ICM NEWS: May is National Foster Care Month! Support the Celebration of Giving for the Celebration of Excellence; ICM in Cobb General Meeting on May 10; Secure the Education Pipeline for Georgia' Children - May 5; Register for Introduction to CSEC for Mental Health Professionals Training

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People of faith are called by that faith
to speak for all children.

May 1, 2012

MAY IS NATIONAL FOSTER CARE MONTH: SUPPORT THE CELEBRATION OF EXCELLENCE "20 DAYS OF GIVING" GIFT CARD CAMPAIGN FOR GEORGIA'S FOSTER YOUTH

As partner sponsors of the 20th anniversary of the Celebration of Excellence, Interfaith Children's Movement and Gift for a Child are asking you and your faith community or organization to participate in the celebration of giving by sponsoring 20 gift cards in increments of $25 for Georgia's foster children who are graduating from high school or from a post-secondary educational institution.

Foster youth have to overcome many obstacles. Yet, they face even more challenges as they "age out" of the foster care system:

- Only 50% of foster youth will graduate from high school;

- 30% of foster youth will be homeless within a year of graduating from high school;

- One out of every 10 foster youth will enroll in college.

You can help smooth these graduating foster youths' transition to adulthood by providing a $25 gift card with which to purchase basic essentials. We ask that the gift cards are from merchants like Target or Wal-mart for ease of access and use.

The link to more information and a donation form is provided below. All donations need to be received by June 1, 2012. Gift for a Child is the fiscal agent for the Celebration of Excellence gift card campaign.

Celebration of Excellence Gift Card Campaign

The Celebration of Excellence graduation ceremony will be held on June 13, 2012, at 6:00 p.m. at the Georgia State University Rialto in downtown Atlanta.

Please contact ICM with any questions at ICM Celebration of Excellence.

JOIN US IN BUILDING SOLUTIONS TO SECURE THE EDUCATION PIPELINE FOR GEORGIA'S CHILDREN, SATURDAY, MAY 5

100 Stories ~ Building 100 Solutions for Securing the Education Pipeline for Georgia's Children

Has your school been named a Priority or Focus school?

Are you concerned about the recently released graduation and/or discipline rates at your school?

Join us to learn about improving the learning environment and educational outcomes in your child's school.

Saturday, May 5th, 9:30 a.m. -12:30 p.m.

Meadowcreek High School

4455 Steve Reynolds Boulevard

Norcross, Georgia 30093

Agenda Highlights:

- Specific Local Community Demographics/Statistics

- How to Navigate the School System

- Tools of Parent Engagement

- Effective Discipline Models

Join us in this community collaboration!

Sponsoring organizations: Atlanta Community Engagement Team (ACET), ACLU of Georgia, Advancement Project, Gwinnett SToPP, Interfaith Children's Movement (ICM)

To register, go to: www.gwinnettstopp.org.

For more information: info@GwinnettSTOPP.org or 404-590-7877.

Complimentary light refreshments will be served.

MORE TRAINING, SERVICE OPPORTUNTIES AND INFORMATION

Parent Leadership Institute Training

PLI is accepting applications for the 2013 class
Deadline of May 15 is fast approaching!

For more information contact: info@thepli.org

Application

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Georgia Alliance to End Homelessness

Trauma Informed Care Training

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

8:30am - 4:30pm

6 Core Hours of CEUs Included

More information

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Faithful Families Eating Smart & Moving More Webinar

When: Tuesday, May 29, 2012, 2:00-3:00 p.m. EST

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Apply Now for OVC's Victims of Human Trafficking Fellowship Program - May 10 Deadline

More information.

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Voices for Georgia's Children Fact Sheet on Georgia's Children in Early Childhood

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Georgia Budget Policy Institute Report

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Seventeenth Annual Rosalynn Carter Georgia Mental Health Forum: Building Quality Behavioral Health Community Services and Supports for All Georgians

Date: Friday, May 18, 2012

Location: The Carter Center

Time: 8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Registration form

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Afterschool Program Post-Testing Volunteers Needed

Date: April 30-May 15

2:30-5:45 PM

Goal: To gather data that tracks how much academic/English literacy progress that our students have made this year. Data will be used in our grant proposals to prove the validity of our program!

Location: 5561 Memorial Drive-H Stone Mountain, GA 30083

Questions: rfsvolunteers@refugeefamilyservices.org

To participate, you must attend a special training which starts at 2:00 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays (starting April 30).

*Also, you can volunteer 1 day or multiple days. April 30 through May 15!

JOIN ICM IN BUILDING A "BRIDGE TO HARMONY"

"Religious persecution anywhere is a threat to religious freedom everywhere." Whether it is the imprisonment of pastors Sadegh-Khanjani and Yousef Nadarkhani by the Iranian government or one of the 1,322 "religious-bias" hate crimes in the United States, the victims deserve more than our shock and our silence. They deserve our commitment to build relationships of understanding, appreciation and respect across boundaries of religious institutions and spiritual practices.

Become a bridge builder and help build the "Bridge to Harmony" by sharing your stories of encouragement on ICM's facebook page of how you have reached out or how you plan to reach out in peace and friendship to persons not of your own faith tradition.

SPIRITUAL WITNESS FOR CHILDREN

One of the most important things faith communities can do for children is to pray for them.

Every child is a child of God and deserves justice and compassion. Every child deserves our prayers.

ICM encourages every faith community to become a spiritual witness for children. Hold a worship service in your church, synagogue, mosque or temple and invite others to join in praying for the well-being of all children.

ICM Mission and Goals

The Interfaith Children's Movement (ICM) is an interfaith, grassroots, advocacy movement dedicated to improving the well-being of children in Georgia. ICM was formed in 2001 as an intentional association of individuals and communities of faith from all religious traditions.

The Interfaith Children's Movement strives to be a voice for all Georgia children, but especially the poor and marginalized whose voices are often unheard.

ICM works closely with Georgia's policy-oriented child advocacy organizations, such as:

JOIN ICM IN COBB IN RECOGNIZING MAY AS "NATIONAL FOSTER CARE MONTH," THURSDAY, MAY 10 @ 4:00 P.M.

ICM in Cobb will hold its general meeting Thursday, May 10, at 4:00 p.m. at MUST Ministries, 1407 Cobb Parkway, N., Marietta, GA.

In recognition of May as "National Foster Care Month," the guest presenters will be Sally Buchanan, executive director, and Paula Fine of Creative Community Services.

Creative Community Services

provides therapeutic foster care services for children and home-based support for adults with developmental disabilities. Learn more about how you can be part of a support system for some of Georgia's most vulnerable children.

- Foster children are a vulnerable population to domestic trafficking.

- Foster children are a vulnerable population to homelessness.

- Foster children are a vulnerable population to educational failure.

Join us on May 10! Contact Rhonda Hall or Carol Kirshner to RSVP or with questions.

ARE GEORGIA'S FOSTER CHILDREN OVER-MEDICATED?

The Barton Child Law & Policy Center of Emory University School of Law released a report earlier this year, the "Georgia Psychotropic Medication Monitoring Project," which studies the proliferation of psychotropic medication use for the treatment of mental and behavioral health disorders among children in foster care. This trend has captured the attention of clinical researchers, child welfare professionals, state and national policymakers, and the public at large

INTRO TO CSEC FOR MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS - MAY 2012 TRAINING SCHEDULES

(Six (6) CEUs approved by NASW-GA & LPCAGA will be provided free of charge.)

This FREE session dispels some of the stereotypes about children exploited through the sex trade. We will cover who is vulnerable to recruitment, pathways to entry, risk factors, opportunities for intervention, appropriate and effective engagement with victims, and possible treatment strategies for commercially sexually exploited children. The program includes video segments.

Space is limited. Please use the corresponding registration link below to register for the training date of your choice.

Please ensure that you provide an accurate e-mail address that you can access at any time. You will be required to print certain materials for the training.

Please contact Pamela Perkins Carn at Interfaith Children's Movement with any questions.

Registration Links:

May (full schedule)

May 9, 8:45 AM - 4:00 PM

May 12, 8:45 AM - 4:00 PM

May 23, 8:45 AM - 4:00 PM

May 25, 8:45 AM - 4:00 PM

MAKE A

SPECIAL

CONTRIBUTION TO ICM TODAY

Your contributions create a better Georgia for all children. Make a monthly tax-deductible gift of $25.00 or a one-time gift of $100.00. Please click HERE now to make a secure, on-line, tax-deductible contribution. Do what must be done... GIVE to ICM today.