ILR Blog

ILR & SaySo are in DC!

We made it to DC and today, September 7th, the SaySo group went to visit the National Mall and get a tour from Senator Burr’s office. ILR conducted a pre-conference workshop at the Growing Pains Conference on how to create simulation events using the Real World Program. It was great fun but not as exciting as I bet Lauren, Debbie and the SaySo youths are having today with our Adult Advisors.

New Training Program and Forever Resource

The Volunteer Advocate Academy has launched and folks are starting to see the benefits! Besides being a convenient online training program for anyone interested in helping youths transition to adulthood, the VAA offers users a continually updating resource for policy, best practices, research and legislation for this target population. Users have said that the program is not only engaging but since it’s always available to them, they can go back to refresh themselves and receive the latest update on policies and practices. Visit the site and check out the preview www.volunteeradvocateacademy.com

On Our Way to the National Independent Living Conference - Growing Pains

The ILR/SaySo staff is headed to the Nation’s Capital to exhibit and present at the Growing Pains Conference sponsored by Daniel Memorial Institute and NILA (National Independent Living Association).

We also hope to bring a busload of SaySo youths and their chaperones to enjoy the conference and tour the National Mall. The conference is full of workshops for both youths and adults. If you are coming to the conference, be sure to stop by our ILR exhibit.
Visit Growing Pains Conference 2010 to learn more.

See you in September!

New Additions to ILR

ILR is happy to announce some new staff additions:

Lauren Zingraff is the SaySo Program Coordinator and has become a valuable asset to the ILR/SaySo Team. Lauren is a graduate of NCSU and VCU. Her attention to details along with her public relations and communications skills have made her a natural for this position - not to mention the young people have quickly latched on to LZ!

Sonja Matheny is an alumnus of the child welfare system and has volunteered with SaySo for many years. She has officially joined our ILR Training Institute and is available to speak on a variety of topics to both youth and adult audiences. We are pleased to mention, that Sonja provided testimony to Congress as part of the campaign to pass the Chafee Program (Chafee Foster Care Independence Act of 1999).

Another addition….
Our catalog is now ANIMATED!
Did you notice the catalog on the home…

Volunteer Advocate Academy is available to all

It’s official.
Volunteer Advocate Academy has launched and is available to anyone wanting to learn more about working with teen who are involved with both the court and child welfare systems.
This includes teachers, social workers, mentors, parents, CASA and GAL volunteers, administrators and even judges/attorneys who have teen case come before them.

This eLearning curriculum is interactive and the research showed it helped users increase their knowledge of working with adolescents as well at motivation to do so. Post research comments also indicate that professionals altered their practices as a result of taking the course.  Topics include:

1. Overview to Working with Court Involved Adolescents
2. Adolescent Development and the Impact of Trauma
3. The Role of the Adolescent in the Courtroom
4. Environment: Youth, Family, and Others
5. Identity and Diversity
6. Youth Health and Addictions
7. Understanding Youth Educational Needs
8. Life Skills Development
…