Clinic’s Family FunFest Raises Awareness with Popcorn, Clowns and Ponies

On Saturday, May 19, 2012, volunteers at the Los Angeles Child Guidance Clinic donated their time to provide local families with access to much-needed mental health services and community resources. Held at the Clinic’s flagship site at3787 South Vermont Avenue, the event attracted the attention of parents and children alike with its festive banners and dancing balloon man, and featured pony rides, magic shows, and free food for the whole family.

Melanie Morones, Day Treatment Program Coordinator, adding some decor to one of FFF young guest as she holds her own son

As it had every year for the last 13 years, FunFest offered a day of family-oriented fun for parents and their young children alongside access to essential community and health resources. These services included medical and dental screenings; WIC, Cal Fresh, Head Start, and Medi-Cal/Healthy Families enrollment; healthy nutrition workshops; and mental health screenings. Participating community organizations included: El Nido, USC Ostrow School of Denistry,Hubert Humphries Medical Center,CalFresh/DPSS, El Nido, First 5 LA,South Central Family Health Center,CADepartment of Insurance, USC Explorers, USC Kid Watch, Great Beginnings for Black Babies, South Los Angeles Health Project, Network for a Healthy California and the LA Lead Department.

Close to 100 volunteers worked to make the event possible for its 850 attendees. Volunteers from local businesses El Clasificado, 1^st Enterprise Bank, and UltraPro formed teams to contribute their time to the community. To the delight of the children, the Los Angeles Fire Department Station #15 made a surprise appearance under the direction of Captain Burgess.

This year, the Clinic emphasized healthy eating habits at FunFest through a revamping of the traditional snack station fare. The Clinic provided healthy alternatives to festival food, including organic, salt-free seasoned popcorn, sugar-free sno-cone syrup, turkey dogs, and organic refreshments courtesy of Honest Tea.

Happy families thanked the volunteers on their way out. “This is such a great event for the whole family,” remarked one mother. “We’ll be sure to come back next year.”

Check out our photo album on Facebook

Join us in 2 days for Our 14th Annual Family FunFest

L.A.’s “Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day” Efforts To Reach 1.5 Million Spanish Language Readers in May

   

Los Angeles (May 9, 2012) –Councilmember Bernard Parks led the City Council today in declaring May 9th“Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day in the City of Los Angeles,” with focus this year on building resilience in children dealing with trauma, and on reaching new audiences in Spanish.

“For too many local youth, untreated trauma leads to serious psychological problems in childhood and in adulthood,” said Councilmember Parks, who was joined by Councilmember Jan Perry in introducing today’s proclamation.  “When left undiagnosed, trauma leaves youth more vulnerable to substance abuse, depression, and academic failure. This month, we call on adults throughout the City to learn how to recognize early signs of trauma and seek assistance from community resources, and to build resilience in children through praise.”

Councilmember Parks acknowledged this year’s efforts by Los Angeles Child Guidance Clinic and El Clasificado – the most accessible free Spanish language publication in the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area – to jointly bring awareness efforts to 1.5 million weekly readers in May.

“Today we join advocates across the county in supporting social and emotional well-being in our children and youth through National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day,” said Mr. Parks.  “Locally, I commend Los Angeles Child Guidance Clinic and El Clasificado for partnering to get the message to families who otherwise might not hear it because of language barriers.”

El Clasificado and Clinic staff worked closely this year to develop an interactive promotion for parents and readers to explore in May, designed to encourage adults to build childhood resilience through praise.  Through a “word search” contest focused on positive phrases adults can use with children, readers are submitting completed puzzles for prizes designed to promote family interaction – including bilingual refrigerator magnets with “100 Ways to Praise a Child.”

“El Clasificado’s team is expert at mobilizing Spanish language readers through fun, interactive contests,” said César Portillo, VP of Advancement for Los Angeles Child Guidance Clinic.  “Through this promotion donated by El Clasificado, we’ve joined our expertise with theirs this year to build community wellness across language barriers.”

 

With over 4,600 El Clasificado street racks located along major avenues and boulevards in Latino communities – and 22,000 targeted sites throughout Latino neighborhoods – El Clasificado enjoys a verified circulation of 480,000 weekly copies, and over 1.5 million weekly readers.

“We are especially grateful to El Clasificado CEO Martha de la Torre and her creative team for donating their talents and skills to this year’s effort,” said Mr. Portillo.  “Ms. de la Torre’s leadership on our Clinic board of directors has always been generous, and the team’s effort to support children in our community is inspiring!”

“El Clasificado and our new monthly El Punto were created as tributes to all Latino families who seek help to better their lives and that of their children,” said Ms. de la Torre.  “We are happy to partner with the Los Angeles Child Guidance Clinic to inform, educate and enlighten our community in a Spanish friendly manner on how to deal with children and their mental health.”

Mr. Portillo also thanked Councilmember Parks for his continued leadership in raising awareness for a fourth consecutive year, and noted the Clinic is also making widely available free, bilingual “100 Ways to Praise A Child” refrigerator magnets through its website, www.lachild.org .

{Photo By Carolyn Wang -Left to Right: Councilmember Jan Perry; Jose Luis Leyva, Case Manager at Alafia Mental Health Institute; César Portillo, Vice President of Clinic Advancement; Martha de la Torre, CEO of El Clasificado; Councilmember Bernard Parks}

EITI Website is here

It is official!! The EItrining website has launched. Log on and get updated information about upcoming training classes, to request a training and  early intervention information.

The Clinic created the Early Intervention Training Institute as a response to the expanding need for more early childhood mental health training in Los Angeles County. EITI increases the capacity of community-based, educational agencies and other key “gatekeepers” in identifying children at risk for emotional, behavioral or social delays, as well as other challenges. Additionally, we train professionals in effective interventions with these children and their families in settings such as mental health agencies, Head Start and day care centers, and child welfare organizations. The program today draws trainees requests for trainings from throughout Southern California. *

The website is http://www.eitraining.org. You can also click on the banner above.

 

 

 

*Soure:LACGC 2011 Annual Report* 

Training: Strategies for Managing Challenging Behaviors in Young Children

Click Flyer to find out more info!

Please Join Us for The Empowerment Congress Summit Saturday, January 14th

 

Please join us for an inspiring Saturday morning celebrating 20 years of community empowerment at the Empowerment Congress Summit on January 14th at USC!

 

The Empowerment Congress was founded by Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, and its Mental Health Committee is chaired by Clinic President and CEO Betsy Pfromm.

 

Details for the summit are attached, and registration is free at www.empowermentcongress.org

 

Be sure to choose the following workshop when you register: “Bridging Disparities in Access to Mental Health Services”, which features the following panelists:

 

•  James R. Jones, MD, Regional Medical Director, LA County DMH will address the impact of mental health disparities on the African American Community
• William Arroyo, MD Regional Medical Director, LA County DMH, will address the impact of mental health disparities on the Latino Community
• Clayton Chau, MD, Ph.D., Associate Medical Director, Center of Excellence in Education, Training, Research & Advocacy for Reducing Health Disparities, Orange County Health Care Agency Behavioral Health Services, will address the impact of mental health disparities on the Asian Pacific Islander Community

 

Our workshop will kick off with an exciting musical presentation by local youth from “Engaging Men,” a collaborative effort between Peace Over Violence, Los Angeles Child Guidance Clinic, and Brotherhood Crusade.

We hope to see you on Saturday the 14th!

Highlights from 2011 Zero to Three National Training Institute (NTI) Pt. 2

Highlights from 2011 Zero to Three National Training Institute (NTI) Pt. 2

By Jacquelyn Christensen MA, PhD Candidate Training & Evaluation Associate

Early Intervention Training Institute (EITI) / Quality Management, Evaluation & Training

(R-L) Betsy Pfromm, M.S., MPA Clinic CEO/President, Melanie Morones and Jacquelyn Christensen

This year’s conference was held at the Gaylord National Harbor Resort in Washington, DC from December 8^th to 11^th, 2011, so I anticipated the historical moments of sight-seeing and exploring the nation’s capital in the crisp December air.

Though I took a water taxi to visit historicalAlexandriaand spent time on Sunday walking the National Mall to see the monuments (I walked 6.5 miles in 3 hours!), the conference itself was definitely the highlight of the weekend.

My favorite part of the conference?  The feelings of inspiration and motivation that overwhelm me when the three and a half days finally subside!

If I had to take away one word from the weekend, it would be simply: Relationships.

At the good grace of the Atlas Family Foundation, we attended and an amazing pre-institute on Thursday.

Not only did I have a chance to chat with Richard Atlas and Janis Minton, but the conference provided a fabulous networking opportunity to meet and converse with fellow community advocates of early intervention.

Many of the lectures I attended throughout the conference focused on policy and improving practice.  Of special note was the Honorable Bryan Samuels, who spoke about reforming the child welfare system through collaboration and strategic utilization of resources to assist reaching children in need.

Of course, none of the proposed changes are possible without a foundation of strong professional relationships- from policy makers to administrators to supervisors to staff to families and back again…relationships are everything.

The new and exciting research in the field of child development presented also caught my attention.

Dr. Deborah Phillips, who assisted in the “From Neurons to Neighborhoods” project in 1999, gave a wonderful overview of how recent findings over the past 12 years have helped the original tenants of the study evolve and solidify (as well as re-emphasize the crucial role of relationships in child development).

Vincent Felitti, MD used amazing graphs and fabulous wit to explain results from the Adverse Childhood Experiences study. While his results highlight the detrimental impact of traumatic and adverse experiences on mental and physical well-being in adulthood, the silver lining came from the other presentations that showcased the role of protective factors, such as strong child-caregiver relationships, to ameliorate the negative impact of these early difficult experiences.

In a wonderful symposium on home-visiting, where the dynamic speakers recounted the “3 R’s” (Relationships, Responsiveness, & Reflective Supervision), I felt compelled to share everything I learned with colleagues upon my return.

A highlight of my weekend was meeting (and taking a photograph with) Dr. T. Berry Brazelton, a true pioneer in the field of early intervention and working with infants and young children. Though he did not speak as part of the conference this year, his presence was honored. His smile lit up the enormous room.

Not only did I meet new colleagues and touch base with others I had not seen in a while, I was able to spend time with our President/CEO, Besty Pfromm, and our EI Day Treatment Coordinator, Melanie Morones. We made only a little mess eating crab legs, discovered the surrounding area in the winter cold, took pictures of Christmas trees, explored the enormous hotel, and rode a trolley. I definitely built and strengthened relationships that weekend, as well as left imbued with the desire to promote relationship building in all aspects of my work.

Happy Holidays Photos By: Melanie Morones

I look forward to the 2012  Zero to Three NTI in Los Angeles next December!

Highlights from the National Training Institute’s Zero to Three Conference Pt. 1

Highlights from the National Training Institute’s Zero to Three Conference in Washington, DC

Written by: Melanie Morones, MFTI, ATR DTI Coordinator

(R-L) Melanie Morones, Dr. T. Brazelton and Jacquelyn Christensen (Photo By: Melanie Morones)

 

 

After some carefully thought out plans about leaving my 18 month old son for the very first time, I left for our Nation’s capital and, a little over six hours later, found myself strolling through the rotating doors of the Gaylord National Resort & Conference Center.

The venue was amazing, decked out in spectacular holiday fashion with sparkles from ceiling to floor, dancing Pixar characters, and a slew of glowing Christmas trees.

The next four days were a blur of brain-boosting, top-of-the line presentations from leaders in the field of “zero to three” who had come prepared to showcase their research, programs, and skills.

The Atlas Foundation kicked it all off with a thoughtful, supportive, and irreplaceable opportunity to meet and connect with other California-based professionals and agencies.

It proved to set a tone of community, forward-thinking, and a common passion about working in early intervention.  I left feeling inspired and knew then that it would be worth the difficulty of leaving my family in LA to experience all that this conference had to offer.

There was something there for everyone and the mix of presentations created a rich experience for which I will forever be grateful:

• Meeting the “Godfather of Childcare”, Dr. T. Berry Brazelton
• Sitting in awe at the research findings of the ACE study led by Vincent J. Felitti, MD
• Feeling the energy of the empowering presentation by The Honorable Bryan Samuels in his moving discussion about his efforts to bring much needed change to the foster care system
• Ending a loaded afternoon by becoming part of a chorus of practitioners joining together to sing children’s songs with David Kisor, MA and Growing Sound

I can’t wait to attend next year’s NTI: Zero to Three Conference, scheduled to take place in our very ownLos Angeles,CA.  Mark your calendars because it’s an event you will not want to miss.

Spreading Holiday Cheer

Spreading Holiday Cheer

Clinic Highlight: Early Intervention and Family Resource Center

Quinn Urich, Early Intervention Administrative Assistant & Sylvia Guerra, Parent Support Associate Intern

 

 

An abundance of toys, clothes and diapers were on exhibit ready to be given to The Clinic’s smallest clients and their families. All of this made possible by the astonishing donations from the community including businesses, organizations, staff and families.  The therapists and staff are filled with holiday glee hosting holiday gatherings for clients as well as handing out remarkable gifts and resources.

 

Gaze your eyes on the pictures below and see how this is truly the most wonderful time of the year for the clinic.

 

Diapers for our smallest clients

 

Family Closet located in the Family Resource Center

 

Spreading Clinic Holiday Cheer

 

 

United to Raise Mental Health Awareness & Well-Being 2011 Annual Report

Please enjoy the Clinic’s 2011 Annual Report. Thank you for your support!