Saratoga Partnership for Prevention

Partnership Meeting Minutes

Date:  

April 14, 2005

Facilitator:      Gary Forward

Location:

3 Blue Streak Blvd., 2^nd floor, School District Administration Building

Recorder:       Robin Ambrosino

Attendees:

R. Ambrosino, K. Bayer, L. Beer, J. Bell, M. Cary, J. Ekman, A. Farone,

G. Forward, R. Goliber, D. Greene, E. Herlihy, E. Moore, N. Karas, J. Kelly,
B. LaBarge, S. Lang, B. Lombardo, D. McGarry, T. Moon, D. Mosley,

K. Sephas, E. Stanton, J. White.

Materials Distributed:

Saratoga Center for the Family newsletter and Keeping Kids Safe Walkathon registration form

Upcoming Events

·     The Partnership will host two TIPS trainer workshops in May. The May 10^th afternoon workshop will be for bar and restaurant staff, and the May 17^th course will be for retail employees. Both courses will be taught by John Kelly and Andy Nolan. For more information, call Robin Ambrosino at 581-1230 ext. 28.

·     There will be a bus emergency safety drill at Greenfield Elementary School on Saturday, May 14^th. Law enforcement, fire, and medical evacuation personnel will work together to practice coordinating services in the event of a real bus accident. A similar drill is being planned for the high school. No date has been set for that drill yet.

·     DARE All Stars camp is gearing up and will take place the last two weeks in July and the first two weeks in August. Registration forms were mailed out to all families of fifth graders in the Saratoga Springs School District earlier this month. A parent information night about camp will be held from 6:30 – 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 10^th in the activities room on the second floor of the middle school.

·     All 135 pages of this year’s Drug Free Communities grant application to fund the work of the Partnership was turned in on time. Notification about whether funding will be granted is expected by August or September. Also, the spring session of Strengthening Families ended on Tuesday, April 12^th. It was a nice, small group of people and there was very little attrition. BOCES’ involvement catering the event worked out very well.

·     Saratoga Center for the Family is celebrating April as Child Abuse Awareness month. They’re selling blue awareness bracelets for $3 each. The Center’s newsletter with information about the month’s events is available, as are pledge forms for their April 30^th Take a Stand for Children walk at Skidmore College. The Center also started another session of Strengthening Families. Referrals are welcome.

·     June 4^th is Franklin Community Center’s 7^th Annual Golf Tournament at the Windy Hills course in Greenwich. Cost for entry is $50 at the tee or $100 at the green. Call Franklin for registration forms at 587-9826. The Center is also seeking donations for prizes.

·     Domestic Violence/Rape Crisis is also selling bracelets and ribbons. They can be picked up at 480 Broadway in Saratoga.

·     The Prevention Council is part of 12-county campaign called, “Parents Who Host Lose the Most,” to address the fact that most kids who drink often get alcohol from their parents. The campaign includes a commitment by law enforcement officials around the Capital Region to prosecute parents who serve minors. Saratoga was one of the first counties to prosecute parents for allowing minors to drink in their homes, but before the campaign, this wasn’t necessarily taking place elsewhere in the region. The campaign has received funding from the radio station, B95.5, and Stewart’s, which is printing information on its milk cartons throughout prom and graduation season.

The campaign will kick off on Thursday, April 28^th with a press conference at the Colonie Public Safety building. It’d be great to have a good turnout to send the message that it’s illegal to serve alcohol to youth, regardless of whether you take keys.

·     Also, Dennis Mosley is an OASAS employee providing technical assistance around the state for the Communities That Care coalition building framework. He’ll be working at The Prevention Council offices once a week, and will be available to the Partnership to provide a CTC overview for partners who’ve gotten involved in the past couple years. The Partnership hopes to hold a “CTC refresher” workshop sometime next fall.

Youth Survey Results Presentation

Partnership Coordinator Maureen Cary presented a slideshow about the results of the Communities That Care Youth Survey, given to 6^th – 12^th grade students in the Saratoga Springs City School District this past fall.

A similar presentation was made at both the high school and the middle school last week, and feedback was positive.

(A link to the 2004 CTC Youth Survey results will be posted here soon.)

Discussion about Where Do We Go From Here:

·         Group agreed that the middle school has a good foundation of programs  with Strengthening Families and DARE All Stars camp, Lunch Groups and After School Club.

·         The first group of kids to go through DARE All Stars camp in 2002 will be 9^th graders at the high school next fall. Partnership staff will be conducting focus groups with these students sometime in May to find out what would help ease the transition to high school.

·         The Partnership is looking into the possibility of providing an online course for parents of high school students – similar to Strengthening Families, but for older children.

·         Next meeting will be used to brainstorm about the above ideas, as well as the possibility of interscholastic policy development.

Next Meeting

The next Partnership meeting will take place at 3:30 p.m. on May 12^th at the district offices on the high school campus. Either Jim Murphy or Bev LaBarge from the Saratoga County District Attorney’s Office will facilitate.