Here's the scoop on the Family Access Network

The Co-Location of Services has a new, catchy name! Family Access Network (FAN) continues its mission “to promote healthy children, families, and communities by increasing access, use, and capacity of existing services through innovative neighborhood-based partnerships in a single location.”

We have a lot going on in the coming months, and would like to keep you updated on the steps we’re taking to create and build an efficient, effective collaborative services center with many partners whose missions align with FAN!

WHO  

EIPC - Early Intervention Planning Council (EIPC), entity of the City-County Council and creator of the Early Intervention and Prevention (EIP) Initiative, “seeks to eliminate and prevent child abuse, neglect, and juvenile delinquency through comprehensive community efforts that coordinate, build capacity, and advocate for high-quality early intervention and prevention services in Marion County.” EIPC chose MCCOY to be the coordinating agency for the EIP Initiative, including Family Access Network.

MCCOY - Marion County Commission on Youth (MCCOY) was appointed as the “convening and coordinating organization for the EIP Initiative” in 2010. This organization’s role is to strategize ways to prevent Marion County children from entering the foster care and juvenile justice system, and to implement and build these strategies, notably the Family Access Network, for the EIP Initiative.

NWEIC - Near West Early Intervention Collaborative, Inc. serves to “promote the welfare of children, families, and communities in Marion County,” and primarily functions as developer and operator of the Family Access Network. The Board of Directors includes MCCOY staff and board as well as a representative from each Family Access Network founding partner—Goodwill, Fairbanks, Midtown Mental Health, and the Children’s Bureau.

Westside CDC - Westside Community Development Corporation’s mission “is to stabilize and revitalize the Near Westside via housing and commercial development, property management, and community planning. WCDC’s secondary mission is to stabilize families by developing a range of affordable housing options and related supportive services.” WCDC partners with FAN to identify real estate opportunities and services on the Near West Side.

Goodwill - Goodwill “works to enhance the dignity and quality of life of individuals and families by strengthening communities, eliminating barriers to opportunity, and helping people in need reach their full potential through learning and the power of work.” Goodwill may support FAN in numerous ways, potentially through their Goodwill Guides, employment services, education and/or their prenatal/early childhood programs (Nurse-Family Partnership).

Fairbanks -Fairbanks is “focused on recovery from alcohol and other drug problems, serving as a resource to improve the well-being of individuals, families and communities by offering hope and support through its programs and services.” This organization offers the only recovery high school in Indiana, Hope Academy, a charter school intended to keep young adults on track for sobriety and academic excellence. Due to their expertise in this field, Fairbanks will primarily offer adolescent addiction services in the Family Access Network center.
Midtown Mental Health- Midtown’s mission is to “serve persons with serious mental illness and chronic addiction, as well as seriously emotionally disturbed children and their families.” Midtown will primarily offer adult and child mental health and addiction services, along with primary healthcare.

Children’s Bureau - Children’s Bureau’s mission is “preserving families and protecting the future of Indiana’s children.” Children’s Bureau will primarily offer child abuse prevention services through the Neighborhood Alliance for Child Safety (NACS) program, general case management, and child care service allowances for low-income families through the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF).

Summit Realty - Summit Realty group has aided Family Access Network in research and site availability on the Near Westside for one year and a half. This talented group has helped narrow Family Access Network’s future building site to an area near Washington St. and Tibbs Ave.

Morse and Bickel - Morse and Bickel Law Firm initially helped FAN to create the NWEIC, and continues to advise MCCOY on all legal issues including MOUs and lease agreements.

Polis Center - Polis Center, a “self-funded research unit…at IUPUI” dedicated to providing the largest community information system (SAVI) in the nation, has worked with MCCOY since 2010 to provide all levels of data for the advancement of FAN. In the near future, the Polis Center will work to create a data dashboard for the Near Westside, which will highlight important information about this community’s needs.

John Peirce (Peirce Consulting) - Peirce consulting has worked with MCCOY for one year on the FAN collective impact initiative, which fosters greater collaboration between partnering organizations and tracks indicators and outcomes for FAN.

Although we have acknowledged quite a few helpful partners and organizations above, there are many other organizations whose advice and expertise has been absolutely essential to the development of Family Access Network. Thank you for your hard work!

WHAT

Since 2010, MCCOY has accomplished much in the development of Family Access Network.  Here are a few of our recent achievements that brings us steps closer to the opening of Family Access Network…
•    MCCOY recently received $128,000 in funding from the Department of Child Services, specifically for continued Family Access Network project development.  
•    MCCOY staff regularly attended Near West steering committee meetings to keep the community informed and to receive community input.
•    FAN partners met with many organizations and representatives, including the State and Marion County Health Departments, Indiana Youth Institute, Department of Metropolitan Development, Wellpoint Foundation, Buckingham Foundation, Nicholas Noyes Foundation, Christel DeHaan Family Foundation, Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust and other various potential funders/interested parties.
•    FAN partners conducted and attended various meetings, including NWEIC Board Meetings, Near West town hall meetings, EIPC meetings, Summit Realty Meetings, and Collective Impact meetings.
•    FAN partners obtained and analyzed Near West data to develop indicators and outcomes specifically related to the work of the Family Access Network and its partners. 

WHEN

In upcoming months, here’s what we intend to focus on:
•         Establish a location.
•         Develop and begin implementing a process to more deeply engage about 10-15 neighbors on the Near West Side, representing each of the neighborhood associations, in planning for the new site.
•         Develop indicators to track and measure progress of families served through FAN; develop a collaborative referral and data sharing system; and create a data dashboard to be used by all FAN partners. 
•         Begin collecting baseline data where possible.
•        Initiate fund development efforts to support site development.

WHERE

We would love to share some exciting news with you!  MCCOY and partnering organizations have narrowed the home for our future building to a location near W. Washington St. and Tibbs Ave.  Stay tuned for more information as it comes!

If you’re interested… to see the history of our decision to build the FAN center in the Near West, please take a look at our 2010-12 progress timeline.

WHY

The issues of child abuse, neglect, and delinquency are heartbreaking and affect every member of our community.  People who experience abuse and other traumatic events in childhood are at increased risk as adults for substance abuse, missed work, severe obesity, depression, and suicide attempts.  Links from early trauma and later problems include:
•         60% of first teen pregnancies are preceded by an incident of child sexual abuse.
•         Young girls who are sexually abused are three times more likely to develop psychiatric disorders and/or substance abuse problems in adulthood than girls who are not sexually abused.
•         Male survivors of child sexual abuse are 70% more likely to seek psychological treatment for issues such as substance abuse, suicidal thoughts, and attempted suicide.
Family Access Network will be located in the Near West neighborhood, but will be available to all residents in Indianapolis.  This neighborhood was chosen because families in the Near West community have numerous risk factors for abuse, neglect and delinquency:
•         31.6% of residents over the age of 25 have no high school diploma.
•         38% of kids in the Near West live in poverty.
•         22% unemployment rate in the Near West.
•         65% of families are single-parent families.
•         16.5% of babies born are born to teen mothers.


The numbers show that Indianapolis families need help and support.  Isolated services, although common, are not an effective prevention strategy.  Comprehensive, coordinated, and integrated systems focused on building protective factors have demonstrated the most effectiveness in preventing children and families from becoming involved in the child welfare or juvenile justice systems (Anderson, et al., 2006).

Nonprofits in Indianapolis have the opportunity to work better together.  By collaborating and sharing space and overhead, the organizations are able to focus more on their core missions.  Further, if parents are able to access, in one location, the many services that build protective factors, they are more likely to be successful in managing life situations and stressors in order to provide a safe, healthy and nurturing environment for their children.

We appreciate your interest in the Family Access Network, and look forward to continuing to share the future of this project with you! If you’d like to learn more, please visit the FAN website.

5 Steps to Protect Our Children

A couple of weeks ago, the VISTAs at MCCOY went through Stewards of Children child sexual abuse prevention training.  I ate dinner with my boyfriend the night before, and was surprised to feel the nervous butterflies in my stomach when I talked with him and considered what this training might entail.

“I wonder if it’s going to be anything like the ‘good touch, bad touch’ talk we had in school?”  I remember that day in elementary school well.  Our tight-lipped teachers herded us into a classroom where a guest speaker sat in a rocking chair with two felt dolls at her feet—one boy and one girl.  As a child, I was terrified of both dolls and strangers, so the message was especially resonant for me.

My homeschooled boyfriend was lucky and never had to experience the trauma of sitting in a small room with a stranger who pointed out the “no-go zones” on creepy dolls. 

“My mom just sat down with us and we had a conversation about it,” he said, with no trace of anxiety or discontent with the way he was taught to stay safe from potential harm.

And that’s similar to the format for Stewards of Children; this training is a conversation between adults to learn how best to protect children from sexual abuse.  There are no scare tactics, no strangers, and no felt dolls involved.   Instead, the training “helps provide adults with the capacity and momentum to take action against child sexual abuse.”  In essence, the three-hour session opens up a conversation between people who are invariably responsible for at least one child in their lives, and gives adults the opportunity to talk about, understand, and prevent a semi-taboo issue.  

During training, we were armed with a list of “5 Steps to Protecting Our Children.”  I’m going to give you two of those five steps, and encourage you to attend this training to learn the other three (see how sneaky I am)! 

STEP 1: Learn the Facts of Child Sexual Abuse

It is highly likely that you know a child who has been or is being abused.

Experts estimate that 1 in 10 children are sexually abused before their 18th birthday. This means that in any classroom or neighborhood full of children, there are children who are silently bearing the burden of sexual abuse.

1 in 5 children are sexually solicited while on the Internet.

About 35% of victims are 11 years old or younger.

30 to 40% of children are abused by family members.

As many as 60% are abused by people the family trusts.

STEP 2: Minimize Opportunity for Child Sexual Abuse

Reduce risk. Protect children.

Understand that abusers often become friendly with potential victims and their families, enjoying family activities, earning trust, and gaining time alone with children.

Think carefully about the safety of any isolated, one-on-one settings. Choose group situations when possible.

Set an example by personally avoiding isolated, one-on-one situations with children other than your own.

Monitor children's Internet use. Offenders use the Internet to lure children into physical contact.

Please visit www.d2l.org to learn more about Stewards of Children training and preventative strategies, or visit MCCOY’s webpage to view upcoming trainings in Marion County!

Works Cited:
Steps and Data collected from www.d2l.org
Picture from http://www.amamantafamily.com/dollsorderpage.htm 

Youth Champion: Andrew Lee - August 2014

MCCOY is reinstating our monthly Youth Champion spotlight. We will be shining a spotlight on a hard working Youth Development Professionals and the great work they and their organizations do. 

This month Andrew Lee, Executive Director of Art With a Heart, has been chosen as the Youth Champion! Founded in 2002, Art With a Heart is a nonprofit dedicated to providing at risk youth with the opportunity to express themselves through art. The programs offered include lessons that meet state-mandated educational standards and cultivate critical thinking skills. Check out the interview below to learn more about Mr. Lee and the organization: 

       Why did you want to go into this line of work?
I’ve always been in what I would call ‘mission-driven’ jobs.  Money is a means to an end for me and I’ve never been very excited about amassing it except in the context of furthering a good cause.   What sold me on Art With a Heart were the stories Carol (our founder and my predecessor) told me about the development and success of the students.

What was your first day on the job like?
Chaotic, unproductive, overwhelming.  I’m not an artist, or an educator and this was my first proper ED position – I think some people were wondering what I was doing there.  I may have been one of them!   I think I made one good decision in the first week which was to outsource our IT management, that put half a day back into my week and eliminated a lot of headaches for staff.

What is most rewarding about your job?
Seeing students confidence and ability grow is the pinnacle of the work, but this isn’t the kind of job where every day can be a roaring success so its important to like your working environment and I’ve never had a team that I’ve enjoyed working with more than my current staff.  The focus, commitment and capability all combine to make a highly effective unit.  We debate each other well, we always interview new staff together, we understand each other’s strengths and weaknesses and we support each other.  It’s a very demanding job but it’s a very congenial and supportive environment.

What is the most challenging part of your job?

 Like many EDs in a small organization, fundraising is the greatest challenge.  The ‘market’ for investment in non profits isn’t like the organized markets of the for-profit world, it’s slow, unpredictable and it doesn’t always reward the best performers or the best ideas.  Because it’s fragmented it causes a fragmented response to the causes we tackle – as a nation, we’re never going to make inroads into major issues like poverty, education or homelessness until we fix this.  Being part of the Near East Side Out of School Time Coalition is one way that I can help build more collaborative responses to the challenges that we face.

5How has MCCOY helped your organization succeeded or grow?
MCCOY’s strategic perspective and convening power are the two things that make the greatest impact from my perspective.  MCCOY convened the enrichment providers who serve Summer Youth Program Fund for what was a really useful discussion and they’ve led initiatives like Early Intervention and Prevention – the Race for Resources event that came out of that remains one of the most effective ways that we meet new clients and partners.

Where do you see yourself and your organization in five years?
Our goal is that 5 years from now we have dramatically improved the perceived value of art among students, parents, teachers and schools and as a community we rely on it as an equal part of the curriculum for our children’s success. For my own future, I have no idea, I love being part of this organization and I do feel that after five years here I have a much more enlightened sense of how we contribute to the bigger picture, but at some point the job will require a different set of skills than I possess.  I’ve supported Paws & Think for a long time, Daisy (the dog) and I volunteer in their programs and I’ve always thought of that as an organization I’d like to be more involved with.  Right now though – Art With a Heart has a $50,000 matching challenge from the Glick Fund to work on so I’ve got plenty still to do here!

We’d like to thank Mr. Lee for taking the time to answer our questions. For more information about Art With a Heart check out their website www.artwithaheart.us.