A leading objective of the Children's Plan is to "increase the availability of education programs for families that build knowledge and offer skills and techniques that parents can use in raising emotionally health children". To this end, the NYS Office of Mental Health (OMH) has joined forces with Prevent Child Abuse New York (representing the NYS Parenting Education Partnership, or NYSPEP) and Families Together in an effort to improve parenting education in NYS by: 

NYSPEP, formed in 2007 and includes approximately 250 members statewide (including representatives of seven state agencies), has assumed a leadership role in parenting education in New York State. Under a separate, but related initiative with OCFS, they are in the process of developing a new Parent Kit based on a California model which has been demonstrated to increase positive parenting practices. For more information regarding either project, please contact Michelle Gross of Prevent Child Abuse New York at (518) 445-1273 or by e-mail at: mgross@preventchildabuseny.org or Eileen Myers of OMH at (518) 473-8502 or by e-mail at: CCONEMM@ohm.state.ny.us.  

The Children's Bureau, through the National Technical Assistance and Evaluation Center (NTAEC) for Systems of Care is pleased to announce a Webinar series on key findings and lessons learned from the Improving Child Welfare Outcomes through the Systems of Care Demonstration Initiative. Webinar participants will share strategies and approaches for developing the infrastructure to support improved outcomes for children and families. See the Save the Date Announcement for more information.

AdoptUsKids and the North American Council on Adoptable Children (NACAC) have partnered to create an opportunity for support groups and associations to apply for a mini-grant, in awards up to $5,000, to start a respite care program in partnership with local public agencies.

To be eligible, your organization must, primarily serve families who: 

The deadline to apply for this grant is July 1, 2010.

To learn more or to apply for this grant visit: www.nacac.org/parentgroups/respitegrantcoverletter.pdf.

 

The Educator Academy allows educators the time they need to explore and develop individualized youth strategies for life and work readiness and success. It is designed for middle and high school counselors and teachers of all disciplines. The Academy is a blended learning experience that takes place over a six week period. It includes face-to-face sessions as well as an online component.

 

This program has been designed to offer the latest information on the global and local labor markets, career development research and theory, free technology resources and expectations of the ever-changing workplace.

 

For more information, contact Victoria Gray, NYS Department of Labor, Youth Initiatives Office by e-mail: Victoria.Gray@labor.state.ny.us or by telephone at (518) 402-0440.

 

The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago, a research center focused on child and family policy, have announced the launch of the Doris Duke Fellowships for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect for doctoral and dissertation students. 

There are a lot of exciting joint initiatives underway and we thank you for your interest in these cross-systems workings. Again, we welcome your ideas, and if you have any questions, comments or concerns, please e-mail us any time at engage@ccf.state.ny.us.