IMPORTANT!!!

Please take a moment and vote for some new Board members by February 2, 2005!

If you are in Region VII – Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska – the candidate is Holli Noble, IL Coordinator for Iowa.  Her bio is as follows:

I would like to be elected to this position because:

I want to participate in and contribute to the overall goals of NILA in order to better serve not only the youth of Iowa but all youth.  I want to be involved at a deeper level with national public policy through NILA board membership in addition to helping shape policy that promotes successful transition to self-sufficiency for youth in foster care.

The following experiences qualify the nominee for the NIA Board of Directors seat:

Holli Noble is going on her 7th year as Iowa's IL Coordinator, overseeing the Iowa Department of Human Services Chafee funded programming.  Holli is program manager to a staff of 8 Transition Planning Specialists, who primarily work with youth in foster care along with their care providers and case managers, for effective transition to adulthood.  Additionally, Holli oversees the Department's Chafee funded aftercare program, serving youth between the ages of 18 and 21 who have aged out of care and the Education and Training Voucher program, providing assistance for postsecondary education and training costs to youth who have aged out of care.  Prior to working in the state's child welfare system, Holli worked in the state's adult mental health/disability system.  Holli received her undergraduate degree in sociology from Iowa State University and her Masters in Public Administration from Drake University.

Everyone please vote for the at-large position!  The nominee is David Serwinowski from New York.  His bio is as follows:

I would like to nominate this person to be elected to this position because:

As a former foster care youth and a founding leader for Youth In Progress, New York State’s Foster Care Youth Leadership Advisory Team, David would bring a unique blend of strengths and competencies to this position.  David serves as a leader for his regional youth leadership group and the Statewide Team.  

The following experiences qualify the nominee for the NILA Board of Directors seat:

As a founding member of Youth In Progress, David has been instrumental in the development of recommendations to NYS OCFS to improve the quality of services provided to youth in care.  David has also worked closely with the county IL Coordinator of one of the largest counties in the state to begin a foster care alumni group that would serve to support one another and to mentor younger foster care youth.  David serves as a mentor for younger foster care youth and is an excellent role model and support person for those that he mentors.  David has presented at county, statewide, and national conferences about foster care mentoring programs, foster parent training, and the role of youth leadership councils to improve quality of service for youth in foster care.  David lived for several years in foster care and has “aged out” of the system but continues to live with his foster parents and stay connected with his support network.  David conveys a strong message to youth about their need to connect with supportive people and to utilize all of the resources that they are offered by being in foster care. 

David is proficient in computer programming and is interested in a career in the technology field.  He is pursuing a 4 year degree and is grateful for the assistance of his ETV award.  His professional skills and his personal experience with the foster care system uniquely qualify David to serve on the Board of Directors for NILA.  David is a responsible and reliable person who works hard at all that he commits to do. 

Just click here to vote:  mailto:salevy@nilausa.org

This is your opportunity to get involved in NILA!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  VERY IMPORTANT  !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It is imperative that all agencies pay their dues.  NILA is a membership organization, which means we receive our funds through dues.  A recent membership report indicated that 46% of members were NOT up-to-date with their dues.  All invoices have been mailed.  Please take a moment to send in your payment if you have not already done so.  A HUGE “thanks” to those agencies who have already paid.  In the next few days you will be contacted if you are not up-to-date.  If you have any questions about your dues or need a new invoice, please contact me at mailto:salevy@nilausa.org ________________________________________________________________________________________

NILA NEEDS PICTURES!

We are going to be using pictures of youth in our programs for the website.  Please send pictures of kids, programs, projects…anything!  We’d love to see what you’re doing.  If the pictures are in public places (such as a conference), no consent is required.  However, if you are submitting program pictures, please make sure you have the appropriate media consents.  Please also include a short biography (a couple to a few sentences) of any youth who is willing to have that one the website.all 1-800

-226-7612 or visit us information or to request a FREE product catalog

1-800-226-7612 or visit us online:

 NILA NEEDS SUCCESS STORIES!

Does your organization have a success story to share?  A program that really works? A kid that made it against the odds?  We need your stories for our website!

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

UPCOMING CONFERENCES FROM daniel…

Daniel Memorial Institute’s 2005 Conferences will present our 12th Annual National Foster Care Conference, “Soar to New Heights”, May 18-20, 2005, at the beautiful Omni Hotel, nestled on the banks of the picturesque St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida - Home of Super Bowl XXXIX!

Our 18th Annual National Independent Living Conference, "Growing Pains", September 21-24, 2005, will be held at the Westin Peachtree Plaza, the tallest hotel in America, in Downtown Atlanta, Georgia.

For more than 17 years, these highly informative and educational conferences have proven to be an invaluable resource for adult and youth attendees, foster care workers and other social service professionals.

Daniel Memorial Institute’s Conference Planning Committee invites Adults and Youth to apply, in writing, to present workshops. As programs continue to grow, there is an increasing need for educational workshops aimed at helping agencies and programs increase effectiveness.

Accepted proposals receive a $50.00 discount (up to four people) off of their conference registration. Presenters at Daniel Memorial conferences are expected to register for the conference and are responsible for their own expenses. A maximum of four (4) presenters per workshop may attend the conference at the presenter rate. Additional presenters (over 4) must register at full cost.

All workshops are 90 minutes in length.

Deadline to Submit Workshop Proposals is:

Friday, February 11, 2005 - National Foster Care Conference

Friday, March 18, 2005 - National Independent Living Conference

A FUN WAY TO TEACH MONEY MANAGEMENT SKILLS

Developed by Lutheran Social Service in Mankato’s “On My Own” Program

Get an empty cardboard wine case from a liquor store - it will have 12 slots, which works for a group of 12 youth.  Place the wine box in the same location during each group session.  Each slot in the box has a youth’s name on it and is the mailbox which youth check each week when they come to group.

Go to a local bank and ask for checkbook covers and registers.  Make up your own generic, very basic checks and deposit slips. At group meetings, the youth worker(s) function as “the bank” accepting checks and deposit slips into checking and savings accounts. 

Each week the youth pull their check out of the mail box if it was payday that week.  (If the check also shows dollars withheld for Social Security and medical insurance benefits, federal and state taxes, this is another learning experience for youth.)  Otherwise youth get bills in their mailbox, such as rent notice, cable TV bill, groceries, telephone, electricity, heat and so on.  In addition, from time to time, they get a slip of paper describing an “incident” or “shopping option” that has occurred, such as tires got slashed, stereo got stolen, visit was made to an emergency room for stitches, a friend re-paid some money, a shopping trip to the Mall of America, rock concert coming to town, etc.

The youth work on their bank accounts by entering their paycheck in the check register or by putting some of the paycheck into checking and some into a savings account.  Each youth decides what they need to do, or would like to do, based on the “incidents” or “shopping options” and bills they have to deal with.  Youth fill in the check register and always state what each check paid out was for, and/or whom each check was from.  This way a month later they don’t wonder - where did that money come from?

Youth are taught where to endorse each check, what parts of the deposit slips to complete when depositing an entire check vs. requesting cash back from the deposit, how to properly write out a check, and how to correctly do the math in the register each time they have a banking activity either in a check book or a savings account book.

Youth learn how quickly money goes in some cases, and in other cases some youth learn how to hang onto their money by the spending choices they make.  Some youth choose to have roommates so all their expenses are divided.  Some choose to shop at second hand stores rather than the Mall.  Some choose to cook meals at home rather than going out to eat with friends all the time.  Some choose long distance calling cards rather than long distance phone service.  Some choose basic cable and budget movie rentals rather than more expensive cable TV plans or satellite service.  The exercise not only teaches them the hands-on of banking, but also decision-making processes in relation to: What can I put up with in a roommate?  Should we take turns cooking on different nights of the week?  What is in the grocery store ads this week that I could inexpensively prepare?  Do I really need brand name clothing?  Which store has the best calling card prices?  Can my friends and I take turns hosting home cooked dinner parties instead of going out to restaurants together?  These are just some of the “light-bulb” moments youth in the On My Own Program have discussed.

During group sessions the youth workers openly discuss how the registers are looking by asking how youth are doing.  Some youth are really proud of their bookkeeping/spending/saving, and others just wish the boring activity would end.  The latter tend to be youth who are not so wise about their spending patterns, especially when a shopping trip or a concert option is offered in their mailbox.  But they learn.

The activity is brought to an end the 2^nd from the last week of group by reviewing banking questions on an overhead projector to be sure youth know where to endorse checks, how to do the math when depositing checks and requesting cash with a deposit, how to put some money in checking and some in savings at the same time.  Questions are raised and answered.  Commonly, youth do not exceed their checking account balance when paying the bills they get in their mailbox, but their individual interests and desires can cause financial havoc when they respond to the spending options offered in their mailboxes.  The consequences of bad/bounced checks are covered in GRAVE DETAIL!  Emphasis is placed on proper and diligent management of checks and/or check cards.  

This is a good example of learning by doing, and is a much more effective way to teach than just lecturing about money management.

(Thanks to Claire Hill for submitting this!) 

TOMORROW’S LEADERS TODAY CONFERENCE 

August 3, 4, and 5, 2005; University of Minnesota in Duluth

·                      To celebrate and enhance the leadership capacity of youth

·                      To teach personal leadership skills that can be used now and in the future to affect personal and community change

·                      To strengthen the network of adults who value youth leadership

The conference is specifically intended for youth age 16 to 21 who are either on a county social worker’s caseload or involved with a non-profit agency youth program.  These are not youth who are likely to be invited to a mainstream youth leadership conference.  Youth workers must accompany the youth.  Participants sleep in dormitories and eat in the campus cafeteria. About 275 people attend each year.  About half the participants are from the metro area, half from “out-state” Minnesota. Participants represent a wide range of cultures and races. This conference is an annual highlight for youth workers and youth alike. 

It includes large group activities, about 30 individual workshop sessions, a key-note speaker, motivational music, comedy, story telling, ethnic dance groups, art projects and more.      

Each participant pays a $150 registration fee.  Part of the cost is covered by DHS.  Time, effort and materials are also donated.   Some agencies do not have funds to pay the registration fees.  Some youth groups conduct fund-raisers to earn their registration fees.  Also, TLT planning committee members seek donations for “TLT scholarships” in their home communities.

For more information about this conference, please contact Claire Hill at mailto:claire.d.hill@state.mn.us

What’s Happening?

*Look for upcoming updates on the website!

*Look for Growing Pains September 21-24

*Look for success stories!

*Look for other agencies, which could use NILA services!