Quarterly Newsletter
Fall 2015
In This Issue
ACYCP Offers Growth Opportunity

As part of its strategy to develop more and better membership benefits, the  ACYCP is offering an exciting opportunity for members to capitalize on their  professional skills and experience.  Called Regional Coordinators, this volunteer p osition seeks CYC professionals who enjoy networking with peers and colleagues  about the latest news, events, advances and opportunities in the field of child and  youth care.  We're seeking your input on how to divide North America into  geographical regions, which have traditionally shared in conferences, events and r esources.  By increasing the timely flow of information, both within regions and  across North America, it is hoped that more resources will be accessible to those  who need them, plus local events will command a greater draw from eager  participants.  Some large states like Texas or California might be a region unto  themselves, whereas smaller ones like Vermont New Hampshire and Maine might  be allied with Quebec or Massachusetts to form a joint region.  You know your  "neighborhood" best, so we welcome your input and participation.

The Regional Coordinator position asks for a minimum of 3 years CYC  experience at any level and in any area of CYC work.  A commitment of 5 hours  per month and a term of two years are also required.  Candidates must be members  of ACYCP and can self-nominate, or be nominated by a colleague or supervisor.   

This is an excellent way to demonstrate to current and future employers a range of  leadership skills and experience not always readily observable in day-to-day CYC  job performance.  If you're ready to step-up a rung or two in your professional  development (and have fun doing it!), go to ACYCP.org and  download the  nomination form and position description.  For more information or  to submit your completed nomination form, contact the Membership Committee  Co-chair, Michael Mitchell, at: propman46@gmail.com or call (608) 846-2860.

See Her For Yourself: 
Lorraine E. Fox, Esteemed Colleague

  When you're getting on, it's fun to remember some of the wonderful times you had with a colleague over the years, as you kept up with her work, had chances to work together and had opportunities to interact in non-work situations. So today I am warmed to recall some of my times with Dr. Lorraine Fox over the past decades.

Pan back to Chicago, I don't remember the year, but probably some time in the early 1980s. A child care conference at a hotel. I had heard of Lorraine for several years, but hadn't yet met her. Then, there was some kind of meeting and I soon discerned from the conversation that the vibrant dynamic person you couldn't miss was Lorraine.. I made a point of meeting her and a connection was formed.

More...

View From The Congressional Hill:
CYC Legislative Update
Family Stability and Kinship Care Act
By Summer J. Pfeiffer,
Vice President, Governmental Relations,
Children's Home Society of Florida

As discussed on FCC's Legislative Call, CHS belongs to a national organization CHSA (Children's Home Society of America) and has been working with United States' Sen. Wyden and Sen. Hatch's staff from the Senate Finance Committee.

As we have been told, Sen. Wyden's bill called the Family Stability and Kinship Care Act will be rolled up into a larger child welfare piece of legislation from the committee. Sen. Wyden's staff is interested in hearing from providers that may have outcome data or cost analysis on any of the below services that are part of their bill. This is a great opportunity for FCC Members and others, to provide needed information on the federal bill. 


Certification: Pathway to the Future

Interview  with James Freeman 
by Michael Mitchell-Editor
 
James Freeman has over 25 years of experience and leadership in relational care across a variety of practice settings including education, out-of-school time programs, family camping, and residential care. He holds a master's degree in organizational leadership from Biola University and is the training director for Casa Pacifica Centers for Children and Families.
 
He serves on the boards of the American Association of Children's Residential Centers (AACRC), the International Child and Youth Care Network, and is the president of the Child and Youth Care Certification Board. He has presented at national conferences and CYC gatherings in the USA, Canada, Greece, Scotland, Australia, and South Africa.
 
He has published over 40 articles on relational child and youth care. He serves on the editorial advisory board for the Journal of Relational Child and Youth Care Practice and is an editor and columnist at CYC-Net .
 
Read the full Interview...

Ready, Willing and Able
by Anne Browne

Photo Credit: Special Olympics 

When asked, "What is the ACYCP stand on disabilities?" the most succinct answer would be total inclusion of all individuals in all areas of life; not merely included,  but embraced as assets. 

I am in the process of developing and implementing goals for the ACYCP Disabilities Committee to work on, to establish the truth of the following inclusion  statement: 

"The Association of Child and Youth Care Practice (ACYCP) resolutely affirms the inherent worth of all people. We are grateful for the strengths and gifts within the disabled community. Together we are abled. ACYCP, in all of its initiatives and activities, strives to be both accessible and inclusive of persons from disabled communities. We seek to strengthen and honor the many varied identities of the children, youth, and families we serve. We honor and support the identities of child and youth care colleagues, who engage as members and leaders of the disabled communities. ACYCP welcomes, embraces, and supports the disabled in their many forms, including but in no way limited to:




19th Canadian National
Child & Youth Care Conference
Nourishing Strength Nurturing Beyond -
Connecting our passions

May 4 - 6, 2016
Halifax, Nova Scotia

http://www.cycconference2016.com/

President's Perspective
Dr. Andy Schneider-Munoz, CYC-P

Amen: Youth Work & Spirituality

We work with children, youth and families who live on the margins! Spirituality can be an important part of the healing process. While youth work does not endorse any one denomination or faith tradition, we often receive powerful support from faith-based communities.

Just Google "youth work" and you'll find youth workers practicing in a full range of faith-based organizations. Examples run from the Salvation Army- caring for homeless youth and families, to the Jewish Board in urban communities and Catholic Charities, both of which have specialized in meeting the needs of immigrants getting started in a new life. Buddhist traditions of intentionality and meditation have also been infused into some of the latest trauma-informed care approaches. 

Among the leaders in the youth work field is Holy Family Institute (HFI) in the Pittsburgh region. HFI utilizes both the Sanctuary Community approach and the Boys Town model. For more than 100 years, the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth have championed the needs of families. Once an old orphanage, today the campus has students from China preparing to enter college, a high school especially supporting African-American teens who want a career in business, deaf youth facing mental health challenges, and immigrant children who have walked all the way from Latin America to the United States.

More...

"Would You Let Them Eat Cake?" 

Although it's now thought to be an example of urban myth, disinformation or  enemy propaganda, it was once accepted as historical fact that Marie Antoinette,  Queen of France at the time of the first French Revolution, when told that the  people in the streets where starving from lack of bread, reportedly said "Well, then  let them eat cake!"  Long sited as an example of the nobility's contempt for the  plight of the common citizen, this phrase became a protest slogan, repeated often  and loudly, in situations of stark social inequality in years past.

Well, perhaps it's time to take up the chant once more.  But this time it really is  about food.  Namely, what students on free and reduced price meal plans in our  schools will eat on the weekends and during holiday breaks? 

Thankfully, there  is something you can do.  


From The SoapBox...Surrounded by Soap Bubbles
Karen VanderVen, Professor Emerita, University of Pittsburgh
 
The Utter Significance of Caregiving as a Profession 
to Society  and Throughout the Life Course 
-- And This Time Somebody Else Said It!
 
When your Soapbox columnist is totally excited about something, she gets out  her bubble-blowing supplies, jumps up on her Soapbox and goes to it, to celebrate.
 
So listen to this: "Raising our estimation of the value and importance of caregiving and the skills we need to do it well.  In economic terms, caregiving is investment in human capital, our most precious asset as a society" (Slaughter, 2015, p. 102). She points out the low pay and low status of caregivers and caregiving.  And in her front page article in the New York Times Book Review, the reviewer states, "Slaughter would like to see caregiving become a professionalized, middle-class occupation" (Blair, September 27, 2015).  Right on!
 
Imagine... a book touting the absolute value of caregiving is reviewed on the first  page of the New York Time Book Review. Even though many are probably sick of my habit of touting the New York Times as the source of the latest thinking and advances on
topics pertinent to us, the Times in this case has certainly done it again.
 
Slaughter writes about caregiving in the context of providing it in a way that supports working women so that they may be more deservedly able to advance in the workplace. 

But the themes and the needs are totally shared with child and youth work as we know it and thus serve to extend the range and significance of the work. To top it off, she recognizes that "At the other end of life, educated caregivers can expand the length and quality of life for the generation that is leaving the stage" (p. 106).   Absolutely!
 
So what does this mean for us?


Carol's Corner of the World
 By Carol Kelly (with guest Lauren Oswald)

Lauren Oswald is a recent graduate of Western Washington University whose  faculty advisor and ACYCP board member, John Korsmo, provided her with an  opportunity to volunteer for three summers in a South African community named  Kurland. Through this, she became interested in attending the FICE-South Africa  NACCW international conference in Cape Town this summer.  

As a representative  of FICE and liaison with the ACYCP board, I had the privilege of mentoring  Lauren at the conference. ACYCP supported Lauren by providing Mark Kruger  Foundation funds to help with expenses. Lauren was an exemplary model for  current and future CYC leaders, learning from the plenary session, specifically  focused workshop sessions and formal/informal networking.  No doubt, she is a  potential leader focused on international child and youth care.  Below is Lauren's  personal statement about her FICE-South Africa NACCW experiences.---Carol

Lauren Oswald
My interest began with multiple stints of volunteering internationally, with children in Colombia and Nicaragua, but I have now spent most of my time in South Africa.  As a recent graduate, I have hopes of turning my passion for international youth work into a career.  For this reason, I was drawn to the opportunity of attending the 2015 NACCW Conference in Cape Town and with the support of the ACYCP; I was able to do so.  

Through the valuable connection and mentorship of FICE USA representative Carol Kelly, I was introduced to many influential leaders in the CYC field, who encouraged my continued involvement.  I had the pleasure of attending many diverse presentations, which piqued my interest and led to opportunities for formal and informal networking.  The purpose of FICE was well reflected through the rich and inspiring voices of the South African youth and adolescents in care.  I feel incredibly fortunate to have had this exposure early in my career, as I am now better equipped with the professional competencies of the CYC field and connected with professionals around the world.  I am planning next to further my involvement in the international CYC community, by making a difference in many young lives through my participation in FICE.


33rd FICE CONGRESS &
2nd CYC WORLD CONFERENCE
Vienna, Austria
August 22-25, 2016

 What a better way to connect with Youth and Child Care Workers  from all over the world, while you learn about the world by  attending this professional development opportunity in historic  Vienna, Austria.  

Check out this opportunity here:
  http://www.betterworld2016.org/index.php/en/program

Reflections On The International Special Olympics
By Carol S. Kelley

Symbolic!!
Image Credit: Special Olympics

Athletes from all over the world accept their disabilities and focus upon the positive aspects of self. While winning is recognized and celebrated, "doing my best" is most important. These amazing children and adolescents and their supporters, exemplify positive living, not only for the athletes, but for all human beings. In a competitive qualifying race prior to the Olympics, one runner fell close to the finish line. All who were running went to help their colleague and they all crossed the finish line together! Their actions demonstrated the values by which we can all seek to live.
Inspiring!!
Photo credit: Special Olympics

There were many related special activities for those with disabilities during the Special Olympics. For example, UCLA sponsored a National Miss Amazing Pageant in which girls shared abilities such as singing and dance. (Photo from UCLA Magazine).

The International Special Olympics were a success in many ways, not only for the athletes, but for all the others involved in the planning, implementation, and sharing of this unique event with the whole world. It's an uplifting message to all humanity. The games are over, but the spirit of this event lives on, continuing to inspire care, encouragement, support and respect for the uniqueness of each individual. The symbolic torch is available for all of us to carry and share, as we go through our daily lives. Let us focus on what we each have to contribute, when we say CAN DO!
Living examples like Brittney Tregartgen

Photo Credit: Special Olympics


What Did You Call Us?. . . A Newsletter?

The newsletter staff is so proud of our publication that we feel it would be wrong to treat it as a generic orphan, so we'd like you to help us name it! Please send your suggestions for a fitting name to:

Editor, Michael Mitchell at: propman46@gmail.com

The person, whose suggested name is selected, will win a copy of William Pollack's New York Times Bestseller, Real Boys as our thank-you for your participation!
*******
They're Coming to Your Town, Chicago!
 
 Mark your calendars for March 23-April 1, 2016 for the annual  conference of the American Association of Children's Residential  Centers in Chicago, IL. 
 
For more information, go to:
http://www.aacrc-dc.org/event/2016_annual_conference
Q & A Forum

Question:  
What Is The Difference Between Licensure and Certification?

Answer: Although the two terms may be used interchangeably from time to time in different contexts, they are actually not the same thing.  

A license is usually a document, issued by a state, provincial, county or city governmental regulatory agency, which permits a business or individual to operate in a given location, for a specific period of time and under a specific occupational category (auto repair, tax service, teacher, etc.).  Licenses are often used in conjunction with the collection of sales taxes, but also for consumer protection or controlling access, as with liquor licenses.  The criteria for a license, (if any) other than a registration fee, is primarily set by the issuing agency.

A certificate is a document, which testifies that the business or individual has demonstrated the technical competencies to be minimally proficient in a specific occupation or field of business (organic farming, youth and child care (CYC), life-saving, etc.).  A certificate is usually issued by a professional organization made up of members actively practicing in a particular occupation or business field.  

Licensure may imply competency, however a certificate is seldom a substitute for a license.  If made available, a license is required, whereas certification is usually not. 

A license and a certificate are similar in that both usually require some kind of testing to prove anything from a minimal knowledge level to master proficiency.  The two documents are issued for a specific time period and often require renewal.  Both require some kind of fee to cover the cost of processing and registration of the documentation, plus administration of required testing and related materials.  More and more, both are seen as a means of consumer protection.  However, regulatory supervision can vary widely, with periodic renewal serving as the primary monitoring method.

For more information on CYC certification, go to: http://cyccb.org/
Do you have questions? (Of course you do!) Then send your questions to: Editor-Michael Mitchell, propman46@gmail.com .  Please limit your inquiry to a single question, stated as simply as possible.  Let us know if you'd like your name, title, agency/ program, and location included (not required).  Thanks!

We Look Forward To Hearing From You!
On the Cutting Edge of Child & Youth Care Education and Professional Development
Frank Eckles

When are CYCs most open to adopting new ideas?  

What does a training environment need to provide to encourage personal transformation? 

The National Trainer Summit was held at Lifeworks in A ustin September 29th through Oct 2nd.   The second, third, and forth days of the event were dedicated to training for trainers in the newly released Youth Thrive: Protective and Promotive Factors for Healthy Development and Well-being.   This training was co-sponsored by the Center for the Study of Social Policy (CSSP), the owners of the curriculum.  

Research conducted by CSSP has identified a set of key competencies that have been shown to help young people increase protective and promotive factors while reducing risk factors.  Research shows that these supports help young people move beyond trauma and the impact of poorly resourced environments to become more resilient and engaged in addressing their developmental needs. 

The three-day workshop presented the key components of the newly developed Youth Thrive Framework including how the brain develops, the impact of trauma on adolescent development, the importance of social connections, promoting cognitive & social-emotional competence, concrete supports in times of need, and increasing youth resilience.  At the end of the event, 16 new trainers were authorized.  This included  trainers for the Bolster Collaborative, Youth Catalytics, Lifeworks, Protean Institute, Casa Pacifica and Hathaway-Sycamores Children and Family Services, Heritage Ranch, Phillips Programs, Central Texas Youth Services Bureau, National Safe Place Network, Runaway and Homeless Youth Training and Technical Assistance Center (RHYTTAC), and Harris County CPS. 


DOL Announces Youth Build Grants 
DOL Announces Grant Winners 
[from DOL press release; photos from DOL Blog] 

The U.S. Department of Labor has announced this year's winners of the annual YouthBuild grants, which include programs in 33 states and the District of Columbia. 

"Today's announcement marks the first round of YouthBuild grants awarded under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act.[http://www.doleta.gov/wioa/] The law, which became effective on July 1, 2015, led to several changes to YouthBuild. These changes include putting greater focus on improving the quality and energy efficiency of buildings serving low-income and homeless individuals and families; expanding the eligibility to include youth who have dropped out of high school but subsequently reenrolled; and supporting further program alignment with the U.S. Department of 
Housing and Urban Development. 

YouthBuild's mission aligns closely with the goals of President Obama's My Brother's Keeper initiative  which seeks to address persistent opportunity gaps facing boys and young men of color and ensure that all young people can realize their full potential.

Today, the department announced the award of nearly $76 million in YouthBuild grants to support additional academic and occupational skills training for at-risk youth like Donny. The grants range from approximately $700,000 to $1.1 million each and will fund 72 YouthBuild programs in 31 states, the District of Columbia and the Ute Mountain Ute Tribal Nation. Of the recipients in this award, 22 eligible applicants that have not previously received a YouthBuild grant were selected this year. 

YouthBuild is a non-residential, community-based alternative education program that provides classroom instruction and occupational skills training in construction and other in-demand occupations. The program serves 16-to-24 year-olds who have dropped out of high school and who have been in the justice system, are aging out of foster care, have dropped out of high school, or are otherwise at-risk of failing to reach key educational and career milestones. The grants will serve an estimated 4,800 participants in the next three years." 

For more news information and on YouthBuild and other DOL youth-related grants, visit the US DOL information on Youth Grants or the US DOL Employment and Training Administration.
We hope that you have enjoyed this issue of the ACYCP e-newsletter. Again, we welcome any and all feedback from our readers!
 
Sincerely,
 
The ACYCP Board
Newsletter Staff
Michael Mitchell-Editor
Frank Eckles
Suzie Henderson
Mary Krause

Copy Deadlines 2015-16:
Fall Issue: Oct. 5
Winter Issue: Jan. 4
Spring Issue: April 4
ACYCP Board
Andrew Schneider-Munoz
President
Jody Rhodes- Secretary 
Michael Mitchell- 1st V.P.
Don Harris- 2nd V.P.
Natalie Landry-3rd V.P.
Hector Sapien-Treasurer
Jean Carpenter Williams-Member
TC Cassidy-Member
Debbie Sliwinski-Member
Matt Fasano-Member
Jeff Reid-Canada Rep. Member
Jeff Kreeb-Member
Frank Eckles-Member
E. Anne Brown-Member
Frank Delano-Member
Shuna Hayward-Member
Janet Wakefield-Member
Kimberly Newberry-Member
Sr. Madeleine Rybicki-Member
Joe Ford-Member
Tim Duffey-Member
Melanie Crowther-Member

Special Representatives

Carol Kelly
FICE liaison
Angela Kelber-Simpson-YWLC/UW-M Liaison

Opkara Rice
AACRC Liaison

James Freeman
CYCCB Liaison
Youth Work Quote
"I walked into my first residential treatment center, was immediately told to go F*&%# myself - and knew I had found a career that would interest me for the rest of my life. And it has been true"
-- Lorraine Fox --

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Special Thanks

ACYCP would like to extend
a Special Thanks to CYCCB for helping to make this newsletter possible.

Feedback Welcome!

ACYCP is excited to hear feedback from our readers!

If you have comments and/or ideas for additional content please feel free to contact the editor,
Michael Mitchell atpropman46@gmail.com

JCYCW Latest Edition!

Journal of Child and
Youth Care Work
Vol 25
Trauma Informed Practice
Disclaimer
The ACYCP newsletter is published quarterly on-line, as one of many ACYCP membership benefits.  Articles and shared information are designed to inform, educate and support professionals in the field of child and youth care practice.  However, inclusion of any and all material does not imply official endorsement by the Association for Child and Youth Care Practice, Inc. (ACYCP).  Newsletter content should not be considered a substitute for legal, medical, ethical or organizational policy consultation and/or adherence.