yOUTH:  ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Summary

1. Communities for Children & Youth "Children's Leadership Councils" in each of the KEYS towns
2. KEYS of Promise Initiative, growing out of the Community Asset Builders (CAB) Project and KEYS for Prevention
3. High quality afterschool and mentoring programs in KEYS towns
4. Communities Mobilizing for Change on Alcohol (CMCA) strategy team was created in 2003 with representatives from Kittery, Eliot, York and South Berwick.  The work of this group communicates that underage drinking is inappropriate and unacceptable.
5. KEYS region law enforcement leaders implemented model policies on underage drinking enforcement.
6. Leadership and Resiliency Program in KEYS schools
7. Youth Summit 2005
8. Parenting Talks and Workshops with Mac Bledsoe (Parenting with Dignity) and Laura Gauld (The Biggest Job).
9. Facts to Action Summit with Attorney General
10. Lights On After School Advocacy Breakfast
11. York County Mentoring Partnership Summit with Miss Maine
12. KEYS counter advertising media campaigns
13. RISE
14. Kittery Community Newspaper (KCN) by the Kittery Schools and the Kittery Children's Leadership Council (Communities for Children & Youth)

15. Kittery Trading Post Outdoor Academy (KODA)

Details

1. Communities for Children and Youth is a statewide initiative of the Maine's Children's Cabinet designed to create a partnership between state government and local communities as they work to prevent poor outcomes for children and youth and promote positive child and youth development.  The KEYS communities of Kittery, Eliot, York and South Berwick have each developed their own Communities for Children and Youth under the state's model.  These committees are known as Children's Leadership Councils.

2. Two dynamic programs have recently merged to strengthen community collaborations and more effectively serve the youth of the four KEYS town – Kittery, Eliot, York and South Berwick.  KEYS for Prevention and Community Asset Builders have joined together to form KEYS of Promise. The purpose of KEYS of Promise is to increase well-being for youth and families through asset development to prevent substance use and abuse and other problem behaviors among KEYS youth.  The project uses two primary strategies.  The first is to increase the availability and accessibility of primary and secondary juvenile delinquency prevention programs through the support and expansion of the Search Institute’s 40 Developmental Assets.  The second is building community capacity for change through increased coordination and collaboration among providers and users of programs for children and their families.

   Specific objectives of KEYS of Promise include increasing and expanding mentoring opportunities, safe places during time away from school, programs that support children ages birth-5 and their families, opportunities to participate in experiential job skills programs and interdisciplinary collaboration among service providing agencies that support youth and families in our region.  The coalition will also continue to address factors in our communities that increase the risk of substance abuse among youth by participating in other area coalitions that support reduction and prevention of substance use among area youth.

3. High quality afterschool and mentoring programs in KEYS towns
4. The work of this group communicates that underage drinking is inappropriate and unacceptable.  The level of collaboration in our area has improved drastically as a result of Communities Mobilizing for Change on Alcohol. CMCA is an environmental strategy working closely with law enforcement to reduce alcohol availability to teens. CMCA has engaged the Children’s Leadership Councils in our four towns and the One Maine partner to our north, as they launched Youth Alcohol Awareness Week.  In conjunction with York Police Department, we launched the Key Program where parents register their homes with the police when they are away on vacation and give a key to their neighbors or the police. We hosted a breakfast with Attorney General Steve Rowe on Youth Access to Alcohol, which highlighted the national work on alcohol advertising.
5. York Police Department was recognized for Jumpstart
6. The Leadership and Resiliency Program (LRP) is an evidence based model program of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and the US Department of Health and Human Services.  LRP was implemented in 2004 by KEYS of Promise, a project of York Hospital. LRP is a school-and community-based program for high school students (14-19 years of age) that works to enhance youths’ internal strengths and resiliency, while preventing involvement in substance use and violence. Program components include (a) Resiliency Groups held weekly during the school day where students discuss ways of dealing with issues surrounding alcohol, drugs, tobacco and violence; (b) Adventure Based Activities that include ropes courses, camping, kayaking, hiking and other outdoor skill based activities; (c) Community Services which include monthly service work at Kennebunk Animal Welfare Society where the youth walk, feed and groom the animals.  Additionally, the youth put on puppet shows to elementary school age students around substance use and abuse, tobacco, violence and modeling positive behaviors. The program goals are to reduce substance use and abuse, risk taking behaviors and increase community involvement.

7. On April 28th from 9am-3pm at Spring Hill Lodge in South Berwick over 100 teens from five area high schools, York, Traip Academy, Wells, Marshwood and Noble came together to create the future of their communities. The event was sponsored by KEYS of Promise, a project of York Hospital, along with MSAD 60 C.O.O.L. Coalition and University of Maine Cooperative Extension 4-H. This day was designed to listen to youth about their ideas for their communities and to celebrate the voice of young people. 

8. Parenting Education highlights include parent book clubs, parent discussion groups on barriers and consequences, Mac Bledsoe “Parenting with Dignity” lecture and book signing, “The Biggest Job” Laura Gauld (Hyde School) program in Kittery, Creative Tool Box for Families, Nurturing Program, and new parent packet take home kits “Creating Peaceful Families and the Creative Tool Box”.  Programs are offered through Adult Education and other venues.  Mac Bledsoe???

9. As mentioned above, the Communities Moilizing for Change on Alcohol hosted a "Facts to Action" breakfast with Attorney General Steve Rowe.  He spoke about the negative effects that national advertising has on the young people of Maine.  It was the hope that the 100 people that were in attendance would learn the facts and spring into action.  For the facts about advertising and underage drinking in Maine, please go to OSA site????

10. The University of Southern Maine Cooperatiave Extension wrote a grant for funds provided by JC Penney and the National Football League in conjunction with 4-H. The total award is $30,000 for 3 counties in the state of Maine.  Our share is $10,000.  Part of this amount went to Lights on After School awareness.  We served a breadfast and invited all of the legislators from the KEYS region to hear about the success of afterschool programs.

11. York County Mentoring Partnership Summit with Miss Maine
12. A series of posters was created to combat the effects of some of the national advertising.  Showing slogans such as "Adult decisions: adult consequences" and "The cost of hosting a party for your teen - a $???? fine and time in jail" and using kids from the high schools in Kittery, Eliot, York and South Berwick, the campaign was aimed at decreasing underage drinking in the KEYS region.
13. RISE
14. The Kittery Community News is a newspaper that is done by the Kittery Children's Leadership Council in collaboration with the school district in Kittery.  It is published monthly and distibuted all over Kittery.
15. Kittery Trading Post Outdoor Academy (KODA)