Pass it On
**Playworks and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Portland are hosting a Youth Development Career Fair on Tuesday, April 26th from 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. at the Wattles Boys & Girls Club, 9330 SE Harold St, Portland. This fair is for job seekers looking for youth development work either during the summer, full-time, part-time, and/or internships. We invite youth organizations to recruit and find future team members and job seekers to network and find new connections in youth development. Go here for more info.
**The Portland Children's Levy has a whole new look to its website! Click here to visit and let us know what you think by emailing marygay.broderick@portlandoregon.gov
**Follow PCL on Twitter here
** Prevent Child Abuse Oregon and the Children's Trust Fund have launched the 2016 Pinwheels for Prevention Campaign to raise awareness for child abuse prevention/intervention. The goals are to distribute 20,000 pinwheels, help coordinate a Pinwheel Garden in every county and engage 100 partners, organizations and businesses in the Pinwheels for Prevention Campaign. Kits to get started on a Pinwheels for Prevention Campaign come with 100 pinwheels, printed pinwheel campaign guide, a yard sign and 100 prevention handouts. A limited number of free kits are available after which, they can be purchased to host a campaign. The Pinwheels for Prevention webpage can be found here for more information.
**Playworks can help providers working with children integrate safe, healthy and inclusive student play into existing school activities through a series of thorough and interactive workshops that highlight constructive tools and methods. The trainings are designed for before-, after- and out-of-school program staff. Go here for more info.
**The YWCA offers high-quality and engaging social change trainings. All of the info can be found here.
** Meals 4 Kids, a PCL-funded program through Meals on Wheels People that delivers meals to children and their caregivers throughout Portland, is looking for volunteer drivers. Interested? Contact lynette.vicens@mealsonwheelspeople.org
Early Education News
**If you have families with children entering a PPS kindergarten next fall, please provide them the district link here for more information about Connect to Kindergarten events along with details about school choice. Connect is a great opportunity for families to meet school staff and other new parents, learn about school expectations and resources, and register early for school. PPS hopes every family will register for school by June 1, 2016, although earlier is better. Early registration allows school staff to contact families about open houses, the Early Kindergarten Transition program, home visits and more.
**Friendly House Preschool Morning and Afternoon Class Openings. Sign-up for a child-centered preschool experience for 3-5-year-olds in a warm and welcoming classroom with seasoned teachers. Half-day classes; morning or afternoon available, includes homemade snacks and meals. Full scholarships offered for qualifying families. For more information call 503-228-4391 or go here.
Friendly House is also offering a free 6-week educational summer program focused on kindergarten readiness to qualifying families. The program is Monday-Friday, 8 am - 12pm, June 13-July 22nd. If approved for a scholarship, children must attend the full 6 weeks. For more information and to sign up, visit here.
PCL Programs Making a Difference:
Legacy Emanuel Hospital and Health Center/CARES Northwest
Three-year-old "Jenny" was referred to CARES NW by Randall Children's Hospital Emergency Department for an urgent evaluation. Jenny had been seen in the ED the night before due to concerns of sexual victimization by her daycare provider's adult son.
These concerns arose when Jenny's mother picked her up from daycare one afternoon. Jenny's mother was getting Jenny into her car seat when Jenny told her mother she was hurt. Her mother asked Jenny if she needed to use the bathroom and Jenny told her she was hurting because she'd been touched. Jenny's mother took her inside, talked to her further, and observed blood in her underwear. She then took Jenny immediately to the ED. Jenny's medical examination was significant for traumatic injury and she made clear and consistent statements concerning for sexual abuse.
Following her CARES NW evaluation, Jenny was referred for follow-up trauma-specific counseling. Jenny was assessed for possible post-trauma symptoms, but did not appear to be exhibiting very many. During the first several weeks following the incident, Jenny's mother reported that she was waking up most nights, crying and afraid. As time went on this dissipated. However, Jenny was not acting distressed when reminded of what happened, was not engaging in repetitive reenactment of the abuse, or was not avoiding any of her typical activities, all symptoms typically exhibited by traumatized children.
During sessions, Jenny could talk about what happened at her daycare without distress or avoidance. Jenny also routinely indicated, "I told my mom and my mom took me to the doctor." This child had such a strong, supportive and protective response from her mother that she was able to begin healing from her experience right away. Jenny's mother, however, was understandably undone by what had happened to her daughter and was experiencing intense feelings of sadness, anger and guilt.
Jenny attended a handful of sessions to share her experience and talk about her feelings. It quickly became clear that the focus of treatment for this family was to build on the reparative work already begun between parent and child, and to provide emotional support to a traumatized parent. Jenny's mother was coached on how to continue communicating support and protection to her daughter, and how to reinforce Jenny's instinct to talk about situations that felt unsafe. Jenny's mother learned to understand and manage her own symptoms of distress. Most importantly, Jenny's mother was supported throughout the long, stressful legal process. After a year of legal involvement, Jenny's offender finally pled guilty and negotiated a plea agreement. He is now serving 18 years in prison.