Department of Youth Services' Newsletter
March 2021 Edition |
IMPORTANT DYS DATES

April 13th - DYS Advisory Committee's
second meeting
April 14th - DYS VIRTUAL Art Rally
Black History Month Across the DYS Regions
In February, youth in DYS participated in a number of learning activities to commemorate Black History Month. Click on the image above to take a look at what youth have done throughout the regions.
DYS in the News
Commonwealth Magazine wrote an article that highlights the latest data on diversity in state government.

The Department of Youth Services is leading the agencies, with the highest percentage of diversity in the workforce at 51% and 33% of persons of color are in top job tier.

Click image below to read the article
Commissioner's Corner
This March marks one year since Governor Baker declared a state of emergency in response to the COVID-19 Pandemic. The past year has presented considerable challenges for all of us. It’s been difficult to balance concerns for our own personal safety with our obligation to serve the young people in our custody. Many of our staff and provider partners have been infected with the virus and have seen family members struggle as well. Both state and provider staff have risen to that challenge and I am impressed and thankful.

We’ve entered a new phase of the pandemic where we are taking steps toward re-opening, and as part of that effort, staff and young people have been offered the opportunity to get vaccinated. If you have not already done so, please give strong consideration to getting the COVID-19 vaccine.

The COVID-19 Pandemic provided a strong reminder that institutional racism exists. Communities of color are disproportionately impacted, and this stark reality has contributed to the national and local urgency to confront racism and promote social justice.
DYS leadership has made a strong commitment to confront racism and to align agency practice and decision making with anti-racism. DYS remains committed to our Fairness and Equity work plan that has been making steady progress in several areas including:
  • Fairness related to decision making and treatment for youth  
  • Diversity throughout the ranks of the DYS workforce and
  • Ensuring organizational well- being where staff and youth are treated fairly, regardless of their race, ethnicity, or gender. 

Racism towards the Asian American and Pacific Islanders Community has emerged as a particular concern. Anti-Asian hate crimes have spiked 150 percent since the pandemic. According to Stop AAPI (Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders) Hate National Report, 3,795 incidents were reported between March 19, 2020 and February 28, 2021. To our Asian American and Pacific Islander DYS family: we stand with you and are here for you.

DYS does not tolerate discrimination, harassment, retaliation, bullying or unprofessional conduct in the workplace. DYS HR is proactive in supporting employees to feel safe in voicing concerns, filing complaints, and ensuring that their concerns are addressed. If you are, or know of someone, who has been a victim of discrimination or harassment- please report it.

We continue to invest in training and supporting highly qualified staff who serve as “coaches” in helping youth develop coping, social and life skills within our residential programs, the community, and in the classrooms. 

Earlier this week I had the opportunity to greet a training class from the Westfield Revocation program. This is part of our initiative to support and train up our front-line staff to be part of the programming in our residential programs.

The change in title from Group Youth Worker to Juvenile Justice Youth Development Specialist and the accompanying salary upgrades were intentional as it better describes and acknowledges the shift in the emphasis in our work to youth development. The JJYDS staff will have a more prominent role in the classroom and clinical sessions. This training will provide JJYDS staff with a stronger “Compass” for their daily work and gets the largest portion of our workforce further engaged in the change process with the young people that we serve.

In closing, I want to thank you for your effort and commitment to our Department. It’s been a difficult time, but we are making steady progress. I’m confident in our ability to help young people move forward with their lives, advance fairness and equity and run an agency that we can all be proud of.

Sincerely, 
Peter Forbes, Your Commissioner
Unconstruct Design Thinking
As a part of BreakFree Education’s January initiative, Unconstruct, students across the country developed housing solutions for the homeless. The nationwide stay on evictions during the Covid-19 crises was about to end, so students explored how the homeless population may be affected by that policy shift. They brainstormed ideas to help those who could have been left without housing. They identified specific populations within the homeless community, including college students, pregnant women, teenagers, or those with disabilities. After exploring and learning about the challenges associated with those specific homeless populations, they used the Design Thinking process to ideate possible solutions, build prototypes of their solutions, and then test their prototypes to perfect them.
The winning student, K.P. from RFK South Hadley, designed a tent-like, transportable housing solution that included solar-powered energy for runaway teens to ensure they are safe. This project, and the student-crafted designs, highlight how creative and solutions-focused students can be when we present them with a real challenge, that’s tangible and relevant, and provide them with tools to problem solve.

From Southeast Secure Reception in Massachusetts, J.S., J.D., and J.P. designed a housing unit for a homeless college student and came in second place. The students focused on solving for challenges that precluded their client from electric power access, which inhibited the client’s ability to study. They designed a solar power unit as a part of their housing unit to generate power that could keep their college student’s computer and electronics working.
March is Women's History Month
Women’s History Month had its origins as a national celebration in 1981 when Congress passed Pub. L. 97-28 which authorized and requested the President to proclaim the week beginning March 7, 1982 as “Women’s History Week.” Throughout the next five years, Congress continued to pass joint resolutions designating a week in March as “Women’s History Week.” In 1987 after being petitioned by the National Women’s History Project, Congress passed Pub. L. 100-9 which designated the month of March 1987 as “Women’s History Month.” Between 1988 and 1994, Congress passed additional resolutions requesting and authorizing the President to proclaim March of each year as Women’s History Month. Since 1995, presidents have issued a series of annual proclamations designating the month of March as “Women’s History Month.” These proclamations celebrate the contributions women have made to the United States and recognize the specific achievements women have made over the course of American history in a variety of fields.

The Dream Team (formally the Female Focus Initiative) collaborated with the Old Colony Y in order to deliver hygiene baskets and motivational posters to the many women’s shelters the Y services. Group Coordinators, YSC Victoria Monteiro, YSC Taylor Fry, and YSC Taylor Marston, worked with female clients in the South East Region to create the baskets. YSC Fry and YSC Marston then delivered the baskets to the Y’s main office. This project was done in order to celebrate International Women’s Month. The baskets were delivered on March 8th, International Women’s Day.
Data Matters:
Demographics in Workforce
DYS has continued to make progress with DEI efforts throughout the agency. With our strategic focus also comes challenges, as shown in parity data of Women in the Department. DYS consists of 71% Men, 28% Women & 0.5% Undisclosed.

Our largest job category, which constitutes approximately 43% of our workforce and includes our Juvenile Justice Youth Development Specialist (JJYDS I-III) series, historically presents challenges with low numbers of women. Recruitment and retention in this demographic pose challenges given our work with juvenile justice involved youth in secure programs and with almost 90% being male adolescents in our residential programs.

However, those challenges are less prevalent in our management (M4 and Above) positions as Women represent nearly 60%. These metrics represent aspects of organizational success but prove our continued efforts require sustained focus and development.
Highlighted Articles
Finding Healthy Food YOU Like in Your Budget

Please click on image below for the full article on nutrition written by DYS Dietician WaiLing Balsley
Getting to Know our Communities' Heroes: DYS Caseworkers
This month you will meet Alicia Linton, a caseworker in the Southeast Region. Click the image above to read the interview
Equity Conversations with JDAI's Dr. Thula Sibanda
The JDAI team has been conducting Regional wide conversations on racial identity and the role it plays in their work with families for the DCF Family Resource Centers.
 
Audrey Smolkin from UMass and Dr. Thula Sibanda had the opportunity to discuss the FRCs race equity conversations and the commitment of Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice leadership in Massachusetts around race equity on a recent podcast hosted by the Children’s Mental Health Network.
 
“Find out what your why is. And you hold on to that for dear life because that will get you through whatever challenges you face, whatever struggles you face.” –Thula Sibanda, Episode 14 Achieving Racial Equity in MA: The Dynamic Duo on a Mission, Children’s Mental Health Network

Please click on the picture to hear the podcast. 
DEPARTMENT OF YOUTH SERVICES [www.mass.gov/dys]
Kathryn A Laverriere
Director of Communications