| South Coast Youth Intervention Project
As of May 2012 the SCYIP directed by Dr. Jill Sharkey from UCSB in collaboration with South County Juvenile Probation have begun to enroll youth to this program. So far 29 consent forms have been secured which permit the program to track information on these specific youth.
The program will track information from various agencies which include schools, probation, law enforcement and community agencies for youth with probation gang terms and conditions who have agreed to participate. Currently most agencies do not share information between them due to privacy measures which has caused gaps in delivery of services. By UCSB being the hub of information we can track Inter-agency data. The project will be able to identify gaps in services for the participating youth and families. It will also allow the UCSB team to make recommendations of what services are not being utilized which could benefit youth. The project will also be able to highlight which interventions help youth demonstrate success. |
Cal-GRIP Carpinteria
The City of Carpinteria was awarded a Cal-GRIP grant by the State of California. In May the Carpinteria Unified School District finished implementing a multi-year Safe Schools Grant which allowed for services to be provided in the schools. The new Cal-GRIP grant will provide a continuation of services from the Safe Schools Grant. The various agencies included in this Cal-GRIP are City of Carpinteria, the Carpinteria School District, and the Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse.
The City of Santa Barbara collaborated with the City of Carpinteria to share expertise learned from Cal GRIP I and Cal GRIP II which helped to secure the new grant in Carpinteria. The City of Santa Barbara Cal-GRIP II is in its second and final year of operation serving over 100 youths who are either high-risk or with probation gang terms and conditions. From the start the Cal-GRIP II for the City of Santa Barbara has extended beyond the City and has been serving the whole South Coast.
Further information and details will follow at a future Task Force meeting for the new Cal-GRIP Carpinteria. (Although not in the area of the South Coast Task Force on Youth Gangs, a Cal-GRIP was secured for the City of Lompoc.) |
|
Parent Recognition
The Los Compadres/Las Comadres program of CAC hosted a parent appreciation dinner at Casa Dolores in Santa Barbara. Twenty Seven parents from the Cal-GRIP program were in attendance at the event. 
The event was held to celebrate the one-year commitment and participation in a monthly educational support group for parents. Parents who have participated in the program had an opportunity to share their experience of being in the group and the changes they have made with parents who were attending a gathering for the first time. One father voluntarily got up and shared how in order to support and help his son get on the right track he quit drinking and has become an involved father.
The event was catered by Los Agaves Restaurant and included a speech by Mariela Marin MFT, professor in the Department of Clinical Psychology at Antioch University. Each parent took home a bag of groceries which were donated for the event.
A new parent group meeting for parents with youth in the Cal-GRIP program has begun. Ten new parents will be attending monthly meetings to get assistance and learn how to help their youth succeed and finish probation. |
Los Prietos Boys Camp Survey
In 2011 the young men at Los Prietos Boys Camp participated in a survey. The survey was product of collaboration between the Santa Barbara Probation Department and the South Coast Task Force on Youth Gangs. 58 young men participated in a seven open-ended question survey. With the feedback from the youth we were able to learn about the ways the community can help young men get out of gangs. The youth provided much insight about the topic of exiting gangs and a rigorous research report will be compiled about the findings. A preliminary report was highlighted at the SCTFYG Quarterly meeting the results of this report are available on the Task Force's webpage. The finding were compiled with the assistance of Dr. Rios of UCSB.
Dr. Jill Sharkey and staff from UCSB have agreed to work on a final report throughout the summer. Once the surveys have been compiled and evaluated the findings will be shared in a future report or meeting. A second survey is planned. |
Young Woman's Self- Empowerment Summit
The Young Women's Self- Empowerment Summit was held in March at the West Campus Conference Center at UCSB. The young women that attended participated in activities that promoted self exploration of their future goals and encouragement to see them through. Young women from El Puente Community School, Rincon High School and Dos Pueblos High School attended and were able to hear testimonials of women from the community who are working professionals and graduate students. Santa Barbara City College's Outreach Program along with Paul Mitchell's admissions staff, were on hand to provide information about various programs that the schools offer.
A majority of services in the South Coast cater to young men; this is one event which was planned specifically for young women who find themselves within the target population of the Task Force. It is important to include services targeting young women in order to decrease violence amongst youth. This event was put together with the young women in mind who are part of Cal-GRIP. |
Parent and Community Outreach
Collaboration between the South Coast Task Force and Family Service Agency staff helped in organizing a meeting for parents at Harding University Partnership School. Members from Community Action Commission programs, Family Service Agency, and the Mi Palabra Program were also in attendance to share with families the services their programs provide. The intent was to educate parents about the risk their families face but also to talk about what resources they can connect with.
Parents in attendance at the meeting had an opportunity to ask questions. One question that was raised was how parents can frame youth gang violence to their children when they witness it. The South Coast Task Force will work on developing information tools to help parents talk about violence with their children. |
