Be a spectacular philanthropist!

Last week, I attended the Manual High School Christmas Spectacular, and it certainly was. Spectacular, I mean! The choirs, the band, the poetry recitation, the dramatic performances, the costumes, and the set design were all wonderfully festive and well done. But the community engagement and philanthropic spirit were my favorite part! The ongoing “Our Children, Our City” series in the Indy Star has put a spotlight on this near southside school, and the resulting positive energy reached a holiday frenzy last Tuesday night. (Follow this link for the Indy Star article: http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=201012120376)

I arrived at the end of the evening’s first performance, and waited in a very crowded hallway as the audience poured out of the auditorium. Hundreds of warmly bundled families were eagerly gathered to secure their seats for the encore performance. The mood was celebratory and friends greeted one another across the foyer, shouting well wishes. I happened to station myself right next to the Donation table. (Though as a professional fundraiser, this was merely coincidence, as the table was really next to the Ladies Room…)

As the crowd streamed past the homemade donation box covered in wrapping paper, it seemed that everyone dropped a folded bill into it. Young, old, affluent, working class-everyone. It was beautiful. I just finished a Masters degree in Philanthropic Studies, and now I can safely say that I chose that degree because philanthropic action makes me all happy and weepy inside. (I got the Masters in Public Affairs so that I could get a job.)

Certainly, philanthropic action extends far beyond cash gifts. But as the year comes to a close, I urge you to make a generous charitable contribution to one of the hundreds of youth-serving nonprofits in Indianapolis. These kids are amazing and they need your support. And after you’ve made your gift of treasure, make it your new year’s resolution to give more of your time and talent. I promise, you'll feel all happy and weepy inside, too!

Report finds that coordination is key to improve quality and access for Out-of-School Time Programs

As many schools in central Indiana are moving towards year-round calendars, it’s important for nonprofit service providers and youth development professionals to adapt and work with their local school districts to make sure that their youth enrichment programs fit with the schedule of when students will be out-of-school and on breaks. Some say that a big benefit of year-round or “balanced calendars” is that students are no longer out of the educational setting for long periods of time. As a result, students will not need as much remedial time going over lessons that were forgotten over breaks. However, when kids have positive and productive activities to attend while on break, it leads to an increase in their motivation to stay in school.


In a recent report published by RAND Education and commissioned by The Wallace Foundation, results indicate that when cities coordinate out-of school activities, the results are better quality of programs and improved attendance. The report, “Hours of Opportunity: Lessons from Five Cities on Building Systems to Improve After School, Summer School, and Other Out-of-School Time (OST) Programs” studied five cities: Boston, Chicago, New York City, Providence, and Washington, D.C. as they work to coordinate out-of-school activities with their local schools, parks departments, and non-profit after-school programs. Each study site had four goals to lead this process: increase access to and participation in OST programs, improve the quality of OST programs, build an information, technology, and communication infrastructure to facilitate better management and support for OST programs, and work toward sustaining OST programs and the systems designed to support them. The sites were given an initial planning grant to research their local needs and asses what resources were needed for improvements. After the planning assessment was completed, the sites implemented their plan, and five years later this study shows results for their coordinated efforts.

Some of the key accomplishments from each site include:

Goal #1: Increase Access and Participation

• Opening additional programs sites in underserved areas, and schools and other service providers facilities, and by in some cases providing transportation.

Goal #2: Improve Quality

• Development of quality standards, quality-assessment systems for providers, and incentives for improvement.

Goal #3: Develop Information Systems for Decision-making

• All cities developed web-based information management systems to track enrollment, attendance, and demographic data. This information as used to analyze which programs were the most desirable for students and parents. This data was very helpful in demonstrating needs in requests for funds.

Goal #4: Plan for Financial Sustainability

• Some cities had diversified funding sources, but all struggled with this issue – and still do.

What do you think - could Indianapolis students and youth benefit from a more coordinated effort when dealing with Out-of-School time?

Learn more about this student, and view the full report.

Courage of Conviction

A group of courageous young people from the Latino/a Youth Collective are currently holding a hunger strike as a way to call attention to the DREAM Act, which is being debated in Congress. The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act would make it possible for children of illegal aliens who were brought to this country as minors to be able to access available programs and supports which would help them further their education and have the chance to make a decent living for themselves and their families.
These young people are so hungry for the chance to fully develop themselves and become contributing members of their communities that they are willing to go without food to show their commitment. Whether you agree with the legislation or not, you have to admire the courage of conviction that these young people are demonstrating. It makes me think of other times in our country's history when young men and women have stood up for what is right and just: at the lunch counters in the 1950's and 1960's; when seeking the right to vote for women in the 1920's; in Europe and the Pacific in the 1940's. Different situations to be sure but all times when young people stepped up and faced adversity in order to show the values upon which this nation was established.
Young people have been agents of change and growth all throughout the history of our nation. It is that willingness of individuals to sacrifice themselves in order to achieve something that will benefit many that we admire and support. It seems to me that our communities need more people just like these young people and their peers. Doesn't it make sense to give them the chance to fully grow and develop?

Keep an Eye on Education Reform

Education reform is at the forefront of legislative agendas for the upcoming year. The Governor's agenda includes giving parents the choice of which school to send their children and giving school superintendents more flexibility in evaluating teacher performance. Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS) has announced the approval of a move to a year-round or "balanced" calendar to start next year. President Obama's 2011 budget looks to reform the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (No Child Left Behind) through increased investments in new innovative programs and school turnarounds. All of these initiatives need to be closely monitored because no change, whether positive or negative, comes without some cost.

Some positive news was announced by IPS last week - their graduation rates are improving. According to their data, their overall graduation rate improved by 7 percentage points, from 49 to 56 percent. That number may not sound acceptable - and it isn't - but it is an improvement nonetheless. It's an indication that somewhere along the line, something seems to be working.

Despite this good news, we know that we still have a lot of work to do - we cannot continue on the same course. Investing in education reform will mean allocating more money and resources to schools and community services, but how do we make those changes given the current state of the economy and the refusal to examine our current tax structure? Research and data show that investing a minimal amount now will yield greater outcomes in the future. If we increase the number of students who graduate, we will have a future workforce whose unemployment rate is less and who both increase the tax base and revenue streams. If we invest in quality early childhood education, we can improve children's long-term educational attainment and likelihood of graduating.

It's a tough decision that taxpayers and elected officials face. In these economic times, no one wants to hear that their taxes will increase, as evidenced by the recent approval of the state property tax caps in the November election. While the Governor and State legislature debate the budget this coming session, they will be looking to create reforms without increasing taxes. Republicans in Congress have just announced that they will be blocking all legislation until a decision is made to maintain the tax cuts that are set to expire December 31 - something that most Democrats do not support. Sure, I don't want my property taxes to go up anymore and I do enjoy the tax cuts and the increase in my take-home pay. However, at the same time, I am a supporter of public education and I don't want my children to have less opportunities in school than I enjoyed over 20 years ago.

Nevertheless, while these debates and stalemates go on, our children continue to attend schools that do not meet state and federal standards for academics and continue to drop out, creating financial burdens through increased unemployment and public assistance, reduced wages and decreased revenue. It's time to step back and reexamine our priorities as a whole, including the short-term and long-term impacts of our decisions.

Free Holiday Concerts at the Arts Garden!

The Arts Garden at Circle Center Mall is offering 14 days of FREE holiday concerts during the month of December. Take the family and get into the holiday spirit with music from school children's choirs, orchestras, Jingle Bones trombone ensemble, barbershop harmony singers and more. You can see the entire calendar at the Indianapolis Arts Council website.

iCare Launch Party was a Success

Thursday November 18^th, was proclaimed by the Mayor Ballard as “I Care” day in Indiana.

The media campaign was launched to the public at Arsenal Tech high School that night and was catered by the schools very own culinary students. The presentation of the food was beautiful and also delicious. The night featured Matt Tully as the keynote speaker, Leslie Olsen, former WISH TV Reporter as the MC, a performance from the Decatur Central High School jazz band, a poetry interpretation by Durell Jamerson from Ben Davis High School, and an acoustic performance by Kaylie Branch from Warren Central high school. The crowd was blown away by the student performances. Durrell brought tears to the attendees’ eyes when he read his poem.  There was a Q/ A panel that consisted of Fred Hopkins (Student), Rocki Howard (Parent), and Don Stinson (Superintendent of Decatur Township). The panelists answered questions that the audience had submitted, and were able to give a perspective from each of the student, parent, and administrator groups.

The goal of the event was a call to action and to reinforce the public awareness of the high school dropout prevention initiative. The event was featured on the channel 6 nightly news http://www.theindychannel.com/education/25846755/detail.html. About 100 people attended the event with a majority of the attendee signing up to volunteer, donate and join the Student Success Team. The event was a huge success and many thanks go to our sponsors: State Farm, Emmis Communication, Miller Peirce, and the members of the Student Success Team.

Community Change Initiative- EIP

Community change initiatives “mobilize the community for action; strengthen the capacity of residents and organizations; build and improve neighborhoods; and the lay the groundwork for future progress”. MCCOY’s Early Intervention and Prevention (EIP) Initiative is a community change initiative currently in play in Marion County. The overall goal of the Initiative is to reduce child abuse, neglect and delinquency in our community through comprehensive community efforts that coordinate, build capacity and advocate for high-quality early intervention and prevention services in Marion County. MCCOY staff are not naïve enough to think we can tackle this issue or make a large positive impact without the support of the community’s residents, including its leaders, families and youth. By better coordinating community efforts, improving neighborhoods and the capacity of residents to better parent their children we hope to build a future for Marion County where all children are free from abuse or neglect receiving the care, support and resources they need to grow into healthy and fully contributing members of society. Will you help us?

If you have not been involved in this community change initiative but would like to learn more or get involved, please attend the all EIP Team Meeting on Monday, November 22nd from 9am-12pm at the United Way building (3901 N. Meridian Street), RCI room. During this meeting you will learn about accomplishments and progress of the Initiative to date, future projects and plans, and be able to spend time working in a work group to begin to lay the foundation for moving the work forward in 2011. Your support, assistance, and expertise would be greatly appreciated!

To ask any questions or to learn more about the EIP Initiative please feel free to contact Shanna Malott, Early Intervention Community Coordinator, at 317-921-1233 or shanna.malott@mccoyouth.org.

Riley Safety Store

It doesn’t happen often, but sometimes the perfect information presents itself to you at the perfect time. Three weeks ago, my cousin and his 10 month old son unexpectedly moved in with my parents. It has been a rough adjustment and the house is certainly more crowded with a little baby crawling all about, but my parents are happy to help. However, the house is definitely not childproof, as I suspect that there has not been a kid in there for over five years.

The same week that my cousin moved in, I started a new position at MCCOY as the Resource Development Officer for the Early Intervention and Prevention Initiative. This initiative has broad-based support from several government agencies and dozens of Indianapolis nonprofits, and focuses on preventing child abuse, child neglect, and juvenile delinquency. One of the first meetings that I attended was the MCCOY Provider Council, where a representative from the Riley Safety Store informed the group about this amazing asset in our community. The Riley Safety Store “offers low-cost child safety products and injury prevention education to both Riley Hospital families and all families from throughout Indiana.” (http://rileychildrenshospital.com/parents-and-patients/wellness-center/safety-store/index.jsp)

Located in the gift shop in Riley Hospital (and at satellite locations throughout the state), this store offers dozens of safety products AT COST! They have baby gates, cabinet locks, bike helmets, gun locks, bath water thermometers, and much much more. And to reiterate: they sell these products at cost! This means that they are cheaper than Walmart. The store’s selection is extensive and the staff members are educated to select the correct products for each family.

Armed with this information about the Riley Safety Store, my family was able to completely childproof the house without spending a lot of money. I know that my mom and cousin were really impressed and thankful for this program. Mom keeps reminding us how her future grandchildren will be so safe in her home, but after a few more weeks of her sweet little nephew, I know that she may be ready for a baby-free break! On my mother’s endorsement, and on behalf of MCCOY, I encourage you to visit the Riley Safety Store and spread the word. Make child safety a priority!

iCare Launch Party - You're Invited!!

Want to learn more about the reasons why students are dropping out of school? Want to know what affects the drop-out rate has on our community and the students themselves? Want to help improve the high school graduation rates in Marion County?


Students are dropping out of high school at record numbers. The high school drop-out rate in Marion County is more than 27% - that’s one in four of our students. Students’ number one reason for dropping out of school is because they feel that no one cares. They do not have a caring adult; parent, teacher, mentor, etc. to help motivate them to stay in school and believe in them. Another reason why students drop-out is because of frustration of catching up; they are under credit and over age. They do not know how to catch up when they fall behind.

Dropping out has a significant impact on the future lives of these students. Students who drop-out of high school will earn an average amount of $10,000 a year less than individuals that graduate from high school. Because of this, drop-outs are likely to need supportive services from government such as health care, food stamps, and other welfare – which increase the tax dollars on the community at large. Often times drop-outs turn to crime in order to feed and house their families, which lead to increased costs on the juvenile and criminal justice system.

If we as a community work together to increase the graduation rates, we would see a significant positive impact. For example, if just 1,000 additional local students graduated from high school they would earn $13 million in additional earnings each year, they would spend an additional $1 million each year purchasing vehicles, and would support 100 new jobs in the community, and give an additional $1.4 million annually into community organizations through increased spending, investing, and donating (according to Alliance for Excellent Education – January 2010).

To learn more and to take action to help, please attend MCCOY’s “iCare” public awareness campaign Launch Party on Thursday, November 18th from 5-7 p.m. at Arsenal Technical High School – Admin Building, Room 7 (1500 E. Michigan St.) At this event, you will hear from Matthew Tully from the Indianapolis Star, about what he has seen as a reporter in the Indianapolis Public School district, and hear his inspiring and memorable stories of students and their lives. Attendees will also have the opportunity to ask questions of a panel consisting of a Marion County student, parent, and administrator. Attendees will enjoy student performances and refreshments made from Tech’s culinary students. After expanding knowledge about why students are dropping out, attendees will be asked to take action to help by donating, volunteering, or signing-up for MCCOY’s monthly Student Success email alerts.

Register at http://www.rsvpbook.com/event.php?404202 and learn more about the public awareness campaign at http://www.icareindy.com/.

Election Day! Tuesday November 2nd.

Tuesday, November 2nd is Election Day. I overheard some great voting advice from a colleague at MCCOY: "Never let your voting be motivated by fear or by angst." Use your head and vote for the candidate you trust to represent you.

The Indianapolis Star Voting Guide allows you to preview your ballot and see profiles of all the candidates. Make sure to enter the address listed on your voter registration.

Are you registered? Have you moved to a new neighborhood since the last election? You can confirm your registration here. You’ll see the address on file for your registration and your polling place.

What's in a Name?

When I hear the term 'youth worker', I often envision a glorified babysitter. Someone who is tasked with  "keeping an eye" on the kids, as they engage in mindless activities. On the contrary, youth workers are ultimately responsible for helping our youth develop into strong leaders and become contributing members of society. Achieving this involves, carefully crafting safe and supportive environments where youth are able to speak on issues that  affect them and subsequently come up with ways to effect change. It involves creating an interactive environment where youth can turn abstract ideas to concrete experiences. It is about engaging youths minds and challenging them to think about and consider the world in new and exciting ways. So, let's challenge the term youth worker and  use a term that better represents the individuals that are responsible for "growing up" our youth. Let's transition to using the term 'youth development professional(s)'.

The SuperPowers Within

The recently released movie Waiting for Superman has generated lots of attention from both proponents and opponents of public education. I hope it will help us focus our efforts—not on assigning blame---but on building an education system where every young person has access to a high quality educational experiences which help each student reach his/her potential. After all, isn’t that the aim of the movie’s producers?

No, we cannot wait for Superman, as Geoffrey Canada’s mother tells him in the movie, because Superman doesn’t exist. Who does exist, and who needs to exist for every child, is a super-hero who will always be there to remove barriers, open doors, and provide the support and encouragement every growing and developing young person needs. First and foremost, that superhero is a child’s parent or parents, the person(s) who bears the primary responsibility for the well being of a child.

But what we sometimes forget is that even the fictional Superman had to learn how to use his super powers over time. Just because he was more powerful than a locomotive, faster than a speeding bullet, and could leap tall buildings in a single bound, Superman had to figure out how to harness his tremendous abilities in ways that allowed him to do good for those in distress. Only then was he able to stand proudly for truth, justice, and the American Way!

I believe that the greatest majority of parents WANT to be good parents and do the best possible jobs helping their children achieve success. Unfortunately, some parents have not learned how to use their powers to help their children; many of them aren’t even aware they have powers because nobody ever helped them discover them. They don’t realize they can be advocates; that they and their children have choices; that there are ways through barriers to their student’s success.

As an orphan from the planet Krypton, Superman had to figure it out on his own but there is no reason that struggling parents should have to go without assistance. We youth service provider have to become parent supporters as well as youth supporters. We are in a great position to help parents discover and harness their unknown powers to help their children achieve academic and life success. Building their confidence as parents, showing them how to speak out effectively, and informing them of options are all concrete ways we can help them to discover the power that they have. When a parent is empowered to become an advocate for their own child’s educational needs, a child has a super-hero in his/her corner who is always going to be there. They won’t have to wait any longer.

Waiting for Superman

Indianapolis Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Eugene White will be in the audience tonight for the Indianapolis premiere of a controversial film about the state of public education in our country.

An article in today's Indianapolis Star quotes White:"I think people need to know that we are in trouble," he said, "that we have a serious problem with educating our young people."

While White and many others don't think the movie proposes a cure-all solution, the film does draw much-needed attention to the shameful state of our nation's public educational system. MCCOY is working to help find solutions through initiatives that coordinate early intervention and prevention services for children and families and dropout prevention initiatives to help young people graduate from high school ready to build a successful life.

Watch the Waiting for Superman trailer.

"I Care" Increasing Indy's High School Graduation Rate

MCCOY and our partners, Emmis Communications and State Farm Insurance, have collaborated on the “I Care” campaign. This campaign is designed to educate the business community in central Indiana on the current status of Marion County schools graduation rates and why every individual and organization should care.

The high school graduation rate in Marion County is just 78.3 percent, which is the second highest drop-out rate in the country. Usually being second place in anything is pretty good; in fact it’s the next best thing to first. However, this is not a stat that we should be happy about. This astounding issue negatively affects our community as a whole.

Students who drop-out of high school tend to make one million dollars less over a lifetime than college graduates. Sadly, drop-outs are three times more likely to be unemployed, four times more likely to receive government assistance and eight times more likely to be incarcerated, and have poorer health than their peers.

Increasing the high school graduation rate would have a very positive impact on our community. Students would see increased earnings, which would mean an increase in spending and investment in local businesses, and an increase in tax revenue. Statistics have also shown that as graduation rates increase, crime rates in cities will decrease. Increasing the high school graduation rate means we can all live in a community where are citizens are more educated, local businesses have more support from customers, and where we feel safer.

Doing your part and showing you care is a win-win situation for everyone involved. Please take part in MCCOY’s “I Care” campaign by volunteering to be a mentor to a student or parent, hire a student intern, support your local school, donate to organizations that support positive youth development and advocate for positive youth issues.

Visit the “I Care” campaign website to stay informed of our efforts and to view video and testimonials from local community leaders of why they care!

Real Change will Happen only through Informed Voters

Aside from the extremely tough economic times, our country seems to be in a deep state of political turmoil. It seems as though politicians have lost their way and have forgotten the purpose of holding an elected office – to effectively serve their constituents. Members of the Democratic and Republican parties have strayed from the fundamental basics of a two-party system. This system was designed to reflect differing opinions and interests on the role and scope of the federal government and liberalism versus conservatism on social and economic issues, among others. The ideal would be to have all interests represented, with agreement on policies that reflect the best interests of the majority of Americans.

What is happening instead is lowbrow political campaigning, with a large focus on fear and little focus on critical issues that our country is facing. There are mudslinging battles between parties that result in little being accomplished to bring the country back to a better place both on the domestic and international fronts.

The result to a large percentage of American voters has been confusion, apathy and misguided decisions of which candidates are best suited to represent them in local, state, and federal government. But, Americans have the power to change this trend by becoming informed voters who analyze candidates not through the skewed political ads and partisan political analysts, but through non-partisan research of their stance on the issues. With so much negative campaigning and influence of special interests, it is hard to sift through what is fact and what is fiction. How do we know what the candidate really believes?

The key to being an informed voter is taking everything that the opponent says with a grain of salt. Most claims of political opponents are exaggerations of the truth, distortions of the truth by taking statements out of context, and sometimes just blatant lies. Do your own research and understand the partisan leanings of the media source from which you obtain your information. Most media outlets, whether openly or not, lean conservative or liberal on most issues. These influences affect the way they report stories and what information they choose to share or withhold from their stories.

Two great websites that I have found to be useful and non-partisan are www.factcheck.org and www.votesmart.org. Factcheck.org is a non-profit project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania. The site analyzes the factual accuracy of political ads, debates, speeches, etc. Votesmart.org is a non-profit organization made up largely of volunteers representing the entire political spectrum. The site provides information on federal and state candidates as well as current elected officials. You can search the site to find information such as key votes on issues, recent speeches and even current endorsements and campaign finance.

Being a country founded on democracy in which the citizens have a voice in the functioning of their government, Americans have the inherent right and fundamental duty to make informed decisions about how that government serves them. It’s time to step up and take charge of that power. Let’s let politicians know that we’re paying attention.

From Networking to Coordination and Collaboration

 How often do we attend networking events, with the hopes of making that one connection that will skyrocket our careers or events into a place of success? How often do we capitalize on the opportunities and connections that we make at networking events or have networking events simply become  platforms for us to brag about our professional accomplishments? Networking is defined as a supportive system of sharing information and services amongst individuals and groups that have common interests,  in hopes of creating some sort of collaborative effort that will benefit all individuals involved. However, according to Einbender, Robertson, Garcia, Vuskovic, & Patti (2000) " a dominate perspective on human behavior suggests that individuals( and by extension their organizations) are inclined to pursue their own self interests and thus are more prone to compete rather than to collaborate." So organizationaly how do nonprofits move beyond networking, to coordinating efforts and collaborating on new projects as opposed to duplicating efforts? I leave this as an open ended blog for us to discuss.

I look forward to your comments!


References

Einbender, S.D., Robertson, P.J.,Garcia, A.,Vuskovic, G., & Patti R.J., (2000) Interorganizational collaboration in social service organizations: A study of the prerequisites for success. Journal of Children & Poverty, 6 (2), 119-140.

Accessible and Accurate Resources

Back in February MCCOY’s EIP team hosted a very successful community roundtable to begin to the lay the foundation for the creation of the EIP strategic plan. The plan, Early Intervention and Prevention: Building a Foundation for Family and Community Success, was launched in June of 2010. During the community roundtable a group of community stakeholders in attendance, including school personnel, students, front-line staff, health educators, and many others, focused on the following topics:
• Discuss the concept of a well‐functioning, coordinated early intervention system that promotes efficiency and avoids duplication.
• What ideal purpose or benefit does a well‐functioning, coordinated and efficient early intervention system provide a community?
• What are the strengths and weaknesses of the current early intervention system in Marion County? Is the current system coordinated, efficient and non‐duplicative?

Here is some of what was said:
• Our target population is going to self‐identify only when they’re in the crisis. We need to figure out how to access these folks with services before they’re in the crisis situation.
• We need a one‐stop shop. Shouldn’t make this so difficult for a parent trying to find help.
• Have you ever called for help, and you get the receptionist and you get passed down the line to many different people until you get to the last one and you never get any help at all? We need to make sure if we’re sending people to certain agencies that there is help, the need is met at the end of the line.
• We need to work together to solve this problem.
• 2‐1‐1 doesn’t list all the agencies. I don’t have any resources for other nonprofits where I could refer my own clients.
• We need to clarify what EIP services are; we need to understand who else is out there and what everyone else is doing. We need a clearinghouse.
• I think one of the reasons it doesn’t come together is because we’re all competing for the same funding. If there were some way we could all apply for funding together… lead organization with partner organizations that provide services.
• We need a big, master list.
• How do we get the services to our target population that may not have access to the internet?
• How can we get to the folks who are unaware about the possibilities and the choices available?
• Partnership and collaboration are the main themes
• How can we equip all providers with a centralized, comprehensive repository of information?
• A Database with centralized information to make sure we don’t duplicate. What you find in 2‐1‐1 you might not find in the EASY book. We need a comprehensive database.

The second edition of “We Can Do Better- Child Abuse Deaths in America,” released in 2010 tells a grim story about the 1,740 children who died as a result of abuse or neglect in our nation in 2008. It talks about the harsh reality that current child protection systems, charged with taking the lead on protecting our children, are stretched too thin as a harsh economy has resulted in many states slashing child protection spending at unprecedented rates, thus, putting more children at risk.

The EIP Initiative aims to change these grim facts for Marion County’s children by focusing efforts on preventing child abuse and neglect and placing responsibility for protecting children on ALL adults, particularly those who serve youth and families and have the opportunity to prevent and/or intervene early.

Folks in attendance at the EIP Community Roundtable made it clear that having resources that are accessible to both families and service providers is essential to protecting children from harm in our community. To that end, the EIP strategic plan includes a strategy, Strategy #3: Accessible, Accurate Resources, focused on integrating current systems that provide valuable information and resources to families and referring agencies. The implementation steps for the strategy are:
• Form a task force to lead the project.
• Convene local funders and database providers to discuss concerns shared during the community assessment process and determine appropriate next steps.
• Identify funding streams to assist in the capacity building of an integrated system.
• Develop a comprehensive plan resulting in the coordination of currently existing databases to ensure that the most comprehensive information is accessible.
• Promote the usage of the resource database to professionals, service organizations and to the community at-large.

Additionally, MCCOY’s EIP staff continues to gather information regarding current assets and gaps in availability and accessibility for early intervention and prevention services for children and families in Marion County. To let us know what you think, please take 5-10 minutes to complete a brief survey by clicking on the following link:
http://www.survey.constantcontact.com/survey/a07e30sfei0gdxfqp95/start(if you are a youth serving professional) or
http://www.survey.constantcontact.com/survey/a07e317lpecgebrpjq8/start (if you are a community member not providing direct services to youth.).

To learn more about the EIP Initiative or to get involved in implementation of the EIP Strategic Plan, please contact Shanna Malott at 317-921-1233 or shanna.malott@mccoyout.org.

Developing the next generation of "experts"

I recently began reading a book called Fires in the Mind. Kathleen Cushman, the author, posed this question to a diverse group of young people: “What does it take for young people to get really good at something?” What does it take for young people to become experts in some area of life?
New evidence is emerging which seems to indicate that while talent is important, opportunity and practice have far more to do with performing at a high level than having a natural skill. And the young people interviewed for this book point out another critical factor to success: relationships. Even when young people have the chance to participate in new activities and the opportunity to practice those activities over and over, what really kept them striving for excellence was the encouragement of caring adults who helped them overcome the barriers, failures, and disappointments that come along in the process of developing expertise.
What hit me as I was reading the book is that those ingredients for doing well—opportunity, practice, and relationships—are precisely the ingredients of a high quality youth development program. Youth programs are a place where young people are exposed to new experiences; are given the opportunity to take on new challenges and risks in a supportive environment; and are surrounded by caring adults who encourage and believe in them. Establishing such an environment should be what every youth development program in our community strives to do.
MCCOY is working hard to help youth agencies increase the quality of their programs by bringing the Youth Program Quality Assessment/Improvement process to our community. The YPQA/I process gives agencies a tool both to measure the quality of their program offerings and guidance on how to increase that quality over time by building on the strengths that the assessment process discovers. Our Youth Worker Learning Network offers training and networking opportunities on a monthly basis to help individual workers build on the passion they bring to serving youth by increasing their knowledge, skills, and competencies. Visit our website at www.mccoyouth.org for more details on both these initiatives.
Young people in our community deserve the highest quality programs staffed by the most well-trained youth development professionals. If we all work together to bring that about, we won’t have any shortage of experts in the future.

New Indiana State Mandate Requires all Students to be up to date on Immunizations

To attend school, Indiana students are required to be up to date on their immunization shots, or have a medical exemption, written objection from the parents on religious grounds or have evidence of immunity. Because of the new state requirement, students entering preschool or kindergarten must have two varicella vaccines and all students in grade 6 through 12 must have three vaccines this year: TDAP, meningococcal and a second dose of the chicken pox.


Many of the students in Marion County are not currently up to date on their immunization shots and may not be permitted to attend school until they are. According, to a recent FOX 59 news article, IPS to exclude student without shots starting Tuesday, there are currently 5,000 high school students that are currently not up to date on their immunizations, and could be disqualified from attending school this Tuesday, September 21st. This number is nearly one-eighth of the district’s students that need to be immunized or be banned from attending school, which is not including an estimation of 10—15 percent of elementary students that may not be up-to-date on their immunizations.

Lack of immunizations could cause massive outbreaks, such as the chicken pox rash that occurred in the Zionsville Community School Corporation or other preventable diseases and infections to circulate quickly throughout the school community. In order to ensure that students have access to immunizations, the Marion County Health Department is offering many free immunization clinics around the city this weekend and next week.

According to a Press Release from the Marion County Health Department, “Because of the demand for school-related immunizations, the health department is expecting large turnout and those coming should be prepared to wait in long lines.

Immunization Clinics

What: Free Back to School Immunization Clinic
When: Saturday, September 18
Where: Perry Township Education Center Building Gymnaisum (6548 Orinoco Avenue)
Time: 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.
*Parent or guardian must be present. If you plan to bring your child, please bring their current record of immunizations.

What: Marion County Health Department Immunization Clinic
When: Monday, Sept. 20 – Friday, Sept. 24
Where: Lafayette Square Shopping Center (3919 Lafayette Road)
*Immunization shots will be on a first-come, first-serve basis, and will cost $10 administrative per person. Parent or guardian must accompany the child at the clinic and must have current immunization record on hand.

What are your thoughts on school districts banning students from attending school, if they are not up to date on their immunizations? Let us know your thoughts by replying to this article.

For a complete listing of the Marion County Health Department’s Immunization Schedule, visit: http://www.mccoyouth.org/MCCOY/UserFiles/clinic_schedule.pdf

For more information on the state mandate, visit: http://www.in.gov/isdh/17094.htm.

Speak up for Children and Youth in our Community

As a society, we are now busier than ever. Most of us are committed to having a successful and positive family/career life balance, which means starting our day off before the sun comes up, and ending it after the sun has set. All this is wonderful, except most of us do not have as much energy and time as we would like to volunteer for our favorite non-profits.


What a lot of people do not realize is that non-profits don’t just need your time or money to survive, they need your voice. Your voice is a very influential instrument when it comes to advocating for needs and standing up for people or causes that do not have a voice.

MCCOY needs your help in advocating for youth and youth issues around our state. MCCOY is currently focusing our advocacy efforts on Early Intervention & Prevention, Drop-out Prevention, youth violence, education and safety issues, as well as youth-worker resources. Sign-up to receive our monthly eNewsletter The Real MCCOY to hear updates on how you can lend your voice and support to these issues.

There are several other non-profits that advocate for youth issues in our state. Many of these organizations belong to the Children’s Coalition of Indiana (CCI). Every February, CCI hosts Children our Best Investment – an all-day event geared towards youth and adults working with youth to learn how they can reach out to their local legislators and help to positively influence their votes on youth issues. If you would like to be a part of the planning committee for COBI, please send Stephanie an email.

Remember – you have something very important to offer to our community. Stand up and be heard!

Op ed: Child Sexual Abuse... the Silent Epidemic in Our Community

By Shanna Malott


Child sexual abuse is an issue that plagues the lives of 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys before their 18th birthday. Think about the number of children in your child’s classroom, the number of children that attend your church, the number of children involved in your child’s extra-curricular activities and how many of those children may be silently bearing the burden of child sexual abuse. Unfortunately, we continue to live in a society where child sexual abuse is a subject that is not talked about and as a result many children keep the abuse a secret, or if they do tell they aren’t believed.

Do you know the facts of child sexual abuse?
• 30-40% of children are abused by family members
• As many as 60% are abused by people the family trusts
• Nearly 40% are abused by older or larger children
• Approximately 40% of sex offenders report being sexually abused as children
• 70% of sex offenders have between 1 and 9 child victims; 20-25% have 10 to 40 victims; and serial molesters may have as many as 400 victims in their lifetime

The impact of child sexual abuse takes an emotional toll on victims, way beyond anything that most of us, who have not experienced sexual abuse, can imagine. Victims of child sexual abuse are more likely to become teenage parents, to engage in prostitution, to develop eating disorders, and to use substances to help numb the pain and memories.

The impact is costly, not just emotionally for the victim, but financially for society as well. The impact of child sexual abuse impacts us all, whether we are directly connected to the abuse or not:

• In Indiana, the direct and immediate costs of child sexual abuse are nearly $48 million dollars annually.
• Except for murder, child sexual abuse is the most expensive victim crime in the US.
• The immediate and tangible costs of intervention and treatment for a single incident of substantiated child sexual abuse are $14,345.
• In Indiana, the direct and immediate costs of child sexual abuse are nearly $48 million dollars annually.

Is preventing and reducing child sexual abuse worth investing in? The answer is yes. It only costs $10.53 to train an adult to improve their child-protective behaviors. Research suggests that the average trained adult will better protect at least 10 children from sexual abuse in the year after training. The money saved by preventing just one substantiated case of child sexual abuse would pay for prevention training for 1,362 adults; resulting in 13,620 children better protected from abuse.

The Marion County Commission on Youth (MCCOY) feels that an educated and vigilant adult community is the best resistance against child sexual abuse. Through the Stewards of Children training program, a revolutionary sexual abuse prevention program that educates adults to prevent, recognize and react responsibly to child sexual abuse and motivates them to take courageous action, MCCOY will train organizations and businesses that serve, impact or come into contact with children and youth.

Protection requires action and MCCOY, Prevent Child Abuse, Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital and other partners are providing ways that you can act:

• Attend the Prevent NOW! Meeting on Sept. 27 from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. at United Way, Room D
• Recruit other groups to attend the Stewards of Children training
• Make a financial contribution to sponsor the cost of the training materials ($10 per person)
• Hand out the 7 Steps to Protecting Children booklets to someone you know

To learn more about the Prevent NOW! Meeting, Stewards of Children training program and how you can take action to end child sexual abuse, visit www.mccoyouth.org, or contact Shanna Malott at shanna.malott@mccoyouth.org or 317-921-1233.

Art of Youth

“The Art of Youth” event is dedicated to increasing and sustaining the supports and opportunities that influence young people throughout their developmental process. On September 24th at the Indianapolis Art Center, MCCOY will hold its annual fundraiser. The evening will feature dinner by The Chef’s Academy, live entertainment and a silent auction. The event will allow youth to showcase their artistic talents in various forms throughout the evening, demonstrating how art is a fulfilling, positive part of their lives. In addition the event will raise awareness about MCCOY’s role in championing the positive development of youth by providing leadership on key issues and supporting the youth worker community.

Some of the items to be auctioned off: photography packages, original artwork by local artists, wine baskets, gift cards, fitness packages, sport items from the Pacers, Indians, Fever, and Colts.

We would like to thank our sponsors:
The Chef’s Academy, Creative, Rogers Marketing & Printing, White Owl Winery, State Farm, Huntington Bank, Children’s Bureau, Quality Interiors, Ice Miller, National Bank of Indiana, McCrosson & Associates, Girls Inc., Baker & Daniels, AYS, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Quinn Clark, Gauthier Kimmerling, ADESA, Indigo Real Estate Services, Volunteers of America, Apparatus, Sponsel & Company, National Youth Advocate, and Lilly Endowment.

Improving Student Success in Marion County

Since the beginning of this school year many changes have been made, or proposed to be made, in order to help improve the graduation rate and student performance. Dr. Tony Bennett, Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction, delivered the first State of Education address outlining his thoughts and plans to improve Indiana’s education system by evaluating teachers and administrators based on the performance of their students. Research shows that the top two factors for student success are a high quality teacher and attendance, so it’s important that both of these issues rise to the top of our priority list.

Dr. Eugene White, Superintendent of Indianapolis Public Schools, proposes that one of the best ways to address student absences and/or tardiness is to contact Child Protective Services to report the parents for educational neglect. This may be a scare tactic, but is it really going to lead to increased attendance? White was quoted as saying, “If we report it, then that puts the ball in their court.” What responsibility are the schools taking for lack of student attendance? What efforts are being made to engage parents to find out why students are late or tardy before CPS is contacted? Weekly reports on attendance are being made available to parents online. Have all parents been made aware of this resource and how they should respond if they discover their child is chronically absent or tardy? And what about those parents who don’t have easy access to the internet?

In the same article where Dr. White talks about contacting CPS, Northwest High School is highlighted for the efforts they have made to maintain an attendance rate of approximately 97% for several years. They have accomplished this by implementing weekly in-school court to handle tardiness cases, hall sweeps to ensure students are in class, and providing an environment to make students feel safe and cared for. Why are these strategies not being implemented throughout other IPS schools?

The Marion County Commission on Youth (MCCOY) is heading up two initiatives—Early Intervention and Prevention (EIP) Initiative and Drop-out Prevention/Student Success—focused on improving outcomes for children, including reducing and preventing child abuse, neglect and delinquency, and increasing student success and graduation rates. The work of both of these initiatives has focused on identifying best practices, highlighting assets in our community, and noting the things that are proving to be effective in our school systems.

There are many youth serving organizations in Marion County that are able and willing to partner with school systems to focus on attendance and other behavioral issues. For example, Reach for Youth collaborated with a middle school last year to operate a Teen Court program on-site monthly to address behavioral issues that would have typically resulted in suspension. Using Teen Court as an alternative to suspension yielded outstanding results. Throughout the school year 19 youth were served and the school reported that 17 of the students completed all consequences and had no further school behavioral problems and in most cases academic performance improved. Parents and youth participants indicated over 90% satisfaction with the program on the post-evaluation survey. In fact, the program was so successful that officials from the middle school have asked Reach for Youth to increase programming in the 2010-2011 school year to serve 54 students. Are other schools interested in having this model replicated in their school?

The Early Intervention and Prevention (EIP) Initiative has been working with a group of school representatives since January 2010. The school representatives have provided the EIP staff with invaluable insights into the positives, strengths, and challenges faced by the school systems. They have highlighted best practice models, as well as discussed practices they would like to see implemented that would ultimately impact their students positively. A three-year strategic plan has been developed including a strategy and task force specifically recognizing the very important role school teachers, administrators, and staff play in keeping kids safe, engaged, healthy, happy and successful.

Terry Spradlin from the IU’s Center for Evaluation & Education Policy has put forth several recommendations from an April 2010 report on truancy from the Finn Institute for Public Safety:
• consistent attendance policies, known to all students, parents, staff and community agencies;
• a continuum of prevention and intervention services;
• meaningful parental involvement;
• data-driven decision making;
• quasi-judicial proceedings; and
• public awareness campaigns

Between the EIP Initiative and the Student Success Team, MCCOY is making efforts to ensure that all of the above is implemented throughout all of the school systems in Marion County.

To learn more or join in MCCOY’s efforts please contact Shanna Malott, Early Intervention Community Coordinator @ shanna.malott@mccoyouth.org.