Social Media Research: Book Alert!

By: Eryn DeBuhr, Research Coordinator

The majority of my articles have focused on why social media can potentially be dangerous not only for adults, but especially for children and teens. While this can be the case for many situations, in all actuality, your teen may not be doing anything different than what you did when you were their age. Instead of teens hanging out at the mall, restaurant, or movie theaters, they are hanging out online and chatting with one another on various social media sites. A new book It’s Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teens by Danah Boyd, uncovers many of the major myths of teens and their use of social media.

Danah Boyd has been researching social media, youth practices, tensions between public and private, social network sites, and other interactions between technology and society for several years (www.danah.org). Boyd’s research has focused primarily on teenagers and their use of social media, how this has evolved, and what it means in terms of social construct.

On a side note, I plan to purchase this book out of my own curiosity and I am excited to review Boyd’s conclusions on society and culture for my next PATH Press article. I think that while things can be dangerous if used improperly, our society has changed and what used to be considered “typical”, in terms of socializing for children and teens, has evolved. Overall, I hope this new book provides insight for the constant change in technology and the many reasons why people are becoming more interested in online communication with their peers.

A Note from AASK

By: Chris Martin, MSSW, LICSW, AASK Director

For children aged nine and older in foster care and available for adoption, the likelihood of being adopted drops considerably when compared to younger foster children. The 2011 North Dakota Adoption Facts from the North American Council on Adoptable Children, Fall 2013, states that, in 2011, 45% of children adopted were aged zero-four, while approximately 12% of adoptions were for youth aged 13 and older. This is significant not only because every child needs permanency but also for the trajectory for their future.  In calendar year 2011, 62 North Dakota youth aged out of foster care without a permanent, legal family. These youth are at increased risk of homelessness, unemployment, early parenting, and substance abuse. As sad as this statistic is, even more alarming is the fact that in 2011, 105 children aged nine and older had the formal goal of long term foster care or emancipation. This places them at very high risk of experiencing the above-mentioned outcomes.

The State Policy Advocacy and Reform Center states that ‘if foster parents and relative caregivers are provided with adequate support, they will be in a better position to provide children with permanency.’ This statement is relevant to adoptive parents also. There is a drastic need for additional post-adopt services so all kids have a permanent family.  I am happy to report that the North Dakota Child and Family Services Plan (IV-B) is again taking into serious consideration the inclusion of post adopt services for North Dakota’s children in upcoming budgetary recommendations.

Joan Allen, PATH/AASK Supervisor in Western North Dakota will be leaving us to enter retirement. Her last day will be March 21st. Joan has been an incredible asset to AASK. Her strong work ethic, her clinical and supervisory skills, and her gracious patience are only some of her many fine qualities. Her work with kids and families is excellent, and she will be sorely missed by all. We wish her the very, very best life has to offer, she has earned it.

Meet the Kravitz Family

By Sarah Anderson, PATH Social Worker, Williston office

Mike and Robyn Kravitz met in high school in their hometown of Nashville, Tennessee. [GO PREDATORS and ANCHOR DOWN VANDY!] Robyn went to Tennessee Tech University and joined the Zeta Tau Alpha fraternity. Mike went to the United States Air Force Academy. After Mike completed his first two years, Robyn moved out to Colorado Springs and graduated from University of Colorado. When Mike graduated in 2009, they got married and moved to his first assignment in Columbus, Mississippi to become a pilot. However after only a few months, they quickly realized the flying community wasn't for them and Mike requested a career change. He was allowed to become a Munitions Maintenance Officer. And that led them to receiving orders to Minot Air Force Base.

After Mike and Robyn had Ellie, they started to explore becoming foster parents. Robyn has always wanted to be a foster parent so after one year in Minot and one biological child, they started the process to get licensed through PATH. We just believe there are so many kids out there that need a good home, why have a ton of our kids when we can help the kids who are already here.

After being licensed for three months, they got our first full time placement and he has been with them every day since then. Mike and Robyn say they have learned so much and have been down roads they have never dreamed. Fostering has been one of the best decisions they have ever made because it has challenged them, forced them to evaluate ourselves and opened their eyes to what they are each capable of doing. Mike and Roby say foster care has tested their limits financially and emotionally because we want these kids to have the best life we can possibly give them. They don’t regret one single decision.

Mike and Robyn send so many thanks to PATH for bringing these amazing kids, awesome social workers and awe-inspiring professionals into their lives. Each one of them is like a piece of the puzzle and, for us, the puzzle is a wonderful, rewarding journey.

What Does Independent Living Mean to You? How Can We Get Youth More Involved?

By Stephanie Caspers, ND Region V and VI Chafee IL Coordinator

Independent Living (IL) is a process that results in youth having the resources and skills to live successfully on their own. The Chafee IL Program helps coordinate services for the youth in the community, but what else can be done?

As a program we have always said, “Independent living is not something you ‘attend’, nor do you ‘complete’ it, as it’s an on-going process.” The youth we work with are usually in need of so many life lessons and are looking to us, their team, to help them. They may be self-referred or  come to us from a treatment facility, foster home, or even a relative’s home, but one thing remains the same – they all need to learn the skills necessary to live on their own. There are many ways life skills can be learned; I will cover what we focus on when working with youth in ND.
As we all know each youth is different and they each have their own way of learning. It is important to be knowledgeable of the different options available to assist youth in learning these skills at a level that is comfortable to them.

The first and most important place we look for assistance in learning these skills is in the home. The majority of the youth we serve are placed in foster homes; in this setting almost every aspect of IL can be taught. Foster parents should be aware of and recognize teachable moments. What is a teachable moment? In the course of daily life, opportunities appear to guide a youth’s life skill development. Often times these moments occur when the youth wants, needs, or shows interest in something or when the parent chooses to create and engage the youth in an activity (cooking, budgeting, buying groceries, etc.)  This is taken from Ready, Set, Fly! which is A Parent’s Guide to Teaching Life Skills. This is a book available to parents and foster parents that has activities organized into six areas: daily living skills; housing, transportation, and community resources; money management; self-care; social development; work and study skills. “Ready, Set, Fly! offers many suggestions for creative life skill activities to help youth reach their life skill goals. Often just reading about these activities will give parents ideas to create their own activities, which may better fit their youth’s needs.” Ready, Set, Fly! also has four different levels, starting at a much younger age. Youth as young as eight years old can start learning basic independent living skills and when it is appropriate should be recognized as a continuous process throughout their adolescence. Starting to make youth aware of their ability to identify skills and build their skills earlier than 17 or 18 years old will allow them to focus on their strengths and challenges as they prepare to graduate from high school and move out on their own.

In addition to achieving these skills at home, almost every school in ND offers classes that involve learning IL skills, such as banking. As youth are registering for classes in middle and high school, we need to be aware of these opportunities to further enhance their skills, and then be available to assist them with further questions outside of the classroom.

Another way for youth to develop their IL skills is to attend their local Chafee IL monthly youth meetings. (A youth must be choosing to participate in the IL program in order to attend). Each region in ND holds their own monthly meetings and cover different topics. On occasion there is not a planned speaker as it is just a way for the youth to get together and meet others who share their same experiences.

If a current or former foster youth is in need of Chafee IL services, contact PATH to speak to a Chafee IL coordinator about eligibility. The role of the Chafee IL coordinator is to be a part of the youth’s child and family team, and advocate on the youth’s behalf. The coordinators help administer an IL assessment (Ansell Casey), which helps identify the youth’s strengths and areas they may need additional assistance. This tool provides a platform for developing an IL plan, giving the youth specific goals to work on. The coordinators also assist in connecting youth to community resources that can assist the youth in meeting their personal goals. There are currently seven Chafee IL coordinators in the state of ND.

North Dakota also has a state Youth Leadership Board. This board consists of IL youth from across the state who engage in monthly conference calls and meet face-to-face quarterly to talk about issues and how to make it better for other youth in foster care. The ND Youth Leadership Board representatives are given the chance to speak at conferences and even advocate for foster youth in front of their legislators. Who better to advocate for change than the youth who have been there and face these challenges on a day to day basis? The board is an opportunity to teach youth how to let their voices be heard. “Nothing about us, without us” is one of the best statements when considering changes for youth in foster care; the changes involve them, so please learn to include them.

The ND Youth Leadership Board took on their first big project after deciding there should be a website available to youth to find resources available to them throughout the state. Through many hours of researching local resources in each of the eight regions of ND, the site was launched. Please feel free to check it out at www.nd.gov/ndyouth.

Lastly, a great piece of advice to make this easier for the youth we work with, and hopefully for you – make life skills development be about THEM, and make it fun! If we are setting goals for them that they are not interested in achieving, they are not going to be willing to work towards them. Yes, youth may need some guidance, but if you ask their opinion and let them speak on their own behalf, they will be much more likely to engage. This is their life, their plan!