Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Convention Center, The Egg, Empire State Plaza, Albany, NY
Gathering and Reception 12:00 noon - 12:30 pm With Luncheon and Speakers 12:30 pm - 2:30 pm

(Check-in opens at 10:00 am)

Please register by February 14, 2012

Register online at: www.ftnys.org. 

For more information call, (518) 432-0333 or 1-(888) 326-8644.

The vision of encouraging a public health approach set forth in The Children's Plan laid the foundation for representatives of the Social Emotional Development Work Group to develop recommendations for Social and Emotional Development Consultation in Early Care and Education Programs. These recommendations have been compiled in a report called, "Framework for Supporting the Social-Emotional Development of Young Children".

Work Group members consisted of representatives of the Council on Children and Families, Department of Health, Office of Children and Families and Office of Mental Health. From site visits to six noteworthy programs around the state as well as an extensive literature review on proven methods of delivering social and emotional development consultation, the work group recommends the following actions:

1. Support the infusion of social emotional development curricula in all early learning programs.    
2. Implement strategies for building knowledge of social emotional development of young children across systems.        
3. Develop and implement strategies for increasing screening for social emotional development by pediatricians, early learning programs, and by other appropriate professionals.    
4. Develop an on-going source of financial support for social and emotional development consultation in early child care settings.  
5. Establish and train a statewide cadre of social emotional development consultants and child and family therapists skilled in meeting the needs of young children and their families, this theme weaves throughout all of the literature and site visits.  
6. Encourage data collection and analysis to provide ongoing quality indicators to enhance services.

Efforts to determine financing supports, training strategies and policy changes to increase the state capacity to provide social-emotional development consultation and other supports for programs to address the social-emotional development needs of young children and their families continue.  

The Temple University (TU) Collaborative on Community Inclusion has launched a new research study examining the effectiveness of an Internet parenting education and social support programs for mothers with a psychiatric disability. The TU Collaborative is looking for women who are interested in participating in an online parental education course designed to enhance parental knowledge and skills in the following areas:  

• illness management  
• child development  
• stress reduction 
• parent-child communication 
• promoting resiliency in your child 

This program also involves Internet social support through a listserv, which will be co-moderated by a parent with a psychiatric disability and a mental health professional.

This group can connect mothers meeting the criteria below 24-hours a day, 7-days a week to a community of supportive peers in their own home or anywhere they can access the Internet!

Temple University is looking for people who:

• Are mothers (over the age of 18) diagnosed with a mental illness (Major Depression, Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorder or Mood Disorder)
• Currently have primary/shared custody and are serving as the caretaker for at least one child (natural, adopted, or stepchild) under the age of 18
• Have access to a computer and the Internet
• Would consider using the Internet for support and information
• Are United States Residents
• Are fluent in English

Participants will be compensated up to $100 for their participation in this study. Please share this information with anyone in your networks that meet the criteria above.  

For more information, email: momsupport@temple.edu.

United Way of New York City has announced its Community Grants program for 2011-2012. Both Collaboration Grants and Community Leaders Impact Grants will be awarded through a competitive Request for Proposals process to a limited number of health and human services organizations serving New York City residents. 

Collaboration Grants ranging from $10,000 to $20,000 will support teams of two or more community-based organizations that seek to create or expand innovative partnerships in order to achieve measurable outcomes, and will be awarded in the following areas: Shared Services, Mergers & Acquisitions, and Shared Operation Supports. Each grant will be awarded jointly to two or more organizations, each with budgets of $5 million or less, that demonstrate a clear intent and framework for collaboration to achieve efficiencies in programs and/or operations, and a planning process that is likely to result in an implementable collaboration. Collaboration Grant applications will be accepted from January 2 - 31, 2012 only.

Community Leaders Impact Grants will enable emerging nonprofit leaders to obtain professional development training to better address critical issues impacting their organizations. Grants will range from $2,500 to $5,000 for mid-level managers working at local community-based organizations with budgets of $2.5 million or less. Applicants must demonstrate a need for the specific professional development sought; alignment of the professional development with the mission of the employer organization; the method, plan and cost for initiating the professional development by June 30, 2012; and the goals reflecting how the professional development acquired shall contribute to the overall mission of the organization. Community Leaders Impact Grant applications will be accepted from February 1 - 15, 2012 only.  

HUD Offers More Than $40M In Grants For Housing Counseling 

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development recently announced that more than $40 million is available for a broad range of housing counseling programs to help families find and preserve housing. These grants will be awarded competitively to hundreds of HUD-approved counseling agencies and State Housing Finance Agencies across the nation that offer a variety of services including how to avoid foreclosure, how to avoid mortgage scams, how to purchase or rent a home, how to improve credit scores, and how to qualify for a reverse mortgage. HUD will award grants to approximately 500 applicants. Instructions are posted on Grants.gov.  

Click here to apply and enter 14.169 in the CFDA field. Applications must be submitted electronically through Grants.gov.  The application deadline is 11:59:59 pm eastern time on January 12, 2012.  If applicants have difficulty accessing the information, they may obtain assistance by calling the help desk hotline at 800-518-GRANTS or by e-mailing support@grants.gov.  The Grants.gov help desk is available 24 hours a day, 7 days per week, except federal holidays.

HUD Offers $114 M In Grants To Clean Up Lead And Other Housing-Related Health Hazards 

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced that it is making approximately $114 million in grants available to help eliminate dangerous lead-based paint hazards from lower income homes in order to protect young children from lead poisoning; help local communities set up programs to control other housing health and safety hazards; and conduct research on improving control methods.  

The grants to States, local governments and the private sector are being offered through HUD's Lead-Based Paint Hazard Control Program, totaling $61 million; Lead Hazard Reduction Demonstration Program, totaling $45 million; and its research-oriented Healthy Homes Technical Studies Program , totaling $2.5 million. In its Lead-Based Paint Hazard Control Grant Program, HUD is providing an additional $5.3 million to promote and develop a local Healthy Housing initiative, building on their lead hazard control program, to address multiple housing-related health hazards through assessment using the home health and safety rating system. HUD requires prospective grantees to submit their applications electronically at  www.grants.gov.  Any changes to HUD-published funding notices will be made available to the public through a Federal Register publication and published on this government-wide portal. Applicants are urged to sign up for  www.Grants.gov's notification service to receive periodic updates or changes to these grant offerings.

USDA Funding Opportunity for Rural Development  

The USDA has a Rural Development Program. You may be surprised to see funding opportunities for: Housing, Broadband Access, and Telemedicine. Local governments and not for profits can apply.

Visit: www.rurdev.usda.gov/Home.html 

The Ticket to Work Program is the key to unlocking vocational rehabilitation, training, job referrals, and other ongoing support and services to help individuals reach their employment goals. The program is available for people who are between the ages of 18 and 65 and receive Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits because they are disabled or blind.

Individuals can take their Ticket to any Employment Network (EN) or State Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) agency to request assistance in job training, preparing materials to use to finding a job, locating employers, information about work incentives and other assistance needed in order to go to work.  

Click here to learn more.