Schoharie County

Youth Bureau

Schoharie County Youth Bureau

518-295-2057

Youth@co.schoharie.ny.us

Schoharie County Youth Bureau

Vision: That Schoharie County is a safe, engaging place for all youth to grow, learn, and develop into happy, healthy, and productive adults.

Mission: To promote and advocate for the empowerment and well being of the youth of Schoharie County by incorporating Positive Youth Development methods in our direct and supportive programs and services.

Who I am

The Director of the Schoharie County Youth Bureau • Youth Development Specialist

I have worked with youth for over 20 years in • Athletics/ sports camps

• Youth Sports

• Summer camps (day & residential)

• Leadership development

• Adventure programs

• Wilderness programs

• At risk programs

• High & low ropes initiatives

• Family Program Facilitator

Youth Bureau Structure

• We are a county agency • The Youth Bureau was established to allocated

and administer state funding to local municipalities and non profits who provide programs and services to our youth.

• We operate under the New York State Office of Youth development, which is part of the Office of Children and Family Services

• Originally this is all the Youth Bureau did. • Now we do so much more

Youth Bureau Staff 3 full time positions

Director

Program Coordinator

Youth Bureau Assistant

Part time staff

In the past we had up to 4 summer part time staff

Last year we had 0

This year we hope to have 1 back

Interns

We had are first real intern last fall and look to have more in the future

Volunteers

We have used volunteers in the past, but last year we took the process to the next level.

We have a process in place to use qualified volunteers as if they where employees. They go through the same hiring process as employees.

What the Youth Bureau does

As stated in our Mission Statement:

– We provide & support Positive Youth Development opportunities for the Youth of Schoharie County

What is Positive Youth Development

• Before we can fully appreciate the importance and the value of the Schoharie County Youth Bureau, I feel it is important to understand the key principle behind everything that we do here at the Youth Bureau.

• That key principle is the Positive Youth Development (PYD) model.

• PYD is a well established and evidence based approach that helps all youth develop and grow into happy and productive adults.

• Through this process youth are given the opportunities and challenges that will promote and build upon their individual strengths, recognize their weakness, and give them the skills and the belief in their skills to successfully navigate the challenges of adolescents to arrive prepared for adulthood.

How we accomplish our Mission

Statement 1. We allocate State funding from the Office of Youth

Development which is under the umbrella of the Office of Children and Family Services.

2. We provide & assist with direct programming for youth.

3. Advocate for youth.

Participate on boards and committees that have been established to promote the well being of youth.

1. Allocation of State Funding

• The Office of Youth Development (OYD) was created to design, coordinate and promote innovative strategies to advance youth development. The goal is for all New York State youth to reach their full potential and become healthy, productive adults.

• Supports and funds programs and initiatives that enable youth to build on their strengths.

• It supports programs that provide opportunities for youth to gain important life skills and core competencies, and that allow youth to have meaningful roles in their communities.

Allocation of State Funding (con’t)

Breakdown of our current allocations (2012)

• Youth Development and Delinquency Prevention (YDDP)

• Town & Village Youth Recreation Programs

• 19 Towns & Villages currently receive funding through us

• Youth Initiatives

• Mentoring Program (SCCAP- Family Support Project)

• Special Delinquency Prevention Programs (SDPP)

• Summer Co-Op Camp- (Towns of Gilboa & Connesville)

• Youth As Leaders Program- Schoharie County Youth Bureau

• Family Programs (Youth Bureau & Family Support Project)

• Runaway & Homeless Youth (RHYA)

• We do not receive this funding

Total 2011 Allocations: $38,499

Total 2012 Allocations: $ 27,369

2. Youth Programming

This category can be broken down into 3 categories.

1. Our direct programs

2. Our Cooperative Programs

3. Our assistance with other agency’s programs

We served over 1,100 youth in one of our direct,

collaborative, and in a program we assisted with in 2011

Who We Work With • Department of Social Services

• Department of Health

• Department Of Mental Health

• Office for the Aging

• Local schools

• Head Start

• SUNY Cobleskill

• SCAPP

• Family Support

• Long Path North Hiking Club

• Liberty Partnership Program

•Berkshire Farms

•Cornell Cooperative/ 4-H

•Schoharie River Center

•Shiloh’s Edge

•Mine Kill State Park

•Middleburgh Rod & Gun Club

•Fields of Grace

•Soil & Water Conservation

•Clarks Sports Center

•Towns & Village Rec. Programs

Our Direct Programs

Youth As Leaders

This is a three year leadership program for high school students in grades 10-12

We meet with each class once a month during the school year.

In addition to our regular meeting, we have a 3 day retreat in late August.

Sophomore Year- We teach leadership skills based on the book “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens” by Sean Covey

Junior Year- We put the leadership skills to work with Service Learning opportunities.

Senior Year- We continue the experiential learning by having the seniors facilitate the leadership skills they have learned in the program.

Summer Adventure Program

Kayaking

Rock Climbing

White Water Rafting

Geo-caching

Hiking

Horseback Riding

Canoeing

Environmental Education Programs

Fishing

Three age groups

1. Junior Adventures

Ages 8-11

2. Adventure Program

Ages 12-14

3. Teen Adventure

Ages 15-18

Traveling Arts & Crafts

• This program takes arts & crafts to towns with little or no other summer programming.

• The program is free and runs for 2 hours a day

June 26-28: Esperance/ United Methodist Church

July 10-12: Seward/ Recreation Center

July 17-19: Summit/ Town Hall

July 24-26: Wright/ Municipal Building

July 31- Aug 2: Jefferson/ United Methodist Church

Aug 7-9: West Fulton/ Municipal Building

Tennis Program

• This was a new program that we sponsored last year

• Ages K-12

• Instructional & competitive sessions

• Received a grant to begin the Quick Start Tennis Program for youth 10 & under.

Our Collaborative Programs

Family Programs

• Family Programs we offer

– Strengthening Families (for middle school)

– Strengthening Families (for teens)

– Active Parenting (for teens)

– Free the Horses (for elementary) • We partner with the Family Support Project to conduct 2 to 3

parenting classes throughout the year.

• The Classes are for both parents and their children. • They are skill building classes that are designed for all families.

• We focus on at risk families for our programs

April Adventures

• This is a 4 day program over the school’s spring break.

• We partner with Cornell Extension/ 4-H to promote and run the program.

• Our target audience is families that could use a alternative to child care for the week of spring break and are unable to go away for the week.

• We have about 30-45 youth participate.

• We travel to 4 different locations.

• The program has an outdoor education element to it.

Youth Service Day

• The Youth Bureau participates in the National Youth Service Day event held every April. – In 2012 due to many reasons we pushed our event

back until the fall. Will move back to spring 2013.

• We partner with the Office of the Aging to run the event.

• They sign up seniors (many who are apart of the meals on wheels program) who need some yard work done at their homes.

• We supply the Youth to do the work.

Holiday Programs

• We partner with SCCAP (and others) to put on two Holiday Programs.

• The Holiday Train – The Canadian Pacific Rail Road has a train that stops in

Cobleskill and puts on a Holiday Show. – We assist with SCCAP to collect food and money donations

to help with area food banks

• Toys for Tots Train – Again The Canadian Pacific Rail Road and the Marines stop

in Cobleskill with gifts and clothing for the people in the crowd.

– We get youth volunteers to help make cookies, set up the fire house, help with Arts & Crafts and face painting.

One Day Youth Bureau Events

• Youth Leadership Forum (part of YAL)

• Legislative Day in Albany (part of YAL)

• YAL Puppet show (presented in local elementary schools)

• Bike Derby

• Recreation Rotation (partnered w/ SUNY Cobleskill Athletics)

• Legislative Interns (Cornell Cooperative/ 4-H)

Past events

• Rachel’s Challenge (2010)

• Point Break (2010)

• Youth Conference (ended in 2010)

Assisting with Other Agency’s Programs

• Multiple Day Programs – We Provide more than 1 day of programming

• Single Day Programs – Programs where we are only there for 1 day or

less

• Grant Collaboration – Another agency writes a grant and Youth Bureau

provides resources for the grant

Youth Bureau Services for Other agencies (multiple days)

• After school program (Cornell Cooperative)

• Helping Hands after school program (Schoharie)

• Adventure Trips (Family Support Project)

• Middleburgh Outing Club (MSC)

• Adventure Trips (Liberty Partnership Program)

Single Day Programs & Events the Youth Bureau Participated in

• Health & Wellness Day (CRSD) • Health & Wellness Day (SCS) • Awareness Day (MCS) • Conservation Day (Soil & Water) • Leadership Training (Fields of Grace) • Community Fun Day (Esperance) • FAM Fund Run (Fenimore Assets) • Health & Safety Fair (Schoharie County) • Meet& Greet Legal Guardians (Juvenile Justice Com.) • Family Fun Day (Head Start) • Community Days (Berkshire Farms) • Point Break (MSC) • Schoharie River Days (Schoharie River Center) • Youth Summit (Liberty Partnership Program)

Grant Collaboration

• I have been asked to collaborate on a grant where we are not the lead agency for the grant or the agency that will administer the grant.

• I provide a proposal for a particular program that is submitted with the grant.

• If the lead agency receives the grant we would provide or assist with a program that would be paid under the grant.

• I also write letters of support if the grant helps the Youth Bureau in our mission.

3. Advocate for Youth Committees & Boards

• Schoharie County Youth Bureau Youth Board • Liberty Partnership Program (Board) • SCCASA (Board) • Friends of Mine Kill State Park (Board) • CARRT • Juvenile Justice Committee • Suicide Prevention Task Force • Human Services Coordinating Counsel • Capital District Youth Bureau Association • Creating Healthy Places Partnership • Healthy Families New York • Center for Community Engagement

Youth Bureau Future

• Reduction in state funding

Since 2008 we have been cut over 62%

• Reduction in County Funding

A 16% reduction in county funding

Elimination on 4 part time summer staff

3 major events that would have resulted in the elimination of the Youth Bureau in the past year.

Youth Population

• Youth Population

Youth Bureau funding is tied to our youth population.

The youth population (ages 0-20)

Year 2000: 9,684

Year 2010: 8,678

Reduction of : 1,006

There is a steady decline in youth population for age 20 to age 0

Why We Do What We Do

Rock Climbing Example

Questions

Mouse Trap Activity