February 5, 2010 - South Carolina's Children Need Your Help NOW!


Many of you have asked what action you can take to assist the current plight of our children.  South Carolina's children need you now to be their voice in the S.C. Senate.
 
S1 (Senate Bill 1) proposes a Budget Stabilization Fund based on our current, abnormally low levels of budget expenditures.  If this bill passes, the impact to our children will be devastating.  
 
You are all well aware of the budget cuts that are severely impacting children's programs in all areas.  S1 would legislate this funding level as the new "normal", even after economic recovery unless the legislation is fixed to ensure that we can get through this economic crisis before we start filling the rainy day fund called for in the bill.  It is critical that you call your Senator today and ask him to "fix S1 or vote against the bill."
 
Please take a minute to call your Senator, and please forward this email to others who care.
 
Here is a link to find the phone number for your Senator:   http://www.scstatehouse.gov/html-pages/senatemembers.html Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, you can reach your Senator at their office number in Columbia (it's the phone number listed for the Gressette Building).  If the Senate is in session, you can call them at the Statehouse at (803 )212-6700.
 
To determine your Senator, go to this link:  http://www.scstatehouse.gov/cgi-bin/zipcodesearch.exe    By providing your 9-digit zip code, you can obtain this information.
 
 Please call me, Gail Kinard at 779-1113 x 112 or gkinard@scjustice.org. Our children's future depends on our actions today.

View this PDF to find out more.

January 26, 2010 - Attention Parents and Caregivers of a child in a Residential Treatment Center: This is you chance to speak and be heard! I am looking for participants to take my CONFIDENTIAL SURVEY and share their experience with their child's Residential Treatment Center. Take the survey on-line at www.rtcparents.com or call me at 410.938.4586 for a printed version of the survey and a stamped/self-addressed envelope. Thank you for your participation!

January 25, 2010 - Girl Scout Cookie Sale- Help out the Troop at DJJ- Buy cookies!

Friends,
 
As you may know, the amazing girls residing at Willow Lane on the DJJ Broad River Road Campus, have had the wonderful opportunity to participate in a Girl Scout Troop. In partnering with the Junior League of Columbia as their Girl Scout Leaders, the girls have jumped full throttle into the scouting way of life. By using the Girl Scout curriculum, the hope of the Junior League is to help the girls develop effective coping skills, learn stress relieving mechanisms, increase their self esteem and positively communicate with their peers.
 
Each girl has the opportunity to earn charms as they complete projects. The girls have enjoyed making cards for breast cancer patients, assembling Halloween goody bags for the children of St. Lawrence place, and creating holiday cards for soldiers stationed overseas. The girls have been humbled to see, that although behind the fence, they have the opportunity to make a difference in someone else's life.
 
They are most excited about their next big project: The Cookie Sale! The girls are happy to announce that they are selling cookies now thorugh February 15th They are optimistic for a successful sale and have set a group goal of 100 boxes.
 
We hope that you will be a part of helping to reach that goal. For each box the girls sell, they will receive $.45. We asked the girls what they would like to do with the money. We have decided as a troop to use the money to purchase something that will help them once they leave DJJ. As most of you know, the girls will start on a brave journey once they leave the fences so we hope that by purchasing items that will provide them with comfort and stability as they make their way home. The girls have requested that with the remaining funds, they make a donation to a local homeless shelter in Columbia. It means more to them that someone have a meal and a place to sleep than reaping any benefits from their sale.
 
As you can see, scouting has brought out the very best in these wonderful, brilliant, courageous girls.
 
These GIRL SCOUTS will be so grateful to you for helping make their goal for the 2010 Cookie Sale!
 
Girl Scout cookies are $3.50 per box. In order to peruse the Girl Scout cookie choices for 2010 please go to:
 
 http://www.girlscoutcookies.org/meet_the_cookies.asp
 
To place your order with the Girl Scouts at DJJ please send an email with the following information to djjgirlscouts@gmail.com
Your Name
Your Address
Your email address
The number of packages you would like to order (Remember Girl Scout Cookies freeze well so order several of your favorites!!)
 
We would like to close with a poem written by one of DJJ's very own Girl Scouts:
 

Riley Creech, Charlotte Hamilton, Jennifer Saintsing & Melissa Thomas - Troop Leaders

January 14, 2010 - Action Alert!

Tell the Senate: Pass Juvenile Justice Reform Now!
 
The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Reauthorization Act of 2009, S. 678, was approved by the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee by a vote of 12-7 on December 17th, 2009.  First enacted in 1974, the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA) provides federal funding to states that comply with a set of best practices aimed at avoiding the detention and incarceration of young people in juvenile and adult facilities.

S. 678 is good law, and is needed now more than ever to end the over-incarceration of young people, particularly youth of color, in the justice system and stop the inappropriate use of adult jails to warehouse children charged as adults. 

If you believe that it is urgent to stop putting youth in adult jails and prisons, to end the over-incarceration of youth, and instead devote more resources to effective juvenile justice programs such as alternatives to detention and incarceration, contact the Senate now and urge them to move the bill on the Senate floor now!

Send the letter below to urge your Senators to move the JJDPA bill now to take positive steps to fix our juvenile justice system!

To sign the letter, click here:

http://www.change.org/actions/view/tell_the_senate_pass_juvenile_justice_reform_now

 
Thank you so much!

January 14, 2010 - Economy Causing Increased Depression in High School and College Students

Five times as many high school and college students are dealing with anxiety and other mental health issues as youth of the same age who were studied during the Great Depression, a new study finds. The findings, which will be published in a future issue of Clinical Psychology Review, were collected from responses to the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory. Overall, an average of five times as many students in 2007 surpassed thresholds in one or more mental health categories, compared with those who did so in 1938. A few individual categories increased at an even greater rate—with six times as many scoring high for depression and anxiety. Some say societal pressures contribute to the increase. Others question the reliability of the data because many who answered the questionnaire were students in introductory psychology courses. Click Here to read the full story from the Washington Post.

December 16, 2009 - PREPARING MAKES SENSE FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES AND SPECIAL NEEDS: Information from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on how to prepare for an emergency and what to consider if you or a family member has a disability. Includes a list of recommended emergency supplies, how to make a plan and the importance of staying informed about the types of emergencies that are likely to affect your area.  This information sheet is available in English at   http://www.ready.gov/america/_downloads/PrinterFriendly_DisabilitesSpecialNeeds.pdf or in Spanish at  http://www.ready.gov/america/_downloads/PrinterFriendly_DisabilitiesSpecialNeeds_ES.pdf.

December 16, 2009 - Check out our new Job Listings in the FFSC Employment section.

December 15, 2009 - Some interesting articles that we feel are worth reading.

• Young Adults May Outgrow Bipolar Disorder 

• Bipolar Disorder Amongst Children And Adolescents Receive Late Diagnosis
  

• Youth mental health initiative starts in Marion County
  

December 9, 2009 - The 2010 SC Respite Coalition Conference, "Respite Solutions 2010:  Inspiring Faith Communities."  This conference will be held Thursday, February 4, 2010 from 8:30am-3:15pm at St. Andrews Baptist Church, Columbia, SC.  For more information, please visit http://www.screspitecoalition.org.

September 15, 2009 - Support Matters, the Federation of Families of South Carolina Fall 2009 newsletter, to read click here.

September 14, 2009 - Flu Information Resources DHEC offers the following links to help answer questions and address concerns related to the flu and the H1N1 Virus:
 Seasonal Influenza: http://www.scdhec.gov/flu/achoo-en.htm and http://www.scdhec.gov/flu/cold_flu.htm

September 10, 2009 - Health care reform is back in high gear with members of Congress reconvening after a month-long August recess filled with town hall meetings around the country and President Obama's informative and myth-busting address to Congress has reinvigorated our call to action. Read more…

August 31, 2009 -  Autism Society Sponsors a workshop on Functional Behavioral Assessments and Behavior Intervention Plans : Tuesdays, 10/13-11/17/09  4:00pm-6:30pm

August 31, 2009  NEW RESOURSE IN UPSTATE: CHANCE Waiver services now available Children in Cherokee, Union and Spartanburg. Families and youth will have a choice of services and supports to help keep their child at home or after they return from a treatment facility.

August 31, 2009 - The Children’s Mental Health Week (CMHW) 2009/2010 poster contest information is now available at http://www.scccbd.com or READ MORE

June 10, 2009  PACER’s New School Discipline Process Guide Available Online
Parents and professionals can both benefit from PACER’s “School Discipline Process for Minnesota Students with Disabilities: An Interactive Guide.” Based on federal and state law, it walks you through the process Minnesota schools must follow to determine discipline options, including expulsion, suspension, or sending a child with disabilities home before the end of the day. The guide is easy to use and share with others. Read More...

Follow this link to find out more: http://www.pacer.org/publications/specedrights.asp