2001 Annual Report - Town of South Windsor
2001 Annual Report - Town of South Windsor
2001 Annual Report - Town of South Windsor
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T O W N O F S O U T H W I N D S O R<br />
www.southwindsor.org<br />
D E P A R T M E N T O F H U M A N S E R V I C E S<br />
The Department <strong>of</strong> Human Services is a multi-generation<br />
service agency whose mission is to enable<br />
<strong>South</strong> <strong>Windsor</strong> residents to achieve and maintain<br />
personal and social well being by providing a variety<br />
<strong>of</strong> services, programs and resources that are both<br />
proactive and responsive to the community’s needs.<br />
Youth and Family Services<br />
The Youth and Family Services Division provides<br />
support services and programs for the youth and<br />
families <strong>of</strong> <strong>South</strong> <strong>Windsor</strong>. These services include<br />
crisis intervention and referral, juvenile justice programs,<br />
prevention initiatives, positive youth development,<br />
employment services and parent education<br />
and support.<br />
A total <strong>of</strong> 115 youth received individual counseling<br />
and support services this year. In addition,<br />
37 youth were involved in support groups addressing<br />
anger management and other teen issues. The<br />
popular Hire-A-Kid program successfully coordinated<br />
135 job referrals for teen participants. Our<br />
Juvenile Review Board presided over 22 cases.<br />
A total <strong>of</strong> 350 community service hours were<br />
assigned and supervised by the board.<br />
Youth and Family Services continued its collaboration<br />
with the school system, providing training and<br />
technical support to the high school, middle school<br />
and elementary school Peer Mediation programs.<br />
This year, youth services provided team building and<br />
decision-making training to 283 peer mediators at<br />
the elementary and middle school levels.<br />
An exciting new School Based Mentoring<br />
Program was initiated in the spring. This important<br />
program pairs business volunteers with middle<br />
school students in an effort to provide positive role<br />
modeling and support to students in need. Mentors<br />
were recruited from Gerber Scientific, Tolland Bank,<br />
Fleet Bank, Rockville Bank and town hall to participate<br />
in the first round. These mentors receive thorough<br />
training and then are paired with students<br />
selected by middle school administration and support<br />
staff. Mentors will spend an hour a week with<br />
their students doing a variety <strong>of</strong> positive activities.<br />
Matches will be made and the program up and running<br />
by October <strong>2001</strong>.<br />
The ACES (Alternative Community Experience)<br />
Program provides community service alternatives<br />
to students who are externally suspended from<br />
school. Working in conjunction with the schools,<br />
the YSB assigns and supervises community service<br />
projects for suspended students. Twelve youth participated<br />
this year, providing 74 hours <strong>of</strong> service to<br />
the community.<br />
Youth Services continues to provide support group<br />
facilitation, counseling support and other ancillary<br />
services to the schools. Our Intervention<br />
Coordinator, who is co-funded by the town and<br />
schools, worked with 56 youth experiencing difficulties<br />
with drugs and or alcohol. Our School<br />
Outreach Specialist is our liaison to Timothy<br />
Edwards Middle School and provides a direct referral<br />
route to our services. The outreach specialist is<br />
involved in a variety <strong>of</strong> support services including<br />
bully-pro<strong>of</strong>ing programs, strategy team meetings,<br />
the school climate committee and the new CARE<br />
initiative. The Youth and Family Services Director<br />
and the School Outreach Specialist continued as<br />
active participants in School Climate Committee<br />
meetings that produced a unique new community<br />
position statement on acceptance and respect.<br />
This new initiative, called CARE, posits that <strong>South</strong><br />
<strong>Windsor</strong> is a Community that Accepts and<br />
Respects Everyone. This position statement has<br />
been adopted by the Board <strong>of</strong> Education and the<br />
<strong>Town</strong> Council and will be publicized throughout the<br />
community.<br />
Seventeen towns were involved in our PAWS<br />
(Peers Are Wonderful Support) Regional Peer<br />
Advocate Initiative. This program is funded by a<br />
grant from the Dept. <strong>of</strong> Education and involved<br />
three major events: a Leadership Training Retreat; a<br />
Diversity Awareness Conference and our annual<br />
PAWS Workshop Conference held at MCTC (400<br />
28 2000-<strong>2001</strong> ANNUAL REPORT