June 6, 2006

Members present: Peter Wien, Elaine Andersen, Officer Greg Riley, Darlene Young, Anthony Daddona, Candace Mayer, Maria Lopez, Michael Moccaie, Suria Ceja, Shirley Sarkin, Mark Sugden, Richard McQuaid, Rhonda Collins

Guests: Mayor Richard A. Moccia, Brian Lockhart (The Advocate), Robert Koch (The Hour)

Peter Wien opened the meeting at 4:05pm.

1. Welcome and Introductions. Peter Wien welcomed those in attendance and introduced himself as Chair. He also gave background about who he is, how he became involved with the Department, and worked to save its counseling program. He further stated that as he increased his knowledge of the Youth Service Bureaus (YSBs), he learned of the importance of having a strong advisory board. Peter asked the others present to introduce themselves and tell something about their background that relates to being on the Advisory Board. Shirley Sarkin is the retired head of the Social Work Department of the Norwalk Public Schools. She was a founder of the Department of Youth Services who is here to carry on with what she thinks is important. Elaine Andersen is Executive Director of the Human Services Council, which has been in existence for 62 years. It identifies and meets community needs. Rick McQuaid is a member of the Common Council who worked with Peter to save the counseling services of the Department. He works at Naramake School and in the summer for Recreation and Parks. He also has five children. Maria Borges-Lopez has been a Norwalk resident for 6 years. She has a passion for the elderly and for youth and serves on several boards. She also has children and grandchildren. Candace Mayer is Deputy Director of the Norwalk Housing Authority, which provides housing to 15% of the kids in Norwalk. Greg Riley is an officer with the Norwalk Police Department and is President of the Guardians, the association of minority officers. He has served in the Police Department Youth Bureau and is certified to teach D.A.R.E. and G.R.E.A.T. Suria Ceja is a student at Norwalk High School who is very involved in student government. She also plays several sports and participates in the Department of Youth Services Peer Outreach Program. Darlene Young is Assistant City Clerk. In her former position as Coordinator of the Weed and Seed program, she implemented the Summer Youth Employment Program. She is continuing that activity this summer. Rhonda Collins is the Health Educator for the Norwalk Health Department.

2. Welcome and Purpose (Mayor Richard A. Moccia). Mayor Moccia thanked Peter for agreeing to chair and the members for their willingness to serve. He recognizes the challenge in trying to meet the needs of youth in town. He referred to the lunch meeting he had with representatives of Moody Investors Services. While their role is to evaluate the City’s financial health, the Mayor noted that many of their questions related to social programs and to the quality of life in Norwalk. Such issues have an impact on how city is viewed by rating agencies because they are important for the overall well being of the city. The Mayor stated that he gives his full support to keeping the counseling in house.

3. Overview. Peter presented background information on what has happened with the Department of Youth Services over the past 2years. Two years ago, the former Mayor announced his decision that the counseling function of the Youth Service Bureau (YSB) would be removed from the City and given to a private agency with a psychiatric orientation. Peter and other members of the Public Health and Welfare Committee of the Common Council did not want to see that happen. The Committee held a public hearing where they heard overwhelming support for the program from youth who had used it and their parents. A Blue Ribbon Commission (BRC) was formed to make recommendations on what should happen. Its final report recommended that the counseling remain with the City and that it continue to be a free service. A copy of the final report was distributed at the meeting. Another finding of the BRC was that a strong advisory board is very important to the success of a YSB. Peter praised the process of the BRC which heard from representatives of the Connecticut Youth Services Association (CYSA) and from YSBs in other communities. The task of this group is to become a strong advisory board. Peter emphasized that in order for that to happen, the members have to make a sincere effort to attend meetings.

4. Discussion of Next Steps. Peter asked members to send their thoughts on how they can contribute to Linda Wilock for forwarding to him. Rhonda asked if the Department has a strategic plan. Suria Ceja asked about what had happened with cuts. As a youth member of the board, she stated firmly that there should be more activities for youth. She mentioned that Peer Outreach helps young people become involved. Shirley Sarkin commented that the community needs to know more about what youth feel they need. Darlene Young noted that sometimes there is a “disconnect” between what is there and getting kids to participate for a lot of reasons. Rhonda said we need a strategic plan that notes strengths and weaknesses. Linda offered to bring in CYSA to get an idea of what YSBs can do. Rick McQuaid suggested doing forums at middle schools and high schools to get a feeling of what is needed. September or early October was suggested. Rhonda stated that the information obtained would help with grants. Shirley said that there are a lot of other places to talk with kids. Several members noted that there are a lot of activities and that if we go to different venues we will hear different voices. The importance of hearing what parents want was also mentioned. Linda noted that running multiple focus groups is a very labor intensive endeavor and that the Department has only 2 full-time employees who already have many duties. She asked if members would be able to help run the groups. Darlene proposed using the mid-session groups that she will be doing with Summer Youth Employment kids to pilot the focus group idea. Candy, Darlene, Greg and Suria agreed to work with Linda to plan to implement Darlene’s suggestion. Tony Daddona, Interim Principal of Norwalk High School, said it would be possible to do forums or focus groups in schools. Suria will also try to get some ideas from the Peer Outreach group.

5. Other Business. None
6. Schedule for Future Meetings. All agreed that 4:00 is a good time if we keep meetings to an hour. Given the difficulties of scheduling a meeting during the summer, the group decided to let Linda propose several dates by e-mail and choose the one that works for the most members.

Respectfully submitted,

Linda Wilock
Director

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