1. Kids in Transition:
Community Resources
Christi Aldellizzi, Pham Condello, Katie Fernandez, Erin Gorski, Natalie Niziolek
NJ Juvenile Detention Center Conference
September 2013
4. Objectives
Participants will learn:
• The importance of partnering with community agencies
• Your local Library is a valuable tool
• Funding Opportunities
• Collection connections for reluctant readers
5. Kids in Transition
• Where do the kids go when they have a lot of time on their
hands?
6. History
• In Dec 2006 The Ocean County Library and the Ocean County
Youth Services Commission entered into an intergovernmental
agreement to establish a partnership to provide programs for
at risk youth. This was the start of Tools for Teens.
• The first community partnership was “The Gangwise Project”
presented by Special Agent Eddie Torres
7. Tools for Teens
• Adolescent suicide and
depression
• Bullying/Cyber Bullying
• Emerging Drug Trends
• Self-esteem issues
• Young men mentorship
programming
• Teen parenting series
• Book discussion
programs at the
Juvenile Detention
Center
• Gang awareness-
Gangs 101 & Girls in
Gangs
8. Value Partnerships
• Harbor House -Life Skills Classes
• Juvenile Probation Department- life/ career
development, volunteer hours
• Juvenile Justice Committee
• Municipal Alliances
• Schools- Guidance Counselors & SACs
10. Ocean Residential Community
Home
• Informally known as “The Game Farm” because of its location
on state Game Farm property
• Substance abuse and mental health facility for male juvenile
offenders ages 16-18
• Length of stay is usually 9-12 months, with an average stay of
9 months
11. Ocean Residential Community
Home
• Individualized treatment plans
• Individual, group, and family counseling
• Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) for each student
• 4 hours of academic instruction each day
• Vocational programs
• Greenhouse
• Building maintenance
• Community service
• Hurricane Sandy cleanup
• Habitat for Humanity
12. • Students work to complete their GED or high school diploma
• Upon obtaining GED or diploma, residents are allowed to enroll in
college or trade school prior to completion of program
• Outside employment is encouraged:
• Currently, residents are working at Burger King and Wendy’s
• Often hired at Home Depot and Walmart
13. OCL Services to ORCH
• While at the Game Farm, students are considered Ocean
County residents, and are therefore eligible for an Ocean
County Library card.
• Once they leave the residence, students can only
continue using their OCL card if they update their record
with a valid Ocean County address.
14. Having their own cards gives residents
a sense of ownership.
• It’s the student’s responsibility to take care of the materials they
borrow, and it’s up to them to make sure they get returned to the
library*
• They will accrue fines if items are not returned*
15. Typical Visit
• Book talk several titles
• Distribute library card
applications for any new
residents
• Hand out any books that were
placed on hold from prior visit
• Collect any materials that need
to be returned
• Renew materials, if necessary
• Provide reader’s advisory to the
students
16. Reader’s Advisory
Challenge: encouraging students to read outside their
comfort zone (i.e., urban lit).
Solution: I’ve been book talking a lot of
“dark contemporary” YA and adult fiction—
the darker, the better.
I also tend to book talk what I’ve read recently;
students have told me they want to read what I read!
18. People & Stories Grant
• In 2011 the Toms River and Lacey Teen Services Departments were
invited to participate
• Sponsored by National Endowments for the Humanities
• Has been reaching adult participants in diverse settings, but
recently branched out to include teens
• Gives teens the chance to hear and critically discuss a carefully
selected group of short stories and to help them “understand the
value of their life experience as well as the value of
literature, specifically as a source for new ways of seeing their
lives.”
• This grant is still available!
19. People & Stories @ the Game Farm
• I conducted two, 8-week series at the Game Farm
• Summer 2011
• Winter 2012
• Met with students once a week for 8 weeks, 90 minutes each
visit
• Each session consisted of a distribution of that week’s story, a
brief introduction to the author of the work, and a reading
aloud (by me) of the story.
• Some stories were only 2-3 pages long, while others had me
reading aloud for a half hour or longer.
• Selected authors included: Langston Hughes, Sherman Alexie,
Catherine Ryan Hyde, Walter Dean Myers
20. • After the reading, students were asked for their impressions of the
work, then we discussed their thoughts, along with the questions I
had prepared.
• No right or wrong answers
• Each participant brings their own perspective to the reading (based on their
culture, background, personal values, etc.)
• The short story collections consisted of a mix of classic and
contemporary stories that resisted “tidy answers and, like life, are
layered and open-ended.”
• The discussion questions revolved around poetics,
tensions/contrasts, shadows, issues and experiences.
21. People & Stories: Results
Spirited discussions about ethics and morals after reading stories
about domestic violence (“The Day it Happened” by Rosario
Morales), rape (“Spilled Salt” by Barbara Neely), and the
ramifications of protecting one’s property (“Breaking and
Entering” by Sherman Alexie).
Participants were able to relate what was read to their own
experiences in ways I hadn’t thought possible.
23. Success Stories in
Teen Services
Katie Fernandez
Ocean County Library
Beachwood Branch
Branch Manager
kfernandez@theoceancountylibrary.org
24. Summer Job Fair For Young
Adults
At the Toms River
Branch Of the Ocean
County Library
25. Summer Job Fair For
Young Adults
Who We Serve
• 12-18 Year Olds
• Readers Advisory
• Programs/ Events
• School / Homework Help
• Career Exploration
• Job Skills
What We Offer
• Career Assessment Program
• Resumes and Interview Skills
• Job Search Rap
• Job Fair Prep Night
26. Outcomes of the Job Fair
How To Write a Resume
Interview Skills
Have an Opportunity to Meet
Potential Employers
Learn What OCL Has to Offer
28. Ocean County Juvenile Detention
Center
BookDiscussion&AuthorVisits
Every student received
their own copy of book
to keep
Meet during English
class
Option to read aloud or
listen
Prepare questions for
author about story &
writing
29. Ocean County Juvenile
Detention Center
Interactive & Performance
• Spoken word poetry
performances and
workshops
• Chance to watch
artist
• Opportunity to
perform their own
works
31. The Library and At-
Risk Teens in NJ’s
Fastest Growing City
Erin Gorski
Ocean County Library
Lakewood Branch
Teen Services Librarian
egorski@theoceancountylibrary.org
32. Lakewood Demographics
• 2000 Population: 60,352
• 2010 Population: 92,843 (United States Census Bureau, 2010)
• 55,000 Orthodox Jewish (Landes, 2013)
• 16,062 Hispanic
• Growing
• 5,898 Black or African American
• Declining
• 54% population increase fueled by growth in the
Jewish community, Latino community and senior
citizens.
33. T & M Associates, 2013
http://www.state.nj.us/state/planning/docs/ocean-lakew
ood-background-tables.pdf
Lakewood Township Population
Projections
“Lakewood could see its population double by
2030, becoming home to as many as 200,000
residents. To help manage the influx of new
residents, the Lakewood planning board has
adopted a new smart growth plan for the
township. The goals of the smart growth plan
include focusing residential development in
population centers, and preserving locations for
recreation and open space.” (Smart Growth Online, 2013)
34. Lakewood Community: The Details
• 7th most populated town in NJ (Ocean County Department of Planning, 2011)
• 27 gangs, with 289 members (Rundquist, 2011)
• 50 children are born every week (Ahearn, 2012)
• In 2010, 68.5% of the Lakewood population was under the age of 34
(Ocean County Department of Planning, 2011)
• Home to 80+ homeless and low-income individuals living in shanties or
tents situated on forested township owned land
36. Lakewood Schools: The Details
• Public schools serve about 5,300 students
• Private schools serve about 17,000 students (Rundquist, 2011)
• Lakewood School District has had three superintendents since
2007
• 70% of public school students are Hispanic (Ahearn, 2012)
• 90 percent of public school students qualify for free or
reduced-price meals
• This figure rose 38 percent in just five years. It is now the
second-highest rate in New Jersey, behind Union City.
• 450 buses
• Home to Georgian Court University and the 2nd largest Yeshiva
in the world, Beth Medrash Govoha
• BMG recently awarded $10.6 million in taxpayer funds for a
new library and academic center
37. How does the library
address the
diverse, growing needs
of at-risk Lakewood
teens?
38. Lakewood Library and Probation
Department Partnerships
• Tools for Teens
• Gangwise
• Drug Trends
• Self-mutilation
• Bullying
• Dating Violence
• Job Searching, Filling Out a Job Application, and
Creating a Resume
• Trained probation officers and teens
• Ocean County Library Databases:
Job & Career Accelerator
Career Transitions
Learning Express
• Internet resources
39. Man to Man
• The Law & You
• Sgt. Milton Alexander; and corrections officers from
Rahway Prison.
• Say it Loud!
• Author Patrick Oliver
• Who Am I?
• Authors Moses Miller and Jonathan Z. Queen
• Teen Success Camp
• William Horton
40. Lakewood Library and School
Partnerships
Current Initiatives:
• PTO Meetings
• Research instruction
• Library card sign-ups
• Waiving old or irrelevant fines
• Book talks
• Book discussions
• Donating books to school libraries
• Providing free books to students
• Weekly visits to school libraries to
promote services and programs
• Embedding school’s Summer Reading
goals into public library programming
• Teacher and staff trainings
• eBooks
Future Initiatives:
• Bringing Tools for Teens
programming to the Middle and
High Schools
• Positive Behavior Support in
Schools (PBSIS)-
teaching and reinforcing a
consistent set of behavioral
expectations
• Digital Storytelling
• Your voice, racial
identity, town, and culture are
important
41. Lakewood Library In-House Programming
and Initiatives: Our Approach
• Services: position of resources, knowledge or goods
to young people:
• Supports: things done with young
people – interpersonal relationships
addressed by expectation, guidance,
and boundaries:
• Opportunities: activities, roles, and
responsibilities taken on and done
by young people chances to explore,
express, earn, belong, & influence
42.
43. How You Can Partner with Urban
Libraries
• Read: Urban Teens in the Library
Agosto, Denise E., and Sandra Hughes-Hassell. Urban Teens in the Library: Research and Practice.
Chicago: American Library Association, 2010. Print.
• Libraries move beyond the stereotypes
• Though it is true that many urban teenagers do grow up in troubled
communities, not all of them confront trouble at home, violence in the
streets, and/or problems at school.
• Library programming should be a reflection of this
• Partners in youth development
• Job searching
• Career fairs, job searching databases, resume classes
• Social services
• Strengthening Families, ESL, English Conversation, Tools for Teens
• Grants
• Youth Services Commission Grant
• Dollar General Literacy
44. Kids in Transition
Using Community
Resources
Library Resources: Databases
How to Find Grant Opportunities
Library Organizations
46. Databases: Jersey Clicks
• www.jerseyclicks.org
• Statewide portal for databases offered by NJ State Library, NJ
Library Network, and the Library Services and Technology Act
• Highlights:
• Health information (MedLine Plus)
• Legal Forms for New Jersey
• Spanish language databases
• Job & Career Accelerator
50. Databases: GED Online
• www.nj.gov/education/students/adulted/cp
• GED test will only be available online starting 2014
• Find test centers
• Download forms to register
• Limited sample tests and preparation materials
56. Databases: CareerOneStop
• www.careeronestop.org
• Sponsored by the US Dept of Labor
• Student Section
• Connect to internship and apprenticeship opportunities
• Videos about careers; skills & abilities you need in the workplace;
industries; and different work options
• Career videos available in Spanish
60. Databases: NJ CAN
• www.njcan.org
• “Sign in” as New Jersey Resident
• Can create personal account to save information
• “Reality Check”
• Visual budget calculator
62. Databases: NJ State Library
Employment & Career Information
• http://tinyurl.com/njstatelibemploy
• Resources on the NJ State Library website
• NJ State Library Catalog links
• Print resource listings
• Databases
• Websites
• Career planning/ outlook
• Resumes, letters, interviews
• Finding a job if you have a criminal record
63. Databases: Local Library
Access
• Ocean County Library
• Ferguson’s Career Guidance; Learning Express Library; Mango
Language; Teen Health & Wellness Database; Universal Class
• Somerset County Library
• Ferguson’s Career Guidance; Learning Express Library; Lumos Test
Prep; Mango Languages
• Atlantic County Library
• Learning Express Library; Mango Languages
65. Grants: Dollar General Literacy
Foundation
• www2.dollargeneral.com/dgliteracy
• Celebrating 20 years of grant funding
• Youth Literacy Grants
• Implementing new or existing literacy programs
• Purchasing technology or equipment to support literacy
initiatives
• Purchasing books, materials, or software
• OCL received grant for its Maker Fair
• 2014 grant applications will start January
67. Grants: Grants.gov
• www.grants.gov
• Database containing grant information for all 26 federal grant-
making institutions
• Searchable by keyword, agency, or general category
• Can search old and archived grants
69. Grants: Dept of Justice Grants
101
• www.ojp.gov/grants101
• Guide to finding, applying for, and using grants from the Dept
of Justice
• Free grant writing tutorial
• Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP)
awarded $268M in grants in 2012
71. Grants: NJ State
• www.nj.gov/nj/gov/njgov/grants.html
• Law & Public Safety
• State/ Community Partnership Grant – Administered through
County Youth Services Commissions
73. Grants: Children & Youth Funding Report
• www.cdpublications.com/cyf/
• Paid subscription required
• Sample reports available
• Subscriptions are allowable expenses under certain federal
grants
• Free news alerts
• Include information about grant-making organizations and
upcoming deadlines
75. Grants: NJ State Library
Resources
• http://tinyurl.com/njstatelibgrants
• NJ State Library Grants Resources for Nonprofits
• Resources on NJ State Library website
• Databases
• Websites
• Proposal writing/ research aids
• State and federal grant sites
• Information about nonprofits
77. Grants: NJ State Library Resources
(cont’d)
• http://www.njstatelib.org/office_of_the_state_librarian/grant
s
• Grant information specifically for libraries
• Foundation Grants
• List of organizations and grants
• Internet Resources on Grants
• GrantsWeb
• Library Grants
78. Library Organizations
• YALSA
• http://lists.ala.org/sympa/info/yalsa-lockdown
• Listserv for librarians working with incarcerated youth across the
country
• Networking possibilities
• YALSA is the Young Adult section of the American Library
Association
79. Library Organizations
• NJLA Urban Libraries Section
• http://tinyurl.com/njlaurbanlibs
• Created to meet unique needs of urban library communities
80. Library Organizations
• Your local library!
• Contact the Young Adult or Outreach Librarian at your local
library branch and see what happens
81. What’s Hot at the Game Farm
• The darkest fiction: Pretty Girl-13 by Liz Coley; Living Dead Girl by
Elizabeth Scott; Girl, Stolen by April Henry; Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
• Almost anything by: Ellen Hopkins, Paul Volponi, Walter Dean Myers
• Books made or being made into movies: Hunger Games, Divergent
• Memoirs about prison: No Choirboy by Susan Kuklin, Life After
Death by Damien Echols,
• Stephen King (there is always a horror fan in the group!)
• For mystery fans: James Patterson, Harlan Coben (from NJ and
often uses NJ as his settings), Chris Grabenstein (often uses a
fictionalized town in NJ as his setting). All of these authors write
adult and teen fiction.
83. Thank you!
Pham “Pam” Condello
Teen Services Coordinator
pcondello@theoceancountylibrary.org
Tools for Teens/ Gangwise
Christi Aldellizzi
Teen Librarian- Lacey Branch
caldellizzi@theoceancountylibrary.org
Ocean Residential Community Home
Katie Fernandez
Branch Manager Beachwood Branch
kfernandez@theoceancountylibrary.org
Chair of the Services to Incarcerated Youth
Erin Gorski
Teen Librarian- Lakewood Branch
egorski@theoceancountylibrary.org
Serving at- risk youth in an urban setting
Natalie Niziolek
Teen Librarian- Berkeley Branch
nniziolek@theoceancountylibrary.org
Database and Grant Information
Hinweis der Redaktion
Dispel some myths. We don’t shhhh….When people think of libraries they think of books. The library is not a place filled with books. We have them, but it’s not our main concentration anymore.
We are a community center.Reading Buddies- summer program where we pair up a teen and a child. Studies have shown that kids who don’t practice reading over the summer, will go down in their reading level.SAIL (service achievement in the library)HurricaneSandy- we were a hub for the residents of OC, to get their needs met after the storm. FEMA was stationed there. We were a charging station for many people without power.Prom Dress Drive- over 300 teens received Prom Dresses. We also gave them to their families for formal occasions.Community Dinner
So these are young people who, often all of a sudden, find themselves living outside of all the usual social supports and economic apparatuses that provide structure and provide a ladder to independence and self sufficiency. They may be homeless. They could be 18, 19, maybe fell behind in school and were kind of encouraged to drop out to protect the school’s statistics, or they’re trying to go to college but they have no financial support from home, and it’s like, what do they take care of first? Do they get a job? But they can’t, because they can’t get to work because they can’t make a car payment, and then their parents kick them out, they never finished schooland then maybe they get sick or get hurt in a car accident and have no insurance, or they have a baby, or their significant other becomes abusive and they leave, and the weight of all of these things becomes oppressive. They are stuck. Where do you think they go a lot of the time? THE LIBRARY. There’s internet there, their friends are maybe there, it’s relatively calm. And then they’re there every day, all day, and maybe are there during a crisis. I had a resident from the JDC who was released and wanted to stay out of the gang life, so he would go to the library to work on his schoolwork, play on the Internet
In order for you to understand our services, I’d like to tell you a few points on how it began.Juvenile delinquencyprevention
The Ocean County Library utilizes the YSC grant funds a myriad of different ways, all under the umbrella of the “Tools for Teens” or “Gang Wise” series. Our main focus for these programs is to deal with the prevention of adolescent delinquency among our county teenagers. These valued programs are offered to teens, their guardians/ families, educators, professionals and members of the public. Professional Development Certificates are offered to everyone who attends the prevention workshopsOur programming ideas are suggested to us from the professionals in the field- the YSC Committee, JDC, Probation- Juvenile Supervision Unit, SACS, CIACC and the Juvenile Justice Committee.They also come from what we experience first hand at the library.Ex. Baby Carriage Races in the Courtyard- These parents were high school drop outs, attended JDC or were possibly altered in some way. Because of this event. we created the Teen Parenting Series to combat this lack of parenting skills. The series focused on positive ways to deal with stress, financial literacy, you and your baby’s health and positive interactions with you child through storytimes.
We wouldn’t be able to do what we do, without the community partnerships. there are lots of other ways the library can work with court involved youth and with the staff who work with those youth. These trainings suit the needs of not only the committee/ department members, but also the needs of the adolescents in their charge.The library works closely with several agencies in Ocean County, including but not limited to the Juvenile Justice Committee, the Ocean County Probation Juvenile Supervision department, and the local schools for new and timely topics for the Tools for Teens programs. Adolescents are referred to the Tools for Teens and Gang Wise programs, through county agencies such as the probation department. Attendance is taken at every program and given to the referred agencies after the program has ended.Harbor HouseJprobationDept- Probation and the courts request certain topics that their teens need to bJuvenile Justice Committee
(most of the materials I bring are for recreational reading, but students are always asking for books on GED prep and vocations & careers).
My job as coordinator was to help participants:Relate their lives to the issues in the readings through “poetic moments.”Discover that “their life experience has, in fact, prepared them to understand and examine complex literary art.”
7-ElevenBlackbeard’s CaveBlinds To GoHMS Food ServiceIHOP*Loving Care Home Aides AgencyMarquee CinemasMcDonald’sSix Flags Great AdventureStop N ShopTaco Bell*WaWa
200,000 residents would make Lakewood the 3rd most populated town in NJ behind Newark and Jersey City
Service desk for teen research and YA literature questionsTeen designated computersTeen designated space – safe, clean, creativeTeen designated literatureSignage and advertisements for programsCreative ways of promoting the YA collection – displays, signage, etc.Bilingual YA staffKnowledgeable in the diverse types of literature the community demands Clean, Urban Lit, MangaTeen Gaming Night - Clear communication and Computer Club enforcement of Teen Zone rulesManga Club - Maker MondaysProm Dress Giveaway - Cultural Cooking Man to Man - Tools for TeensLibrarians have a constant presence and establish a good relationship with teensSAIL and Reading BuddiesTeen Advisory BoardLakewood Clergy Emerging Adult VolunteersUrban GardenTeen Tech BuddiesFilm Fest
3 sections: Databases/ online resources available for young adults to use for careers/ education/ and
New Jersey residents can access these databases for free; Using Jersey Clicks logs you in to these databases when you clickHealth Information: MedLine Plus – consumer friendly information on health and wellness issuesVideos on surgeries, anatomy, calculators & quizzes about health informationInformation on health topics and drugs & supplementsProvided by the National Institute of HealthLegal forms – Provides documents (but not legal advise) for variety of legal filingsSpanish language – Hispanic magazine articles (not translations); encyclopedia articles; health informationJob & Career Accelerator (talk about later)
Detailed questionnaire to see what kinds of assistance you could be eligible to receiveLinks to benefits – Does not provide benefits/ cannot get benefits directly from this siteHelp in filing for and receiving benefitsIncludes both federal and state benefits
Important resource for taking the GED in NJLearning Express Library (access through Job & Career Accelerator) has GED courses for free
NJ wants NJ students to stay in the state for college!!Higher education is not necessarily so difficult to achieve
The following four databases offer similar career and education resourcesIncluding: Interest assessments; Career information & outlook; Job searching; Help with resume & cover letter writing and going on interviews; Education opportunities; Financial aidHighlight unique aspects of each resource
Links to skill improvement lessons in Learning Express LibraryCreating profile on Job & Career Accelerator allows access to Learning Express LibraryTutorials on how to use Adobe and Microsoft products, and Windows and Mac operating systems
Student Section w/ specific information geared to youth entering the workforceFind internships and apprenticeships in your field of interestVideos!
Job Clubs – excellent way to network and offer workshops/ speakers/ mentoringCalendar is great for finding opportunities in your county
“Sign in” as a NJ ResidentCan create personal account to save searches/ information“Reality Check” – great budget calculator that is visually interesting“Get a Reality Check” - Check off expenses for your lifestyle – where you will live (region & type of housing); your lifestyle choices (clothing; going out; eating out; transportation); utilities; taxes – Determine how much you need to make to live the way you wantFuture Salary – how much do you want to make? Depending on where you live, the kind of job you need to make that moneyOccupation Direct – how much typical occupation makes in certain areasFigure out your lifestyle based on that salary
Beyond these resources, the NJ State Library has compiled a great site with further resources
Each resource has a description and explains how it is useful/ what is availableFinding a job if you have a criminal record
County libraries may provide access to other databases not freely available or available through JerseyClicks. Some of these databases are only available in the library and most will require a library card from that system.
Dollar General is specific grant, but won’t be discussing other specific grants; These are resources that you can use to find funding opportunities through state and federal governments and private/ public organizationsInformation from slides is on the handout!!
Can find old grants to get an idea what has been offered in the pastDatabase contains information on federal grants only
Each county has a Youth Services CommissionOCL has gotten grants to provide Gangwise programs at local libraries through this program
Sample reports – Click on “Subscribe to CYF,” scroll down and click on “Download PDF Sample”Sign up for free news alertsAudioconferences and publications available
Writing a winning proposal is keyFree resources to help
Resources for libraries, but could be useful if trying to partner with local library or want to create your own library or literacy initiative
GrantsWeb – Links to different resources and grant-making agenciesLibrary Grants – Blog that chronicles grant opportunities for libraries
Listservs generally very activeSign-up for listservE-mail discussion format – new topics are sent by e-mail to everyone on the listDo NOT have to be YALSA member to join listserv
PG-13 (YA fiction: 13 year old returns home after camping—but 3 years have passed that she has no recollection of)LDG: (YA fiction: story of a 15 year old girl who was kidnapped at age 10 and continues to be abused. GS: blind teen with pneumonia inadvertently becomes a pawn in a carjacking.GG: adult psychological thriller about a marriage gone horribly wrong.