June 24-27, 2017, YOUTH POWER! will host the fourth annual University of YOUTH POWER! (UYP), a for-youth-by-youth social justice conference that is modeled after a college experience. 

YOUTH POWER!'s Hudson River Regional Team has planned a FREE "Wellness" forum/event to take place on December 17th, 2016 from 12:30-4:30pm at the Howe branch of the Albany Library.

The Regional Youth Forum offers young people ages 12-29 who have been labeled (mental health, disability, foster care, juvenile system, addiction, etc.) the chance to voice opinions and concerns, meet like-minded people, and think of ways we can create change within the region. We want to hear from you!

The "Wellness" forum will explore what harms and helps us, coping skills, and ways to sustain support systems. What does it mean to be well? These things are often pushed t o the side due to our busy lives and the various things we face. Let's open up a space where we can come together to relax, eat food, and start a conversation.

You're also invited to build a self-care survival kit with us -- a box of comfort items that you can turn to when you're not feeling so great. We'll even give you some items to get started.

Join us to start a conversation and amplify your voice!

To register and get more info visit: ypwellnessforum.eventbrite.com

If you have any questions, please contact Brennan Williams at [email protected].

The Open Society Foundations' Youth Exchange, in partnership with the Human Rights Initiative and the Open Places Initiative, are seeking applicants for its Community Youth Fellowships. The fellowships come with an award of $60,000 for full-time, 18-month projects (prorated for part-time or 12-month projects).

The Community Youth Fellowships will support dynamic activists aged 18-25 who want to implement a project of their own design that advances human rights in underserved communities. Human rights projects could include those relating to criminal justice, workers' rights, employment, education, health, housing, or immigration, among other subject areas.

Through these fellowships, the Open Society Foundations aim to provide young people at the early stage of their work with the support they need to develop great ideas that contribute to dismantling challenges in their communities and advancing the values of an open society. Applicants may employ, either alone or in combination, any number of strategies to achieve the goals and objectives set forth in their projects. These strategies include but are not limited to: grassroots organizing, public education, strategic communications, policy advocacy, and coalition building. 

• Option 1: focus on human rights and take place in underserved communities in Puerto Rico, Buffalo, or San Diego
• Option 2: focus on human rights in underserved communities anywhere in the United States; this opportunity is specifically for young persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities

For more information or to apply, please visit  https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/grants/open-society-community-youth-fellowships-20161123.

Recent events have left many young people with serious concerns about their future and the future of our movement. If you are concerned about your rights and want to help make sure your rights are preserved, consider joining the Action Workgroup! 

The Action Workgroup puts YP!'s advocacy priorities into action by selecting topics from YP!'s Priority Agenda to develop into campaigns.  Action is a safe place where young people can talk about the issues that impact them and work to get things done. Action's current project is developing focus groups to gather input on young people's transition to adulthood. These focus groups will advise the Office of Mental Health on their transition age youth services. Other active campaigns include The Campaign for  Multiple Pathways to a Diploma and The Sexual Health and Healthy Relationships Campaign. 

Action meets every other Thursday through GoTo Meeting which allows you to join by phone, computer, or app. Any YP! Member from any area of the state can join. If you are not yet a member and interested in joining, find out more about becoming a member by visiting www.YOUTHPOWERNY.org/get-involved/. 

If you would like to join Action or receive more info, contact Melanie Hecker at [email protected] or 518-432-0333 ex 14. 

Each year, Families Together in New York State releases a  Policy Agenda to guide their advocacy and policy initiatives. The voices of children, youth and families as well as our friends from across New York State inform the development of their annual priorities. Please take a minute to tell them about your needs and the needs in your community.

 

If you have any questions or would like to request a print version of the survey, please contact Brad Hansen, Public Policy Coordinator at  [email protected] or  518.432.0333 x 28.

Kindly complete this survey by January 6, 2016. We appreciate your help and feedback.

Advocate of the Year Award Criteria:

Legislator of the Year Award Criteria:

YP! has had an exciting year launching Fostering Advocacy Change Empowerment, FACE. In this first year, we have focused on making FACE, which started as a NYC organizing effort, a statewide group advocating for policy change in the child welfare and foster care system. This has included branding FACE as a part of YOUTH POWER! and integrating the goals and voices of FACE members in the broader YOUTH POWER! movement.

 In June, 4 FACE members were sponsored to attend the University of YOUTH POWER! UYP is a for youth by youth social justice conference held in Albany. Youth from across the state and across systems attend. There, they had the opportunity to gain knowledge, especially regarding cross systems efforts, and share their expertise and experiences specifically related to the foster care system. The knowledge and take away from the conference are a great asset and will be used to build FACE initiatives moving forward.

Before FACE came to YP!, Foster Youth in Action, a nationwide network of foster youth, was active in providing technical assistance and guidance. With their partnership, four members were invited to their 3-day Leaders for Change conference in Washington DC. There we met young people from 22 states who are working to make policy changes both in their state and nationwide. We left empowered and excited to take away lessons and knowledge that will help to formulate our priorities for 2017.

2017 will be year 2 for FACE and we plan to draft and use a foster care specific priority agenda created by FACE members to advocate for policy change. One of the ways we plan to do this is by attending the Families Together in NYS Legislative Awareness day. A FACE meeting will be attached to this so that members from around the state can come together and amplify our voices. We will also be joining forces with organizations that have foster care policy priorities to attend lobby days and other activities during the legislative season.

Although it has been an exciting year with successes and lessons, as with any grass root organizing effort, we haven't been without our challenges. We need your help going into 2017 so that we can be as effective as possible! We are continuously looking to recruit new members. A FACE member is a youth or young adult who has experience in foster care and has the desire to make policy changes in the Child Welfare and foster care system. As we continue to grow we are looking to build more partnerships with like-minded organizations. This is an ever-growing movement, and partnerships are vital to ensuring that we make the biggest impact possible. If you are interested in joining FACE, or becoming a partner, contact us today, we would be delighted to discuss ways to enhance our mission and make sure that every young person who has experience in the foster care system can have their voice heard to make positive policy change in New York's Child Welfare System. Look forward to more exciting news in 2017!

 

Recent issues have covered topics such as: 

They strive to include content that is timely and actionable. The January issue will provide comprehensive coverage of best practices and research on foster parent recruitment/retention from around the state and the country. 

If you want to stay up to date on foster care policy in New York State, we recommend this newsletter. Click this link to Sign up.

On Monday, November 28, 2016, Governor Cuomo signed the Autism Action Plan bill. This legislation aims to increase job opportunities, provide independent housing options, improve access to information, assist in communication, and create a centralized location for services in New York and support people on the autism spectrum. Included in this legislation is the creation of a statewide autism spectrum advisory board.

 

Capital Region Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara, parent of a young person on the autism spectrum, unveiled this package of bills in January 2016 with the support of the Autism Society, Schenectedy ARC, Liberty ARC, the Global and Regional Asperger Syndrome Partnership (GRASP), and the New York State industries for the Disabled. According to his Autism Action NY page, this plan includes:  

The creation of the board and other aspects of the plan begin immediately. The statewide autism spectrum advisory board will work to address the lack of consistency in autism services and make recommendations to make services the same from region to region in New York State as well as working to ensure that persons with autism and their families are more aware of available programs and services. The areas this board will work to address include but are not limited to early diagnosis; home and health services; education and developmental services; vocational placement; and improving research and training for professionals.

Nineteen members will serve on the board, ten who will be appointed and nine who will serve ex officio (because of their job, office, or position). For every two members appointed by each appointing authority, one member must have expertise of work as a professional in the field of autism and one must be either a family advocate or self-advocate in their community. 

The state agencies who will be selecting a representative to serve on the board ex officio include: The Office for People with Developmental Disabilities; The Department of Education; The Office of Mental Health; The Office of Children and Family Services; The Commission on Quality of Care and Advocacy for Children and Family Services; and the Office of Vocational and Educational Services for Individuals with Disabilities. The representatives selected by these agencies may also include a family advocate or self-advocate. The chair of the board will be selected by the governor.

Rebecca Botta-Zalucki, a graduate student at SUNY Albany and disability rights advocate who helped craft the job-training legislation, said, "There is nothing worse than being told one cannot pursue great things in life based simply on a diagnosis whose name has become synonymous with 'deficit.' Let's continue to recognize the unique strengths and skills autistic persons possess and focus our attention on more effective services, like communication support, which may transcend across various sectors and provide a platform for autistics to find their voice. This legislation proves that New York is on the verge of becoming a model state, helping to break down systemic barriers which have prevented autistic persons from achieving gainful employment."

 

The Autism Action Plan page can be found via http://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/Angelo-Santabarbara/story/67750

 

To view the bill for each component of the legislation, go to assembly.state.ny.us/leg/ and search by the bill number below. When using the search, be sure to select "text" when on the page for the bill.

"The College Board has overhauled its request process for testing accommodations, making it easier for eligible students to receive the support they need on College Board assessments.

Beginning January 1, 2017, the vast majority of students who are approved for and using testing accommodations at their school through a current Individualized Education Program (IEP) or 504 Plan will have those same accommodations automatically approved for taking the SAT ®, PSAT ™10, PSAT/NMSQT ®, SAT Subject Tests ™, and AP ® Exams. Most private school students with a current, formal school-based plan that meets College Board criteria will also have their current accommodations automatically approved for College Board exams. This streamlined process builds on the College Board's August 2016 expansion of testing accommodations that can be approved directly by schools without the need for additional documentation.

The December holidays are a very special time for many. It is a time of family, festivities, celebration and cheer. However, during this time, many system-involved youth can feel left out of the celebration. There are various efforts aiming to change that by providing support, bringing gifts, aid, and holiday festivities to system involved youth during the holiday season.

From missing their family, memories of the past, everyone else having family around, or having nowhere to go, the holidays can often be a difficult time for many youth in foster care. There are many things you can do to help foster youth get through the holidays. These can include facilitating meetings with family, assisting in making presents, and buying items on the Foster Club checklist. See https://www.fosterclub.com/training/helping-foster-youth-through-holidays for more details.

The Felix organization also hosts a Secret Santa program that allows people to donate and collect gifts to be distributed to foster youth. The gifts tend to be practical gifts such as pajamas, scarfs, and gloves. You can find more information about this organization at www.TheFelixOrganization.org.  There are also many other organizations who collect gifts for foster youth. Oftentimes foster youth do not receive gifts other than the ones donated, and these programs help bring equality to the holiday season.

Homeless youth also tend to have a difficult time over the holiday season. According to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, there is an estimated 1.6 million homeless youth in the country. Youth can often feel a greater sense of rejection and abandonment by their families. It is also a time where many youth experience greater episodes of depression, anxiety, drug use, and suicidal thoughts. Many shelters accept direct donations for youth during the holiday season (we encourage you to look up your local shelter if you are interested in sending donations). The Ali Forney Center in NYC has also created a "Homeless for the Holidays Campaign" which shares the stories of homeless LGBT youth in an effort to raise awareness of the issues of LGBT Homelessness. For more information visit http://www.aliforneycenter.org/homeless-for-the-holidays/#tab4 .

The holiday season as a time of giving and care rightfully applies to everyone. The efforts being made to bring holiday equality to system involved youth are important to what the holiday season is truly about. This holiday season, consider donating time, resources, or food to a homeless shelter, food bank, or children's hospital yourself. It helps make the holidays all the more special and can spread hope to many.   

 

Resources:

https://www.fosterclub.com/training/helping-foster-youth-through-holidays

https://txicfw.socialwork.utexas.edu/helping-make-christmas-merry-and-bright-for-foster-youth/

https://www.fosterclub.com/news/when-a-child-cant-be-home-christmas

http://www.aliforneycenter.org/homeless-for-the-holidays/

http://outreachindiana.org/the-holiday-season-and-homeless-youth/

If you are interested in sharing your experiences in the IEP process to help improve services, please contact Jenny Hutkowski at [email protected].