New England Network for Child, Youth & Family Services




2010-11 YEAR IN REVIEW

LETTER FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

There's no question about it: 2010-11 was a tough year for everyone, and especially for the nonprofit sector. Some thrived, but most faced a big financial upset brought about by a down economy and its by-product: the drying up of public funds and much uncertainty going forward. But there was some good news this year for NEN, and it was that our work in communities, always an aspect of our larger mission, blossomed. Why? Because the concept of youth development is itself expanding into the mainstream — into schools, libraries and museums, town and city departments, recreation centers, local TV and radio stations, and all kinds of private-sector settings. Last year we found ourselves creating tools to improve community systems and programs, often connecting our primary constituency of child/youth service providers with these new players.

The standouts for us this past year include the completion of a large Compassion Capital Fund project in southern Vermont, where we helped local communities meet the needs of young people by increasing the effectiveness of community- and faith-based organizations. We were thrilled to win a five-year teen pregnancy prevention replication grant from the US Office of Adolescent Health, and have successfully completed the first-year pilot phase with our two primary partner agencies in Connecticut. In an interesting new twist on our more traditional work, NEN was commissioned last fall by the Nellie Mae Education Foundation to 'map' 14 communities in New England as part of an exciting evolution in public education toward 'student-centered learning.' And finally, our research team completed five years of investigation into the early sexualization of girls, resulting in a groundbreaking report and related work to follow.

Does it sound like we're growing in our interests and expertise? We are. The fact that we are no longer exclusively focused on New England, are no longer a traditional membership organization, and no longer work solely with social service agencies led us this year to a big decision: in 2012, we're going to change our name. We've started the process by inviting the people who know us best — partners, advisers and clients — to describe NEN in just a few words. We’ve put their responses together in the word cloud reproduced above. This year our task will be to distill these words into their essence. Have some input for us? Let us know. In the meantime, stay tuned. Some exciting changes are on the horizon.
Melanie Goodman
Executive Director

Please see the online edition of our Annual Report below.

TRUSTEES (as of January 2012)
Sheila Celata, Chair, Deloitte LLP
Steven Girelli, Vice Chair, Klingberg Family Centers
Mary Imbornone, Clerk, Devereux
Addison Grimes, Treasurer, Kenexa

ADVISORS
Leslie M. Ackles, University of Massachusetts/Donahue Institute
Abigail Lipson, Harvard University
George McCully, Mass. Catalogue for Philanthropy
David Newman, Do It! Marketing
Andy Pond, Justice Resource Institute
Catherine Simonson, HowardCenter
Jack Weldon, St. Vincent's

OUR PARTNERS & SUBSCRIBERS
Partners pay in advance for services they receive throughout the year; subscribers receive our 'Into Practice' e-newsletter and other electronic announcements.

Addison County Parent Child Center
Berkshire South Regional Community Center
Boys & Girls Club of Brattleboro
Brewster Afterschool Child Care Programs, Inc.
Bridge Family Center, Inc.
Cambridge Family & Children's Services
Cape Cod Justice for Youth Collaborative
Casey Family Services, CT
Casey Family Services, VT
Center for Holistic Instruction
Center for Human Development
Child and Family Services of NH
Community Coalition of Cape Cod
Clara Martin Center
Counseling Service of Addison County
Family & Youth Services Bureau
GrantsWork
Home Counselors, Inc.
Howard Center for Human Services
Italian Home for Children
Justice Resource Institute
Klingberg Family Centers
LINK (Lamoille Family Center)
Lamoille Family Center
Lund Family Center
Mid-Atlantic Network for Youth
National Runaway Switchboard
New Beginnings
North Suffolk Mental Health Association, Inc.
National Runaway Switchboard
Northeast Kingdom Community Action
Northeast Kingdom Youth Services
Northwestern Counseling and Support Services
Saint Vincent's Home
Spectrum Youth and Family Services
Talk About Wellness
United Counseling Services of Bennington County
Walden School at Learning Center for the Deaf
Washington County Youth Service Bureau
Youth Continuum, Inc.
Youth & Family Services Network
Youth Services, Inc.

UNDERWRITTEN SUBSCRIBERS
Administration for Children & Families
Child Welfare League of America
Family & Youth Services Bureau
Mid-Atlantic Network for Youth
National Resource Center for Youth Services
Nellie Mae Education Foundation
Office of Adolescent Health
ProYouthWork America
Texas Network of Youth Services
Youth & Family Services Network

WHERE WE WORKED IN 2010-11
NEN worked in locations around the country last year. Click the map for an interactive look at where NEN worked in 2010-11, and see below for details about specific projects, trainings and products.

MAJOR PROJECTS
Windham County (VT) Communities Empowering Youth
In 2011, NEN completed work as the lead organization in this federally funded initiativethat brought together Youth Services Inc., the Boys and Girls Club of Brattleboro, Guilford Community Church, and Vermont Independent Media. The project was meant to buildthe capacity of youth-serving and faith-based organizations to work individually and as a collaboration on addressing youth violence. In 2010-11, we conducted leadership and outcomes trainings, and continued our work piloting the Wind Tunnel Mapsite, a youth-driven online tool for exploring and documenting jobs and community-service opportunities in the county. Over the three-plus years of the project, all of the partners reported an increase in public and private financial support that they directly attributed to participation in the CEY grant capacity-building. All increased their presence in the community and their collaborative work with organizations outside the CEY collaboration, and increased increased the number of young people they served.

What they're saying:
This collaborative has been a fundamental catalyst in taking youth work to the next level and in helping us build support across traditional boundaries – media, faith-based, and human services working together on behalf of our youth with us learning how to bring youth is as full partners in the process. Thank you for making this leap possible.
       ~ Allyson Villars, Executive Director, Youth Services

Vermont YouthFactor NEK
In 2011 NEN also wrapped up a two-year project in northeastern Vermont. Our work, conducted under a federal demonstration grant aimed at creating new support services for homeless youth, involved a detailed needs assessment of two communities, both resulting in reports that included hundreds of comments from young people about how their community could be improved for them and their peers. The reports also featured youth photos. We concluded the work with a brief summarizing joint findings from the two communities.

In 2010-11, we focused on several new projects as well. They were:

Teen Outreach Program in Connecticut (TOPiC)
This fiscal year was our first of a five-year Office of Adolescent Health grant to replicate an evidence-based pregnancy prevention program, TOP®, among vulnerable youth in Connecticut. Our partners, Klingberg Family Centers and The Children's Center of Hamden, worked with us to create implementation plans for a pilot phase, hire TOP Facilitators to work directly with young people and plan for data collection. In spring TOP Clubs were piloted with a total of 45 young people ages 14-18 over a 10-week period. Full implementation and recruitment of additional partners began at the end of the year.

Nellie Mae Education Foundation Community Resource Mapping
 In 2010, the Nellie Mae Education Foundation commissioned NEN to develop learning resource maps of 14 communities in New England and to train schools and other stakeholders in how to use those maps to develop fruitful collaborations with non-traditional learning partners. Community asset-mapping is a complex and time-consuming process involving many layers of investigation. In all, we conducted 190 interviews, 17 structured discussions with more than 300 high school students, and 12 stakeholders' meetings. We identified and described 1,150 resources on paper inventories and their corresponding online maps. We then trained 11 school districts, along with other community stakeholders, in the use of those tools. See the online version of the maps here.
What they're saying:
The work you have done is a gold mine for those in the education world who want to build community.
      ~ Kim Mihan, Retired Educator and Activist, Burlington, VT

WOW! That's amazing! Thank you so much! I am going to have it added to my webpage asap!!
     ~ Sara Slymon, Turner Free Library, Randolph, MA
Early Sexualization of Girls
From 'Toddlers & Tiaras' to pre-teens seeking plastic surgery to 'sexting,' the cultural landscape is pushing girls to adopt earlier and earlier sexual identities. Who or what is responsible, and what, if anything, can be done? In our 2011 report What Are We Doing to Girls? The Early Sexualization Phenomenon and How Communities are Responding, we identify a variety of forces that are driving the early sexualization of girls, from media and marketing to biological and social factors. The report describes an array of community-based approaches to the problem, ranging from parental education, sex education, and adventure and girls' empowerment groups to media education and advocacy campaigns. It also examines the theoretical underpinnings of these approaches and what evaluations have shown about their effectiveness.
What they're saying:
This is an impressive document. I hope its message travels far and wide.
     ~ Diane Levin, author, So Sexy So Soon
TRAINING
NEN has been providing training and consultation in Positive Youth Development for 15 years. In 2010-11, we continued to provide comprehensive PYD training in theory and practice, responding to an ever-increasing demand for training from diverse organizations.

Our work included:

  • Positive Youth Development, Child & Family Services, Manchester, NH
  • Ethics and Boundaries, combined agencies, Jackson, MS
  • Compassion Fatigue: Child & Family Services, Manchester, NH; New Beginnings, Lewiston, ME; Shaw House, Bangor, ME; combined agencies, Albuquerque, NM
  • Youth Mentoring, Provincetown Art Association and Museum, Provincetown, MA
What they're saying:
As a Curator of Education working in a small regional art museum, I was interested in expanding and improving our youth programs, which included integrating best practices for positive youth development. Cindy Wilson’s workshops and presentations couldn’t have come at a better time; they were comprehensive, accessible, and fueled by the energy and passion she brings to her work. I am so grateful to the NEN for their continued efforts to improve the lives of young people, their families, and those who serve them.
      ~ Lynn Stanley

WEBINARS
NEN has been offering webinars on a range of topics since 2006. In 2010-11 our live series were:

  • The Volunteers Series (sponsored by the Runaway and Homeless Youth Training and Technical Support Center)
  • Extreme Grant Makeover

    • NEN also made 16 on-demand webinars available.
    What they're saying:
    Sharon Vardatira was incredibly knowledgeable and had a great way of conveying specific information that changed the way I'll approach writing — and she did it in a way that was collegial and respectful. She managed to create an enjoyable atmosphere even in a webinar on a topic that can be a little dry. I'd attend any webinar she offers in the future.
          ~ Participant, 'Extreme Grant Proposal Makeover: Reveal Your Program in a Whole New Way'
    THE ART OF FACILITATION
    NEN staff are trained facilitators in the Institute of Cultural Affairs® group facilitation techniques. In 2011, with Gammy Bird Consulting, we conducted one multi-day training, for the New England Research Center for Higher Education, in Worcester, MA.

    ImPROVE OUTCOMES
    ImProve Outcomes, developed by NEN, helps agencies set realistic expectations with clients, identify and organize relevant client accomplishments, and measure achievement. ImProve Outcomes has two components: training and agency implementation. In 2010-11 most of our ImProve Outcomes activity concerned follow-up and reporting functions with existing ImProve Outcomes projects. We developed reports for advocacy, grant applications and grant administration for Railroad Street Youth Project in Great Barrington, MA; Youth Services in Brattleboro, VT; and Youth Continuum in New Haven, CT. We conducted two series of outcome trainings, one for Berkshire-Taconic Community Foundation (in Sharon, CT, and Pittsfield, MA) and another for Berkshire United Way (in Pittsfield and Great Barrington, MA). We also worked with Berkshire Child and Family Services, assisting with preparations for and implementation of a comprehensive agency-wide data management system.
    What they're saying:
    Now that I’ve come to learn ImProve and all it can do, I can honestly say that I love it. The ImProve program is a very valuable tool that now is incorporated into our everyday work. It’s been really helpful and a vital way of collecting data and reporting.

         ~ Rhonda Aither, Teen Alcohol Safety Program Coordinator and Court Diversion Case Manager, Youth Services, VT
    CONSULTATION
    NEN provides an array of services to social service agencies ranging from strategic planning to research and evalution. In 2010-11, we provided:

    Community-building projects
    Grant-writing review
    Grant-writing support
    Organizational development
    Technological planning and assessment
    RHYMIS data management
    Strategic planning
    Meeting design and facilitation
    Supervision practice
    Policy review and development
    What they're saying:
    Due to Melanie Goodman's level of skill, she was able to move our group through significant work and the development of our annual goals. I truly believe that this was not because we had a facilitator, but because of who we had as a facilitator. Melanie spent a tremendous amount of time prepping for our meeting and this was evident throughout the day. I can’t thank her enough for her patience, genuineness, and diverse skill set that was truly invaluable to our network.
          ~ Danielle Lindley, Northwestern Counseling & Support Services, VT
    NEN has been an essential resource in my professional life. My experience with staff consultation in strategic planning and other organizational planning and development has been exceptionally positive and productive. I would highly recommend that any professional in the field of human services familiarize themselves with this wonderful organization and its tremendous staff.
          ~ Kimberly-Ann Coe, Lund Family Center, Burlington, VT
    COMMUNICATIONS
    Newsletter, Website & Facebook
    NEN produces a monthly e-newsletter, Into Practice, that reaches nearly 400 professionals. Into Practice features a synthesis of breaking news on promising practices, research, public policy, youth development and funding opportunities, along with details of upcoming events of interest to the field. In 2010-11, 46,000 pages were viewed on our website and an average of 1,000 people visited each month. We maintain both Facebook and Twitter pages.

    Wind Tunnel Mapsite
    In 2009, NEN developed the Wind Tunnel Mapsite in Windham County, VT, as a way to engage young people in finding and describing the opportunities that existed in their community. We continued to develop and refine the site throughout 2010. In 2011, the project went to Burlington, VT, where it is being incorporated into a federally funded project that builds creative supports for transition-aged young people.

    FUNDRAISING
    We piloted our first online auctions this year, netting about $3,000. Both efforts were fairly small and experimental, meant primarily to build our capacity to conduct larger auctions, both for NEN and for partner organizations, in the future.

    FORMAL MEETINGS
    In 2010-11, the NEN Board of Trustees met quarterly by phone and twice in person, in larger gatherings that included advisors, friends and staff.

    FINANCIAL REPORT
    Last year NEN completed several sizable projects and launched some new ones. Despite this cyclical transition in funded work, we remained financially stable. Last year NEN also continued to act as fiscal agent for Talk About Wellness, a Vermont-based nonprofit that funds mind-body programs in education. See our financial breakdown here.

    What they're saying:
    In 2011, partnership with the South Burlington Wellness and Resilience program has resulted in a new training of trainers program in order to extend outreach to other schools. Talk About Wellness's work also supported professional development for the teachers and a very positive evaluation; and scholarship support for teens attending the Vermont Institute of Health and Wellness; and the initiation of a new nature-based rites of passage program for teens. TAW is grateful for its fiscal sponsor, the New England Network.

         ~ Marilyn Neagley, Coordinator, Talk About Wellness