Oh no! The sky is falling, the sky is falling...

Yes friends, things are looking pretty glum in Austin.  What with the legislative plans to cut human services, and the economy still in the toilet, and most of us social workers and youth-care workers at the low end of the social services totem pole, it seems like the end of the tunnel isn't in sight just yet. And this week the governor's "emergencies" are more in the way of medical procedures, voter ID, and sanctuary cities rather than the state's economic crisis.  Even though I try to stay solution-focused and strengths-based I have been worried and forlorn about our state's current condition.  My wife says I'm grumpy and my kids say, "Dad! Get a life!".

As we at TNOYS began to feel the crunch of disappearing dollars in the last few years, we were spurred to look for new and different resources; new places to cast our lot, and some of them have even panned out.  We still believe mightily in our work and are devoted to the survival of ourselves and the network.  Other staff in the agency are posting here about our continuing progress, and in their own categories of work.

I want to spend some time posting today about using what we preach in our trainings to survive and even grow in this new environment.  A Facebook friend of mine recently responded to my announcement of the start of the 82nd Texas Legislature: "We may as well just start banging our heads against the wall now.  I'd be happier unconscious for the next two years".  I imagine this person's statement was meant to be humorous; and yet, underneath the quip I detect a sense of despair that we in the social services arena can really do nothing to help our clients (programs, organizations, etc.) right now.  This got me to thinking.

Then, today, I read a piece from the New York Times, by Richard Friedman, about how insight can be only the beginning of change.  As a family counselor I tend to think of everything with a systems perspective, or a "counseling" slant.  Friedman's piece reminded me that having self-knowledge about what is going on or what we need to do is not always enough.  We also need to put that insight into action.  He notes that in the world of therapy any approach is better than no approach.  He continues that people who are "depressed...(about any situation) have a selective recall bias for unhappy events...; ...they are ...forgetting the good (events)".  From a constructivist perspective of these times we need to clarify what we want instead of what we are offered ("the problem").

We need to get away from an externalized locus of control (they doing it to us) and remember that we feel better and have more resources when we recognize and build upon what we can do (internalized locus of control), no matter what they do.

I am starting by writing this "Best Practices" post to encourage you readers to do something to shout out your ideas about what can and should be done.  As Eldridge Cleaver (or Ralph Waldo Emerson) said, "You're either part of the solution or part of the problem".  In systemic counseling we know that counselors must be the most flexible element in the system if they want to influence systemic change.  We also know from recent outcome research that in counseling of any sort, building an alliance is one of the most important variables leading to success along with client involvement.

One of our narrative therapy techniques utilizing both these variables is finding ways for people to "spread the news" about the "preferred stories" they want the "communities of concern to" hear and pay attention to.  I submit that this is not the time for us to talk about how BAD things are and how we can't do anything. Rather, let's tell our success stories and describe our preferred reality.  Let's talk about what we want and need with those who would speak for us at the legislature.  Telling our stories of success and encouraging those who have benefited from our services to share their stories of success are ways of affirming (witnessing) the value of our work.  I wonder, "How many clients does it take to turn on the lights in the legislature?" 

Using what we know of strengths-based and collaborative counseling might just be good guidelines for involving ourselves and befriending those who would take up our cause.  As we participate in the process of government over the next few months lets find ways to busy ourselves about the things we CAN do: listen to the news from Austin; write an email; call our congress people; share our success stories; visit our legislators in Austin; and encourage our clients to do the same.  We are all in this together.  That's why we call this a network!    ~JN~

TNOYS Member News

New website developments are in the works at TNOYS.  TNOYS board member, Daryl, and Faith are working together to create the "Members Only" section of the TNOYS website. Staff really appreciate Daryl's commitment to help us get the "Members Only" section launched as well as providing other computer support. Possible areas of the "Members Only" section are: Policy Alerts/Advocacy Information, Tex-Net News, Training/Data Surveys, Supervisor's Corner, Best Practices, Member Technical Assistance, and Resource Library Updates.

On another note, we intend to make the Members News section of the blog available for members to share their news.  If you would like to share something about your agency please feel free to send it to Faith.  This is your opportunity to share your successes with others.  So go ahead - toot your own horn!

Staff Training and Professional Development

We are facing an unknown future that at this moment looks bleaker than I have ever seen, although despair isn't a road that I'm willing to go down.  Like us here at TNOYS, all of you are dedicated to serving vulnerable children, youth and families and have likely done this work, in some capacity, all of your professional life!  People often say, "Oh that must be so rewarding." It is rewarding but it would be dishonest to say the work that all of you do is easy, it simply is not.  Our work is about helping people and people are complex.

Most of our young pople have survived a lifetime of hurt, sorrow, unimaginable violence and repeated violations of safety and trust.  Relationships are key to supporting these vulnerable youth in uncovering their strengths and assisting them to successfully navigate adolescence to young adulthood.  Therefore, professionals must be preapred to engage in this incredibly vital and challenging work.  If I burn the fries at McDonald's I can toss them out and start over.  In fact, I can do this at least several more times before my boss probably decides that it's just not working and lets me go.  Service providers don't have this luxury.  We need to get it right with those we serve with the money currently afforded to us and any monies that come our way in the future.

It is no doubt difficult to do more with less.  Often, one of the ways that we deal with shrinking budgets is to reduce training for our professional youth service providers.  It certainly is tempting to do because training isn't a tangible service being delievered directly to youth.  I would ask that you take a moment to reconsider sacrificing such a critical component to ensuring that youth serving programs are delievered at the highest quality possible.  Programs are not people but they are developed, implemented and facilitated by people.  I believe that without ongoing training and staff development we will fall short of helping young people reach their maximum potential.

Good intentions, alone, are not enough to achieve the positive outcomes we work so hard to accomplish with those we serve.  Consequences of an untrained workforce trypically result in a higher rate of employee turnover, staff taking more sick days and overall burn out.  So are we really saving if training is taken out of the equation?  I don't think so.  Everything comes with a cost but people aren't french fries.  Although, as you know too many of our young people will say that they have been treated just like something that can be thrown away.  Training is a mechanism and tool to bolster our competencies in order to do our very best with these complex, resilient and pretty amazing young people.

I recently read an interesting article that speaks to the importance of pre-service and in-service training for staff that you may want to check out.  To find it go to Research to Results-Child Trends.
-MM

Alarm Building over Budget Cut Threats

Continued claims by our Governor and other key leaders that Texas is doing great financially, cause some of us to scratch our heads, wondering why then are we facing massive cuts?! Throughout 2010, the Governor, Lt. Governor, and House Speaker have asked state agencies to cut spending; 5% in 2010-11, and recently an additional 2.5% for 20100.  For 2012-13, agencies were all asked to identify cuts of an additional 10%, for consideration in the budget process this session.

A recent Policy Page by the Center for Public Policy Priorities describes a sampling of the cuts proposed for the 2012-13 budget; cuts which would impact not only those most vulnerable among us, but average Texans across the spectrum. Here are some notable examples:

• Prevention and Early Intervention (PEI), which provides delinquency prevention, helping youth in crisis, and abuse and neglect prevention services under the Department of Family and Protective Services, will be all but eliminated. Such cuts threaten the safety of thousands of Texas children. (See TNOYS fact sheets discussing these cuts and some of the programs impacted. If you want to help oppose these cuts, consider joining TNOYS or contributing to our efforts!)
• More crowded classrooms in the public schools, weakening the learning environment, reducing achievement, undermining college readiness, and prompting more kids, particularly disadvantaged youngsters in need of individual attention, to give up on school and drop out. More dropouts ultimately will cost every taxpayer more in criminal justice costs and lower Texas’ attractiveness to employers with high-paying jobs.
• Additional university tuition increases too high for many middle- and low-income families to afford. Promising young people will drop out of college, never enroll or take on a mountain of debt to fulfill their dreams. Student financial aid, meanwhile, will be reduced, compounding the problem.
• There are approximately 150,000 disabled and senior Texans on Medicaid home and community services who want to live as independently as possible and age in place. Reductions in Medicaid home and community services will result in many people going into more costly nursing home or other institutional services.
• Thousands of working families will lose access to affordable health insurance for their children because of likely cuts to the Children’s Health Insurance Program, or CHIP.  Many of these kids will end up in public hospital emergency rooms, where treatment is more expensive, and local taxpayers will have to pick up the tab.

As damaging and harmful as they would be, these proposed cuts could be only the first wave of a powerful storm that threatens our prosperity once an actual budget is filed by this Legislature.  For one thing, the 10% agency cuts proposed for the biennial budget would result in savings of somewhere around $4 billion; a fraction of the funds needed to make up for the anticipated deficit!

The Comptroller’s 2012-2013 biennial revenues estimate this week was the first of a series of actions to play out this Legislative Session, which will ultimately illuminate just how serious our condition really is. The revenue projection of about $72 billion is only about $8 billion less than last session.  However, after factoring in factors like population growth, increased costs, and federal stimulus funds not available this session, policy analysts are still saying the budget gap could be as high as $27 billion. 

TNOYS is part of a new coalition – Texas Forward – whose growing list of members represent educators, health and human service nonprofits, and others dedicated to better lives for all Texans.  The coalition believes that our budget crisis cannot be solved with cuts alone, advocating that the Rainy Day Fund should be spent, federal dollars maximized, and that legislators should explore new revenue streams that treat all individuals and businesses equitably.  Download the new brochure and share it; it’s an excellent educational tool about our state’s budget and needs.

Texas Forward promotes an equitable, balanced approach to budget-setting that will spur economic recovery while also keeping pace with the state’s needs. The health, safety and, in some cases, even the lives of millions of Texans are at stake.  Click here for more information, or to become part of this important effort.

Welcome to the TNOYS Blog!

Hello, and welcome to the new TNOYS blog, your source for information, insight, and updates about the Texas Network of Youth Services (www.tnoys.org). TNOYS is a membership association comprised of youth serving agencies and individuals committed to shaping better outcomes for the otherwise forgotten youth of Texas: Foster children, youth at risk of entering the juvenile justice system, young people struggling with all manner of mental health challenges, runaway and homeless, pregnant and parenting teens, and more.

We provide high quality training and education, skilled consultation, and critical support to agencies serving youth at-risk so that they have up-to-date information and research-based techniques at their fingertips. Each year,  TNOYS serves about 500 agencies across the state; including member agencies, Services to At-Risk Youth (STAR) providers, Community Youth Development (CYD) program providers, federal Runaway and Homeless Youth (RHY) program grantees, and others. Our direct service programs provide youth with positive opportunities for self expression and learning including arts education, experiential camps, community engagement and advocacy.

We thought now is the right time to open the door and start a conversation with the youth services community, parents and teachers, legislators and the public, about what's happening in youth services today. We intend to use this blog to:

- Provide information about TNOYS and the efforts of our network;

- Present opportunities for grassroots advocacy on behalf of youth and families and empowering young people to advocate on their own behalf;

- Highlight our programs, services and activities, both current and future;

- Offer resources, articles, links, and information of interest to youth services professionals, teachers, and parents;

- Allow TNOYS members to showcase their agencies; and,

- Provide information about best practices in the field.

Additionally we want to hear from you; what you think, how you feel, how we can help. We plan on posting at least a couple of times a week so grab the RSS feed or sign up for an e-mail alert to receive notification of new entries as they are posted.