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Greetings!
We hope this article finds you well. One of the primary goals of ENGAGE and the Children's Plan is to provide a conduit for good cross-systems communication. Here at the Council we are taking that goal very seriously and have implemented many methods to improve cross-systems communication. We are excited to introduce a new feature on the ENGAGE website-the ENGAGE Cross-systems Event Calendar and hope this new tool will be useful to you. We will provide a standing link to the ENGAGE Calendar in this and future newsletters under the Quick Links section on the left navigation bar.
If you would like to suggest a
cross-systems event to be posted on this calendar, please send your
request to engage@ccf.state.ny.us.
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Collaborative Effort Announced 
Expanding Mental Health Services for Youth in Brooklyn
The NYS Office of Mental Health (OMH), the NYS Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS), working with partners in New York City recently announced a comprehensive solution to address the chronic need for community-based mental health alternatives in Brooklyn for children and their families, and the lack of intensive residential treatment in New York City for court-involved youth with mental health problems.
This plan will:
- greatly expand community-based
mental health treatment options and services for children in Brooklyn,
improve early access to quality mental health care for children and
their families, and avoid the disruption to families caused by the
overuse of institutional care;
- provide intensive residential
treatment in New York City for court-involved youth with mental health
problems, thus avoiding the disruption to families caused by their
transfer to upstate facilities; and
- expand mental health service capacity in other boroughs of New York City.
This investment is made possible through the reconfiguration of OMH services and the shift of OMH and OCFS resources. This expansion is responsive to the goals of New York State's Children's Plan. The Children's Plan was developed with input from thousands of New Yorkers and endorsed by all of New York's child-serving agencies. It recommends the
proactive involvement of all stakeholders to intervene earlier, improve access to care, shift resources toward community-based services and improve the quality of service provision and delivery. Learn more about this exciting OMH/OCFS collaborative effort. |
Bigelow Corners....
Innovation & Cross-Systems Collaboration
A Better Choice for Children and Families
A primary objective of the Council on Children and Families and the New York State Children's Plan is to foster successful cross-systems collaborations. The Bigelow Corners Project is a shining example of successful cross-systems collaboration and shares similarities with another very successful initiative called the NYS Promise Zones.
 Inner city neighborhoods of the 21st Century are especially challenged by the economic strife of current times. The Bigelow Corners area in Schenectady is a neighborhood with a disproportionate number of youth and families at risk due to poverty. The Bigelow Corners Project is an innovative community-born and bred initiative. Five forward thinking community organizations formed a cross-systems partnership to reverse the downward trend in that neighborhood and improve the quality of life for those who receive services there. The Bigelow Corners Project seeks to increase the academic, social, emotional and behavioral skills of children served through best-practice instruction methods. They have increased and enhanced the involvement of families in their children's development and created a comprehensive network of supports for the well-being of families. At this point, the partnership includes the following organizations: Together these agencies serve 900 children in the 25-acre city parcel that is the Bigelow Corners area. Learn more about this innovative and successful collaboration. |
Lower-Price Health Insurance Option
New York Bridge Plan
Health insurance coverage is essential to having access to care. New York State has launched a new temporary statewide insurance option for uninsu red legal residents who have medical conditions. The NY Bridge Plan is New York's version of the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan that was created under federal health care reform. The NY Bridge Plan provides health insurance coverage at a lower price than other options currently available in the individual market. Through the NY Bridge Plan, premiums will be $362/month for residents of upstate counties and $421/month for residents of downstate counties. List of upstate and downstate counties.
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New York State Parenting
Education Partnership
NYSPEP
The New York State Parenting Education Partnership (NYSPEP) is an innovative collaboration focused on continually improving the quality of and accessibility to parenting education opportunities. Membership to NYSPEP is FREE and open to those working to support children growing up in nurturing families. Currently, over 150 partners from more than 85 agencies also participate in NYSPEP throughout New York State.
The availability of sound parenting education is a valuable aspect of achieving the goals of the Children's Plan and strengthening related efforts to support the social and emotional development and learning of our children and youth. This collaboration also plays an important role in building healthy families, neighborhoods, and communities.
NYSPEP is offering a series of professional development events - Building Strong Roots (Cultivating Effective Parenting Education) in various locations across New York State. Please click here to learn more about these events and to download the registration form.
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Building
Bridges Initiative (BBI)
A Comprehensive National Collaborative Approach
The Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) is a growing national effort to advance a set of values, principles, and practices for comprehensive, coordinated, strategic, and collaborative approaches for residential and
community programs to better respond to and serve children and youth with
emotional and/or behavioral health challenges, and their families. Organized
under the auspices of the Child, Adolescent and Family Branch of the Center for
Mental Health Services within the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration (SAMHSA), BBI recently held its third Summit attended by some
170 youth, family members, advocates, residential and community services
providers, as well as public agency staff.
More than 20 persons from New York State including Children's Plan
Director, Bill Przylucki, representing the Council on Children and Families and
Commissioners' Committee on Cross-Systems Services for Children and Youth attended.
There will be more about New York's BBI related activities in future issues of ENGAGE and on the website, but for right now we invite you to visit the BBI website to learn more about Building Bridges' national directions.
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2010 CNY Regional Social
EmotionalLearning Summit
"Life Skills for Lifelong Success"
The second annual Social and Emotional Learning Summit (SEL) will focus
on implementing SEL strategies and exploring systems-change that
integrate the mental health and educational systems.
The Summit will be held on November 5, 2010 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Double Tree Hotel in East Syracuse, New York. The keynote speaker is Howard Glaser, the author of Transforming the Difficult Child and creator of The Nurtured Heart Approach. More details will follow on the CNY Social Emotional Learning Website.
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NYS Suicide Prevention Resource Nationally, on average, almost 3,000 people
commit suicide daily.
For every person who completes a suicide,
20 or more may attempt to end their lives.
The Suicide Prevention Center of New York State, funded by the NYS Office of Mental Health is entering its second year of operation and maintains a vision to advance and support state and local actions to reduce suicide attempts and suicides in New York State, as well as promotes the recovery of persons affected by suicide.
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www.NYacts.org
A Comprehensive Resource for Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and their Families
Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and their families now have a single comprehensive resource to go to for important information on ASD and New York State (NYS) services available to address the needs of these individuals and their families. New York ACTS (An Initiative for Adults and Children on the Spectrum) is a website developed by the NYS Interagency Task Force on Autism, a partnership of 11 NYS agencies, with leadership provided by Children's Plan representatives.
In addition to informing on autism and NYS services and supports for individuals and families, New York ACTS provides information on New York's autism initiatives, important laws, events and training across the state, news stories related to ASD and provides answers to frequently asked questions as well as includes profiles of NYS citizens of all ages living with ASD.
Please visit nysacts.org today! |
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Latino Upstate Summit
October 19, 2010 - Desmond Hotel, Albany, NY
 Latino community leaders from Western New York to the Capital Region will discuss education, mental health, business development, youth issues, employment and other topics when they gather at Albany's Desmond Hotel and Conference Center on Tuesday, October 19th from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
This year's Summit will feature panel discussions on the following topics: - Education (Chair, Melanie Pores, NYS United Teachers)
- Youth (Janet Sapio-Mayta, NYS Council on Children and Families
- Mental Health (Maria Vidal, Capital District 100 Hispanic Women)
- Employment (Dr. Jose Cruz, NY Latino Research and Resources Network)
- Business Development (Joe Gomez, Gomez Electrical Contractors)
Any questions regarding the Summit can be directed to the Upstate Summit Chair, Ladan Alomar, who serves as the Executive Director of Centro Civico of Amsterdam, Inc. Ladan can be reached by telephone at (518) 842-3762, or at LAlomar@centrovivico.org. Additional information regarding the summit and registration will be available in the near future on the Latino Summit Website. |
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There are so many exciting joint initiatives underway and we thank you for your interest in these cross-systems workings. Again, we welcome your ideas. If you have any questions, comments or concerns, please e-mail us any time at engage@ccf.state.ny.us.
Sincerely, |
Bill Przylucki
Director, NYS Children's Plan
Brooke Schewe
Statewide Systems of Care Director
The ENGAGE Newsletter is an information sharing service.
Information presented in this newsletter is not all inclusive and does not imply endorsement of any particular methodology or program. |
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