I ran across this article in the Chicago Tribune, and thought this was such a wonderful answer to curb the teen violence, and also at the same time advocate for "potential drop-outs" in the Indiana schools that are considered dangerous, or those with low graduation rates.
It is worth reading, if you are an educator from schools dealing with youths that need guidance. I would certainly hope that the schools in Hammond, East Chicago, Gary, and among others in the state would read this, and possibly look into this.
Sounds like a great idea to me!
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/education/chi-bd-cps-violence-15-nov15,0,4450979.storyChicago Public Schools looks to advocacy group for curbing teen violence
Youth Advocate Programs, Inc. will hire neighborhood workers to aid at-risk kids, families
November 15, 2009
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In early September, city schools chief Ron Huberman announced an ambitious plan to combat youth street violence, in part by offering intensive mentoring and jobs for the high school kids most likely to fall victim.
Two months later, some details have changed while others remain cloaked in secrecy. But key elements of the plan are under way.
The school system has pinned its hopes for the most at-risk kids on Pennsylvania-based Youth Advocate Programs, Inc., and the $12-an-hour neighborhood workers the nonprofit has begun to hire. Much of the plan's success will hinge on the extensive work they do.
The company's CEO, Jeff Fleischer, said the advocates are grass-roots problem-solvers. If a family needs a new refrigerator or a father needs car insurance, it's their job to take care of it. While he declined to comment about the specifics of the Chicago contract, Fleischer discussed the group's work nationally.
"Our program basically says, 'If this is a tough kid and you just don't have time to individualize a plan, then we do,' " Fleischer said. "We'll individualize a program for the kid and with the family, then we'll match that person with the right (advocate) and the right agencies."
Given the web of problems that often confronts the most troubled teens, he said, the solutions take time and persistence. Often, the first plan doesn't work. "Everything will blow up and go to hell, and we'll reconvene and come up with another plan," he said.
Pressure to launch the program has mounted with the city's grim death toll. Since the start of the school year, 10 students have been struck down in street violence. In a particularly deadly five-day stretch last month, Gamaliel Toscano, Dequarrius Cannon, Martel Barrett and GeRod Thomas died of gun violence.
Though numbers are actually slightly lower than the same period last year, public awareness has been heightened by the fatal beating of 16-year-old Derrion Albert in September, which was caught on video and garnered national attention.
The list of ultra at-risk students, who the district believes have a greater than 20 percent chance of being shot in the next two years, was generated by a computer model based on data from about 500 Chicago Public Schools students shot over the last two years.
Already, the number of students on the list has grown twice, from 200 to 250, then just recently to 300, according to two sources who have knowledge of the plan and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The sudden jumps point to both the flexibility of the plan and the limitations of the data Huberman must work with.
Principals were allowed to add and remove names from the list, sources said. After being notified which students were on the list, principals expressed concern about some students who were omitted and said some who had been included were harmless.
Further, district officials have said the data plugged into the computer formula were limited by state laws that prohibit the district from getting students' juvenile criminal histories. Chicago Public Schools is lobbying Springfield for such a legislative change, Huberman said, but for now must rely on data it collects about attendance, grades, homelessness, violent behavior in school and special education status.
Though a formal contract is still being negotiated between the district and Youth Advocate Programs, they have signed a letter of intent that allows for $150,000 of the $5 million contract to get the ball rolling.
By the end of November, the group must hire a regional director and four of the five area directors, who will be responsible for up to 60 kids each, according to the letter and sources. The group also must have identified at least 25 potential advocates for the more than 60 jobs they'll need to fill and made contact with at least 100 of the youths and their families.
The directors will typically hire advocates from the neighborhoods where they will work. Advocates, who are not required to have any minimum level of education, will receive an hourly wage of about $12, sources said. Advocates work with governmental bodies, help families solve problems and spend several hours a week with each teen. Advocates and other staff will also help the teens find jobs. Part of the plan's budget provides salaries for the kids to work.
Fleischer said his group's mentoring model has been tested in 17 states and abroad and has a proven track record.
He said Youth Advocate is known for its "no reject, no eject" policy -- they accept and retain all kids, no matter the difficulty. Though the group offers a variety of services, including gang intervention and behavioral programs that employ social workers, the school system opted to go with just the advocacy program, sources said.
This isn't the group's first contract in Chicago. It previously subcontracted with Lutheran Child and Family Services to work with wards of the state returning to their communities after incarceration. The contract is between Lutheran and the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.
"We've had nothing but a wonderful, positive experience working with them on dealing with the more difficult youth," said Mike Bertrand, the program director at Lutheran.
Huberman's three-pronged plan also includes helping create a safe passage to and from school and creating a "culture of calm" in the 38 high schools whose students are most often victimized. Huberman has declined to name the schools. The schools are in the process of developing their own safety and security plans. About half have submitted them to the central office for review, said district spokeswoman Monique Bond.
Some principals have expressed enthusiasm for the initiative. Robeson High School principal Gerald Morrow said it's not often that resources are given to the toughest populations. But he's cautious about relying too much on the assistance of a program funded with temporary money.
"You don't want to take anything that becomes a foundation and then is wiped away two years later," said Morrow. "I want to have what I have already that's solid. I can build on that."
aahmed@tribune.com
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