Chatham-Savannah Youth Futures Authority
601 East 66th Street
Suite 101
Savannah, GA 31405
P.O. Box 14317, Savannah, GA 31416
Phone: 912.352.7054 ~ Fax: 912.352.7451
Edward Chisolm, Executive Director
YFA Collaborative Meeting
AUTHORITY MEMBERS --
The next collaborative meeting will be held on June 11 at 4:00 p.m. at the Lewis Cancer & Research Pavilion.
Teen Maze Event-2013
A mini-Teen Maze event was held on April 30 at the Live Oak Southwest Chatham Library. 9th grade students from New Hampstead and Windsor Forest High Schools participated in a drunk driving simulation, as well as toured vehicles from various Chatham County operations such as CEMA, a helicopter for mosquito control, a marine patrol vessel, and mounted patrol horses.
The usual full-scale Teen Maze event is being scheduled for later this year.
Savannah Ready, Set, READ!
The Savannah Ready, Set, READ! is a component of the community level of the local Grade Level Reading campaign. In partnership with Live Oak Public Libraries, a Literacy Drive was conducted from late June to early July in which there was a goal of collecting 2,000 children books for community youth.
Thanks to the temendous support of our partners and the community, we were able to collect approx 1,800 books.
We express a sincere Thank You to all who helped support this effort.
Coastal Drug Free Communities Coalition
With support from the United Way of the Coastal Empire, the mission of the Coastal Drug Free Communities Coalition is to bring partners together to prevent and reduce substance abuse in our community. The coalition has produced an information rack card, and is gearing up for more community awareness projects in the near future.
Child Abuse and Neglect Coalition
With support from the United Way of the Coastal Empire, the purpose of the Child Abuse and Neglect Coalition is to both educate our community on and address the issues related to this problem. View the rack card that further explains the coalition’s purpose and data on child abuse and neglect. This group is preparing for a major community awareness event in April 2013.
YFA Celebrates 25 Years!
YFA celebrated 25 years of impacting the lives of children, youth, and families at a Silver Anniversary Gala event held on March 9.
A sincere Thank You to ALL who helped us celebrate this moment!
View event highlights.
Georgia Family Connection Partnership congratulates YFA on 25 Years of collaboration and service to children, youth, and families.
View acknowledgement.
Caring Communities ~ System of Care (SOC)
Overview
In 2009, the Chatham-Savannah Youth Futures Authority, through the City of Savannah, was awarded a grant from the Georgia Governor's Office for Children and Families (GOCF) to implement a prevention and early intervention program for students in kindergarten through 5th grade who are at-risk for out of school suspensions, or have already been suspended or expelled from the Savannah-Chatham County Public School System (SCCPSS). The initial grant award for the 2009-2010 program year was $325,000, with two additional years of funding with a cash match requirement. We are currently in Year-3 of the grant.
Agency Collaboration
Collaboration is achieved through governance in the System of Care Advisory Board, which includes the Chatham-Savannah Youth Futures Authority, State Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disability, and Addictive Diseases (MHDDAD), Department of Family and Children Services, Chatham County Juvenile Court, Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice, SCCPSS, Ash Tree Organization, City of Savannah, Savannah Impact Program (SIP), Gateway Community Service Board, Georgia Family Connection Partnership (GaFCP), Adult Probation Office, and Pardons and Paroles.
Offer Description / Justification
Funding from the GOCF grant addresses the Education strategy area to "Improve School Performance" specific to students in kindergarten through 5th grade and their families/caregivers. Students are targeted at two schools: East Broad Street K-8 School and the Fresh Start Program. Improving School Performance is approached through a reduction in suspensions & expulsions, academic improvement, increased attendance, and a reduction in disciplinary referrals. Over the course of the grant funding, a total of 120 children and 180 caregivers will be served.
The GOCF grant is currently in its Year-3 award, with the City of Savannah being the recipient. YFA, along with the System of Care Advisory Board, is working diligently to raise funds for program sustainability for beyond Year-3. Thus far, the System of Care approach has shown its effectiveness in meeeting the performance indicators as evaluated by EMSTAR Research, Inc., which served as our local evaluation and data collection team for the first two years of the program. For Year-3, evaluations will be conducted by the Center for Community Studies.
Evaluations:
Access the Program Year-1 Evaluation report.
Access the Program Year-2 Evaluation report
View updated SOC Evaluation Outcomes document
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SOC Savannah receives visit from Georgia's First Lady!
Georgia First Lady, Sandra Deal, visited Savannah on October 26, 2011 to meet with the Mayor of Savannah and SOC program staff.
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From left to right: Morris Brown, Linda King, Edward Chisolm, Sandra Deal, Kathy Jo Ballard, Mayor Otis Johnson, Timeka Grubbs-Perry |