.

Further information about TOUGHLOVE is available at www.toughlove.org.nz

Press Release: TOUGHLOVE
1 July 2014

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1407/S00017/toughlove-to-mark-thirty-years-of-service.htm

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The International Child and Youth Care Network
THE INTERNATIONAL CHILD AND YOUTH CARE NETWORK (CYC-Net)

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