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4203 Southpoint Blvd Jacksonville FL 32216 www.nilausa.org
August 2, 2005 |
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NILA Update |
All nominations for the
NILA Award, Founder’s Award,
and Youth of the Year Award
are due by Wednesday, August 10th.
Register for
Growing Pains at:
http://www.danielkids.org/sites/web/content.cfm?id=276
Don’t
forget to identify yourself as a NILA member on the registration form –
HOWEVER,
you need to be current with you dues
to get the NILA discount.
Take
this opportunity to make sure you are up-to-date!
“Youth Speak Out”
National Youth Forum sponsored by NILA at Growing Pains
Thursday, September 22 from 2:00p-3:30p
We need your help! We want to hear from youth about
their experiences within the foster care system. NILA works hard to advocate for youth in foster care across the
nation but we need to learn directly from our youth about the issues that are
of biggest concern.
We will take what we hear from this speak out and pass it
along to US DHHS so that they can be better informed when writing policies that
affect youth in care.
Specific areas of interest are the youth’s experiences
with:
· Education
· Employment
· Resources for Living Independently
· Experiences with Workers
We are asking that youth share both positive and negative
experiences that may help to improve the system. There will be a panel of listener’s who represent national
organizations that can affect change in these areas. The panel will use
what they hear to help shape policies that directly affect our youth! In addition, the information gathered from
the youth will be put in an open letter to media outlets and the
decision-makers who most affect our youth.
If know a youth that wants to be heard, send them to the
NILA table anytime before the forum to sign up! Also, if they have something to say but don’t want to speak,
write it down and leave it with us at the NILA table and one of our youth
facilitators will make sure that voice is heard!
News from the National Governor’s Association…
The NGA Center for Best Practices convened the National Experts'
Roundtable on Youth Transitioning Out of Foster Care on Friday, May 20,
2005. Experts at the daylong meeting identified key elements and
strategies in a comprehensive state system that assists older foster youth in
successfully transitioning to adulthood. The experts hailed from many
areas that connect to youth aging out of the foster care system, including
child welfare, juvenile justice, health and mental health, education, employment,
housing, independent living, and other research and advocacy areas. For more information go to the following
site:
2005 KIDS COUNT Data Book Released
The 16th
annual KIDS COUNT Data Book released July 27 reports that national
trends in child well-being are no longer improving in the rapid and sustained
way they did in the late 1990s. Among the negative trends: the number of
children who live with parents facing persistent unemployment grew to 4
million, an increase of more than 1 million since 2000. This year's essay,
"Helping Our Most Vulnerable Families Overcome Barriers to Work and
Achieve Financial Success," examines four employment barriers that
policymakers and others consider among the most difficult to overcome:
substance abuse, domestic violence, a history of incarceration, and depression.
These burdens can diminish a person’s motivation and ability to find work. The
state-by-state data contained in the 2005 Data Book are now
part of an interactive database Access the Database.
View the 2005
KIDS COUNT Data Book
today and order your copy.
Please
have your youth participate…
Some say that many foster care youth may give up on learning
rewarding tasks because they perceive barriers to their success. Is this true? Please share your experiences in this research
study. Glenda Clare, a student at the College of William and Mary wants
to learn if there is a relationship between learning life skills and believing
that there are barriers to success. She seeks foster care youth, aged 18 and
over to participate in this web-based survey. All participants will receive a
gift for participating in the study. If you would like to participate, sign on
beginning July 22nd at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=478051085307
If you would like more information, contact Glenda Clare at mailto:gsclar@wm.edu
Actions to Fight Budget Cuts
Around
the country, advocates are planning actions this summer to tell Congress and
the public about the need to protect low-income children, families, the
elderly, and people with disabilities from service cuts. The Coalition on Human
needs has resources to help you get involved and contact the key budget people
in your state. http://www.chn.org/pdf/statebudgetcontacts.pdf
Speak Up: Tips on Advocacy for Publicly Funded
Nonprofits
The Annie E. Casey Foundation is
offering a manual that has practical guidance, profiles of successful efforts,
and tips on avoiding common roadblocks in advocating. For more information contact
http://www.aecf.org/publications/data/advocacy_tips.pdf
Opportunity #1…
The Oakland-based First
Place Fund for Youth is in search for a new Executive Director.
As part of that process, we are reaching out to the community for suggestions
and nominations.
Founded in 1998,
First Place Fund for Youth is a model for assisting foster youth in the
difficult transition to independent living and adulthood. The First Place
Fund for Youth promotes responsible independent living through the following
programs:
·
The Supported
Housing Program master-leases apartments in the East Bay, where youth live
and receive support that includes: financial assistance to pay housing start-up costs, a
rental subsidy, weekly in-home case management, transition support groups,
economic literacy training, transportation assistance, food vouchers, peer events, and
health advocacy.
·
The Emancipation
Specialist Program provides educational and counseling services to youth
who live in foster care group homes in Alameda County.
·
The Emancipation
Training Center in downtown Oakland provides services including
emancipation planning, housing search assistance, emergency food vouchers, emergency
utility assistance, access to computers, recreational activities and educational
resources.
Additional
information on the organization can be found at www.firstplacefund.org. Your suggestions and nominations
are most welcome, and please feel free to distribute this note freely as you
deem appropriate. For more information,
contact Mark Oppenheim
moppenheim@PhillipsOppenheim.com
Opportunity #2…
YMCA of Greater
Seattle
Job Title: Director of Transitions
GENERAL FUNCTION
Oversees and
directs the provision of housing and supportive services for young adults. Provides for sound fiscal management and quality
control, ensures that all programs meet contractual requirements.
KNOW-HOW
Masters
degree in social services, education, or equivalent. Five or more years of experience in the social services field,
including experience in some or all of the following areas: foster care, group
care, housing, job training, education, mental health, chemical dependency,
administration of youth programs, development of community-based resources for
youth. Knowledge of developmental issues for teens and young adults. Skills in
supervision, budgeting and program development. Ability to respond to safety
and emergency situations. Familiarity with foster care service providers and
the public housing system preferred. YMCA Senior Director preferred.
PRINCIPAL ACTIVITIES
1. Develops and implements
policies and procedures for housing and independent living skills programs for
youth and young adults. Ensures that programs meet contractual and legal requirements.
2. Hires, orients, trains
and supervises administrative staff members.
Oversees the development and functioning of the total staff team.
3. Prepares and controls
annual budgets.
4. Maintains cooperative
relationships with state, federal and community agencies and with local housing
resources.
5. Develops and maintains
cooperative relationships with foster care and housing providers to ensure
effective systems of referral, communication, and service to teens and young adults across King County.
6. Ensures quality assurance
and oversees outcome measurement for the programs.
7. Participates in
volunteer development and fundraising through the annual campaign and assigned
committees.
8. Develops and implements
long range planning, develops additional funding sources to diversify funding
base to support existing and new programs.
Apply to:
YMCA of Greater Seattle
Attn: Human Resources
Ref #: 0353-DT
909 Fourth Avenue
Seattle, WA 98104
Fax: 206-382-7283
Email: recruiting@seattleymca.org
Communities Respond to Youth Gangs in America
On August 11, 2005, at 1:30 p.m. ET, the Office of Juvenile Justice and
Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) will air the 90-minute satellite videoconference
"Communities Respond to Youth Gangs in America." The videoconference,
which may be viewed online, will feature community programs and strategies that
effectively address issues related to youth gangs. It will explore strategies
to leverage existing resources, provide examples of partnerships across
disciplines, highlight innovative strategies, and share information on
faith-based responses. For more
information visit: http://www.trc.eku.edu/jj
-7612 or visit us information or to request
a FREE product catalog1-800-226-7612 or visit us online:
Please help! If you have pictures, stories, RESOURCES, or
if you want your agency’s website on NILA’s website, please contact me at mailto:salevy@nilausa.org
Budget and
Spending Overview
For a recap of recent news and likely impacts of the federal government’s
FY2006 budget resolution, visit Jan’s Corner at Connect For Kids at: http://www.connectforkids.org/action_central
What’s Happening?
*Look for Growing Pains September 21st-24th
Look for these NILA events at the conference:
Wednesday, September 21st
4:00-7:30 pm NILA Board Meeting
7:30-8:30 pm Welcome Dessert Reception (Sponsored by DMI
and NILA)
Thursday, September 22nd
2:00-3:30 pm Youth Speak Out (Sponsored by NILA)
4:00-5:00 pm Annual NILA Meeting
Friday, September 23rd
9:00 am NILA Awards Presentation at the General
Session
*Look for new articles monthly on the website nilausa.org
*Look for success stories!
*Look for other agencies, which could use NILA services!