SCYC moves to WordPress blog

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CADCA Update

Thursday:

"92% of $90 million makes it out of Capitol Hill and into stressed communities like ours. This is money directed toward giving our youth a chance at success ... what a great investment!"

CADCA Update

From the CADCA Conference,

Wednesday:

"Being sensitive and understanding the different cultures in our community may be as simple as asking a person to share a little about themself."

Community Anti-Drug Coalition of America Update

This week, Misty McDonald, a Child Advocate at The NEST, is attending the Community Anti-Drug Coalition of America's conference inLouisville, Kentucky. Misty is in the ambassadors program, which is designed for people ages 18-30 who are working in coalitions. The week-long conference focuses on the core essentials of effective coalitions.

She has agreed to share some brief thoughts and insights with us daily about her experience at the conference. We hope that through Misty's inspiring thoughts, we can all benefit a little from her invovlement in this conference.

Monday:

"It is ONLY with the savvy of our youth that we begin down this brighter path. They are the real experts."

Tuesday:

"To have vision only takes one; to have results takes a shared vision by all."

DARE To Be You Program is NOW HIRING TEENS

The DARE To Be You program hires teens to work on a variety of youth programs. The program is currently seeking youth at least 15 years old who are positive role models, enjoy working with young children, work well on a team, and want an opportunity to learn about DARE To Be You programs. Paid training is offered and teens work with an adult in evening workshops. This job offers a great resume-building opportunity as youth will be CSU employees, ongoing training is given, and letters of support are provided. Please help spread the word that DARE To Be You is currently taking applications. For more information, contact Rene Podunovich at 565-3606.

ARTICLE SUGGESTS MORE TRAINING FOR PHYSICIANS IN SUBSTANCE ABUSE INTERVENTION

An article in Pediatrics journal [2009 July;124(1): 144-50] reported that when primary care physicians (PCPs) are concerned about substance use in an adolescent patient, they typically recommend a return visit to their own office more than twice as often as they refer patients to counseling, and they rarely planned to engage parents. The study concluded that PCPS need enhanced training and strategies for delivery of office-based interventions. Complete article: Primary Care Follow-Up Plans for Adolescents with Substance Use Problems.

How can we work with more PCPs to promote strong strategies and counseling for adolescents with alcohol and substance abuse?

Drug and Alcohol Prevention Effort Collaboration Opportunities

Informal meeting at The NEST Child Advocacy Center,

Wednesday, July 29 at 9:00.

Jonathan Judge, Program Manager of the Colorado Meth Project and Jade Thomas, Executive Director of the Colorado Alliance for Drug Endangered Children will be in town and would like to meet with members of Montezuma County with a vested interest in drug and alcohol prevention efforts- primarily with children and young adults. Their objective for this visit is to make introductions, broaden their contact list, and expand upon the collaborative work they're already conducting in this region.

It would be helpful to know if you can make this meeting! Contact Rose Jergens, Executive Director The NEST, formerly Four Corners Child Advocacy Center (970) 565-8155

DARE To Be You Program Now Recruiting for Workshops

The Care to Wait program is for families and their 12-14 year old youth. Itis sponsored by the Colorado State University Extension Dare to be You program. This new series of 11 weekly workshops will be offered in September. The program is a great way for parents to encourage and support their teen through the difficult middle school years. Workshops are Fun and Free and monetary incentives are given to all participants. Register now to be entered into a drawing for an ipod shuffle, movie tickets and more. Call565-3606 to register.

Quality Mental Health for All Kids: It's Possible

Southwest Mental Health Center and the NEST Child Advocacy Center invite you to learn what it means to be a responsible broker of mental health services.

TRAINING PRESENTED BY THE KEMPE CENTER FOR THE PREVENTION AND TREATMENT OF CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT

SEPTEMBER 17, 2009

5-7pm

Most of us know that abuse and exposure to violence cause trauma reactions in many children, and that effective (evidence-based) treatments exist for many of these problems. We, as professionals, have a clear responsibility to guide these children and families to effective treatment, but most abused and traumatized children are not receiving evidence-supported treatment. Come learn more about how we can help!

What is evidence-supported treatment?
Why use evidence-supported treatment?
What are the responsibilities of brokers for mental health services?

Please RSVP to rose@nestcac.org prior to August 1.

For more information and location information, contact Casey LaMunyon at Southwest Mental Health (970)565-7946, clamunyon@swcmhc.org or Rose Jergens at the NEST Child Advocacy Center (970)565-8155 rose@nestcac.org.

KSJD Seeks Resource Development Director

KSJD Dryland Community Radio is currently looking for a new Resource Development Director. For a job description and more information about KSJD and applying for the position, email development@ksjd.org

LEADERSHIP MONTEZUMA

The Board for the Southwest Community Leadership Collaborative

is looking forward to the 14th year of

LEADERSHIP MONTEZUMA

a 9-month "class" for adults in the greater Montezuma and Dolores County area who want to learn more about their community and/or contribute to their community as leaders in myriad ways.

The class is typically comprised of about 20 participants who begin with a weekend retreat (tentatively scheduled for September 11-13) followed by nine one-day classes (the third Thursday of each month) through May. Topics that are covered are relevant to any community, but are addressed by the experts and people of our community. Many relationships are formed, and valuable information is shared! The topics, which are tailored to our region, include Natural Resources, Government, Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, Economic Development and Tourism, Culture, Health and Human Services, Criminal Justice, Education, and Quality of Life.

LEADERSHIP MONTEZUMA is a non-profit program organized by volunteers. It is truly about our community and the relationships, networks, and synergy that we can create as we become more in touch with the people and organizations around us.

The cost of LEADERSHIP MONTEZUMA is $300 for the entire year. Many employers in the area are supporters and/or alumni of Leadership Montezuma and are willing to share the cost of participation with employees. A limited number of scholarships are also available to help people who would otherwise not be able to attend.

Applications are available at the Cortez Chamber of Commerce or by contacting Robby Henes info@swcommunityleadership.org.

SEMINAR: Common Psychological Problems Affecting Children

Thursday July 30th, 10am – Noon
Childhaven Conference Room: 406 Airport Drive
Farmington, New Mexico

This seminar is a basic survey of the diagnostic markers that most commonly affect children. Information laden! Based upon DSM IV criteria! Walk away with more confidence! and a solid foundation regarding the developmental course and prognosis for the disorders covered!

Topics include:

ADHD
Oppositional Defiant Disorder
Conduct Disorder
Separation Anxiety Disorder
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
Reactive Attachment Disorder
Childhood depression
(emphasis on how trauma and attachment may

lead to more pervasive problems in later years)

Speaker: Michael Just JD, MS, LPC, CMHC

Mike Just, JD, MS, LPC, CMHC, received his Juris Doctor from IIT-Chicago Kent College of Law and his Masters degree in counseling from National-Louis University, where he has also acted as adjunct professor. He has experience counseling in a wide range of areas from those suffering from discontent in their relationships, career or family situations to those who have sexually offended survivors of sexual abuse, the severely mentally ill, the chemically dependent and those with developmental disabilities. He has designed and facilitated groups for adult and adolescent sex offenders as well as groups in anger management, stress management, relaxation, spirituality and the use of myth in storytelling to assist individuals in overcoming obstacles. He has also created and lead seminars for individuals and families impacted by alcoholism and substance abuse.

Mike has investigated cases of clergy sexual abuse for the Archdiocese of Chicago, completed comprehensive psychosexual evaluations for the courts and taught graduate level students in human services and the law. He has provided training and consultation on a variety of issues, including the causes and treatment of adult and adolescent sex offending, developmentally disabled offenders, confidentiality of mental health records and legal-related human services issues. He believes that his diverse professional experiences have added dimension to his clinical expertise and deepened his rapport with clients.

“Tell me, and I’ll forget. Show me, and I may remember. Involve me, and I will understand.” Chinese proverb

Presented by Regional Partnership Grants and Clarity Counseling PC.
Email RSVP to Pam Linscott: paml@claritycounseling.com.

Youth Leadership Council presents STICKER SHOCK

Under the guidance of the School Community Youth Coalition, the Youth Leadership Ccouncil has been working this summer developing a program designed to give youth a voice in the prevention process concerning alcohol and substance abuse. They are encouraged to take a leadership role as they work together on projects addressing alcohol and substance abuse. The Youth Leadership Council is now in its second month of operation.

Currently, the YLC is working on Sticker Shock, a project designed to inform the community on the laws pertaining to adults who legally purchase alcohol and furnish it to underage drinkers. It is also designed to strengthen the relationships between youth, parents, law enforcement, prevention agencies, the media and the community. The main focus of the project is to place stickers on packages of alcohol that contain information about the penalties for furnishing to minors. With the permission and cooperation of the liquor stores and grocery stores that sell liquor, the YLC will be placing these stickers with the help of representatives of each branch of local law enforcement and prevention agencies as well as other volunteers. The YLC will be inviting interested parties to a presentation about Sticker Shock in a couple of weeks.

If you are interested in learning more about the YLC, please contact Brian (brian@scycinc.org) or stop by the YLC office at 2 East Main next to the Cornerstone Bank Building.

Pass the word to others who might be interested!

New publications up on blog!

Here at SCYC, we're trying to get all the cool publications we've put together up on our blog for you to see and use. We've just added all the Horizons newsletters to the blog. Check them out on the right hand sidebar. You can download the pdfs of the newsletters by clicking on the links.

Believe It Slideshow

Here's a slideshow of all nine Believe It Posters, streamed from Flickr. Enjoy!

Community Conversation about Health Care in Southwest Colorado

A Community Conversation
About Our Healthcare
792,000 Coloradoans — 1 in 5 — have no health insurance
ARE ALL AMERICANS ENTITLED TO
HIGH QUALTITYHEALTHCARE?
Join in a conversation to voice your opinions regarding the state of the healthcare system in Colorado.
Anyone can attend; space is limited to the first 50 participants. Refreshments served. No registration required
Thursday, May 28th
6:30—8:30 PM
Southwest Memorial Hospital
Annex Community Room
20 South Market St
Cortez, CO
Info: 970-434-5474 ext 103
FREE!

PRESENTERS:
• Steven Erkenbrack, Esq., President of Rocky Mountain Health Plans
• David West, MD, President, Health System Solutions, Family Physician, Former Director, St. Mary’s Family Medicine Residency
• Terri Hurst, Policy Analyst for the CO Rural Health Center

Horizons Radio Show Wednesday, May 27th

Join the Horizons Radio team on Wednesday, May 26th at 8:30am on KSJD to learn about the 2009 Teen Maze program. Jen Adams interviewed volunteers on May 1st at the Teen Maze; she will incorporate these interviews during Horizons Radios Show with Missy Miller and Julia Hesse.

Youth Summer Job Positions with SCYC

POSITIVE COMMUNITY NORMS PROGRAM


The School Community Youth Coalition members are invested in the youth of Montezuma and Dolores Counties. We are concerned about underage drinking and substance abuse among youth. We approach issues by looking at the environment youth are exposed to – including parental attitudes and behaviors around youth substance abuse. Our community data indicts that MOST parents in Montezuma and Dolores Counties support youth through positive behaviors. For example, when surveyed MOST parents, 8-10, do NOT supply alcohol to youth, yet these same parents believe other parents supply alcohol to youth. Our Positive Community Norms program will help correct these misperceptions and highlight good parenting and youth assets. Look for our Believe It! Campaign messages and begin the conversation around positive youth development. For more information about the Positive Community Norms program, contact Missy Miller at 970-529-7139.

SCYC Believe It Messages

Keep an eye out for the School Community Youth Coalition's final message, pictured above, in the "Believe It" campaign in your community in the upcoming weeks. Also stay tuned for a set of ads reinforcing the "Believe It" messages in the Cortez Journal. These ads will be run in the paper every day from May 12 through May 30 and will feature all nine "Believe It" messages.

Middle School Technology Skills Camp - Apply now!

Click here to download a pdf of the application.

TEEN MAZE

Fun Event Provides Accurate and Valuable Information to Local Youth While Encouraging Discussion Between Parents and Teens

“I liked the event because I learned the truth in a fun way.” “It taught me a lot about life. It was a reality check.” These are some of the thoughts which teens shared after taking part in the TEEN MAZE in 2008.

The TEEN MAZE is a life-size game board where teenagers are the game pieces, and life’s choices are the dice. It is designed to help youth understand potential outcomes to some of life’s decisions concerning substance abuse, sex, and careers. Realistic scenarios help teens navigate their way through the maze and find out about potential consequences of their decisions and behavior. The interactive “game” provides information on topics that include sexual abstinence, contraceptives, sexually transmitted diseases, peer and media pressure, tobacco, drugs, alcohol, rehabilitation, legal consequesnces, labor & delivery, teen parenting, HIV/AIDS and post-graduation career and educational choices.

The ultimate goal of the TEEN MAZE is to stimulate teens to think about potential ramifications of their choices without placing judgement on any of the paths chosen. This goal is accomplished by ensuring that professionals in the fields of substance abuse prevention, health, intervention, and education are available. Each room along the maze has a professional available to help youth determine how to make a positive choice, how to accept choices already made, how to make different choices, and how to determine what they want and create a plan to achieve their goals. For example, a teen particpant may enter a room and see an actual vehicle and photographs from an accident involving drinking and driving. Professionals are there to provide additional information and answer questions. The teens will think about this outcome when faced with a real-life decision about driving home after a party or getting into a vehicle with a driver who has been drinking.

The theme of this year’s TEEN MAZE is Make a New Choice Today. Organizers know the experience will be fun and hope it will help encourage discussion between parents and their teens regarding their values and expectations while providing accurate facts and information to teens without attached value judgement.

The TEEN MAZE is the result of the dedicated efforts of more than 200 volunteers and the generous contributions of local businesses equalling about $6,000. Most of the financial gifts are between $100 to $500. The TEEN MAZE project benefits the youth as well as the community as a whole by raising awareness in the community about drug and alcohol problems while helping to decrease the prevalence of the problems. Community memebers come together to serve our local youth in a powerful educational setting.

This will be the eighth year that the TEEN MAZE will provide an educational, interactive, drug-free activity for youth. Last year’s particpants, who were surveyed before and after the experience, were encouraged. There was a ten percent increase in youth who said they would talk to their parents about sexual activity or alcohol use; and students exiting the TEEN MAZE were both more sure they would attend college and were more favorable toward their school’s disciplinary policy.

TEEN MAZE will be open to area youth April 30th and May 1st. All youth are welcome. They must be registered to attend and accompanied by an adult. For more information or to register, contact Missy Miller at 529-7139. An Open House opportunity for the public to tour the TEEN MAZE will be held on April 29th 5-6pm.

April is Child Abuse Prevention Month - Go Blue for Colorado Kids- Learn more at www.nestcac.org

Many of our area agencies recognize that healthy childhood experiences are not just good for children, but good for their communities as well. It’s simple really. The actions we take to promote healthy child development are the very actions that help to prevent child abuse and neglect. And healthy child development starts a chain of events that follow a child into adulthood. It leads to a more educated and productive workforce, which is good for community and economic development.

Unfortunately, children are sometimes exposed to intensive stress like child abuse and neglect. Too much stress is bad for anyone and can be devastating to child development. The NEST Child Advocacy Center hopes to change the way our community thinks about prevention, focusing on community activities and public policies that prioritize prevention right from the start to make sure child abuse and neglect never occur.

This shift represents our efforts to ensure the healthy development of children, while seeking to highlight the fact that we all play a role in raising children whether we are neighbors, teachers, police officers, librarians, mentors, coaches or family members.

Abuse and neglect often have lifelong consequences for a child, including a greater chance of delinquency, criminal involvement, drug addiction, chronic health problems, mental health issues and an overall drop-off in productivity of the individual as a functioning member of our communities.

As our nation recognizes April as Child Abuse Prevention Month, please take note of the resources in our Community that foster this shared mission.

April is Child Abuse Prevention Month - Go Blue for Colorado Kids- Learn more at www.nestcac.org

More Believe It posters released!

The School Community Youth Coalition is releasing the last three of its nine "Believe It" campaign posters during the next two months. You can see message seven, which we just released, and message six, which we just concluded, posted at the top of this blog entry. Look for the top poster, which helps parents focus on the fact that most of them never provide alcohol to youth, around town in the upcoming weeks.

These two most recent "Believe It" messages highlight how parents are helping their kids stay away from alcohol. The remaining messages in the "Believe It" campaign continue to focus on how parents are already supporting and can continue to help their kids avoid alcohol and substance abuse. Look for the rest of the colorful and positive set of "Believe It" messages posted around Montezuma County and released on local radio outlets KRTZ and KSJD during the upcoming months as we near the close of the school year.

THINKING LIKE A PROJECT

Youth Leadership Training: Thinking Like a Project

(skills to create and implement a youth directed project)
9am-2:45pm, Monday March 23rd.
San Juan Basin Tech College, Rm 208 (enter Main College Entrance)

Hosted by the School Community Youth Coalition
Faciliated by KateGrace MacElveen, Ph.D.

Contact missy@scycinc.org for more information

MOST of Us 2009 Summer Institute

MOST of Us is pleased to announce the 2009 Montana Summer Institute, to be held July 8- 11, 2009, at Montana State University in Bozeman.

The 2009 Summer Institute will offer an interactive, skill-building experience that focuses on the next level of social norms: Positive Community Norms. With the assistance of national social norms leaders, Dr. Jeff Linkenbach will lead discussions and real-time problem solving workshops addressing all seven steps of the Montana Model.

This year the Institute offers many new opportunities for attendees:

- Optional one-day, pre-Institute session on July 8: This session is highly recommended for individuals who are new to the field or want an overview of the social norms theory and the Positive Community Norms model

- Extended sessions- Lunch will be provided on all Institute days

- MOST of Us will host a reception on the evening of July 8th for all Institute attendees. Both lunch and the reception will provide opportunities to network and get to know fellow colleagues.

- On Saturday morning, observe a live focus group (pilot testing in action!)

- The number of participants will be limited to provide a quality experience

- Intense small group sessions led by trained MOST of Us facilitators will promote growth of ideas and discussions

To view the agenda, get additional information and to register, please visit Montana Summer Institute for Social Norms Practitioners."MOST of Us is affiliated with the Department of Health and Human Development, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana."

Dare to Wait program

CARE to Wait

Strengthening & Supporting Teens
CARE to Wait ProgramAnnouncing a Great Opportunity for
SKILL BUILDING WORKSHOPS
For 12-14 Year Old Youth
Register for a chance to participate in 11 weekly workshops

· Learn to communicate effectively with your teen about sexual decision-making and abstinence.

· For all families who want better relationships with their teen.

· BE PRO-ACTIVE by getting involved before problems start.
Keep good relationships strong during the difficult middle school years. Support your teen during the transition from middle school
into high school.

· Money paid to participants. Dinner and a positive environment provided. Classes for younger siblings too.

· Focus is on FUN, how teens can learn responsibility, how to communicate about hard stuff, making good decisions &
avoiding or getting out of bad situations.

· Build your family’s strengths. Build your teen’s skills.& Their Families!!

Next class starts March 2009- Register Now!
CARE to Wait is part of the DARE to be You Program
and Colorado State University Cooperative Extension
Call now for more info and to register. 565-3606

School Community Youth Coalition March meeting

On Monday, March 16th, SCYC will host a collaborative leadership training with Carl Larson, PhD. Carl Larson works with communities throughout Colorado to ensure effective leadership for community collaboration. The SCYC meeting will focus on sustainable leadership skills and attitudes. Please join us at 10:30am at the Cortez Welcome Center. For more information and to RSVP contact Michelle at info@scycinc.org.

More about Carl Larson: Dr. Larson’s main research activities have focused on groups and teams, and on negotiation and collaborative processes. He has co-authored seven books on communication, including Teamwork: What Must Go Right/What Can Go Wrong, with Frank LaFasto (Newbury Park, Calif.: Sage 1989), and Successful Communication and Negotiation, with Alvin Goldberg (Gardena, Calif.: International Right of Way Association, 1992). Collaborative Leadership (with David Chrislip) published by Jossey-Bass in 1994, reports research on successful collaborative projects and their leadership. His newest book, When Teams Work Best, with Frank LaFasto, is a 2002 publication with Sage, and reports research on 600 teams and 6,000 team members.

Horizons Radio Show goes live with call-in

This morning Julia Hesse interviewed Terrina Beatty about maintaining a happy healthy heart. The show, Horizons Radio, was on our local public radio station, KSJD.

Latest "Believe It" poster released

We've just got the next batch of posters up at various locations around Montezuma County. So keep an eye out for the new orange "Believe It" poster when you're out and around!

In other news, SCYC representatives recently attended a regional meeting of Four Corners organizations trying to use positive outreach messages in their communities. The training was headed up by Jeff Linkenbach, PhD, who is perhaps best known for the "Most of Us" campaign work he has done in Montana.

Linkenbach tries to get communities to focus on the positive, that is, what most of us are doing right, instead of what a few of us may be doing wrong. The goal isn't to ignore negative behavior, but to encourage positive behavior as a model, because, although it is true that most people in a community are usually behaving well, frequently the community perception is the opposite. If more community members know that most of us know where our kids go after school, or most of us enforce a curfew, then maybe even more of us will start doing those things.

Believe It Campaign Update

Well, we're about half way through our nine-message campaign to make positive information about our community available to the public.

This particular positive norms campaign (we call it the "Believe It" campaign) highlights the positive ways in which parents interact with their children, with a particular focus on how parents are powerful influences on keeping their kids away from drugs and alcohol. The latest message lets readers know that "8 out of 10 students in Montezuma County have an adult in their life who believes they will be a success."

All of these messages are supported by parent and student surveys completed in Montezuma and Dolores Counties in 2007 and 2008, so the data is real and relevant to our community. Keep an eye out at your local grocery store, recreation center, school, or library for the "Believe It" campaign posters that the School Community Youth Coalition is putting out into the community.