September 25, 2007

1.HEY Events

HEY Employment Workgroup Meeting
Recognizing the need to discuss the needs of current and former foster youths’ employment needs HEY has reconvened the Employment Workgroup for local providers. Members plan to map the current opportunities and referrals of youth in and out of the local foster care system. Next meeting on Tuesday, October 30 from 2-3:30 at SF ILSP, 225 Valencia St. at Duboce.

HEY Training on SFUSD Foster Youth Services Program
In partnership with partner agencies, HEY provides Professional Development Training Series in San Francisco. Trainings are held bi-monthly at San Francisco ILSP, a partner agency and community outreach location. The trainings are to service providers, youth, and community agencies that serve foster youth. Next training is on SFUSD Foster Youth Services Program on Wednesday, October 10, time TBA.

HEY Education Workgroup Meeting
Monthly HEY Education Workgroup for local providers invested in education outcomes of current and former foster youth in K-12 and post education needs and rights. Workgroup members meet to discuss upcoming events, legislation, and initiatives. Members receive regular trainings on:

1) AB490—re: School Enrollment Rights
2) Special Education Rights
3) AB3632—re: Mental Health Rights
4) AB 540 and AB1895—re: Undocumented students and their education needs and rights
5) School Discipline

Meetings are on the 3rd Wednesday of each month from 9:30-11 at San Francisco ILSP, 225 Valencia St. at Duboce. Next meeting on Wednesday, October 24 from 9:30-11—meeting will focus on Mental Health Rights of foster care youth.

Questions, please contact Sara Razavi at 415-808-4435

2.Child Welfare Policy Briefings from the John Burton Foundation

The John Burton Foundation is hosting a series of child welfare policy briefings this fall. The first will be held on Friday, September 28th, from 12 to 2, and will address the proposed Extension of Federal Foster Care Funding to Age 21: Policy Overview and Implications for California. For more information about this and the other briefings in the series. Click here for more information. Space is limited, so be sure to sign up soon!

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Events

3. Success at HIRE-UP, Wednesday, september 26, 2007, 10-2 pm

Larkin Street Youth Services’ HIRE-UP program is having a celebration event at their site 1154 Sutter in San Francisco. Lots of services and partners offered by HIRE-UP will be represented including, Legal Services for Children, City College, Jobs For Youth, and more. Be sure to drop by.

4. The Mental Health Association of San Francisco—Hoarding and Cluttering Conference, october 18, 2007

Hoarding and Cluttering Conference 2007—
Progress Not Perfection: Improving Health, Safety and Comfort Through Harm Reduction

Date: Thursday, October 18, 2007
Time: 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. may
Location: St. Mary's Cathedral
1111 Gough Street, San Francisco, CA 94109
Keynote Speaker: Michael A. Tompkins, Ph.D.

Online registration is now available on their website at https://app.etapestry.com/hosted/MentalHealthAssociationofS/HCRegistration

5. Creating a Blueprint: Building Support for Students From Foster Care on Higher Education Campuses, November 7–9, 2007, Santa Clara, CA.

In 2005 and 2006 the Orangewood Children's Foundation hosted the National Convening of Postsecondary Education Support Programs for Former Foster Youth. The Silicon Valley Children's Fund (SVCF) and the Connect Educate Motivate (CME) Society at San Jose State have partnered with the conference planning and sponsor team and will be by hosting the 2007 conference which will focus on best practices and strategies to support students on higher educational campuses who have come from foster care.

Priority registration is currently open to colleges and universities. Spaces will be open to other registrants after September 25, 2007. Click here for more information and to register.

OPPORTUNITIES

6. Mayor’s Transitional Youth Taskforce—Director of the Interagency Council on TAY

The job description for the Director of the Interagency Council on Transitional Youth has been posted. The description is available at the following link and is attached.

http://www.craigslist.org/sfc/npo/419256602.html

Any questions, please contact:
Marlo Simmons, MPH
Adolescent Health Coordinator
Department of Public Health and Department of Children, Youth and Their Families
1390 Market street, Suite 900
San Francisco, CA 94102
Phone (415) 554-8421
marlo@dcyf.org

7. COLEMAN ADVOCATES FOR CHILDREN & YOUTH JOB ANNOUNCMENT

YMAC Campus Organizer (part time) - Position available immediately Coleman Advocates is a thirty-year old community organization of parents, youth and family advocates uniting to make San Francisco a city of justice, hope, and opportunity for all children and all families.

Youth Making a Change is Coleman’s nationally recognized youth organizing project. YMAC is a membership-based group of poor and working class young people of color, organizing out of San Francisco public high schools, who develop and lead campaigns that improve the lives of the city’s young people and build the collective power of people to assert their needs in the halls of power.

JOB DESCRIPTION: Campus Organizer (.50 PTE). YMAC is seeking a Campus organizer to help support base building, leadership development and campaign work. Pay
rate: $12/hour DOE; sick & vacation, with partial health benefits. Position reports to Director of Youth Organizing.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
·       Responsible for recruitment goals at high school campus
·       Responsible for supporting youth lead weekly campus meetings
·       Responsible for building support for YMAC Education Campaign
·       Support development of youths’ leadership and personal development
·       Maintain relationships with other youth organizing groups

QUALIFICATIONS:
·       Ability to work in partnership with youth and to support their leadership
·       Commitment to promoting youth empowerment and youth rights
·       Experience facilitating workshops for youth
·       Ability to work with ethnically diverse groups of low-income youth
·       Ability to work with both community organizers and public officials
·       Experience in advocacy or popular education a plus
·       Bi-lingual or knowledge of San Francisco Public schools a plus

TO APPLY: Please submit cover letter and resume to Melanie Pascual at Coleman Advocates for Children & Youth via: email: mpascual@colemanadvocates.org

8. New Student Loan Forgiveness Program for Child Welfare Workers

Congress recently passed the College Cost Reduction and Access Act which includes a provision to forgive student loan debt for employees in "public service" jobs after ten years of payments. The Pew Commission on Children in Foster Care recommended loan forgiveness for attorneys practicing in dependency court in order to encourage and retain talented employees. The legislation, which President Bush has said he will sign, creates an income-based repayment policy that caps interest payments at a manageable percentage of one's income. View the list of positions classified as "public service jobs."
Click here [link to www.projectonstudentdebt.org] for more information.

9. CYC San Francisco Chapter looking for Adult Supporters

Are you interested in Empowerment and Leadership Development for Current and Former Foster Youth? California Youth Connection (CYC) is looking for adults who live or work in San Francisco to become Adult Supporters with our organization. CYC is a youth-led organization working to improve the foster care system through policy change. CYC Members are 14-24 year old current and former foster youth fighting to improve the system on the state and local level.

Click here for more information.

10. First Place for Youth—New Website (plus open positions!)

First Place—new name and new look, plus jobs! Visit the new site and find out more. Click here for more information.

About Honoring Emancipated Youth

Honoring Emancipated Youth (HEY), a community project of United Way of the Bay Area, is a San Francisco-based intermediary providing leadership to the Bay Area foster care community by convening and informing stakeholders of trends and best practices in order to raise public awareness and promote successful policies that affect emancipated foster youth. At the core of its philosophy, HEY is committed to the inclusion of current and former foster youth, service providers, and supporters in identifying and promoting strategies and best practices that ensure there are effective and holistic systems to serve foster care youth in achieving a healthy transition into adulthood.

For more information or if you would like to subscribe others, please contact Sara Razavi, HEY Interim Director, at srazavi@uwba.org.

Honoring Emancipated Youth
A Community Project of United Way of the Bay Area
221 Main Street, Suite 300
San Francisco, CA 94105
415.808.4435
www.heysf.org