Help MCCOY Prevent Child Sexual Abuse!

One in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys is sexually abused before the age of 18. What does this mean for you as a community member?

It means…
• … that Indiana spends nearly $48 million for the direct and immediate costs of child sexual abuse
• … that the long-term costs and losses are over $500 million dollars annually.

Except for murder, child sexual abuse is the most expensive victim crime in the U.S.

Let’s stop child sexual abuse before it happens!
• 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 ten children from sexual abuse in the years after training.
• The money saved by preventing just one substantiated case of child sexual abuse would pay for prevention training for 1,362 adults.
• That training would result in 13,620 children better protected from abuse.

Please help MCCOY train 500 adults for FREE through Stewards of Children. Stewards of Children is a sexual abuse prevention program that educates adults to prevent, recognize, react responsibly and take courageous action against child sexual abuse.

If you are interested in attending a training, scheduling a training for your staff, clients, family members, church members, or other adults please contact Shanna Martin at shanna.martin@mccoyouth.org or 317-921-1233.

Here is what attendees have said about the training:
“Loved it! I think it was very informative. I learned a lot and plan to advocate to see this training done in my organization.”
“Very well done and I’m very thankful this was offered at no charge.”
“Great info. Very eye-opening.”
“I will use the tools and become even more of an advocate for children and be a resource for my staff as they work with children.”

** MCCOY has committed to being a "Partner in Prevention" by training 90% of our staff in Stewards of Children. Please contact Shanna to learn more about how you can become a "Partner in Prevention" site as well.**

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.

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.

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.

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.

EIP Provider Fair- REGISTRATION ENDS JUNE 7th!!

300 individuals representing more than 100 organizations that serve youths and families will come together on June 15, 2010, to learn more about community-based early intervention and prevention services that are available in Marion County. Through an interactive “speed-dating” process, attendees will learn about 30 lesser-known organizations that offer programs and services that address many issues that negatively impact children and families. The following agencies will be exhibiting:

About Special Kids
Best Buddies Indiana
Children's Bureau
Connections, Inc.
Day Nursery Association
Ella, Inc.
EmberWood Center
Exodus Refugee Immigration
Families Reaching for Rainbows, Inc.
Family Development Services-Head Start
Indianapolis Healthy Start
Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department
IRCIL
Midtown Community Mental Health Center
N.O.A.H. INC.
Outreach, Inc.
Password Community Mentoring
Planned Parenthood of Indiana
Reach For Youth, Inc.
Riley Hospital for Children
Safe Families for Children
St. Mary's Child Center
St. Vincent Hospital
Stopover, Inc.
The Villages

By spending just a short amount of time at each exhibit table, attendees will learn key information that will allow them to better coordinate services and pursue partnerships. The event (including lunch, refreshments and activities) will be offered at no charge to make sure it is accessible to all nonprofits.

Additionally, during a lunch-time session, MCCOY will unveil the strategic plan for the Early Intervention and Prevention (EIP) Initiative. The EIP Initiative will improve coordination of community-based services for children and families to improve physical and mental health outcomes, promote education and self-sufficiency, and reduce the need for child welfare and juvenile justice interventions.

The keynote speakers for the Provider Fair are Debra Medeiros and Ann Marie Grimberg from The Strengthening At-Risk and Homeless Young Mothers and Children Initiative. The Initiative aims to improve the housing, health, and development of homeless and at-risk young families while underscoring the need for comprehensive, community based systems to make real and lasting systemic change. The Initiative targets at-risk and homeless mothers 18-25 years old who have at least one child 5 years or younger. The goals of the initiative are to improve the housing, health, and development of homeless and at-risk young families.

Please join us for this first annual event. REGISTRATION ENDS JUNE 7th so please register now at http://www.rsvpbook.com/event.php?465437. You can learn more about the event by visiting the MCCOY website at www.mccoyouth.org or click on the following link: http://www.mccoyouth.org/our-impact.aspx?id=156&sid=183&pid=156.

Rally for IndyGo Funding: Thursday May 20th

Now is your opportunity to show your support for IndyGo, the only transit option for many of the families in our community.  Lack of transportation options limits access to potential job opportunities, as well as the programs and services that are critical to positive youth development.

IndyGo is facing a $3 million shortfall in funding for 2010. If this deficit is not eliminated, IndyGo will be forced to make further service cuts, leaving many Indianapolis residents, including those with disabilities, without transportation to work and community services, and leaving Indianapolis businesses with employees who can't get to work. The IndyGo cuts will come even as bus ridership has grown in the first quarter of this year, and city residents and businesses are still struggling to recover from the economic recession.

When: Thursday, May 20th, 4:45pm - 5:30pm. (IndyGo hearing follows rally at 5:30 pm)
Where: Indianapolis Convention Center- Capitol Street entrance
Who: Indiana Citizens' Alliance for Transit and all citizens interested in public transit in Marion County

The Indiana Citizens' Alliance for Transit is calling on Mayor Ballard, the Indianapolis Marion County City-County Council, and IndyGo management to maintain current IndyGo funding and service levels.

For more information, contact:

• Kelly Kuhn, Hoosier Environmental Council, 317-685-8800, ext. 108, kkuhn@hecweb.org
• John Marron, Indiana Association for Community Economic Development, 317-920-2300, ext. 21, jmarron@iaced.org
• Kim Irwin, Health by Design, 317-352-3844, kirwin@acsm.org

“Self-Sufficiency”- What Does It Mean?

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary self-sufficient is an adjective that means, “able to maintain oneself or itself without outside aid; capable of providing for one’s own need; having an extreme confidence in one’s own ability or worth”. Self-sufficiency is “the quality or state of being self-sufficient”. The Early Intervention and Prevention (EIP) initiative in Marion County has as one of its goals to “promote the welfare of children and self-sufficiency of families with children at risk of abuse or neglect, dependency, or delinquency”. But what does promoting the self-sufficiency of families really look like?

In a recent survey sent out by EIP to solicit community responses for the development of the EIP three-year strategic plan a series of questions were asked regarding the concept of self-sufficiency. The first question was about the development of a common definition in Marion County of self-sufficiency. Respondents agreed that a common definition for self-sufficiency should be developed (44% strongly agreed and 50% agreed); however, they had many comments regarding the following definition that was proposed:

“A family’s ability to meet the basic needs of the members (including social, emotional, financial, medical, educational, transportation, housing, etc.) and/or the ability to identify unmet needs and identify and access resources.”

Comments included such things as: “I like the comprehensive nature of this, I’d be tempted to include food or nutrition.”… “This is ok as a very basic definition, but it can be interpreted in so many different ways that I question its efficacy.”… “I would include safety and cultural tolerance.”… “Who defines the baseline for meeting ‘basic needs’?”… “It’s a good definition of “Family” self-sufficiency, not self-sufficiency in general.”

Additionally, out of 129 responses 62.7% of the respondents agreed that there is a discrepancy between what self-sufficiency means to families and how it’s defined by the programs they may access. 3.1% did not agree there was a discrepancy, 28.6% did not know, and 5.4% did not respond. Comments were varied and included the following: “I think there is not a standard measurement among agencies.”… “Yes, because every family’s idea of self-sufficiency is different.”… “From my experience of working with families, self-sufficiency is only viewed from a financial perspective.”… “I would say the discrepancy lies with the education of the families. They may not know what the word self-sufficiency means there for are unable to define it or understand an agency’s use of the word.”… “’Self-sufficiency’ for an organization or services that has a middle-class or above operational culture is likely to define ‘self-sufficiency’ differently and/or lack sensitivity to how non-middle class families define ‘self-sufficiency’. For example, illegal practices to secure housing, money or transportation could be considered “self-sufficiency”.

What do you think? To weigh in and provide insight into the development of the EIP strategic plan please complete the survey so that your voice can be heard.

For more information about the Early Intervention and Prevention (EIP) initiative visit our website at www.mccoyouth.org or contact Shanna Malott, Early Intervention Community Coordinator at 317-921-1233 or shanna.malott@mccoyouth.org.

Souder Reconsidering Sponsorship of the Federal Youth Coordination Act

Community Support Was Key - And Still Is Key

On March 18, MCCOY sent a sign-on letter in support of the Federal Youth Coordination Act (H.R. 7004) to Representative Mark Souder of Indiana's 3rd Congressional District. The letter was signed by 38 organizations and 109 individuals from across Indiana and urged Souder, Indiana's only representation on the Education and Labor Committee, to support the creation of a White House Office on Children and Youth by signing on as an original co-sponsor of the bill.

Souder originally declined co-sponsorship, but after receiving the sign-on letter a week after the Indy Star Online published an article on March 11, he is now reconsidering. "You are indeed having a great effect," said Thaddeus Ferber of the Forum for Youth Investment, who has been working intimately with the Souder and his staff in Washington D.C. on this initiative. Ferber reported that because of MCCOY's great advocacy, "Souder's office changed their tune from a 'no' to a 'maybe."

Read complete article.

Hoosiers Support Legislation to Coordinate Youth Services and Programs

MCCOY Urges Community to Support the Federal Youth Coordination Act by Joining the 36 Organizations and 100 Individuals Who Have Signed a Letter of Support

MCCOY is asking the community to sign a letter of support for the Federal Youth Coordination Act (H.R. 7004). This bill seeks to create a White House Office on Children and Youth, which would strengthen the efficiency and effectiveness of youth programs and services. The letter is directed to Representative Mark Souder of Indiana's 3rd Congressional District, who is a member of the Education & Labor Committee. As of Tuesday, 100 individuals and 36 organizations have signed the letter of support.
Read full article.

Support the Federal Youth Coordination Act

The Federal Youth Coordination Act (FYCA) of 2008 (H.R. 7004) seeks to create a White House Office on Children and Youth, which would strengthen the efficiency and effectiveness of youth programs.Learn More.

Sign on now! Join us in championing the positive development of youth in Indiana and across the nation. It’s as easy as signing our letter of support.

Sign the letter now.