NAYC News: Monthly E-Update

NAYC NEWS: Monthly E-Update The World's Largest E-Update on Youth Courts, Teen Courts, Peer Courts and Student Courts A Service of The Federal Youth Court Program
Volume 5, No. 5 Circulation 6,500	*May, 2007*
In This Issue: The Monthly Highlight Local, State and National News Funding, Resources, Partnerships and More… National and State Trainings, Conferences and Meetings Training and Technical Assistance Publications and Resources Get Involved and/or Take Action The Federal Youth Court Program Update www.youthcourt.net Highlights A Little Bit of This n’ That Extreme Makeover Season Finale (5/20 on ABC) and the Youth Court Link! Get and Stay Connected The Monthly Highlight National Double-Track Youth Court Training Announced Only 15 days left to register – only 26 slots remain – filling up quick! On June 10-13, 2007, in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), in collaboration with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools, and the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, is sponsoring the National Double Track Youth Court Training. Track one is designed for communities interested in establishing a youth court program and for new youth court staff and volunteers. Track two is designed for experienced youth court staff and volunteers seeking innovative techniques to enhance current programs. Early registration is recommended, as space is limited for this 2^nd National Double-Track Training for local youth courts, teen courts, peer courts and student courts. The 1^st National Double-Track Training took place January 2007 and was filled to capacity with 150 registrants - plus a waiting list - so register soon to be part of this exciting training. You will leave feeling revitalized and full of new ideas from your peers and trainers. Don’t miss out – register today! To obtain additional information about this training session and register online, visit http://www.youthcourt.net/training_ta/current.htm. Local, State and National News Local News More and More Youth Courts and Teen Courts are Making Local News in America. “Teen Court Gives Youth a Second Chance” Cabarrus County Teen Court, North Carolina http://www.independenttribune.com/servlet/Satellitepagename=CIT/MGArticle/ CIT_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1173351052870&path=!news “Brooklyn Criminal Court Empowering Youth through Teen Court” Red Hook Youth Court, New York http://www.brooklyneagle.com/categories/category.php?category_id=4&id=12703 “Teen Court Celebrates and Holds an Open House for the Public” Montgomery County Teen Court, Maryland http://www.journalreview.com/articles/2007/05/01/viewpoints/teencourt.txt “Youth Court Celebrates Law Day 2007 with Mock Trial for the Public” Elmira Youth Court, New York http://www.star-gazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Avis=BM&Dato=20070502&Kategori=NEWS01 &Lopenr=502003&Ref=PH “Teen Court Recognizes Students for Law Day” Central South Dakota Teen Court http://www.capjournal.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=2&ArticleID=17218 “Youth Court Gives Second Chances" Onondaga County Youth Court, New York http://www.syracuse.com/articles/news/index.ssf?/base/news-2/1177664982192310.xml&coll=1 “Education on the Rule of Law in Teen Court” Hernando County Teen Court, Florida http://www.sptimes.com/2007/04/30/Hernando/ Education_on_the_rule.shtml “Teen Court is for Peers” and “Teen Court Offers Unique Method” Santa Maria and Santa Ynez Teen Courts, California http://www.santamariatimes.com/articles/2007/04/14/news/news02.txt http://www.santamariatimes.com/articles/2007/04/14/ news/featurednews/news01.txt “Annual Banquet Honors Youth Volunteers and Adults Making a Difference” Johnson County Teen Court, Texas http://www.cleburnetimesreview.com/local/local_story_111120235.html “Teen Court Plan in the Works” Myrtle Beach, South Carolina http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/17065088.htm “County Grand Jury Report Release: Need to Reinstate Teen Court Program” Ridgecrest, California http://www.ridgecrestca.com/articles/2007/04/11/news/news03.txt “Pilot Teen Court Launched in County: Judging their Peers” Hamilton County Teen Court, Ohio http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070423/NEWS0102/704230378/1058/NEWS01 “Pima County Teen Court gets $10,000 Grant from the Arizona Foundation for Legal and Education Services” Pima County Teen Court was awarded $10,000 from the Arizona Foundation for Legal Services & Education. This is particularly noteworthy because the funding was awarded on the basis that our teen volunteers are law-related educators, a category typically reserved for teachers and probation officers. As in other teen courts, our teen volunteers work in the community to educate defendants and their families about juvenile law, the court process, and general citizenship. The funding will be used to provide professional development training to teen attorneys and recognition to all teen volunteers. This is an exciting opportunity for Pima County Teen Court! Kudos to W. Kate Spaulding who heads up the program and Thank You to the Arizona Foundation for Legal and Education for continuing to support all teen courts in Arizona. Layton Youth Court Youth President Kara Peart Wins Major Award Last week Kara Peart received the Silver Bowl Award in recognition of her service to the community. She was the only recipient from Davis County and also the youngest. Bob Evans, the emcee, from Fox 13 News, couldn't get over what a great accomplishment this was for someone so young. Submitted by her very proud mother, Karlene Peart, Director, Layton Youth Court, Utah. State News Maryland Teen Courts Celebrate National Youth Service Day by Painting the Future Office of the National Association of Youth Courts, to be Based in Baltimore, Maryland. On Saturday, April 21^st in Celebration of National Youth Service Day – over forty (40) volunteer youth and adults from the Charles County Teen Court and the Baltimore City Teen Court met to begin work on a joint community service project in recognition of National & Global Youth Service Day 2007. The project they selected was to help prepare the office space recently acquired to house the newly formed National Association of Youth Courts Headquarters. Forming into teams, the teens worked together to clean, prep, and paint the seven (7) offices that will be occupied with the adult staff and volunteers of the new National Association of Youth Courts being developed and launched by over eighty (80) local and state teen courts and youth court leaders. A special thank you to the adult staff, Maryellen Kraese from the Charles County Teen Court and Rick Miller from the Baltimore City Teen Court and of course, the amazing youth! Upcoming Training: Fall of 2007 for Establishing New State Associations for Teen Courts and Youth Courts. Save the Date: October 28-31, 2007 in Washington, D.C. at the Hotel Washington. Save the Date! OJJDP will convene a national meeting for those states without a State Association, State Networking Group, and/or those states without a state agency providing leadership. Currently twenty-two states (22) have a formal or informal State Association or State Networking Group – these range from eleven (11) states being Non-Profits like Florida, Louisiana, Texas, Maryland and New York. Other states such as Kentucky have the State AOC and Tennessee has the State Bar Association. Yet others, such as Indiana and Idaho have local teen court and youth court directors, coordinators and other staff informally meeting for networking, training and funding purposes. Just as the number of local youth courts reaches over a record 1,200 local programs – the number of states with formal and informal associations is at a record twenty-two as Louisiana, California, West Virginia and several others have started in the past year. More information on this training opportunity will be announced in June, watch for it in the next NAYC News: Monthly E-Update. An application process will be announced for the other 29 states, 5 U.S. Territories and Washington D.C. without formal or informal associations. This training is being organized and sponsored by OJJDP and our federal partners. Eight (8) states will be selected and up to six (6) participants from each state will be eligible to attend. Participants must be from different jurisdictions within the state, as OJJDP wants to encourage more active participation from different local youth courts and teen courts. OJJDP will subsidize up to 75% of the travel costs associated with participating in this training (i.e. 75% of hotel costs (3 nights), airfare/ground transportation, and food). It is anticipated OJJDP will be responsible for $750 per person and each person will cover $250. This training will be held in conjunction with the National Association of Youth Courts. For additional information please contact Scott Peterson at OJJDP at scott.peterson2@usdoj.gov Seventeen (17) of the states are listed here: http://www.youthcourt.net/resources/associations.htm State of Texas 2007 Texas Teen Court Conference is scheduled for November 4-7, 2007 in Austin, Texas. For more information contact Jo Ann Wilder, Conference Chair at jwilder100@austin.rr.com or (512) 303-5549. All Roads Lead to Austin! State of California California Youth Court Summit scheduled for June 22-24, 2007. For more information please contact Patrick Danna Patrick.danna@jud.ca.gov or (415) 865-7992. State of Utah 10^th Annual Utah State Youth Court Conference is scheduled for June 20-23, 2007 in St. George, Utah. For more information contact Kathleen Zeitlin at slpcourt@xmission.com or (801) 322-1815. National News 2007 is already proving a RECORD YEAR for the National Youth Court and Teen Court Movement The number of local youth courts, teen court, peer courts, student courts has now surpassed a record 1,200 local youth courts across America. The national movement continues and appears to be gaining increased momentum after three years of continued growth – albeit – less than in the previous six years. Local, regional and state efforts and support are increasing in almost every geographic area of the United States thanks in large part to the record number of youth and adult volunteers and the amazing, often selfless, efforts of the adult staff operating local programs while increasingly taking on even more volunteer responsibilities as they mobilize and champion the cause on regional, state and national levels. Funding, Resources, and Partnership Tips and Ideas Funding Tip: Bookmark this Link: http://servenet.org/Toolkit/Grants/tabid/137/Default.aspx Click on it to find grants and resources from Youth Service America Grants Target Alcoholism Prevention and Education Christopher D. Smithers Foundation The mission of the Christopher D. Smithers Foundation is to educate the public regarding the fact that alcoholism is a respectable, treatable disease from which people can and do recover; encourage prevention programs, with an emphasis on high risk populations; and fight to reduce the stigma that is associated with the disease of alcoholism. The main thrust of the Foundation's funding is in the field of alcoholism prevention and education, including research, public education, and creating awareness of this issue in the nation's work world. Grants Encourage Citizenship and Democracy Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation The focus of the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation is on projects that cultivate a renewed, healthier, and more vigorous sense of citizenship among the American people, as well as among people of other nations. The Foundation seeks to reinvigorate churches, families, schools, and neighborhoods, and to encourage decentralization of power and accountability away from centralized, bureaucratic, national institutions. Projects may address any arena of public life economics, politics, culture, or civil society where citizenship is an important issue. Projects focusing on the issue of citizenship at home and abroad are supported. Applications are reviewed quarterly; the next application deadline is June 1, 2007. Visit the website listed above for more information. Funding for Local Programs in Company Communities Union Pacific Foundation: Community-Based Grant Program The Union Pacific Foundation's mission is to improve the quality of life in the communities served by Union Pacific, primarily in the midwestern and western United States. (For a map of company communities go to http://www.uprr.com/aboutup/maps/sysmap/index.shtml.) Through the Foundation’s Community-Based Grant Program, support is provided to local organizations in company communities that focus on health and human services, fine arts, or community and civic programs. The application cycle opens on May 1, 2007 and closes on August 15, 2007. Federal Grants: Administration for Children and Families: Mentoring Children of Prisoners http://www.acf.hhs.gov/grants/open/HHS-2007-ACF-ACYF-CV-0029.html This program supports the creation and maintenance of one-on-one mentoring relationships between children of incarcerated parents and caring, supportive adult mentors. Administration for Children and Families: Street Outreach Program http://www.acf.hhs.gov/grants/open/HHS-2007-ACF-ACYF-YO-0105.html This program supports outreach services to street youth, including a range of education, intervention, and prevention services. Department of Agriculture: Rural Cooperative Development Grants Grants.gov or Department of Agriculture This program seeks to improve the economic condition of rural areas through the creation or retention of jobs and the development of new rural cooperatives, value-added processing, and other rural businesses. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration: Access to Recovery http://www.samhsa.gov/Grants/2007/ti_07_005.aspx This program seeks to provide client choice among substance abuse clinical treatment and recovery support service providers, expand access to a comprehensive array of clinical treatment and recovery support options (including faith-based programmatic options), and increase substance abuse treatment capacity. Trainings, Events and Conferences on a State and National Level Strategies for Building Resiliency in Youth June 18-21, 2007 - Clemson, South Carolina Join colleagues from across the country for a focused learning experience on service-learning, one of the National Dropout Prevention Center's 15 Effective Strategies. Deepen your understanding of the dropout crisis; learn why young people are dropping out in such devastating numbers. Become empowered with the knowledge of why youth are disengaging from school as you explore a teaching and learning strategy that directly addresses these issues and which has proven to be extraordinarily effective in reengaging students in their education. To learn more, visit http://www.dropoutprevention.org. Institute on Urban Service Learning June 18, 2007 - Denver, Colorado This institute is designed to introduce K-12 educators to dynamic classroom tools and teaching strategies that bridge content standards, community involvement, environmental awareness, civic education, and hands-on experiential learning. The summer institute will create a solid foundation of service learning and build on foundation with an emphasis on urban and water issues. To learn more, contact Tash Mitchell or Ana Soler at tashmesia.mitchell@ef-den.org or ana.soler@ef-den.org. Preparing Families, Schools and Communities Through Service Learning July 10-11, 2007 - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Participants will receive a copy of “Youth Organized for Disaster Action - Best Practices” to guide them as they acquire knowledge, skills, and resources related to implementing high quality service learning, with an emphasis on school and community safety, disaster mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery. For more information, visit http://www.igesl.org/html/service_learning_training.html or email institute@igesl.org. Service Learning in After-School Programs August 2-3, 2007 - Oakland, California This interactive institute will include presentations from the acclaimed California After-School Service Learning (CASSL) initiative about successful programs in urban and other environments, as well as emerging research about the impact of service-learning in after-school settings. Participants will receive a copy of the book “Service-Learning in After-School Programs: Resources for After-School Educators” and can use this resource to design a specific project for their own program. Project design will emphasize developing youth leadership skills and incorporating youth reflection in program evaluation. Participants will prepare service-learning projects for effective implementation in after school environments. To learn more, contact Lisa Whitmer at lisa@yscal.org. Urban Service Learning Institute August 2-3, 2007 - Detroit, Michigan This event will bring together community voices to discuss service-learning outreach and application techniques that will help students achieve excellence in urban settings. To learn more, visit http://www.nylc.org/ui or contact Bernard Gill at bgill@nylc.org. May 16 - 19 - Boys and Girls Clubs of America National Conference Orlando, Florida http://www.bgca.org/ May 19 - Hope Worldwide Global Summit - Dulles, Virginia http://www.hopeww.org/globalsummit/s2announce.html May 29 - June 3 - U.S. Institute of Peace - Washington, DC http://www.usip.org/ed/seminars/ccfs.html June 9 - August 4 - Institute on Philanthropy - Washington, DC http://www.dcinternships.org/IPVS June 14 - 3rd Annual Service-Learning Symposium: From Making Connections to Making Commitments: Improving Pedagogy, Engaging Students, and Building Communities - Cullowhee, North Carolina http://www.wcu.edu/studentd/service_learning/symposium/index.html June 22 - City Year Graduation - Multiple Locations http://www.cityyear.org/getinvolved/events/graduation.cfm June 28 - 29 - Great Kids Summit - Louisville, Kentucky http://www.kychildnow.org/ July 16 - 18 - National Conference on Volunteering and Service - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania http://www.volunteeringandservice.org/submission.cfm July 24 - 27 - Generations United International Conference - Washington, DC http://www.gu.org/GU_Co12281388.asp July 29 - August 1 - STARS National Conference - Colorado State University Fort Collins http://www.friendsfirst.org/unleashed October 3 - 5 - National Conference on Preventing Crime: Helping Build Safer Communities - Atlanta, Georgia http://www.ncpc.org/training/National_Conference.php October 7 - 9 - International Research Conference on Service-Learning and Community Engagement - Tampa, Florida http://www.floridacompact.org/irsl October 21 - 23 - Independent Sector Annual Conference - Los Angeles, California http://www.independentsector.org/annualconference August (2008) - World Youth Congress - Quebec City, Canada http://www.peacechild.org/ Resources and Publications Report Release on Youth Activities and Substance Abuse The U.S. Department of Health and Human Service's Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has released "The NSDUH Report: Youth Activities, Substance Use, and Family Income." The 3-page report draws on data from the National Survey on Drug Use & Health (NSDUH) to review relationships between youth participation in various activities and alcohol, cigarette, and illicit drug use. The report indicates that youth aged 12 to 17 who did not participate in any school-, community-, faith-based, or other activities had higher rates of past month cigarette and illicit drug use than those who took part in four or more activities. To access the report and related resources, visit http://www.oas.samhsa.gov/2k7/youthActs/youthActs.cfm. Six-Year Collaboration Between International Youth Foundation & Nokia Demonstrates Positive Changes in Young Lives A 13-country study of life skills programs run by the International Youth Foundation (IYF) and Nokia demonstrates significant increases in young people's educational readiness, engagement in their communities, and their self-confidence and focus on the future. The study, conducted by Brandeis University's Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Center for Youth and Communities, was based on surveys of over 3,500 youth and set out to measure changes in young people's life skills and related outcomes. To read the full press release, visit http://www.iyfnet.org/document.cfm/30/867. Get Involved and Take Action 6th National Youth Court/ Teen Court Month is this September – 2007 Theme Announced! At a recent meeting of over eighty (80) youth and teen court local, regional and state leaders, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention of the U.S. Department of Justice asked these professionals to pick a theme for the over 1,200 plus local youth courts, teen courts, peer courts, and student courts across America. A formal kit and much, much more will be coming out, after local youth courts and teen courts have completed activities for National Youth Service Day in April and Law Day on May 1^st. The Winning Theme is for 2007 is .... “Empowering Youth – Experiencing Justice” Make the commitment now – this is the year you will join the record numbers of local programs across America who are standing up tall and bringing increased attention to the National Youth Justice Movement while recruiting more volunteers, both youth and adults. Who are Your U.S. Senators? Who is Your Member in the House of Representatives? Learn who your U.S. Senators, Representatives, and other elected officials are. Teach your youth volunteers and offenders who they are. It is never too early to plan for next year a great activity for Law Day (May 1, 2008) is to have your youth and adults involved in your local program educate your members of congress about your local program and how it serves the community. This information regarding locating who your elected officials are can be found at www.congress.org. Simply enter your zip code in the search box to find the information for your area. Take Action and Report your National and Global Youth Service Day Projects Hundreds of local teen courts, youth courts, student courts and peer courts participated in National and Global Youth Service Day this year. Share your photos by adding them to the National & Global Youth Service Day Flickr photo pool at http://www.flickr.com/groups/ngysd2007/ Use Flickr's "Mappr" (an interactive, global map) tool in the Flickr Organizer to show where the project photos were taken. YouTube is a group that has been created to share promotions and service day videos. To watch uploaded videos and post your own, visit http://youtube.com/group/ngysd07. Summer of Service Bill Introduced in the U.S. Congress Encouraging more youth to get involved in their communities and the world around them, Senators Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Thad Cochran (R-MS) and Representative Rosa DeLauro (CT-3) introduced their Summer of Service bill in their respective Houses of Congress. The legislation encourages preteen and teenaged children to volunteer by creating a competitive grant program which enables states to offer students making the transition from middle to high school an opportunity to participate in structured community service programs over the summer months. To read the full press release, visit http://dodd.senate.gov/index.php?q=node/3835. OJJDP Encourages Local Youth Courts and Teen Courts to Partner with America’s Promise America's Promise - The Alliance for Youth was founded after the Presidents' Summit for America's Future in 1997 where Presidents Bush, Carter, Clinton and Ford, with Nancy Reagan representing President Reagan, challenged the country to make children and youth a national priority. Retired General Colin L. Powell is founding chairman. America's Promise is chaired by Alma Powell. The mission of America's Promise - The Alliance for Youth is to mobilize people from every sector of American life to build the character and competence of youth by fulfilling Five Promises in their lives: caring adults; safe places with structured activities during non-school hours; a healthy start; marketable skills through effective education; and opportunities to serve. Visit www.americaspromise.org to learn more. The Federal Youth Court Program Update: The Federal Youth Court Program is administered by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention in collaboration with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools. Since 1997 this program has provided overall national coordination, training and technical assistance, publications, and a wide range of other services to the now over 1,200 local youth court and teen court programs in forty-nine states and the District of Columbia. Current partner agencies include the American Bar Association, National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges and the Phi Alpha Delta Public Service Center which administers the federally funded and sponsored National Youth Court Task Force Project to establish the new National Association of Youth Courts in 2007 to become operational this fall thanks to over 75 of your peers who want you involved starting this December! For more information on the Federal Youth Court Program; how to keep up-to-date on local, state and national youth court and teen court initiatives and news, get connected today and subscribe to the "NAYC News: Monthly E-Update" and the "Quarterly Newsletter: In Session" please log on to www.youthcourt.net or contact Scott Peterson at scott.peterson2@usdoj.gov. MAY: May (month) – National Youth Traffic Safety Month http://www.noys.org May 13-20 - National AmeriCorps Week http://www.americorps.org/ JUNE: June 3 - 10 - National NeighborWorks Week http://www.nw.org/network/home.asp June 5 - World Environment Day http://www.unep.org/wed June 6 - National Hunger Awareness Day http://www.nw.org/network/home.asp JULY: July 20 - Special Olympics Day http://www.specialolympics.org AUGUST: August 7 - National KidsDay http://www.kidsday.net/ SEPTEMBER: September (month) - National Youth Court Month http://www.youthcourt.net/ September 11 - My Good Deed http://www.mygooddeed.org/ September 15 - 17 - Clean Up the World Weekend http://www.unep.org/ September 16 - National Neighborhood Day http://www.neighborhoodday.org/index_flash.asp September 17-24 - Constitution Week http://www.constitutioncenter.org/ www.youthcourt.net Highlights Everyone take action – a New National Directory of local youth court, teen court, student court, and peer court programs will be printed in about 90 days and mailed this September 2007 to over 6,000 people in our database at no charge. BUT everyone needs to do their part – make sure you are included along with all of your local programs. Log on to www.youthcourt.net and click on the “Update Your Program” in the upper right hand corner, enter all your adult staff, old and new. Stay involved with the movement – get connected for a brand new year ahead! Make sure you are registered by June 15^th!!! You don’t want to miss out! All registered programs will receive: The Action Kit for National Youth Court Month and National Teen Court Month for this September 2007 – scheduled to be mailed in June. A copy of the new 2007/2008 directory – scheduled to be mailed in September. Your program will be listed on www.youthcourt.net New Posters – 10 of them are being mailed free to each program for use in September to recruit new youth to volunteer and market your program – scheduled to be mailed in June. Training announcements and new training materials. .. . And much more will be coming from the Federal Youth Court Program. Click on www.youthcourt.net now! A Little Bit of This & That ABC’s Extreme Makeover Home Edition Two Hour Season Finale Sunday, May 20, 2007 In 1988, Debbie Oatman was volunteering at an AIDS shelter for babies born with HIV/AIDS. While working at the shelter, she fell in love with the a little one-year old, named Duan (or DJ) as they called him and adopted him. Now a single mother, she quit her job to care for her new son. The following year Debbie, adopted Kevin and Brian, whose mother had AIDS. Kevin was among the 50% of newborns at that time, who did not become infected with the HIV/AIDS virus. Unfortunately, Brian was diagnosed with carrying the HIV/AIDS virus. With three adopted sons who all struggled with various developmental and health issues, Debbie went on to have one biological son, named Scout. At age 49, this single mother trying to make it through college and raise four sons was now faced with a sinking house, the foundation was cracked and the walls were coming apart. There were drainage problems and her front lawn turned into a pond. Just when she thought things could not get much worse the “pond” in the front lawn was struck by lightening causing even more damage. Debbie had taken out a second mortgage and at this point had few places to turn beyond her limited family, which included her godson, Scott Peterson. Scott has been the godfather of Duan (DJ) since he was three. Scott and his sister Melissa serve as godparents for Debbie’s children. Look for Scott and Melissa standing behind Debbie and her four adorable kids in the family section as thousands in upstate New York in the Town of Colonie cheer over and over . . . Move That Bus! I encourage all of you to sit with your children, family and friends to watch this very special episode that will share a message of compassion for all people with AIDS and HIV and – very importantly – with teens and women having the highest infection rate. Watch this special two-hour season finale our family supported in many ways. It is a message about prevention and education as we strive to stop the devastation of AIDS and get more people involved in the fight to spread the work and not the disease. Be well my friends and please tune in Sunday, May 20, 2007 at 7 p.m. EST. The kids got awesome rooms and Debbie did too – we cried all day for them. As my sister and I remembered earlier this year, when we were trying to tape the cracks shut, as snow was actually coming into their home. Be well. From, Scott Peterson. Many of you know Scott Peterson as the founding Director of the Colonie Youth Court in 1993. In 1997, Scott moved to Washington, D.C. to work at the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. While at OJJDP Scott has started up the National Youth Court Center and all the Federal Youth Court Projects up to and including the new initiative to establish even more state associations for the upcoming National Association of Youth Courts. Job opportunity resources: www.SERVEnet.org www.idealist.org www.opportunitynocs.org www.independentsector.org/members/joblink.html Have a job opening you would like listed in the NSB? Send a description with contact information to nsbinfo@ysa.org with the subject line JOB. Fund to Honor Virginia Tech Victims Established Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund Virginia Tech has established the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund to remember and honor the victims of the tragic events of April 16, 2007. The Fund will be used to aid in the healing process by covering expenses such as assistance to victims and their families, grief counseling, memorials, communication costs, etc. To learn more about the fund or to make a contribution, visit the website listed above. Get and Stay Connected Log on to www.youthcourt.net and click on the icon in the upper right hand corner to stay involved - if you are in the Federal Youth Court Program database - we will do our best to make sure you are in the loop. Keep us in the loop also, share your local and state news! www.youthcourt.net : The world’s largest web-site for youth courts, TEEN Courts, Peer Courts and Student Courts. Encourage others to subscribe! Forward this message to adult & youth involved in Local Youth Courts. We are always interested in your comments and ideas. Please contact us. Have information you would like us to include in future issues of the NAYC News: Monthly E-Update? Let us know.	Sponsored by: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Department of Education National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges You can print 8-1/2 x 11 versions of your choice of poster on your own color printer. Great for posting on bulletin boards or using as flyers! To access the .PDF click on the picture of the poster version you are interested in from the four versions shown below, or go to www.youthcourt.net. (Youth Court) (Teen Court) (Peer Court) (Student Court) Encourage Others to Join the more than 5,000 persons who receive the NAYC News: Monthly E-Update! Increase support for your youth court on a local level by keeping your local stakeholders informed of what is going on nationally in the youth court field. Print a copy of this issue and distribute it to your advisory committee members, board of directors, and youth volunteers. Encourage them to visit www.youthcourt.net where they can register to receive a free copy.
NAYC News: Monthly E-Update Written by: Scott Bernard Peterson, United States Department of Justice Email: scott.peterson2@usdoj.gov Britney Batz, Project Coordinator Email: bbatz@ncjfcj.org Contact Us: Federal Youth Court Program National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges PO Box 8970, Reno, Nevada 89507 (775) 784-6715 (775) 784-6628 - Fax Email: youthcourt@ncjfcj.org
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NAYC NEWS: Monthly E-Update

Youth Court ~ Teen Court ~

~ Student Court ~ Peer Court

The World's Largest E-Update on Youth Courts, Teen Courts,
Peer Courts and Student Courts

A Service of The Federal Youth Court Program

Volume 5, No. 5 Circulation 6,500

May, 2007

In This Issue:

The Monthly Highlight
Local, State and National News
Funding, Resources, Partnerships and More…
National and State Trainings, Conferences and Meetings
Training and Technical Assistance Publications and Resources
Get Involved and/or Take Action
The Federal Youth Court Program Update
www.youthcourt.net Highlights
A Little Bit of This n’ That
- Extreme Makeover Season Finale (5/20 on ABC) and the Youth Court Link!
Get and Stay Connected

The Monthly Highlight

National Double-Track Youth Court Training Announced

Only 15 days left to register – only 26 slots remain – filling up quick!
On June 10-13, 2007, in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), in collaboration with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools, and the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, is sponsoring the National Double Track Youth Court Training.

Track one is designed for communities interested in establishing a youth court program and for new youth court staff and volunteers. Track two is designed for experienced youth court staff and volunteers seeking innovative techniques to enhance current programs. Early registration is recommended, as space is limited for this 2^nd National Double-Track Training for local youth courts, teen courts, peer courts and student courts. The 1^st National Double-Track Training took place January 2007 and was filled to capacity with 150 registrants - plus a waiting list - so register soon to be part of this exciting training. You will leave feeling revitalized and full of new ideas from your peers and trainers. Don’t miss out – register today!

To obtain additional information about this training session and register online, visit http://www.youthcourt.net/training_ta/current.htm.

Local, State and National News

Local News

More and More Youth Courts and Teen Courts are Making Local News in America.

“Teen Court Gives Youth a Second Chance”
Cabarrus County Teen Court, North Carolina
http://www.independenttribune.com/servlet/Satellitepagename=CIT/MGArticle/
CIT_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1173351052870&path=!news

“Brooklyn Criminal Court Empowering Youth through Teen Court”
Red Hook Youth Court, New York
http://www.brooklyneagle.com/categories/category.php?category_id=4&id=12703

“Teen Court Celebrates and Holds an Open House for the Public”
Montgomery County Teen Court, Maryland
http://www.journalreview.com/articles/2007/05/01/viewpoints/teencourt.txt

“Youth Court Celebrates Law Day 2007 with Mock Trial for the Public”
Elmira Youth Court, New York
http://www.star-gazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Avis=BM&Dato=20070502&Kategori=NEWS01
&Lopenr=502003&Ref=PH

“Teen Court Recognizes Students for Law Day”
Central South Dakota Teen Court

http://www.capjournal.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=2&ArticleID=17218

“Youth Court Gives Second Chances"
Onondaga County Youth Court, New York
http://www.syracuse.com/articles/news/index.ssf?/base/news-2/1177664982192310.xml&coll=1

“Education on the Rule of Law in Teen Court”
Hernando County Teen Court, Florida
http://www.sptimes.com/2007/04/30/Hernando/
Education_on_the_rule.shtml

“Teen Court is for Peers” and
“Teen Court Offers Unique Method”
Santa Maria and Santa Ynez Teen Courts, California
http://www.santamariatimes.com/articles/2007/04/14/news/news02.txt
http://www.santamariatimes.com/articles/2007/04/14/
news/featurednews/news01.txt

“Annual Banquet Honors Youth Volunteers and
Adults Making a Difference”
Johnson County Teen Court, Texas
http://www.cleburnetimesreview.com/local/local_story_111120235.html

“Teen Court Plan in the Works”
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/17065088.htm

“County Grand Jury Report Release:
Need to Reinstate Teen Court Program”
Ridgecrest, California
http://www.ridgecrestca.com/articles/2007/04/11/news/news03.txt

“Pilot Teen Court Launched in County: Judging their Peers”
Hamilton County Teen Court, Ohio
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070423/NEWS0102/704230378/1058/NEWS01

“Pima County Teen Court gets $10,000 Grant from the Arizona Foundation for Legal and Education Services”
Pima County Teen Court was awarded $10,000 from the Arizona Foundation for Legal Services & Education. This is particularly noteworthy because the funding was awarded on the basis that our teen volunteers are law-related educators, a category typically reserved for teachers and probation officers. As in other teen courts, our teen volunteers work in the community to educate defendants and their families about juvenile law, the court process, and general citizenship. The funding will be used to provide professional development training to teen attorneys and recognition to all teen volunteers. This is an exciting opportunity for Pima County Teen Court! Kudos to W. Kate Spaulding who heads up the program and Thank You to the Arizona Foundation for Legal and Education for continuing to support all teen courts in Arizona.

Layton Youth Court Youth President Kara Peart Wins Major Award
Last week Kara Peart received the Silver Bowl Award in recognition of her service to the community. She was the only recipient from Davis County and also the youngest. Bob Evans, the emcee, from Fox 13 News, couldn't get over what a great accomplishment this was for someone so young. Submitted by her very proud mother, Karlene Peart, Director, Layton Youth Court, Utah.

State News

Maryland Teen Courts Celebrate National Youth Service Day by Painting the Future Office of the National Association of Youth Courts, to be Based in Baltimore, Maryland.
On Saturday, April 21^st in Celebration of National Youth Service Day – over forty (40) volunteer youth and adults from the Charles County Teen Court and the Baltimore City Teen Court met to begin work on a joint community service project in recognition of National & Global Youth Service Day 2007. The project they selected was to help prepare the office space recently acquired to house the newly formed National Association of Youth Courts Headquarters. Forming into teams, the teens worked together to clean, prep, and paint the seven (7) offices that will be occupied with the adult staff and volunteers of the new National Association of Youth Courts being developed and launched by over eighty (80) local and state teen courts and youth court leaders. A special thank you to the adult staff, Maryellen Kraese from the Charles County Teen Court and Rick Miller from the Baltimore City Teen Court and of course, the amazing youth!

Upcoming Training: Fall of 2007 for Establishing New State Associations for Teen Courts and Youth Courts.
Save the Date: October 28-31, 2007 in Washington, D.C. at the Hotel Washington.
Save the Date! OJJDP will convene a national meeting for those states without a State Association, State Networking Group, and/or those states without a state agency providing leadership. Currently twenty-two states (22) have a formal or informal State Association or State Networking Group – these range from eleven (11) states being Non-Profits like Florida, Louisiana, Texas, Maryland and New York. Other states such as Kentucky have the State AOC and Tennessee has the State Bar Association. Yet others, such as Indiana and Idaho have local teen court and youth court directors, coordinators and other staff informally meeting for networking, training and funding purposes.

Just as the number of local youth courts reaches over a record 1,200 local programs – the number of states with formal and informal associations is at a record twenty-two as Louisiana, California, West Virginia and several others have started in the past year.

More information on this training opportunity will be announced in June, watch for it in the next NAYC News: Monthly E-Update. An application process will be announced for the other 29 states, 5 U.S. Territories and Washington D.C. without formal or informal associations. This training is being organized and sponsored by OJJDP and our federal partners.

Eight (8) states will be selected and up to six (6) participants from each state will be eligible to attend. Participants must be from different jurisdictions within the state, as OJJDP wants to encourage more active participation from different local youth courts and teen courts. OJJDP will subsidize up to 75% of the travel costs associated with participating in this training (i.e. 75% of hotel costs (3 nights), airfare/ground transportation, and food). It is anticipated OJJDP will be responsible for $750 per person and each person will cover $250. This training will be held in conjunction with the National Association of Youth Courts. For additional information please contact Scott Peterson at OJJDP at scott.peterson2@usdoj.gov

Seventeen (17) of the states are listed here: http://www.youthcourt.net/resources/associations.htm

State of Texas
2007 Texas Teen Court Conference is scheduled for November 4-7, 2007 in Austin, Texas. For more information contact Jo Ann Wilder, Conference Chair at jwilder100@austin.rr.com or (512) 303-5549. All Roads Lead to Austin!

State of California
California Youth Court Summit scheduled for June 22-24, 2007. For more information please contact Patrick Danna Patrick.danna@jud.ca.gov or (415) 865-7992.

State of Utah
10^th Annual Utah State Youth Court Conference is scheduled for June 20-23, 2007 in St. George, Utah. For more information contact Kathleen Zeitlin at slpcourt@xmission.com or (801) 322-1815.

National News

2007 is already proving a RECORD YEAR for the
National Youth Court and Teen Court Movement
The number of local youth courts, teen court, peer courts, student courts has now surpassed a record 1,200 local youth courts across America. The national movement continues and appears to be gaining increased momentum after three years of continued growth – albeit – less than in the previous six years. Local, regional and state efforts and support are increasing in almost every geographic area of the United States thanks in large part to the record number of youth and adult volunteers and the amazing, often selfless, efforts of the adult staff operating local programs while increasingly taking on even more volunteer responsibilities as they mobilize and champion the cause on regional, state and national levels.

Funding, Resources, and Partnership Tips and Ideas

Funding Tip: Bookmark this Link: http://servenet.org/Toolkit/Grants/tabid/137/Default.aspx
Click on it to find grants and resources from Youth Service America

Grants Target Alcoholism Prevention and Education
Christopher D. Smithers Foundation
The mission of the Christopher D. Smithers Foundation is to educate the public regarding the fact that alcoholism is a respectable, treatable disease from which people can and do recover; encourage prevention programs, with an emphasis on high risk populations; and fight to reduce the stigma that is associated with the disease of alcoholism. The main thrust of the Foundation's funding is in the field of alcoholism prevention and education, including research, public education, and creating awareness of this issue in the nation's work world.

Grants Encourage Citizenship and Democracy
Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation
The focus of the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation is on projects that cultivate a renewed, healthier, and more vigorous sense of citizenship among the American people, as well as among people of other nations. The Foundation seeks to reinvigorate churches, families, schools, and neighborhoods, and to encourage decentralization of power and accountability away from centralized, bureaucratic, national institutions. Projects may address any arena of public life economics, politics, culture, or civil society where citizenship is an important issue. Projects focusing on the issue of citizenship at home and abroad are supported. Applications are reviewed quarterly; the next application deadline is June 1, 2007. Visit the website listed above for more information.

Funding for Local Programs in Company Communities
Union Pacific Foundation: Community-Based Grant Program
The Union Pacific Foundation's mission is to improve the quality of life in the communities served by Union Pacific, primarily in the midwestern and western United States. (For a map of company communities go to http://www.uprr.com/aboutup/maps/sysmap/index.shtml.) Through the Foundation’s Community-Based Grant Program, support is provided to local organizations in company communities that focus on health and human services, fine arts, or community and civic programs. The application cycle opens on May 1, 2007 and closes on August 15, 2007.

Federal Grants:

Administration for Children and Families:
Mentoring Children of Prisoners
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/grants/open/HHS-2007-ACF-ACYF-CV-0029.html
This program supports the creation and maintenance of one-on-one mentoring relationships between children of incarcerated parents and caring, supportive adult mentors.

Administration for Children and Families:
Street Outreach Program
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/grants/open/HHS-2007-ACF-ACYF-YO-0105.html
This program supports outreach services to street youth, including a range of education, intervention, and prevention services.

Department of Agriculture:
Rural Cooperative Development Grants
Grants.gov or Department of Agriculture
This program seeks to improve the economic condition of rural areas through the creation or retention of jobs and the development of new rural cooperatives, value-added processing, and other rural businesses.

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration:
Access to Recovery
http://www.samhsa.gov/Grants/2007/ti_07_005.aspx
This program seeks to provide client choice among substance abuse clinical treatment and recovery support service providers, expand access to a comprehensive array of clinical treatment and recovery support options (including faith-based programmatic options), and increase substance abuse treatment capacity.

Trainings, Events and Conferences on a State and National Level

Strategies for Building Resiliency in Youth
June 18-21, 2007 - Clemson, South Carolina
Join colleagues from across the country for a focused learning experience on service-learning, one of the National Dropout Prevention Center's 15 Effective Strategies. Deepen your understanding of the dropout crisis; learn why young people are dropping out in such devastating numbers. Become empowered with the knowledge of why youth are disengaging from school as you explore a teaching and learning strategy that directly addresses these issues and which has proven to be extraordinarily effective in reengaging students in their education. To learn more, visit http://www.dropoutprevention.org.

Institute on Urban Service Learning
June 18, 2007 - Denver, Colorado
This institute is designed to introduce K-12 educators to dynamic classroom tools and teaching strategies that bridge content standards, community involvement, environmental awareness, civic education, and hands-on experiential learning. The summer institute will create a solid foundation of service learning and build on foundation with an emphasis on urban and water issues. To learn more, contact Tash Mitchell or Ana Soler at tashmesia.mitchell@ef-den.org or ana.soler@ef-den.org.

Preparing Families, Schools and Communities
Through Service Learning
July 10-11, 2007 - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Participants will receive a copy of “Youth Organized for Disaster Action - Best Practices” to guide them as they acquire knowledge, skills, and resources related to implementing high quality service learning, with an emphasis on school and community safety, disaster mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery. For more information, visit http://www.igesl.org/html/service_learning_training.html or email institute@igesl.org.

Service Learning in After-School Programs
August 2-3, 2007 - Oakland, California
This interactive institute will include presentations from the acclaimed California After-School Service Learning (CASSL) initiative about successful programs in urban and other environments, as well as emerging research about the impact of service-learning in after-school settings. Participants will receive a copy of the book “Service-Learning in After-School Programs: Resources for After-School Educators” and can use this resource to design a specific project for their own program. Project design will emphasize developing youth leadership skills and incorporating youth reflection in program evaluation. Participants will prepare service-learning projects for effective implementation in after school environments. To learn more, contact Lisa Whitmer at lisa@yscal.org.

Urban Service Learning Institute
August 2-3, 2007 - Detroit, Michigan
This event will bring together community voices to discuss service-learning outreach and application techniques that will help students achieve excellence in urban settings. To learn more, visit http://www.nylc.org/ui or contact Bernard Gill at bgill@nylc.org.

May 16 - 19 - Boys and Girls Clubs of America National Conference Orlando, Florida
http://www.bgca.org/

May 19 - Hope Worldwide Global Summit - Dulles, Virginia
http://www.hopeww.org/globalsummit/s2announce.html

May 29 - June 3 - U.S. Institute of Peace - Washington, DC
http://www.usip.org/ed/seminars/ccfs.html

June 9 - August 4 - Institute on Philanthropy - Washington, DC
http://www.dcinternships.org/IPVS

June 14 - 3rd Annual Service-Learning Symposium: From Making Connections to Making Commitments: Improving Pedagogy, Engaging Students, and Building Communities - Cullowhee, North Carolina
http://www.wcu.edu/studentd/service_learning/symposium/index.html

June 22 - City Year Graduation - Multiple Locations
http://www.cityyear.org/getinvolved/events/graduation.cfm

June 28 - 29 - Great Kids Summit - Louisville, Kentucky
http://www.kychildnow.org/

July 16 - 18 - National Conference on Volunteering and Service - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
http://www.volunteeringandservice.org/submission.cfm

July 24 - 27 - Generations United International Conference -
Washington, DC
http://www.gu.org/GU_Co12281388.asp

July 29 - August 1 - STARS National Conference -
Colorado State University Fort Collins
http://www.friendsfirst.org/unleashed

October 3 - 5 - National Conference on Preventing Crime: Helping Build Safer Communities - Atlanta, Georgia
http://www.ncpc.org/training/National_Conference.php

October 7 - 9 - International Research Conference on Service-Learning and Community Engagement - Tampa, Florida
http://www.floridacompact.org/irsl

October 21 - 23 - Independent Sector Annual Conference -
Los Angeles, California http://www.independentsector.org/annualconference

August (2008) - World Youth Congress - Quebec City, Canada
http://www.peacechild.org/

Resources and Publications

Report Release on Youth Activities and Substance Abuse
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Service's Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has released "The NSDUH Report: Youth Activities, Substance Use, and Family Income."

The 3-page report draws on data from the National Survey on Drug Use & Health (NSDUH) to review relationships between youth participation in various activities and alcohol, cigarette, and illicit drug use.

The report indicates that youth aged 12 to 17 who did not participate in any school-, community-, faith-based, or other activities had higher rates of past month cigarette and illicit drug use than those who took part in four or more activities. To access the report and related resources, visit http://www.oas.samhsa.gov/2k7/youthActs/youthActs.cfm.

Six-Year Collaboration Between International Youth Foundation & Nokia Demonstrates Positive Changes in Young Lives
A 13-country study of life skills programs run by the International Youth Foundation (IYF) and Nokia demonstrates significant increases in young people's educational readiness, engagement in their communities, and their self-confidence and focus on the future. The study, conducted by Brandeis University's Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Center for Youth and Communities, was based on surveys of over 3,500 youth and set out to measure changes in young people's life skills and related outcomes. To read the full press release, visit http://www.iyfnet.org/document.cfm/30/867.

Get Involved and Take Action

6th National Youth Court/ Teen Court Month is this
September – 2007 Theme Announced!
At a recent meeting of over eighty (80) youth and teen court local, regional and state leaders, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention of the U.S. Department of Justice asked these professionals to pick a theme for the over 1,200 plus local youth courts, teen courts, peer courts, and student courts across America.

A formal kit and much, much more will be coming out, after local youth courts and teen courts have completed activities for National Youth Service Day in April and Law Day on May 1^st.

The Winning Theme is for 2007 is ....
“Empowering Youth – Experiencing Justice”

Make the commitment now – this is the year you will join the record numbers of local programs across America who are standing up tall and bringing increased attention to the National Youth Justice Movement while recruiting more volunteers, both youth and adults.

Who are Your U.S. Senators?
Who is Your Member in the House of Representatives?
Learn who your U.S. Senators, Representatives, and other elected officials are. Teach your youth volunteers and offenders who they are. It is never too early to plan for next year a great activity for Law Day (May 1, 2008) is to have your youth and adults involved in your local program educate your members of congress about your local program and how it serves the community. This information regarding locating who your elected officials are can be found at www.congress.org. Simply enter your zip code in the search box to find the information for your area.

Take Action and Report your National and Global
Youth Service Day Projects
Hundreds of local teen courts, youth courts, student courts and peer courts participated in National and Global Youth Service Day this year. Share your photos by adding them to the National & Global Youth Service Day Flickr photo pool at http://www.flickr.com/groups/ngysd2007/ Use Flickr's "Mappr" (an interactive, global map) tool in the Flickr Organizer to show where the project photos were taken. YouTube is a group that has been created to share promotions and service day videos. To watch uploaded videos and post your own, visit http://youtube.com/group/ngysd07.

Summer of Service Bill Introduced in the U.S. Congress
Encouraging more youth to get involved in their communities and the world around them, Senators Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Thad Cochran (R-MS) and Representative Rosa DeLauro (CT-3) introduced their Summer of Service bill in their respective Houses of Congress. The legislation encourages preteen and teenaged children to volunteer by creating a competitive grant program which enables states to offer students making the transition from middle to high school an opportunity to participate in structured community service programs over the summer months. To read the full press release, visit http://dodd.senate.gov/index.php?q=node/3835.

OJJDP Encourages Local Youth Courts and Teen Courts to Partner with America’s Promise
America's Promise - The Alliance for Youth was founded after the Presidents' Summit for America's Future in 1997 where Presidents Bush, Carter, Clinton and Ford, with Nancy Reagan representing President Reagan, challenged the country to make children and youth a national priority. Retired General Colin L. Powell is founding chairman. America's Promise is chaired by Alma Powell. The mission of America's Promise - The Alliance for Youth is to mobilize people from every sector of American life to build the character and competence of youth by fulfilling Five Promises in their lives: caring adults; safe places with structured activities during non-school hours; a healthy start; marketable skills through effective education; and opportunities to serve. Visit www.americaspromise.org to learn more.

The Federal Youth Court Program Update:

The Federal Youth Court Program is administered by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention in collaboration with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools. Since 1997 this program has provided overall national coordination, training and technical assistance, publications, and a wide range of other services to the now over 1,200 local youth court and teen court programs in forty-nine states and the District of Columbia. Current partner agencies include the American Bar Association, National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges and the Phi Alpha Delta Public Service Center which administers the federally funded and sponsored National Youth Court Task Force Project to establish the new National Association of Youth Courts in 2007 to become operational this fall thanks to over 75 of your peers who want you involved starting this December!

For more information on the Federal Youth Court Program; how to keep up-to-date on local, state and national youth court and teen court initiatives and news, get connected today and subscribe to the "NAYC News: Monthly E-Update" and the "Quarterly Newsletter: In Session" please log on to www.youthcourt.net or contact Scott Peterson at scott.peterson2@usdoj.gov.

MAY:
May (month) – National Youth Traffic Safety Month http://www.noys.org
May 13-20 - National AmeriCorps Week
http://www.americorps.org/

JUNE:
June 3 - 10 - National NeighborWorks Week http://www.nw.org/network/home.asp
June 5 - World Environment Day
http://www.unep.org/wed
June 6 - National Hunger Awareness Day
http://www.nw.org/network/home.asp

JULY:
July 20 - Special Olympics Day
http://www.specialolympics.org

AUGUST:
August 7 - National KidsDay
http://www.kidsday.net/

SEPTEMBER:
September (month) - National Youth Court Month http://www.youthcourt.net/
September 11 - My Good Deed
http://www.mygooddeed.org/
September 15 - 17 - Clean Up the World Weekend http://www.unep.org/
September 16 - National Neighborhood Day http://www.neighborhoodday.org/index_flash.asp
September 17-24 - Constitution Week http://www.constitutioncenter.org/

www.youthcourt.net Highlights

Everyone take action – a New National Directory of local youth court, teen court, student court, and peer court programs will be printed in about 90 days and mailed this September 2007 to over 6,000 people in our database at no charge. BUT everyone needs to do their part – make sure you are included along with all of your local programs. Log on to www.youthcourt.net and click on the “Update Your Program” in the upper right hand corner, enter all your adult staff, old and new. Stay involved with the movement – get connected for a brand new year ahead!

Make sure you are registered by June 15^th!!! You don’t want to miss out!

All registered programs will receive:

The Action Kit for National Youth Court Month and National Teen Court Month for this September 2007 – scheduled to be mailed in June.
A copy of the new 2007/2008 directory – scheduled to be mailed in September.
Your program will be listed on www.youthcourt.net
New Posters – 10 of them are being mailed free to each program for use in September to recruit new youth to volunteer and market your program – scheduled to be mailed in June.
Training announcements and new training materials.

.. . And much more will be coming from the Federal Youth Court Program. Click on www.youthcourt.net now!

A Little Bit of This & That

ABC’s Extreme Makeover Home Edition Two Hour Season Finale
Sunday, May 20, 2007

In 1988, Debbie Oatman was volunteering at an AIDS shelter for babies born with HIV/AIDS. While working at the shelter, she fell in love with the a little one-year old, named Duan (or DJ) as they called him and adopted him. Now a single mother, she quit her job to care for her new son.

The following year Debbie, adopted Kevin and Brian, whose mother had AIDS. Kevin was among the 50% of newborns at that time, who did not become infected with the HIV/AIDS virus. Unfortunately, Brian was diagnosed with carrying the HIV/AIDS virus.

With three adopted sons who all struggled with various developmental and health issues, Debbie went on to have one biological son, named Scout. At age 49, this single mother trying to make it through college and raise four sons was now faced with a sinking house, the foundation was cracked and the walls were coming apart. There were drainage problems and her front lawn turned into a pond. Just when she thought things could not get much worse the “pond” in the front lawn was struck by lightening causing even more damage.

Debbie had taken out a second mortgage and at this point had few places to turn beyond her limited family, which included her godson, Scott Peterson.

Scott has been the godfather of Duan (DJ) since he was three. Scott and his sister Melissa serve as godparents for Debbie’s children. Look for Scott and Melissa standing behind Debbie and her four adorable kids in the family section as thousands in upstate New York in the Town of Colonie cheer over and over . . . Move That Bus!

I encourage all of you to sit with your children, family and friends to watch this very special episode that will share a message of compassion for all people with AIDS and HIV and – very importantly – with teens and women having the highest infection rate. Watch this special two-hour season finale our family supported in many ways. It is a message about prevention and education as we strive to stop the devastation of AIDS and get more people involved in the fight to spread the work and not the disease. Be well my friends and please tune in Sunday, May 20, 2007 at 7 p.m. EST. The kids got awesome rooms and Debbie did too – we cried all day for them. As my sister and I remembered earlier this year, when we were trying to tape the cracks shut, as snow was actually coming into their home.
Be well.
From, Scott Peterson.

Many of you know Scott Peterson as the founding Director of the Colonie Youth Court in 1993. In 1997, Scott moved to Washington, D.C. to work at the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. While at OJJDP Scott has started up the National Youth Court Center and all the Federal Youth Court Projects up to and including the new initiative to establish even more state associations for the upcoming National Association of Youth Courts.

Job opportunity resources:
www.SERVEnet.org
www.idealist.org
www.opportunitynocs.org
www.independentsector.org/members/joblink.html

Have a job opening you would like listed in the NSB? Send a description with contact information to nsbinfo@ysa.org with the subject line JOB.

Fund to Honor Virginia Tech Victims Established
Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund
Virginia Tech has established the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund to remember and honor the victims of the tragic events of April 16, 2007. The Fund will be used to aid in the healing process by covering expenses such as assistance to victims and their families, grief counseling, memorials, communication costs, etc. To learn more about the fund or to make a contribution, visit the website listed above.

Get and Stay Connected

Log on to www.youthcourt.net and click on the icon in the upper right hand corner to stay involved - if you are in the Federal Youth Court Program database - we will do our best to make sure you are in the loop. Keep us in the loop also, share your local and state news!

www.youthcourt.net : The world’s largest web-site for youth courts, TEEN Courts, Peer Courts and Student Courts.

Encourage others to subscribe! Forward this message to adult & youth involved in Local Youth Courts.

We are always interested in your comments and ideas.

Please contact us.

Have information you would like us to include in future issues of the NAYC News: Monthly E-Update? Let us know.

Sponsored by:

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Department of Education

National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges

New
Volunteer
Recruitment
Posters
are now
available
in .PDF
format!

You can print 8-1/2 x 11 versions of your choice of poster on your own color printer. Great for posting on bulletin boards or using as flyers!

To access the .PDF click on the picture of the poster version you are interested in from the four versions shown below, or go to www.youthcourt.net.

(Youth Court)

(Teen Court)

(Peer Court)

(Student Court)

Encourage Others to Join the more than 5,000 persons who receive the NAYC News: Monthly
E-Update!

Increase support for your youth court on a local level by keeping your local stakeholders informed of what is going on nationally in the youth court field.

Print a copy of this issue and distribute it to your advisory committee members, board of directors, and youth volunteers.

Encourage them to visit www.youthcourt.net where they can register to receive a free copy.

NAYC News: Monthly E-Update Written by:

Scott Bernard Peterson, United States Department of Justice
Email: scott.peterson2@usdoj.gov

Britney Batz, Project Coordinator
Email: bbatz@ncjfcj.org

Contact Us:

Federal Youth Court Program
National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges
PO Box 8970, Reno, Nevada 89507
(775) 784-6715
(775) 784-6628 - Fax
Email: youthcourt@ncjfcj.org

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Monthly E-Update, please click here