Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 06-28-1994-X-A i ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS Action Agenda Item No. X-Q ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: June 28, 1994 SUBJECT: Youth Committee of the Violent Crime and Drug Abuse Program Report - Final Report and Recommendations -------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT: County Manager PUBLIC HEARING YES: NO: X -------------------------------------------------------------------- ATTACHMENT(S) : INFORMATION CONTACT: Albert Kittrell Report TELEPHONE NUMBER- Hillsborough -732-8181 Chapel Hill -968-4501 Mebane -227-2031 Durham -688-7331 -------------------------------------------------------------------- PURPOSE: To receive the report and recommendations of the Youth Committee of the Violent Crime and Drug Abuse Program. BACKGROUND: For the past two years the Youth Committee of the Violent Crime and Drug Abuse Program has been discussing methods to strengthen the communication and cooperation among youth agencies in an attempt to provide youths with alternatives to crime and illegal drug use. Representatives of the Youth Committee will present the report. RECOMMENDATION(S) : The Manager recommends that the Board receive the report as information. 2 TOWN OF CHAPEL HILL 306 NORTH COLUMBIA STREET CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROUNA 27516 April 22, 1994 Tdgpfonc (919) %8 2700 , I Moses Carey, Chair Orange County Commissioners P.O. Box 8181 Hillsborough, NC 27278 Dear Moses: Please find enclosed the report and recommendations of the Youth Committee of the Violent Crime and Drug Abuse Program. The Coordinating Committee of the program unanimously voted to endorse the Youth Committee's recommendations. On behalf of the Coordinating Committee, I am requesting that the Orange County Board of Commissioners, the Chapel Hill Town Council and the Carrboro Board of Aldermen endorse the Youth Committee's recommendations. The Coordinating Committee also unanimously voted to request that the three Boards refer the report to their staffs to begin to coordinate efforts among the three jurisdictions to implement the recommendations. During the two years that the Youth Committee has been working, the need for the creation of a full-time youth coordinator position has been raised repeatedly by organizations and individuals providing services to children and adolescents. The Committee's first recommendation is the creation of this position. Support of a youth coordinator by Orange County, Chapel Hill, and Carrboro in the coming fiscal year is necessary in order to address many of the Crime and Drug Task Force recommendations. Finally, a representative from the Youth Committee would like the opportunity to formally present this report to you and be available for any questions that you may have concerning it. Thank you for your consideration and attention to this matter. Sincer y, Kenneth S. Broun Mayor 3 Rep ort.And :Recommendations Of The Youth Committee Of The Chapel�HillTown Violent Crime And Drug Abuse`'Probram March =;, 199a Formed in 1992, the Youth Committee of the Chapel Hill Violent Crimc and Drug Abuse Program had as its charge the implementation of nineteen (19) specific recommendations from the original Task-Force on Reducing Violent Crime and Illegal Drug Use(See Attachment 1). The Committee making these recommendations includes, among others, the Directors of the Orange County Department of Social Services and Volunteers for Youth, the Chief Court Counselor for the County's Juvenile Court Counselor's Of6ce, a practicing psychologist, the Director of the UNC School of Medicine's Center for Early Adolescence, a Middle School Drop Out Prevention and In-School Suspension teacher and athletic director, the Chair of the Orange County Association of Community Agencies, a Federal mediator and member of the Board of the Dispute Settlement Center, the General Manager of the.ArtsCenter, the Director of the Franklin Street Scene Youth Center, a representative from the Orange-Durham Junior League, an educator in the Transition program, and a social worker. After an extensive investigation of what services for youth exist in our community, a review of the Final Report on "Improving the State of the Adolescent in Orange County" (from the Human Services Advisory Commission's 1989 Symposium on Services for Youth (See Attachment U)), and the establishment of priorities for the nineteen(19) youth-related recommendations, the Committee agrees that what is needed in our community is a broad ranLe of services for vouth with special emphasis on options for after-school activities and conflict resolution training for the school system, local `overnmert and 'human services providers. Our Committee's recommendations and requests to you are as follows: A. We recommend hiring a youth coordinator to assist those who work with youth to match youth in need of assistance with the appropriate agency or agencies and to advocate for the best use of personnel and financial resources for youth services. B. We recommend conflict resolution training for youth, for public officials, and for employees who work with young people. C. We recommend supporting teen gathering places outside of the schools, in particular, the orange county ice rink proposal. in addition, we support public transportation to and from those places. D. We recommend support for programs after school in the schools, particularly for elementary and middle school children. We support the need for transportation from those activities. 4 A. Youth Coordinator We recommend hiring a youth coordinator to assist those who work with youth to match youth in need of assistance with the appropriate agency or agencies and to advocate for the best use of personnel and financial resources for youth services. A number of different programs and services are available to meet the increasing needs of Orange County youth. Because of the proliferation of services and their ever-changing nature, It is difficult for young people, their parents and the professionals who work with youth to know where to turn for help when help is needed. Our community's problem is not so much a lack of programs or services for young people as it is a lack of knowledge about what is out there. Oftentimes, the people who need a service are unaware of its existence or do not know hour to access it. Parents, children and service providers may be ignorant of the complex array of available services in Orange County. Service providers are sometimes unaware of what's available outside their immediate service area. This ignorance leads not only to children being under served but also leads to the mistaken perception that programs don't exist when, in fact, they do. Funding and supporting excellent services to young people is a futile exercise if the young people who need the services don't know that they exist. It is the recommendation of the Youth Committee that, to address these problems, our communit),create the position of youth coordinator to collect and disseminate information about youth services. A full-time youth coordinator would act as a resource for information and as an advocate for young people and their families. Whenever children, their parents or the people working with them are uncertain of where to turn with a problem, a call to the youth coordinator would send them in the right direction. When the youth coordinator recognizes that a particular person might have difficulty accessing the needed service, the coordinator would help guide that person through the process. The youth coordinator would also recognize any gaps in the existing system and advocate for needed change and help coordinate the work of various youth related committees in our community. The youth coordinator would ensure the most effective use of the existing continuum of services for our community's children as well as pinpointing gaps and bringing those to the attention of officials. The youth coordinator would measure service provision outcomes and get a full understanding of how the service provision network functions and where it might need strengthening. Without a youth services coordinator, care providers will continue to waste valuable time and energy searching for programs that they don't always find. A position such as this was strongly suggested as one of the primary recommendations of the November 5, 1988 Orange County'Symposium on Services for Youth (See Attachment II) Five vears later, that position does not exist though the problems of our community's youth are clearly escalating and the need for such a position is even greater than when it was first recommended. In setting up the youth coordinator's job, the Youth Committee would request a voice in overseeing= the gob description. evaluating candidates for the job. and giving direction on initia? projects. The enclosed position description details the responsibilities and itaquirements of the \+outh coordinator as emisioned by the Youth Conimittec (See Attaclunent IJJ). 5 The creation of the youth coordinator position would meet or help meet all of the recommendations of the Task Force on Reducing Violent Crime and Drug Use that relate to youth (recommendations numbers 16 through 30). B. Conflict Resolution/Peer Mediation We recommend conflict resolution training for youth, for public officials, and for employees who work with young people. Conflict resolution training teaches skills through whole-class instruction and role-playing to help avoid conflict escalation. SklJs and topics covered include acceptance of others, team work, self-controlfcalming teclut ques, "I feel" or "I care" messages, active listening, and how to deal with real and imagined insults, anger, threats, pushing and direct confrontation. Peer mediation involves the teaching of youth to mediate disputes between their peers. I By teaching adults in the community_ to resolve their differences with less, and ideally without, anger or bitterness, we can provide better models for the youth of our community and reinforce the training they receive at school. The Committee makes the following recommendations: I. Approve a written resolution supporting the continued existence of conflict resolution/peer mediation training at kindergarten through twelfth grade in the county and cite schools as outlined in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Safe Schools Grant Proposal to the State Department of Public Instruction. This resolution should mention specific support for conflict resolution programs for parents sponsored by the school system. ' This training would include: a. the training of staff in secondary elementary schools in conflict resolution and anger management. b. the designation of one week:., early in the school year, as "Safe Schools Week", during,<,) ich school-wide sessions on conflict resolution and anger management shills would be conducted. Such sessions would be repeated annually. c. the establishment of a peer mediation program in all schools. d. the exploration of innovative ways to train parents in conflict resolution and anger management skills. Sponsor a "Safe School Day" that parents can attend and receive training from their children in the forms of plays, demonstrations and role play. ?. Encouraee each member of bodies of elected officials on town and county municipal and school boards to pa:,icipate in a program of conflict resolution training, and yearly refresher course The techniques learned can aDow elected officiais to better, resolve disputes internally and in the public arena and, with the manner of resolving disputes, to sm,e as role models for the entire communty. 6 3. At the County level, encourage the Board of Directors of the Department of Social Services to have its staff, particularly those wlto are involved as case workers or as investigators dealing with families and children, receive conflict resolution training. It is the opinion of the Committee that the emotionally charged issues surrounding taking custody of children do create conflict, panicularly between the children's parents and the Department, that could be addressediby such training. The Youth Committee recommends that the Board of Commissioners encourage staff and volunteers in the Guardian Ad Litem Program to receive such training, too. 4. At the County level, offer al.1 county employees, with a special emphasis on human services providers and the sheriffs department, conflict resolution training. The Committee believes that employees who are required to interact with members of the public who are upset, difficult or ill, would benefit from such training. 5. Provide new employees of the municipalities who will work with youth training in conflict resolution. Members of the police and recreation departments could speci5cally benefit from the training. 6. Ask the Distri,,-t Court Judges and Chief Superior Court Judge to request that the Administrative Office of the Courts establish mandatory mediation in all civil domestic case involving children before any action is filed. Such mandatory mediation is currently required in eleven counties in North Carolina. 7. Request the District Court Judges to require convicted juvenile offenders to go through peer mediation, and to obtain authority to require their parents to participate in conflict resolution training to help them learn how to deal with issues of anger involving themselves and their children. The Youth Committee believes strongly that these recommendations need to be enacted immediately and that there are ways to address effectively in whole or in pan the Violent Crime and Drug Abuse Program Task Force Recommendations Nos. 13, 16, 21, 24 and 27. C. After School/Out of School Programs We recommend supporting teen.gathering places outside of the schools, in particular, the orange county ice rink proposal. In addition, we support public transportation to and from those places. The Youth Committee investigated local community programs and gathering places for teens in Orance County that are not school-related. Although the schools fulfill the social and recreational needs of some students during the school day, many feel the need for social events outside of school hours. Most local facilities are primarily used by younger and middle teens while programs and centers based in public housing communities are used only by younger children (under age 11). V1'hile there is continuing need for programs for younger children as, for example, in the South Estes Drive complex, the committee is also concerned about activities for older children. The Youth Committee recommends that the Municipal Boards and County Commissioners support the most effective programs and the best gathering places-for teens, and specifically, the use of the proposed count, skating rink and other exisiing sites for teen activities. The 4 7 tovms and county need to provide financial support for cxist= facilities such as the Teen Center and the AnsCenter and potential nev,- endeavors to provide programming that is attractive for older teens. In addition, we strongly encourage provisions for transportation to and from teen gathering places. We also support additional funding and coordinated efforts between the Chapel Hill Housing Depanment and the Parks and Recreation Department to implement programs for teens and better communicate existing programs. These could include summerlob employment, additional sports leagues, and community-based after school programs. Transportation to and from these activities is also needed. Even though there are some existing facilities and programming that are trying to meet teen needs, we feel that as communities, we are not adequately distributing information about what is available to teens on any given day, or what special programs might best meet the needs for any given teen. Thus, we urge strong support for a youth coordinator to help match teens with appropriate programs. D. After School/in School Programs We recommend support for programs after school in the schools, particularly for elementary and middle school children. We support the need for transportation from those activities. The Youth Committee supports continued development of programs during post school hours Activities need to be funded for school site programs for young adolescents, since this is the time of day when many youths are not supervised_ Too many young people are prohibited from taking part in well-supervised activities for two main reasons: 1. Transportation - A crucial piece of after school programming is transportation for vouth to their homes after the programs are completed in the later afternoon. The municipalities should work with the school systems to assist in the provision of such critically needed assistance to after school programs. 2. Some families cannot afford to pay for special programs. % ell-superVisee recreational programs are critical components for proper adolescent development. 8 List of Attachments Attachment I............Youth Committee Charge from Violent Crime and Drug Abuse Program Attachment II...........Final Report Orange County Teen Symposium (1988) Attachment III..........Job Description, Orange County Youth Coordinator (1990) Youth Committee Membership Jay Bryan, Chair Carol Calloway Ronnie G. Jackson Frank Camp Frank Loda Bunny Donahue Steve Mulliniz Mary Etheridge George Price Melrose Fisher Marti Pryor-Cook Dona Hargrove Justi Schunior Eileen Helton Sharron Siler Susan Worley Jacquie Gist, Leadership Committee Liaison Kay Johnson, Town of Chapel Hill Staff 9 ATTACHMENT 1 VIOLENT CRIME AND DRUG A.EUSE PROGRAM Youth Coordinating Committee Charge If youth cannot be provided with alternatives to violent crime and illegal drug use, these social pathologies will continue through to the next generation. It is the responsibility of this committee to address specifically the recommendations listed below. In addition, the committee is charged with doing the following: 1 . Enhance the communication and cooperation among the many agencies dealing with and affecting youth 2 . Include youth in objective setting and program planning . 3 . Include support and education for parents. 4 . Provide and emphasize positive alternatives for youth, including hope for productive futures and the tools to reach them, healthy activities now, peaceful dispute settlement and mutually respectful human relations . S . Raise the consciousness of the community, so that public policy and private programs are routinely considered in terms of how they affect our youth vis a vis violent crime and drug abuse . E . Include issues o= particular relevance to minority youth. i . Include issues of particular relevance to female youth. c . Encourage minority youth to act as mentors and role models. ° . Consider issues related to high school students driving off campus before, during and after school hours. 10 . involve volunteers for Youth in this effort and in providing more volunteer opportunities in general for youth. 11 . Include the Employment Security Commission for job-related issues . Task Force Recommendations to Address 12 . Religious organizations and other community organizations to continue to enhance their outreach to both youth and adults at risk for involvement with substance abuse, irresponsible sexual activity and violence . 13 . Individual citizens to cooperate with their neighbors and law enforcement agencies to orevent and reduce crime . Law enforcement agencies should work with citizens to develop 10 2 and publicize the means of such cooperation. 14 . Theref ore the Task Force, ,recommends that the Town challenge the media to consider how their respective resources might be additionally employed to promote restraint from alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs; to promote positive role models and images of success ; and, to review current media portrayals of violence and substance abuse . 15 . The Task Force recommends that the number of police social workers in Chapel Hill be increased. The Tas}: Force also recommends that the Carrboro and Orange County governing bodies be asked to consider employing police social workers . 16 . Encourage all agencies and associations of agencies serving youth to increase their collaboration in attacking these and related issues . Such collaboration should include youth, parents , and representatives of the business community. 17 . Request that the Orange-Person-Chatham Mental Health Authority examine ways to increase use of its treatment and recovery programs . 18 . Take steps to have merchants , parents and police more assertively enforce alcohol laws regarding sale to minors, including monitoring underage use at house parties and the use of DWI "Road Blocks" . 19 . Ask the Orange-Person-Chatham Mental Health. Authority, schools , parents and children to work together to expand effective alcohol and drug education programs, particularly for parents and children together . 20 . Likewise, ask the schools and other cooperating agencies to continue to operate and expand the Quest and Dare Programs and to initiate similar programs from R-12 , and that they include youth in the planning process . 21 . Ask the schools , law enforcement agencies , and the court system to work together with parents and vouth to make the schools alcohol and drug- free environments. 11 J 22 . Urge the UNC Schools of Education, Social Work, Public Health, and the Center on Early Adolescence to increase their work with community agencies to create programs for at- risk youth. 11 23 . Urge local public and private agencies to locate and make available additional space to allow the expansion of the local Head Start Program. 24 . Encourage the School Board and the Dispute Settlement Center to work with each school to expand non-violent dispute resolution education in the schools and in the neighborhood associations . 25 . Urge the School Board to establish a task force or group such as Community watch, including youth, faculty and high school to work on reducing violence, crime and substance abuse . 26 . Ask community agencies such as -the Parks and Recreation Departments, YMCA, The ArtsCenter , and the School System to provide more age appropriate activities for youth, particularly for after-school and summer. Request that private recreational and sports organizations give scholarships for low income youth. 27 . As community agencies, such as the Department of Social Services, the Orange-Person-Chatham Mental Health Authority, health agencies, the Management of Federally assisted housing, Citizens Organized for Progress in Education, the Orange County Women' s Center , The Center for Early Adolescence, religious organizations, and parents to provide parenting education and support groups for parents , and for parents together with children. 28 . Ask appropriate agencies to offer education to volunteers and professionals who work with youth to enable them to recognize drug and alcohol problems and to make effective referrals to counseling, when indicated. �1 29 . ?:sk the Orange County volunteer Center to develop and ycoordinate a broad range of volunteer opportunities for community youth. 12 4 30 . Ask the business community and major emplovers to give high priority to hiring local youth, particularly for summer and part-time employment. , 13 Final Report Improving the State of the Adolescent in Orange County Recommendations from the symposium .on services for youth 14 Introduction On Saturday, November 5, 1988, over 200 participants gathered at Orange High School in Hillsborough to take pan in a symposium on services for youth in Orange County. In recogniz- ina the need for such a meeting, the Orange County Board of Commissioners initiated the cau- cus, hoping to obtain fresh and innovative ideas, set into motion solutions in problem areas, and also to provide an opportunity to form a stronger county-wide network of agency representatives and concerned citizens. Participating were parents, members of youth agencies and boards, volunteers, concerned citizens and Orange County Commissioners. On the agenda of the all day event were several notable addresses, followed by a youth panel and group sessions on six topics concerning youths. Highlights from the keynote address follow, as well as brief summaries of the findings of the group sessions. Keynote speaker, Dr. Frank Loda, Director for the UNC Center for Early Adolescence, particu- larly emphasized that adults must concern themselves more with what they can do "with" adoles- cents, rather than what they can do "to" or"for" them: I am ... pleased that the planners of this meeting have given adolescents an opportunity to speak out today for themselves rather than just letting us, as adults, pontificate on what they need. In order to bring into perspective the needs of youth, Dr. Loda asked the conference participants to think for a moment about what they were like, what they were interested in, and what the%, thought about their own parents when they, were adolescents. He then asked that adults thin]L, a moment about what adolescents %vant today: Much of the apparent conflict relates to negotiation for space and independence. These do not differ substantially now from the type of negotiations that each or you went through when you were teenagers. Teenagers as a group want acceptance from their parents, as much as they want it from their peers. They want to negotiate a way of pleasing both. �r ironmental chan`cs, however, reflect changes in our larger society. Today, both parents are often employed full time. Single parent families have increased, and the lack of an extended family is common. Availability of drugs and alcohol is greater now and more socially accept- able. Adolescents see adult consumption of alcohol glorified and glamorized and often obtain it from parents. Also, exposure to violence and explicit sexual behavior in the media is greater than in the past. Problems exist in Orange Countv that ed to be solved and challenges that need to be met. Dr. Loda admitted. However, Orange Countv has a history of people working to gether to find solutions, v.•ith notable successes. Pregnancy rates in Orange County are half that o the st:itc and half of what they were seven or eight vears ago. These changes reflect the increased oppor- tunities to youths to help them see how they can improve their lives. Development of day care 15 for the children of adolescent mothers has helped. Also, the mortality rate in Orange County has decreased because of the reduced rate of teenage pregnancy. In spite of all the progress, Orange County youths still have many unmet needs. The school dropout rate remains distressingly high. There is still far too much use and availability of drugs and alcohol. Adolescents are stressed by the multiple demands of our society. As the Research Triangle becomes a boom area, many of the children of the people who built this county are falling behind in their ability to panicipate in the economic growth. Dr. Loda challenged his audience to consider Orange County resources and problems, "not in a spirit of panic, not in a spirit of despair, nor in the spirit of blind optimism." Rather, he encour- aged seeking the help of adolescents, and setting about"correcting some of the situations that lead to failure and replacing them with opportunities for success." Six "break-out" groups met to discuss problems, issues and gaps in youth services. Their pur- poses were to find possible solutions and/or strategies. Following are outlines of key points cov- ered. Contents Teensin Crisis......................................3 Education and Drop-Out Prevention....4 Leisure .................................................6 Employment.........................................7 Teens and Their Families .....................8 Povenv ............................................... 10 16 Teens in Crisis Problems/Issues/Gaps ■ Need for centralized and coordinated services. • Accessible • Affordable C Need for more in-count, residential treatment facilities for teens in crisis: • Short and long-term group homes • Specialized foster care homes • Respite care o Youth services need to "reach out" to teens: • Need to be located in more accessible environments, such as schools and recreation centers. • Need to be targeted toward specific teen groups: racial, social, and economic. • Need to be directed toward children at earliest possible age • Need better coordination of public and private resources ■ Need for community coordinators to link churches with established organizations. ■ Agencies need to be more involved in disseminating information. ■ Need home visits for teens in crisis. ■ Need for more volunteers: • Foriv adolescents currently on waiting list for services. ■ Need for funding for a program to supervise Youths after school, durina vacations and snow days. Recomm endations/Stratebies ■ Support a youth services ombudsman: A person or office that youth could easily contact for assistance in identifying resources and obtaining peer counseling. E Provide a continuing conference of youth servicing professionals as a method for cnhancing communication and exchange. Finul Report from the Symposium on Services for Youth 3 J 17 Education and Drop-Out Prevention Problems/Issues/Gaps N Significant factors making the likelihood of school drop-out higher are: • Families are in lower socio-economic groups • Students' parents dropped out of school • Students not curriculum focused • Students mentally retarded or learning disabled 13 The shortage of support staff in earl, grades makes early assessment and monitoring of at- risk students very difficult. I3 Parental involvement in early and middle grades is crucial in order to address home/school problems. Beyond middle grades, parental communication with schools assists in monitoring at-risk students. ■ Non academically oriented students have difficulty adjusting to junior high school, perceive themselves as different from college-bound students, and tend to drop out of learning in middle school and out of school at age sixteen. ■ The age for leaving school may need to be increased to age eighteen. * Students are experiencing increasing stress in academic, social, emotional, and home areas, resulting in fewer hours of structured classes daily. o Many high school drop-outs are unable or unmotivated to complete their education. Common reasons are no transportation, no support services, and no day care for infants of adolescent parents. 12 Competition for funds is high for all groups. especially special education students. Finai Report from the S%rnpu'ium on Services for Youth 18 Recommendations/Strategies • Evaluate need for more vocational and employability skills classes in middle and high school. • Develop partnerships with employers to support high school completion by not hiring fifteen to nineteen year olds unless they stay in school and by giving them flexible work hours. • Add counselors at Orange High School to increase ratio to two counselors per grade. • Continue successful intervention projects, such as the Medical Concerns Assessment Team, Action Team, and guidance groups. • Continue alternative programs for at-risk students, substance abuse assessment, and Work for Success groups. • Strenzthen parental involvement in schools by • Training teachers to conduct conferences with parents of at-risk students • Adding school social workers for home/school coordination • Educating parents and starring support groups • Creating innovative programs to meet with parents at their job sites (Such a program is currently conducted at NC Memorial Hospital) • Involving Dropout Prevenrion Task Force. • Provide more flexible schedules for students. • Alter expectations about "normal" time in which a student should finish high school. • Consider an extended day program in which high school students may attend school after ,.vork. Such a program should provide them with school bus transportation and support services as well. • Promote cooperative efforts to secure funding and to strengthen inter-agency communication. • Desisinate funds for support services in school. Add support staff targeted toward at-risk students in clementary and middle schools. 19 Leisure Problems/Issues/Gaps ' • Need for coordination between agencies and community groups providing services for youth. • Need for facilities for specialized activities: • Movie theaters • Swimming pools • Need for adequate dissemination of agency and community group program/event information. • Need for"close-to-home" facilities/events/programs for youth. • Need for activities specifically designed for eleven to sixteen year olds. Recommendations/Stratebies • Create a clearinehouse to coordinate program and event information, distributing/ disseminating through a consolidated newsletter/calendar of events. • Create a toll free teen hot line to coordinate information and referral concerning youth services. • Identify a lead agency to coordinate and assist community-based groups to plan programs with youth. • Plan with youth, not for them. • Establish a teen center in eenrmVnorthern Orange County. • Encourage commercial development that provides services to youth, such as movie theaters and game rooms. • Continue to educate parents about teens and teens about parents. • Develop a transportation network to get teens to activities. l 20 Employment Problems/Issues/Gaps 0 Need for transportation services connecting potential workers with available employment. • Youths sometimes cannot afford to accept available jobs because the wage rate cannot meet the cost of transportation . • Need for transportation in a family sometimes prevents youths from attending community colleges in neighboring counties that could train them for labor market needs. ■ Need for resources/services to handicapped students and those who do not meet JTPA guidelines for financial eligibility. IC Need for summer jobs that provide temporary full time employment for youths. ii Need for parental and community support for education that prepares youths for employment. * Need for qualified child care providers. • If youths could secure some training and certification, the child care field would be a viable area for employment. C Need to address problem of underemployment and its impact on the community: • underemployment exists because there are many skilled people who are pan of the "transient" or non-resident population. These people accept entry level jobs for shoe periods. This limits job opportunities for residents who need entry level positions to scan a career in Orange County. • Skilled individuals often accept jobs for which they are overqualified because they cannot afford transportation to surrounding areas. Recommendations/Strategies . • Develop a better transportation system to serve Orange County with better access to places of employment. • Provide a location for Durham Technical Community College and/or Alamance Community College in Orange County in order to establish permanent branches for residents. • Educate the community and plan the economic future of Orange County by defining needs and by developing compatible resources. • Diversify the-iax base by inviting environmentally acceptable businesses and industry into Orange County. • Identify those types of businesses that Orange County -would like to encourage. • Provide increased cooperative education programs to introduce students to the work world. Final Rcport from the SympoNium on Sen-ices for Youth 21 Teens and Their Families Problems/Issues/Gaps , • General need for family support: • Family stress affects adolescent adjustment. • Middle class families are experiencing unexpected problems that they are not equipped to manage. • Changes in social values and processes have resulted in a "new age" that impacts parent/ child relationships. • Family units appear to be breaking down. • Single parent families and families in which both parents work face a variety of obstacles in meeting family needs. • Need for teens.to process their issues with other teens: • Teens benefit most from peer interaction, support and counselling. • Need for networking and accessing services: • Community services are not always accessible to families. • Families are not aware of community services. • Resources for children in private schools are often limited. • Portions of the population are often "priced out" of services. • Community concern needs to be focused on resolving adolescent issues in families. • Adolescents and families in need of services often are missed in the delivery of services • Need for services during evening hours • Need for resource allocation and development: • Resources are limited: services in many areas are either nonexistent or capacity is overwhelmed_ Recommendations/Strategies • Develop network of support groups: • Family groups • Groups for children from substance abuse families • Parent training/parenting skills groups More extensive child care support services • Develop training services: • Focus on how single parent families can meet adolescent needs • Focus on how parents can meet family needs when both work. r t:i- f Arn—I frnm th, c\-mnoNium on Cervices fir Youth 22 ® Suppon "moderately" distressed families as well as those with acute needs. Sensitize families to needs of adolescents. IC Assist families in tapping into resource of extended families. M Develop partnership with the business community to respond to employee family needs. Ef Increase option for out-of-home placements while families restructure. L Develop resources to wort; with families in serious distress: • Use of volunteers to supplement resources IN Develop alternative means to provide other sex role modeling in single parent families. N Reestablish neighborhood connections: • Focus community initiative to respond collectively to family needs. N Incorporate peer, groups into pre-existing community resources and services. C Develop "Drop In" center for teens. 0 Develop an array of appropriate social and recreational resources and activities. 13 Suppon groups for children from substance abusing families. N Provide better dissemination of information about services to community. 2 Provide access to services earlier while problems are still manageable. M Provide services within ability to pay. 12 Network private schools into broader community based services. N Develop "umbrella" agencies to provide comprehensive children's services IN Provide evening and weekend services. N Ask for Orange County definition of its responsibility in me-,;ing needs of children and their families. f i 23 Poverty Problems/Issues/Gaps ■ 15.2 percent of the citizens in Orange County live at or below the poverty level of$11,650.00 for a family of four. ■ Need to address underemployment. ■ Need to address job training opportunities. ■ Need for adequate emergency resources for families in crisis. ■ Need for affordable day-care and innovative after-school programs for-impoverished families. ■ Need for affordable housing for every Orange County citizen. M Need for adequate nutrition and health care services. ■ Need adequate support for adolescent parents. ■ Need for more accessible transportation. ■ Need for more effective counseling programs and services for youths living in poverty. ■ Need to address the large number of youths suffering severely because of poverty. • 12.9 percent of Orange County's children are living in poverty. • 23.1 percent of Orange County's children are receiving Aid for Dependent Children (AFDC). • Need for better networking between schools and human service agencies. • Need to address the issue of the negative impact of poverty on youth in the public school System. 24 t Recommendations /Stratebies • Urge Orange County Commissioners to convene a"Conference on Poverty" to formulate partnerships and develop strategies. Such a conference should include: • Private business and industry • Churches • Local units of government • Educational institutions • Community leaders • Develop and implement a sound networking system to identify those students who actually live in poverty and need assistance • Provide special training for teachers to work on the critical element of guidance services, as well as to eliminate built-in attitudes regarding poverty. • Provide action and awareness sessions on poverty to combat feelings of hopelessness, helplessness and isolation in disadvantaged youth. • Provide parity in both school systems, with equal educational opportunities for all school children. • Urge school superintendents to provide leadership in addressing the adverse effects of poveny on students in public schools. • Promote a greater awareness of a continuous tend of poverty that can only erode growth in our society and become more taxing on the educational system. • 25 Acknowledgements The Orange County Board of Commissioners The Human Services Management Team The Youth Symposium Steering Committee Albert Kittrell, Assistant County Manager, Chairperson The Program Planning Committee Lane Cooke, Chairperson The Publicity Committee Kim Hoke, Fletcher Barber, Jr., Richard Kinney, Chris ?utter The Facilities Committee N13ry Anne Black and Betty Compton, Chairpersons Dr. Frank Loda, Director for U\C Center for Early Adolescence John Niblock, the 1'.C. Child Advoc3cy Institute Orange I3i,-,h School POSITION DESCRIPTION ORANGE COUNTY YOUTH COORDINATOR Summarv: Identifies , tracks , and disseminates information about services and programs available to youth in Orange County. Helps young people and their parents negotiate various systems when such assistance is needed . Serves as an advocate for young people individually and as a group. Creates ant supports local Youth Councils . Represents Orange County youth on public and private commissions and task forces . Coordinates efforts to prevent duplication of services . Helps professionals stay abreast of program achievements , policies , and resources effecting their agencies ' specific mission . Principal responsibilities : 1 . Identification of available youth services , resources , and programs in the community. 2 . Advocacy for young people and for youth issues . 3 . Coordination of youth services available in the community, including those provided by private , nonprofit agencies , government agencies , ccimmunity-based groups , the schools ana other educational organizations , civic and business coalitions . � . Creation and support of local Youth Councils . Investigation of successful programs in other areas . e E . Utilization of local information dissemination networks to promote services and educate the community on needs and programs in place . 7 . Policy recommendation on youth issues to appropriate governmental entities . '.•'inimum requirements : 7xcellent communication skills - written and oral . ability to work with youth and adults from all ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds . rbility to facilitate effective interactions with various public and Private organizations and committees . �bilit}, to manage a number of tasks at one time . ::1 5-Wledae of the community, and of youth services . ;:illincness to work evenings and weekends . :lingual preferred .