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Trainings/Conferences
On-line Resouces
An independent forum with news, programs, research, events, legislation, theory, and opinion on education, health, welfare, and justice for California's 10 million children
Focused on promoting the social emotional development and school readiness of young children birth to age 5
Research and message development on child and family mental health Promoting the health and development of infants and toddlers Building awareness and understanding of sensory processing disorders through education and collaboration Helping parents, teachers and health professionals to proactively manage the challenging behaviors of the 21st century child |
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Meeting Information
Next Meeting:
January 10, 2012
8:30 to 10:30 A.M.
Blood Source Community Meeting Room
Spotlight Presentation:
Far Northern Regional Center, 0-3 Early Start Program - Patricia Roth
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 Angels in Crisis: How Mobile Crisis Intervention Changes Lives
By Bill Martin
Angels in Crisis is a psychologist's poignant account of a challenging case referred by Child Protective Services while working on a mobile mental health crisis team:
"I don't know why he's so angry all the time," Ruby Clarke said of her 11-year old son, Lucas. Ruby had grape juice all over her hair and clothes, and her face was scratched. Having met Liz and me, clinicians for the Mobile Crisis Team, just the week before, Ruby made this first crisis call to help her get Lucas under control.
Upon discharge from a nine-day psychiatric hospitalization, Lucas's Child Protective Services (CPS) social worker referred him to Mobile Crisis and gave Ruby our hotline number. We soon followed up with an introductory visit. The Mobile Crisis Team goes to a family's home to de-escalate a crisis in order to prevent unnecessary psychiatric hospitalizations, and in some cases to facilitate necessary hospitalizations by liaising with the police. We always visit the family first in a non-crisis situation, so they can get comfortable with us. People would much rather call someone they know at the mobile crisis team than an anonymous hotline number.
Read the entire article here.
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 Livescan Services
Valley Oak Children's Services is now offering Livescan Services.
Livescan Services are available Monday through Friday, from 9:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. Please call (800) 315-4507 to schedule an appointment, or visit L-1 Identity Solutions to schedule an appointment on-line.
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 Search The Web And Support Valley Oak
GoodSearch is a search engine which donates 50 percent of its sponsored search revenue to the charities and schools designated by its users. You use GoodSearch exactly as you would any other search engine. Because it's powered by Yahoo!, you get proven search results. The money GoodSearch donates to your cause comes from its advertisers - the users and the organizations do not spend a dime!
Every time you search the Internet at GoodSearch.com, your charity or school earns money and the more you search, the more they make. Add up the money generated from all your searches and those done by other people who we hope will use GoodSearch, and we can make a real difference to the people and causes that need funds most.
Please consider using Goodsearch as your Internet search engine, and choosing Valley Oak Children's Services as one of your charities.
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Workshops, Conferences and Other Resources
The What Works Clearinghouse recently added a new focus to its special needs area, Children Classified as Having an Emotional Disturbance, which reviews research on programs designed to meet the academic, behavioral, social, and emotional needs of K-12 students classified as being at risk for or having an emotional disturbance.
The WWC also released two new reports. The first looks at the research on Coping Power, a program that involves group sessions for children and parents. Children receive lessons in goal setting, problem solving, anger management, and peer relationships. The program was found to have positive effects on external behavior and potentially positive effects on social outcomes for children classified with an emotional disturbance. The second report examines the research on Check & Connect, a program that aims to promote students' engagement with school and learning by monitoring students' levels of engagement, such as attendance, grades, and suspensions, and providing intervention when problems are identified. No studies of Check & Connect meet WWC evidence standards. Additional research is needed to determine the effectiveness of this intervention.
The Financial and Societal Costs of Medicating America's Foster Children. Mr. Bryan Samuels, Commissioner, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, testified recently at a Senate Subcommittee hearing on the use of psychotropic medications among children in foster care. ACYF staff have been working extensively with representatives across several HHS agencies over the past six months to develop a plan to help States address this issue within the context of improving social and emotional well-being for children who have experienced maltreatment. In the next 90 days and beyond, ACYF will be working to: Improve oversight and monitoring of psychotropic medication for children in foster care; build the knowledge base about best practices for treatment, both pharmaceutical and psychosocial, for children with social-emotional problems in child welfare; and, increase States' access to and capacity to deliver evidence-based behavioral interventions to these children. The complete written testimony delivered by Commissioner Samuels and the video of the proceedings are available online.
Hmong Cultural Guide: Building Capacity to Strengthen the Well-Being of Immigrant Families and Their Children: A Prevention Strategy. This resource, from the Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare, provides an overview of the culture of the Hmong to assist professionals in strengthening the well-being of Hmong families. It reviews Hmong parenting practices, parent and child nurturing and attachment styles, expectations of child development, parental attitudes in seeking health care for their children, and parental attitudes toward emotional behavior and mental health. |
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Gloria Balch, Deputy Director