Mary Mesirow and Olivia
For the month of May, we are so pleased to honor Mary Mesirow and her mentee, Olivia, for match of the month. On May 12th, this pair will celebrate their third anniversary of being matched!
Congratulations on 3 Years!
A number of years ago, in her capacity as an educator at Champlain Valley Union High School, Mary began working with Olivia. Olivia had moved a lot up until this time and didn’t have too many adults in her life whom she could count on since she really never had a chance to settle into a place for very long. Mary recognized both this and a great potential in Olivia. When Olivia again moved on from CVU, Mary didn’t want to lose the connection she had established with Olivia and sought out a way that she could continue to be a positive, enduring influence in Olivia’s life. A friend of Mary’s recommended she get involved with Spectrum’s Mentoring Program and have this program serve as a support for this already well-established match.
After talking with Olivia about it, Mary pursued becoming a part of our program. She went through the required screening and training in order to become an official match with the program—that was three years ago.
Now, Olivia and Mary live about 70 miles away from each other. Even with this great distance separating them not to mention the enumerable frost heaves and potholes along the way, this pair continues to get together regularly. Typically they’ll meet up in Burlington and either catch a movie or get a bite to eat. This geographic distance between them is challenging, but a big part of their relationship is riding together and having the chance to talk. It’s also a great testament to the strength of their relationship that they continue to meet even with half a state between them.
CONGRATULATIONS again on being matched for three years!
Monday, April 28, 2008
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
VT's Working With Youth Conference
I was fortunate to be able to attend this conference this past Friday. One of the workshops I attended was on Life Coaching and I found it to be very useful for mentoring. One of Jo Romano's staff presented on the topic and ran a very interactive discussion of the principles of life coaching. If you'd like to learn more about Jo and her program, the website is www.greenmountainlifecoach.com.
Very briefly, some of the principles we went over were:
Very briefly, some of the principles we went over were:
- Hearing Without Reacting
- Connecting with your Client (mentee)
- Reflecting Back
- Responding
- Tuning In
- Being Fully Present
- Letting go of Ego, Truth, Attachment and Judgment
I was excited about incorporating some of what I learned into our new mentor training as it really speaks well to the process of mentoring.
I'm happy to share more of what I learned so feel free to ask for a copy of the materials I received.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Federal Child Welfare Test Fails Children
By Mark Redmond
Last year, I had my first experience with the federal Child and Family Services Review (CFSR), which many people in child welfare have come to dread. This is the process in which each state is assessed once every six years for what the U.S. Administration for Children and Families (ACF) calls "substantial conformity with certain federal requirements for child protection, foster care, adoption, family preservation, family support and independent living services."
A 60-person team from the ACF's Children's Bureau traveled to Vermont in order to read case records, review policies and meet with local child welfare officials, caseworkers, parents, foster youth and stakeholders. That's where I came in. Because I am executive director of an organization funded by the Vermont Department of Children and Families, the department invited me to participate.
In the lead-up to the visit by the feds, several meetings were held between stakeholders such as myself and Vermont child welfare officials. The officials said they were fairly certain of which areas would be labeled as a "strength" for the state, and which would be cited as an "area needing improvement." At one meeting I asked, "How do you think you will do in terms of your response rate to abuse and neglect calls?"
I asked this because I knew from the Federal Child Maltreatment 2005 report that among 38 states examined, Vermont had the lowest "screened in" rate - that is, the rate at which calls alleging abuse or neglect of a child are accepted to be investigated. The national rate for the investigation of abuse and neglect calls is 62 percent, while Vermont's rate is 19 percent. Naturally, I deduced that this would be an area of great concern to the CFSR team.
A Vermont official answered, "The CFSR doesn't cover this."
I slumped in my chair. The only thing I could think to say was, "I can't believe that. I am absolutely amazed."
I do not believe that states should investigate every single allegation of abuse or neglect that comes to their attention. According to the federal Child Maltreatment report, Arizona does this - it has a 99.2 percent acceptance rate - and I think it is a mistake. There is no easier way for a person to seek revenge on a relative, ex-spouse or neighbor than by calling the local child protection agency and stating, "I think I see bruises on his daughter." Next thing you know, an investigator is knocking on the door. Some element of judgment must come into play before launching a full-fledged investigation.
But in my mind, the CFSR is severely deficient by not even looking at this. The CFSR measures 45 items, including the stability of foster care placements, placement with siblings, worker visits with children and how quickly the child welfare system acts on cases it has accepted for investigation. But the CFSR does not rate how a state's child protection system performs on the very bedrock of its mission: How well does it respond to claims of child abuse or neglect?
It is incredible to me that the Children's Bureau would use its time and money to visit all 50 states once every six years, but fail to evaluate how each state performs in this most basic of measures.
To be fair, the final report that the bureau issued for Vermont included several notations related to this issue, such as, "Stakeholders noted that as a result of this uncertainty, many reports are screened out (that is, they are not referred for an investigation or assessment), which can result in many children being left at risk of harm." Nevertheless, for the federal government to not have this as one of the official items by which a state is rated, and to count on stakeholders to speak up to point it out, is a major failing of the oversight process.
To their credit, Vermont child welfare officials have decided to change the way they respond to abuse and neglect calls. They are creating a central intake team to receive calls, with one toll-free number for citizens to call to report suspected abuse or neglect (a common practice in some other states). Vermont is revising its policies for the acceptance and investigation of such calls.
I hope this brings Vermont's 19 percent acceptance rate closer to the national average. If that means hiring more investigators, thus driving up costs, so be it. I believe the public will support expenditures that concern child safety.
Even more importantly for all states, I hope the federal government reassesses its methodology for overseeing the performance of child welfare systems in this crucial area.
Last year, I had my first experience with the federal Child and Family Services Review (CFSR), which many people in child welfare have come to dread. This is the process in which each state is assessed once every six years for what the U.S. Administration for Children and Families (ACF) calls "substantial conformity with certain federal requirements for child protection, foster care, adoption, family preservation, family support and independent living services."
A 60-person team from the ACF's Children's Bureau traveled to Vermont in order to read case records, review policies and meet with local child welfare officials, caseworkers, parents, foster youth and stakeholders. That's where I came in. Because I am executive director of an organization funded by the Vermont Department of Children and Families, the department invited me to participate.
In the lead-up to the visit by the feds, several meetings were held between stakeholders such as myself and Vermont child welfare officials. The officials said they were fairly certain of which areas would be labeled as a "strength" for the state, and which would be cited as an "area needing improvement." At one meeting I asked, "How do you think you will do in terms of your response rate to abuse and neglect calls?"
I asked this because I knew from the Federal Child Maltreatment 2005 report that among 38 states examined, Vermont had the lowest "screened in" rate - that is, the rate at which calls alleging abuse or neglect of a child are accepted to be investigated. The national rate for the investigation of abuse and neglect calls is 62 percent, while Vermont's rate is 19 percent. Naturally, I deduced that this would be an area of great concern to the CFSR team.
A Vermont official answered, "The CFSR doesn't cover this."
I slumped in my chair. The only thing I could think to say was, "I can't believe that. I am absolutely amazed."
I do not believe that states should investigate every single allegation of abuse or neglect that comes to their attention. According to the federal Child Maltreatment report, Arizona does this - it has a 99.2 percent acceptance rate - and I think it is a mistake. There is no easier way for a person to seek revenge on a relative, ex-spouse or neighbor than by calling the local child protection agency and stating, "I think I see bruises on his daughter." Next thing you know, an investigator is knocking on the door. Some element of judgment must come into play before launching a full-fledged investigation.
But in my mind, the CFSR is severely deficient by not even looking at this. The CFSR measures 45 items, including the stability of foster care placements, placement with siblings, worker visits with children and how quickly the child welfare system acts on cases it has accepted for investigation. But the CFSR does not rate how a state's child protection system performs on the very bedrock of its mission: How well does it respond to claims of child abuse or neglect?
It is incredible to me that the Children's Bureau would use its time and money to visit all 50 states once every six years, but fail to evaluate how each state performs in this most basic of measures.
To be fair, the final report that the bureau issued for Vermont included several notations related to this issue, such as, "Stakeholders noted that as a result of this uncertainty, many reports are screened out (that is, they are not referred for an investigation or assessment), which can result in many children being left at risk of harm." Nevertheless, for the federal government to not have this as one of the official items by which a state is rated, and to count on stakeholders to speak up to point it out, is a major failing of the oversight process.
To their credit, Vermont child welfare officials have decided to change the way they respond to abuse and neglect calls. They are creating a central intake team to receive calls, with one toll-free number for citizens to call to report suspected abuse or neglect (a common practice in some other states). Vermont is revising its policies for the acceptance and investigation of such calls.
I hope this brings Vermont's 19 percent acceptance rate closer to the national average. If that means hiring more investigators, thus driving up costs, so be it. I believe the public will support expenditures that concern child safety.
Even more importantly for all states, I hope the federal government reassesses its methodology for overseeing the performance of child welfare systems in this crucial area.
Monday, April 14, 2008
VT Kin As Parents Presents: 4th Annual Kinship Care Conference
For those of you who are mentoring a youth who is living in the care of family member other than Mom and Dad, you may find this conference very informative in your work with your mentee. If you do decide to attend, be sure to report back on this blog what you thought of the conference and any helpful information you think others would benefit from.
http://www.uvm.edu/conferences/kinshipcare/
http://www.uvm.edu/conferences/kinshipcare/
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
2008 Empty Bowl Dinner a GREAT Success
Just a very quick note to say a special thank you to the mentoring pairs who helped out with this event: Colleen Montgomery and Samantha along with Kristin Dearborn and Shanna. You all were a great help during this hectic event.
Shanna left us a little note that I have tacked up over my desk:
"Thank you Staff,
I want to thank you for a good opportunity to give back all that I have gotten"
Spectrum raised $11,500 at this event which will go towards providing meals to the youth who use our Drop In Center!
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Adam Bortz and Dennis Celebrate 5 Years Matched
Here is the recent write up in the Burlington Free Press...
Local Mentor Match Celebrates Five Years Together
Burlington, VT
Tuesday, January 30th, 2008
Spectrum Youth and Family Services held a five year anniversary party last Tuesday to honor Adam Bortz of South Burlington and his now twenty-year-old mentee, Dennis. Twenty of Spectrum's mentor matches attended the dinner and recognition ceremony. "It was a wonderful opportunity to see what mentoring is all about," commented Liz Barron, Spectrum mentor. "You see the bond that these two share and realize the true impact that mentoring has."
Adam and Dennis have explored many different activities throughout their five years together. They have cooked, gone climbing, and waited in line at midnight for the latest Harry Potter book. "The bond that Adam and Dennis have forged is undeniable," says Deanna Cameron Spectrum Mentoring Coordinator. Though mentoring takes very little time each week, it can positively affect the lives of both the mentor and the mentee. Mentees understand that there is a caring and consistent adult who values them. Mentors feel connected, both to our community and to our community's youth.
"I know that with Adam, I can just be who I am and he isn't judging me," says Dennis. From the age of fifteen to twenty, through these formative years and into adulthood, Dennis can count on Adam to always be there. The mentoring relationship has essentially formed into a lifelong friendship. Spectrum is proud to celebrate their first five year mentoring match with Dennis and Adam.
The Spectrum Mentoring Program is a community-based mentoring program that matches responsible adult volunteers with adolescents from Spectrum between the ages of eleven and twenty-one. Mentor matches participate together in various activities in order to build a trusting relationship from which the youth can draw support. Spectrum undertakes its mission with the conviction that mentored youth benefit from positive adult role models.
If you would like more information on becoming a mentor, visit www.spectrumvt.org or call (802) 864-7423 ext. 343.
Local Mentor Match Celebrates Five Years Together
Burlington, VT
Tuesday, January 30th, 2008
Spectrum Youth and Family Services held a five year anniversary party last Tuesday to honor Adam Bortz of South Burlington and his now twenty-year-old mentee, Dennis. Twenty of Spectrum's mentor matches attended the dinner and recognition ceremony. "It was a wonderful opportunity to see what mentoring is all about," commented Liz Barron, Spectrum mentor. "You see the bond that these two share and realize the true impact that mentoring has."
Adam and Dennis have explored many different activities throughout their five years together. They have cooked, gone climbing, and waited in line at midnight for the latest Harry Potter book. "The bond that Adam and Dennis have forged is undeniable," says Deanna Cameron Spectrum Mentoring Coordinator. Though mentoring takes very little time each week, it can positively affect the lives of both the mentor and the mentee. Mentees understand that there is a caring and consistent adult who values them. Mentors feel connected, both to our community and to our community's youth.
"I know that with Adam, I can just be who I am and he isn't judging me," says Dennis. From the age of fifteen to twenty, through these formative years and into adulthood, Dennis can count on Adam to always be there. The mentoring relationship has essentially formed into a lifelong friendship. Spectrum is proud to celebrate their first five year mentoring match with Dennis and Adam.
The Spectrum Mentoring Program is a community-based mentoring program that matches responsible adult volunteers with adolescents from Spectrum between the ages of eleven and twenty-one. Mentor matches participate together in various activities in order to build a trusting relationship from which the youth can draw support. Spectrum undertakes its mission with the conviction that mentored youth benefit from positive adult role models.
If you would like more information on becoming a mentor, visit www.spectrumvt.org or call (802) 864-7423 ext. 343.
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