Children And Youth

"An Evening at the Theatre" began around the corner from one -- at the Peabody Library, a block from Center Stage. Some 315 guests filled the black and white marble library -- enjoying good wine, hors d'oeuvres and conversation at the fund-raiser for Advocates for Children and Youth. Later, the group took a leisurely stroll to Center Stage for a production of August Wilson's Pulitzer Prize-winning play, "The Piano Lesson." Among those gathered: Suzy Dunn, Ellen Webb and Debra S. Williams, event co-chairs; Alfred R. Berkeley, event corporate chair; Mayer Baker, Barbara E. Hart and Christine W. Hanley, event committee members; Mitchell Mirviss, ACY board president; Susan Leviton, Advocates for Children and Youth founder / honorary board chair; Carole Goldberg and Nicholas Richardson, ACY board members; Jann Jackson, ACY executive director; Michael Klein, Klein Supermarkets vice president; Daniel North, Euler-ACI vice president; Georgia Martin, Evan Enterprises president / owner; Jenna Bond-Louden, Wellesley College student; Jerry Martin, Martin Snyder & Bernstein partner; Peter Bain, Legg Mason executive vice president; Renee Ades, Adelberg Rudow Dorf & Hendler associate attorney; Charles Baum, United Holdings Co. financial officer; Terry Morganthaler, Chi Chi Bosworth and Betty Symington, community volunteers; Karen Henoch-Ryugo, the Learning Circus executive director; Catherine Searson, Baltimore Health Department nurse practitioner; Landa McLaurin, Western High School...

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake has named an advocate for youth justice reform as the new director of Baltimore's crime policy office. Angela Johnese, an attorney who has served as juvenile justice policy director for Advocates for Children and Youth, will lead the Mayor's Office on Criminal Justice, coordinating criminal justice efforts across different agencies as well as administering state and federal grant money. In a statement, Rawlings-Blake said Johnese's "commitment to developing alternatives and solutions for young people will support our efforts to create long-term reductions in crime.

Child-rearing skills, help for single-parent families and the need for better coordination of county services are among the top issues affecting the county's 52,500 young people, according to those at yesterday's countywide conference on children and youth.The conference, sponsored by the Columbia Foundation, also high lighted teen-age substance abuse, child abuse, suicide, depression and a lack of youth recreation and employment opportunities.But foundation officials stopped short of saying how they intend to attack those problems, saying that the foundation first will come up with a report summarizing the conference's proceedings.

Fewer Maryland children are living in high-poverty neighborhoods than a decade ago, but the lingering economic slump has left more parents without a steady paycheck, theAnnie E. Casey Foundationreported Wednesday. The Baltimore-based charity ranks Maryland 10th in the nation for overall child well-being in its 2012 Kids Count Data Book, which analyzed nationwide research and statistics on children's economic well-being, education, health, family and community. Becky Wagner, executive director of Advocates for Children and Youth, said the report shows that the state has made "good, solid advancements," but Maryland must keep working to close the remaining gaps.

The Columbia Foundation in Town Center, an independent community foundation serving Howard County for 25 years, will distribute $50,000 to projects that support parents and strengthen parents' skills.The foundation is asking nonprofit organizations to submit proposals for programs to help families.The foundation decided that a parents' initiative was needed after a countywide Children and Youth Conference last June. The 250 participants discussed issues affecting children and youth, but the issue identified as the most important was the need to provide skills and support to parents.

The Columbia Foundation, an independent community foundation, is preparing to award $50,000 to not-for-profit groups with projects that support Howard County parents and strengthen their knowledge and skills.The foundation determined a need for the initiative aimed at parents after convening a countywide Children and Youth Conference in June 1994. The 250 participants discussed several issues affecting children and youth, but the need identified as the most important was providing skills and support to parents.

In preparation for next year's legislative session, the Maryland Children's Action Network will hold its eighth annual MD CAN Children's Agenda Convention from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday at the Wilde Lake Interfaith Center, 10431 Twin Rivers Road, Columbia. The meeting will include speakers, policy presentations, balloting for 2005 priorities and the presentation of a Champion for Children Award to Maryland House Speaker Michael E. Busch. MD CAN, a statewide network of more than 2,000 people and 300 organizations, is staffed by the nonprofit Advocates for Children and Youth Inc. Information: 410-547-9200; or www.acy.

Advocates for Children and Youth released a study Wednesday that says that more than 40 percent of children sent to group homes would be better served by Multisystemic Therapy, an intense, family-based intervention program. The percentage is twice as much as the state sends to such therapy. The sample for the study included 35 children between the ages of 11 and 17, advocates said. After a review of court records, pre-disposition investigation reports, placement and treatment histories and other documents within the juvenile court files, the study found that 15 of the children were eligible for the therapy, advocates said.

The well-being of children in Maryland has improved on many fronts, including reductions in teen pregnancies and arrest rates, but racial disparity still puts African-American children at increased risk, according to a report being released today by the Maryland Kids Count Partnership. "The gains for young people are very unevenly distributed," said Jann Jackson, executive director of Advocates for Children and Youth Inc. "We are still failing to narrow the racial gap." While the rate of violent deaths among African-American juveniles decreased between 1992 and 2002 by 10 percent, the rate of violent deaths among white youths decreased by 17 percent, according to the report.

Nancy S. Grasmick has earned high marks as head of the governor's office of Children, Youth and Families. Now Governor Schaefer has named her to succeed juvenile services Secretary Linda D'Amario Rossi, who is leaving for a similar job in her home state of Rhode Island. Grasmick is a talented administrator, but the shift from running programs largely geared toward younger children to a department that deals mostly with troubled teen-agers will not be easy.The governor is also asking for a reorganization of the juvenile services department to include the programs Grasmick now heads.

Howard County boasts a plenitude of nonprofit organizations and charitable agencies. Howard Magazine highlights who they are, what they do and how you can help. In honor of April as National Child Abuse Prevention Month, Howard Magazine is spotlighting Voices for Children, a member of the National Court Appointed Special Advocate Association and an affiliate of the Maryland CASA Association. Name: Voices for Children Who: Pamela Grady, executive director Q: What is your mission?

Advocates for Children and Youth released a study Wednesday that says that more than 40 percent of children sent to group homes would be better served by Multisystemic Therapy, an intense, family-based intervention program. The percentage is twice as much as the state sends to such therapy. The sample for the study included 35 children between the ages of 11 and 17, advocates said. After a review of court records, pre-disposition investigation reports, placement and treatment histories and other documents within the juvenile court files, the study found that 15 of the children were eligible for the therapy, advocates said.

HC DrugFree, a nonprofit organization that seeks to empower the Howard County community to raise drug-free children, will offer "Teen2Teen: Alcohol, Drugs and All in Between," a panel of young adults who will share their experiences with alcohol and other drugs, from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. March 18 at Hammond High School, 8800 Guilford Road. The panelists will describe their lives and how they recovered from addictions, and answer questions. Registration is not required. Information: 443-325-0040.

Group questions care for at-risk children Fewer abused and neglected children are being removed from their families, but a report released yesterday by a youth advocacy group questions whether the state agency that cares for those children is doing enough to ensure their safety. Studies have shown that abused and neglected children removed from their families suffer long-term difficulties, such as drug use and emotional problems, at higher rates than abused and neglected kids remaining with their families.

Dwayne Price had been arrested 11 times and had run away from state custody at least once. Yet at the age of 18, the state's juvenile justice system gave him one final chance at rehabilitation, sending him to Pennsylvania's Camp Adams, a youth lockup north of Allentown. Less than three weeks later, Price escaped. Pennsylvania authorities quickly caught, charged and convicted him as an adult. But because he had been waiting in jail for 145 days, they paroled him three days after he was sentenced, putting him back on the streets - likely years before he would have been if he hadn't escaped.

New ways to help youths in trouble The monitor's report highlighted in The Sun's article "Monitor faults conditions at state juvenile centers" (May 21) raises concerns that programming is lacking at the Victor Cullen Center, a new secure facility in Western Maryland. Advocates for Children and Youth released an analysis last week that amplifies the same concerns. The state has invested $20 million in reopening the Victor Cullen Center and is planning to spend hundreds of millions more to replicate that model in Baltimore and in Prince George's County.

MORE THAN 400 city child-care providers, prospective providers, parents and teachers will explore new approaches to child care in the 1990s during the city's third annual child-care conference Saturday.Sponsored by the Mayor Kurt Schmoke's Office of Children and Youth and several area businesses, this year's conference will focus on care for school-age children, says Myra Breskow Schein, the city's child-care coordinator. "Sometimes we think older children can take care of themselves, but they need a little help," she says.

HC DrugFree, a nonprofit organization that seeks to empower the Howard County community to raise drug-free children, will offer "Teen2Teen: Alcohol, Drugs and All in Between," a panel of young adults who will share their experiences with alcohol and other drugs, from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. March 18 at Hammond High School, 8800 Guilford Road. The panelists will describe their lives and how they recovered from addictions, and answer questions. Registration is not required. Information: 443-325-0040.

Advocates for better foster care say they are worried that the state is not moving fast enough to find new foster families and move away from group homes, which critics say cost more and do not always meet neglected and abused children's needs. A status report released yesterday by Advocates for Children and Youth says that since June 2007, the state has gained 89 new families. The Department of Human Resources, which oversees foster care statewide, set a goal in November of signing up 1,000 new families by 2010.