Honoring Emancipated Youth (HEY)

Turnout of March 4th -March 4 Day of Action and Strike in Defense of Public Education – California

Claudia Mendez — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 01:29:01 +0000

My name is Claudia Mendez and I am one of HEY’s EYAB the reason for my message today is to share in my point of view how March 4^th Day of Action and Strike in Defense of Public Education – California turned out. As you may have seen on the news students, parents, faculty and supporters of public education came together on March 4^th to speak up against the cuts that have been done to public education in California. Some of the struggles and issues faced by students because of these cuts are:

Students cannot get the classes they need to finish their General Requirements, let alone meet the requirements for their selected majors.
The budget cuts do not only affect the amount of dollars received by students on financial aid, but it also jeopardizes whether they can receive aid at all. A lot of financial aid is tied to how many units a student can enroll in, if classes are not offered students cannot get the units they need to receive credits and ultimately financial aid. In order for a student to receive financial aid they need to be enrolled 12 units, which is a full time student, but how can student fulfill this requirement if there are not enough classes for them to do so?
The classes which are being offered are often at capacity. It is sad to see classmates sit on the floor or stand during class time because there are not enough seats, since the classes have more students enrolled than they can handle.
We have mandatory furlough days because the schools can no longer pay teachers as many days as they used to. As a result teachers are forced to take essential materials out of their curriculum.
The school is offering fewer Majors because it cannot afford them anymore.
Students are working many jobs just to be able to pay the raise in tuition, books that have raised their prices, then everything else: housing, transportation, and so on.
Even though services have been reduced, the average SFSU student is now paying $2,370 per semester. This is an increase of more than $400 dollars per semester. WE ARE PAYING MORE AND RECEIVING LESS!

Students and faculty are tired of these injustices and decided to organize and speak up. Students all around California and from all ages came to tell the government that we are not happy with the cuts on education and are not longer going to put up with them. I am so proud to have been part of such a passionate group of people that want to make a difference for current students and for future of generations to come. Over 5,000 people met in front of city hall around 5:00pm, around 400 people walked from the mission district to San Francisco’s city hall around 5:20pm and many more groups supported around the city. The majority of groups that came out to support on March 4^th were peaceful and strong because they stood as one. One of my favorite sayings that we shouted was, “there ain’t no power like the power of the people cuz the power of the people don’t stop!!!”

EYAB Alumni

Claudia Mendez — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 22:57:44 +0000

[From Claudia Mendez, HEY's EYAB]In our efforts to update the community about the continuous work or our EYAB team after their service here at HEY we are launching our “Where Are They Now” Alumni Page. Our EYAB 2009/2010 has taken it upon themselves to connect with all of our EYAB Alumni and Staff and they are highlighting former team members and staff by conducting one-on-one interviews to find out more about their lives. Our intention is to rally the community around the success and progress of our EYAB Alumni and their continuous work in the communities we serve. EYAB 2009/2010 believes that: “if we can bring the EYAB Alumni together once again, we can build a stronger community network and younger foster youth can continue to be inspired by such wonderful leaders”.

If you would like to read EYAB Alumni updates please visit HEY’s Website at: http://www.heysf.org/main-menu/youth/eyab-alumni

Also, If you are an EYAB Alumni or EYAB Staff we would love to highlight your success on our webpage. Please contact Claudia Mendez at cmendez@uwba.org or 415-808- 4256

HUD Conference Youth Committee

Shavonte Keaton — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 22:59:00 +0000

There is an exciting opportunity coming up for young people who want to have their voices heard about issues affecting the TAY (Transition aged youth) population. The Department of Housing and Urban Development is looking for interns to work in the planning of HUD’s Transitional Age Youth (TAY) Conference which will be happening Thursday July 8, 2010 in Oakland, CA!

The conference will be designed to foster collaboration among federal, local and non-profit agencies that serve the TAY population and will also provide information on legislative changes as they relate to serving TAY.

This internship will give youth interns experience in event planning, facilitation, experience working with a variety of organizations to achieve a common goal, and an opportunity to present their ideas on how to improve services to the TAY population. Also interns working on this committee will be hands on in developing the conference agenda and making suggestions to the larger committee.

Duties Include:

Develop a plan for TAY Conference.
Research entertainment options that will be conference appropriate and meet budget
Help name conference and recruit young artists in the design a conference logo
Create a target list of volunteers for day-of event activities
Develop panel ideas that are of relevance to TAY and helpful to providers
Attend all planning meetings and the TAY Conference

If you feel passionate about this type of work and want to get some great hands on experience then this internship is for you! Applicants should be between ages 14-24, and be able to attend planning meetings and the conference. The Youth Planning Committee will meet a total of 5 times to organize the TAY Conference. Interns will be paid $25 per meeting, at the end of each meeting. Interns also need to be present on the day of the conference.

If you are interested and you think you qualify, send an email to Lorena.C.Roman@hud.gov explaining why you are qualified, your interest in being a committee member, your contact information and times that you are available to meet to.

Deadline for applications is FRIDAY, MARCH 19th.

The first committee meeting will be scheduled during the week of March 29th.

Go Youth!

San Francisco Human Services Agency System Improvement Plan: Youth on Probation

Dana Mandolesi — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 02:18:47 +0000

[from Dana Mandolesi, HEY's Project Manager]

During the fourth and final meeting of San Francisco’s Human Services System Improvement Plan Core Team Meeting, we spoke in depth about youth in probation. The Juvenile Probation Department (JPD) presented statistics and numbers of youth who were referred to the probation department and those resulting in a petition being filed in 2008. In 2008, the latest year they presented, there were 3446 youth referred to JPD but only 1607 actually had petitions filed against them. Once a youth’s petition is sustained – they are booked – meaning they are placed in probation with their families, in out of home (foster care) placements, or sent to a facility. The majority of youth do not get placed in juvenile hall, Log Cabin Ranch or more serious facilities.

The purpose of today’s discussion was to present initiatives currently underway and planned for the future that would encourage the least restrictive placements for youth on probation. Over the course of the last three years, JPD had several peer and expert evaluations and realized that least restrictive placements are the most rehabilitative for the youth and their families. Lower level placements also save money for San Francisco County, making this option beneficial for all parties.

However, in order to keep communities safe, while also encouraging accountability in youth – and showing them that indeed consequences exist – intentional decision making processes must be implemented. Therefore JPD is currently working with Child Welfare Services (CWS) to utilize and learn from programs that work. Because youth on probation and youth in foster care are paid for by the same government funding, they should always have access to the same services. Unfortunately, because of a fractured system, and various other psychological divisions between the youth, the departments, and the rationale that placed them in care, they may not receive equal services. Both JPD and CWS acknowledge that this disparity needs to be equalized and have multiple initiatives to support and rehabilitate youth and their families.

This meeting concluded the System Improvement Plan’s Core Team Meeting Series. Once the final recommendation is released, HEY will develop a simple summary to include as a HEY Trend in our newsletter and website.

HEY’s Youth Empowerment Guide – Now Available

Leslie Brown — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 01:39:59 +0000

****************NOW AVAILABLE*******************

The HEY Guide: Youth Empowerment was designed to support agencies and staff interested in engaging and empowering young people as they transition into leadership and healthy adulthood. The practices, strategies and tools presented in this step-by-step guide will provide a framework to support the growth and empowerment of your agencies youth and staff.

Request a Copy of the HEY Guide: Youth Empowerment

Cost: FREE

To request the Empowerment Guide simply e-mail Sara Razavi at srazavi@uwba.org or call at (415) 808-4284. Please be sure to include the following information in your e-mail: Name, Institution, Address (including country), phone number and e-mail address.

Come and Support-March 4 Day of Action and Strike in Defense of Public Education – California

Claudia Mendez — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 21:07:36 +0000

My name is Claudia Mendez and I sit on HEY’s Emancipated Youth Advocacy Board. I am currently a student at San Francisco State University and I am writing this message to urge you to come and support students make a stand in defense of public education.

I have decided to take action because I am disgusted and disappointed witnessing the struggles that many of my fellow students have to go through because of the state cuts in higher education. Some of the struggles and issues faced by students are:

• Many of my friends cannot get the classes they need to finish their General Requirements, let alone meet the requirements for their selected majors.
• The budget cuts do not only affect the amount of dollars received by students on financial aid, but it also jeopardizes whether they can receive aid at all. A lot of financial aid is tied to how many units a student can enroll in, if classes are not offered students cannot get the units they need to receive credits and ultimately financial aid. In order for a student to receive financial aid they need to be enrolled 12 units, which is a full time student, but how can student fulfill this requirement if there are not enough classes for them to do so?
• The classes which are being offered are often at capacity. It is sad to see classmates sit on the floor or stand during class time because there are not enough seats, since the classes have more students enrolled than they can handle.
• We have mandatory furlough days because the schools can no longer pay teachers as many days as they used to. As a result teachers are forced to take essential materials out of their curriculum.
• The school is offering fewer Majors because it cannot afford them anymore.
• Students are working many jobs just to be able to pay the raise in tuition, books that have raised their prices, then everything else: housing, transportation, and so on.
• Even though services have been reduced, the average SFSU student is now paying $2,370 per semester. This is an increase of more than $400 dollars per semester. WE ARE PAYING MORE AND RECEIVING LESS!
My list can go on and on and I hope it’s provided you with some perspective as to why this issue is important. I hope that like me, you are also moved to take action. Please comes and supports California’s students on March 4 Day of Action and Strike in Defense of Public Education.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON HOW TO SUPPORT OUR CAUSE PLEASE VISIT: http://defendcapubliceducation.wordpress.com/
Here you will find even more reasons why we are calling a day of action and what we would like to see come out of it.

New Foster Youth Employment Statistics from HEY!

Dana Mandolesi — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 08:12:31 +0000

HEY has released 4 new HEY Statistics focusing on foster youth and unemployment. The 4 HEY Statistics paint a picture of the barriers foster youth face while searching for and keeping employment. They express the current services available to them to assist them to find employment, and provide best practices for youth serving agencies. The HEY Statistics also focus on how to best track foster youth data, how organizations can better serve foster youth in employment programs, and the value of tracking foster youth data in their programs.

Check out the HEY Statistics:

How to Adopt Web Section of the Child Welfare Information Gateway Website

admin — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 08:05:48 +0000

[from the NRCPFC Weekly Update 2/24/10]

Find information on how to adopt for the families you work with, including resources that explain who can adopt, factors to consider before adoption, the many adoption choices available (including domestic, intercountry, and open adoption), home study requirements, finding an agency, adoption by different types of families (including single-parent; stepparent; kin and relative; military; transracial and transcultural; or lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender [LGBT] families), and assistance with adoption expenses.
http://www.childwelfare.gov/adoption/adoptive

Judge Rules in Favor of California Alliance: State Must Increase Payments to Group Homes

admin — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 07:56:26 +0000

[from the Foster Youth Alliance, FYA Bulletin 2/24/10]

The San Francisco Chronicle reported on the far-reaching decision handed down by U.S. District Judge Marilyn Hall Patel on Monday in the case brought by The California Alliance of Child & Family Services. The judge ruled that the state must increase by 32% the rates it pays group homes caring for foster youth. The Courthouse News Service also covered the ruling, quoting Carroll Schroeder, Executive Director of the California Alliance: “Judge Patel’s ruling means that kids who need the level of care provided by group homes will finally receive the funding for care they need and deserve.”

New Resource: Online Clearinghouse for State Child Welfare Policies

Dana Mandolesi — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 07:13:40 +0000

Child Trends, with support from Casey Family Programs, launches the State Child Welfare Policy Database to provide information on child welfare laws, procedures, and agency guidance for all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The Database can help elected officials, administrators, advocates, practitioners, researchers, and other stakeholders keep up to date with the policies that protect our nation’s most vulnerable children.

The site can be navigated by state or by topic. You can learn about your state’s expenditures on child welfare services, policies for relatives and “kin” caring for children involved in the child welfare system, benefits and services provided to foster youth after age 18, and much more. In addition to the traditional web version, the site is designed to be compatible with your mobile device, allowing for easily accessible information on the go.

For more information about child welfare resources available at Child Trends, please visit: www.childtrends.org/childwelfare. Through program evaluations, data analysis, policy surveys, literature reviews, and research syntheses, we seek to inform policy makers and frontline practice.