The Children s Plan: Improving the Social and Emotional Well

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The Childrens Plan Improving the Social and
Emotional Well Being of New Yorks Children and
Their Families

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Presentation to the Interagency Coordinating
CouncilJanuary 14, 2010

• Susan Thaler, OMH
• Myla Harrison, DOHMH
• Brian Lombrowski, OMH

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Role Models
Divorce
Gangs
School Drop Outs
Peer Pressure
Unemployment
Interpersonal Violence
High Stakes Tests
College
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A Unified Call to Action

• The Childrens Plan was submitted to
  Legislature under the signature of ALL
  child-serving state agency Commissioners
• Each of the nine (9) child-serving agencies made
  a commitment to The Plan and 22 joint initiatives
  to be addressed within the first year

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Council of Children and Families
Office of Mental Health
Office of Children and Family Services
State Education Department
The Childrens Plan For All New Yorks Children
and Their Families
Commission of Quality of Care and Advocacy for
Persons with Disabilities
Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services
Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental
Disabilities
Department of Health
Division of Probation and Correctional
Alternatives
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Plan Themes

• Social and emotional development and learning
  form a foundation for success in school, work and
  in life. 
• Every action should strengthen our capacity to
  engage and support families in raising their
  children with emotional health and resilience. 
• The right service is available at the right time
  in the right amount.
• One family-one plan.
• An adequately sized workforce that is culturally
  competent and steeped in a new paradigm of
  integrated, familydriven care must be developed
  and sustained.

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NYC Children's Plan Implementation

• Roundtable Discussion
• Opportunity to bring together youth, families,
  city and local state representatives to address
  needs of two populations
• Transition Age Youth 16-25 years old
• Young Children Birth-5 years old

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NYC Youth 16 to 25 Transitioning Out of the
Childrens Service System

• 200,000 youth 16-24 disconnected from school
  work
• ONLY 4 of youth classified as ED on their IEPs
  graduate with a regular diploma
• gt 3,500 youth return from detention
• extreme difficulty re-engaging with education and
  employment
• 1,200 youth age out of NYCs foster care system
  yearly
• challenges finding housing and maintaining
  independence
• Adolescents transitioning to adulthood with
  serious mental illness
• are 3X more likely to be involved in criminal
  activity
• have higher rates of substance abuse than any
  other age groups with mental illness.

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Young Children Birth to 5 Years Old

• Prevalence rates of mental health problems
• 21 overall 9 for serious mental health
  problems
• Early secure attachments contribute to the growth
  of a broad range of competencies including love
  of learning, sense of one-self, positive social
  skills, and relationships.
• Serious long- term social and emotional
  consequences result when children and youth are
  exposed to repeated early traumatic experiences-
  including language development problems,
  difficulty forming trusting relationships and
  problems with both emotional and behavioral
  regulation. This leads to greater school failure
  increased substance abuse, joblessness and
  homelessness.
• Maternal depression afflicts 25 of mothers and
  mothers-to-be, and as many as 60 of those who
  live in poverty, and can severely damage the
  relationship between mother and child-especially
  during infancy.
• For many children, academic achievement in their
  first few years of schooling is built on a firm
  foundation of children's emotional and social
  skills.

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The Childrens Plan The NYC Roundtable
Discussion

• December 11, 2009

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Who Participated?

• NYC Agencies
• DYCD, DOE, ACS, DJJ, DOC, DOP, HRA, DHS, DOHMH,
  HHC and Mayors Office
• NYS Agencies (local representatives)
• OMH, OCFS, SED, DOH, OASAS, OMRDD, DOPCA, CCF
• Families
• Youth

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Participants were asked to identify concerns

• 1. From your agencys perspective what critical
  issue for transition age youth and children under
  5 would benefit from city/state collaboration and
  cross-system support?
• 2. In a year, what collaborative cross-system
  practices/services can be achieved to improve the
  system for these populations?

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Principles to guide priorities

• Efforts must add value to existing endeavors and
  are not repetitive of work on the ground
• Issues of focus must require cross-system efforts
  to address needs
• Benefits will accrue from a city/state
  collaboration under the framework of The
  Childrens Plan
• Initiatives will fill gaps in existing system
  that can be accomplished in a year and will lay
  the groundwork for future initiatives

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Priority Issues from the Roundtable

• Transition Age Youth
• Need for a collaborative approach to enable
  transition age youth to access appropriate
  housing and develop skills for independent
  functioning.
• Need for youth service plans to be youth-guided
  and coordinated across all agencies with shared
  accountability for outcomes.
• Early Childhood
• Need to enhance support for traumatized children.

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Initiatives Transition Age Youth
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Collaborative approach - access appropriate
housing and develop skills for independent
functioning.

• Each child serving agency contributes to defining
  the skill set for transition age youth and
  collaborates to develop cross system training.
• Provide youth/families easy access to
  information/expert consultation on services for
  transition age youth housing, employment,
  benefits, health, etc. (e.g., a youth empowerment
  day at a drop in center)
• Review housing regulations to increase
  flexibility and incorporate supportive services
• Specify a commitment to funding and prioritizing
  youth for housing programs.

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Youth service plans - youth-guided, coordinated
across all agencies, shared accountability

• Engage youth by creating or building on existing
  borough-based assistance centers through the
  reallocation of existing resources/services.
• Create/build upon electronic portal detailing
  services and information to enable youth,
  families and providers easy access to available
  services.
• Develop a cross training collaborative focused on
  youth development including skills building,
  transition planning and navigating service
  systems.
• Develop a cross-system youth forum where youth
  advocates can network and provide feedback to
  agencies.

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Initiatives Early Childhood
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Need to enhance support for traumatized children

• Zero tolerance for pre-school expulsion.
• Protocol to use peer review to help agencies
  improve awareness and sensitivity to trauma.
• Cross systems consensus on the definition and
  levels of trauma.
• Educational campaign and materials to enhance
  understanding of trauma.
• Protocol for uniform screening and early
  detection of trauma training staff in providing
  trauma informed care and educating family
  members in dealing with trauma.

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Need to enhance support for traumatized children
(continued)

• Cross-system training about services available to
  young children for parents and pediatricians.
• Train parent advocates to educate parents on an
  evidence based treatment model on the relational
  aspects of the developing child.
• Develop the workforce capacity to provide
  appropriate treatment for children 0-5 years old.
  
• Agencies involved with domestic violence (ACS,
  Mayors Office, HRA) develop strategies for
  supporting families and young children in
  domestic violence situations.

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Existing Cross-System Structures

• Interagency Coordinating Council (ICC)
• CCSI Coordinated Childrens Services Initiative
• Citywide Oversight Committee (COC)
• Borough Based Councils (BBCs)
• Federations Early Childhood Workgroup

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Opportunities

• Unite under one plan.
• Strengthen cross system collaboration to address
  cross-agency priority issues.
• Build on successful efforts, existing resources
  and strong leadership to improve services and
  systems for NYCs most vulnerable.
• Pool resources, blend funding, work more
  efficiently
• Foster and utilize family and youth involvement.

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Youth Involvement Efforts in New York

• Youth involvement is NOT a new concept.
• It exists in multiple venues in New York City.

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Examples of Agencies and Organizations that Have
Youth Involvement Groups in NY

• Youth Justice Board
• YouthACTION NYC
• Youth Communication
• Make the Road New York
• Brothas and Sistas Untied of the NW Bronx
• Youth on the Move
• Future of Tomorrow
• Desis Rising Up and Moving
• Youth in Progress
• Youth Advisory Board - ACS
• Manhattan Family Resource Center

• Bronx Family Resource Center
• Brooklyn Family Resource Center ICL
• Brooklyn Family Resource Center - JCCA
• Family Resource Center of Queens
• Staten Island Family Resource Center
• The Door
• The Point
• The Youth Experience
• Albert's Leaders of Tomorrow

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The Youth Experience

• Started in May 2008 as part of the Building
  Bridges Initiative
• Original members apply for Dare to Dream
  Initiative Grant
• Organized Youth Forum Speak Out in January 2009
• Currently meets monthly

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Using The Childrens Plan to Integrate Youth
Involvement

• Partnership developed between The Youth
  Experience and youth involvement activities at
  the Family Resource Centers and the Family
  Support Liaison Center
• Developed Youth Advocate Basic Training to
  prepare Youth Advocates for their roles

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Our Vision

• Youth involvement wherever policy decisions about
  young people are made.
• Introducing youth advocates to decision making
  venues where planning and policy issues are
  discussed (i.e., Childrens Plan Roundtable) and
  preparing them to effectively participate in
  those venues.

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How We Can Help

• Collaboration on a City-Wide Youth Conference to
  bring all the Youth Involvement groups together
  to network and learn from each other.
• Provide ongoing training and support for any
  young person in the city interested in youth
  advocacy and youth involvement through The Youth
  Experience, and the leadership activities of
  YOUTH POWER!s Regional Youth Partner.

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Contact Information

• Susan Thaler
• OMH
• 212 330-1668
• oncysct_at_omh.state.ny.us
• Myla Harrison
• DOHMH
• 212 219-5389
• mharriso_at_health.nyc.org
• Brian Lombrowski
• OMH
• 212 330-1675
• oncfbml_at_omh.state.ny.us