Lebanon County's Day Treatment Program recently had 5 youth graduate on July 20th where they presented Relapse Prevention Plans to YAP and probation staff, Lebanon Juvenile Court Judge Charles Jones, and friends and family. Relapse Prevention Plans are a culmination of insights gleaned by youth while attending YAP facilitated Aggression Replacement Training (ART) and Thinking 4 a Change curricula and detail factors that led to the youth's system involvement, risky situations in the future, and a plan to maintain their recent gains despite these risky situations. In addition to these plans, youth submit graduation projects. One young person, Kieland Sease, wrote "Talking to Myself", a self-reflective poem with poignant insight on the inner turmoil and battle of will he faced in his journey toward healing and developing his resilience.  

 

Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle,

Siblings separated in the foster care system enjoy a heartwarming reunion when they come together at Foster Sibling Camp in New Jersey's Northern Region. Foster sibling camp is a joint project between the Northern Region Offices of DCP&P (Bergen, Hudson, Morris, Passaic, Sussex & Warren Counties), Easter Seals Camp Merry Heart and YAP. This year's camp, held July 12th-18th, marked YAP's 15th year of partnership with Camp Merry Heart.

Every sibling who attends receives Camp Store credit, camp T-shirts and lunch off grounds with their brothers and sisters at a local Chinese Buffet. Often the most treasured gift is the personalized photo album that is created for each child.
YAP staff takes group and individual photographs with entire sibling groups and any other combinations the kids request (with just big brother; with counselor, during activities, etc). Each child then gets a personalized photo album to take home with all the photos taken during their camp week. Many of the campers bring their albums back to camp the following year. Some give the group sibling photos to their parent during a supervised visit. 

"I have done intakes where I meet the kids a year or two later and they almost always get their photo album to show me," Director Kathy Pross said. Foster Sibling Camp is more than just an activity for these children. It is a time to collect treasured memories.

YAP has just launched YAPWORX, an innovative workforce development program in three cities designed to change the way system involved youth are prepared for long term labor force attachments and success. YAPWORX is developed within a Positive Youth Justice framework. It is designed to improve a young person's attitudes towards gainful work by giving them genuine access to labor market information, the opportunity to take on new roles as ambassadors of that information, and the assistance to form greater labor market attachments all while working to reduce risky behaviors and chances for recidivism.

YAPWORX helps young people discover meaningful work based on their interests and keeps them connected to industry professionals (Opportunity Advisors) who serve as career pathway guides. In this way, world of work participation has more meaning and its outlook a lot brighter. Moreover, young people realize that they are getting firsthand labor market information, not from a book, but from actual players in the labor force, thereby exponentially increasing their chances of becoming part of it.
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Our kids need and deserve better.  And we can DO better!

With the passing of Labor Day, most kids around the country have begun a new school year. For many kids, school can be a challenging environment to succeed. Here we offer a snapshot of problems, progress and how we can all do better to give ALL kids the education they deserve. 

Needs ranging from truancy to emotional/behavioral issues and trauma, and learning and developmental disabilities prove challenging for many schools to meet. Further, current policies, including "Zero Tolerance," often take a punitive approach to addressing issues within the classroom. 

As a result, many kids get funneled into The School to Prison Pipeline, or are segregated into often inferior alternative schools that are not in compliance with the federally mandated "least restrictive environment." As we know, these youth are usually brown and black, and frequently come from impoverished families or are involved in the child welfare system. 

The negative impact of these practices is profound on the lives of some of our most vulnerable kids, prompting many to take action. In Georgia, the US Department of Justice accused the state of illegally segregating students with psychiatric and behavioral disorders. In Compton, California, students are taking the unprecedented step of filing a class action law suit to argue that trauma should be considered a disability and protected under federal law, requiring schools to make accommodations for traumatized students instead of expelling them for behavioral issues. 

The Council of State Government's report on Texas in 2011 found an overuse of punitive disciplinary measures, racial disparities in how kids were disciplined, and a direct correlation between suspensions/expulsions and future justice system involvement. 

Likely as part of the state's efforts to affect positive change in its educational system, Texas decriminalized truancy this summer.

Further, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) launched the Supportive Schools Discipline Initiative (SSDI) last summer in response to report to help schools affect positive change.

Though changing policies that hurt our kids is a tremendously important step, it falls short of providing schools with alternatives or with practices that will help them meet the needs of their most challenging youth.

A recent article in Mother Jones challenges how we "discipline" kids in schools to stop the school to prison pipeline. Its focus is on "behaviorally challenging kids" and promotes an approach, developed by psychologist Ross Greene, that focuses on meeting the kids' needs, problem-solving instead of punishment, and helping kids learn how to control their own behavior instead of controlling it (essential for self-motivation). It relies heavily on staff developing a good relationship with kids and partnering with them to see what the kid thinks will help them. Schools that have used or adopted his approach have reduced suspensions and expulsions by 80%.

YAP is well positioned to support schools in meeting the needs of their most vulnerable and high risk youth! We have programs that work with youth in schools through behavioral health programming in states like Pennsylvania and West Virginia; we have programs that address truancy funded through child welfare/juvenile justice partners, such as in Allegheny, PA; and we have programs that contract directly with schools in 7 districts in Texas and in Alabama. For more information, contact YAP President Gary Ivory at [email protected]. 

A new book by Steven Silberman, NeuroTribes, traces some unexpected facts about the origins of the label and the diagnosis, argues that there is no "autism epidemic," and makes a strong case for the benefits of neurodiversity.

YAP's Counseling and Advocacy Program in West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle is expanding its mental health services through two new local efforts. Last month, two staff received training in Mental Health First Aid as part of Project AWARE, a SAMHSA-funded initiative. Staff will be able to train others, such as school personnel and police, to recognize and respond appropriately to children and youth who may have mental health issues.  Last school year, seven students committed suicide.  It is hoped that this training will prevent further tragedies through early identification and treatment. 

With a $10,000 grant from the United Way, the program will also be providing on-site, school-based services in a rural area of Berkley County. YAP staff will provide group classes in the evidence-based curriculum  Peaceful Alternatives to Tough Situations (PATTS). The program is slated to begin September 15^th.