2010 Camp Get Away Applications available here

For more information on these and other events, visit the news & events page

The Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health is a national family-run organization dedicated exclusively to helping children with mental health needs and their families achieve a better quality of life. We provide leadership to develop and sustain a nationwide network of family-run organizations; focus the passion and cultural diversity of our membership to be a potent force for changing how systems respond to children with mental health needs and their families; and help policy-makers, agencies, and providers become more effective in delivering services and supports that foster healthy emotional development for all children. www.ffcmh.org

Child and Adolescent Service System Program Principles are guidelines for mental health services for children and adolescents with or at risk of developing severe emotional disorders and their families. These principles are summarized in six core statements.  http://www.omh.state.ny.us/omhweb/ebp/cassp.htm

New York State Agencies and Programs

New York State has a large, multi-faceted mental health system that serves more than 500,000 individuals each year. The New York State of Mental Health (OMH) operates psychiatric centers across the State, and also regulates, certifies and oversees more than 2,500 programs, which are operated by local governments and nonprofit agencies. These programs include various inpatient and outpatient programs, emergency, community support, residential and family care programs. www.omh.state.ny.us

The New York State Office of Mental Retardation and Development Disabilities (OMRDD) helps people with disabilities live richer lives. People with developmental disabilities are at the heart of everything we do, and this person-first ethic is embodied in the way we express ourselves, and in the way we conduct our business. www.omr.state.ny.us

The New York State Office of Children and Family Services provides a range of resources to help parents with their child care needs, people who want to start or are currently running child care programs, and anyone with a concern about the health or safety of a child in a day care program. www.ocfs.state.ny.us

The New York State Office of Alcohol and Substance Abuse Services is one of the nation's largest addiction services systems, making tremendous strides on behalf of the 2.5 million New Yorkers who are dealing with drug, alcohol or gambling addiction. Through the efforts of more than 1,550 programs across the state, OASAS reaches over 110,000 New Yorkers on any given day with a premier system of addiction services in prevention, treatment and recovery. www.oasas.state.ny.us

The mission of the State Education Department is to raise the knowledge, skill, and opportunity of all the people in New York. www.nysed.gov

The New York State Commission on Quality of Care and Advocacy for Persons with Disabilities is an independent, New York State government agency charged with improving the quality of life for New Yorkers with disabilities and protecting their rights.  The CQCAPD serves as an advocate and a resource for individuals of all ages with all types of disabilities.  www.cqcapd.state.ny.us

 The New York State Parent Education and Awareness Program is an initiative of Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye, who announced in her 2001 State of the Judiciary address her wish to institutionalize parent education and awareness programs in New York State, to improve the quality of court outcomes involving children in such situations. www.nycourts.gov/ip/parent-ed

The Mission of the Office of Vocational and Educational Services for Individuals with Disabilities (VESID) is to promote educational equity and excellence for students with disabilities while ensuring that they receive the rights and protection to which they are entitled; assure appropriate continuity between the child and adult services systems; and provide the highest quality vocational rehabilitation and independent living services to all eligible persons as quickly as those services are required to enable them to work and live independent, self-directed lives.  www.vesid.nysed.gov

General Information and Resources for Parents and Families

The Center for Family Development is Western New York's only attachment center specializing in the treatment of adopted and foster families with trauma and attachment disorder. Our professionals have the knowledge, skills, personal experiences, and professional training to help adoptive and foster families with attachment concerns. The Center for family Development has focused much of its efforts on helping adoptive and foster families. The needs of adoptive families are unique and very few professionals understand these families and their special problems.  www.center4familydevelop.com

Parent to Parent of New York State provides emotional support and information to parents of children with disabilities or special needs.  www.parenttoparentnys.org

Hillside Family of Agencies provides individualized human services to children, youth, and families through an integrated system of care.  The goal is to strengthen families so children and youth can grow and flourish.  Services are child-centered and family-focused; children, youth, and families are full partners in all aspects of service delivery.  www.hillside.com

Resources for Children with Special Needs shares knowledge and support to empower parents and other New Yorkers who care about young people with disabilities. Resources has grown to be the premier source for knowledge and help with systems, programs and services affecting young people with disabilities in New York City.  www.resourcesnyc.org

NetSmartz411 is a first-of-its-kind, online service provided by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) to answer questions about Internet safety, computers, and the Web. NetSmartz411 is provided at no cost to the public and made possible by a generous donation from the Qwest Foundation.  www.netsmartz.org

Adoptive and Foster Parents

The New York State Citizen’s Coalition for Children is an advocacy organization of concerned citizens and nearly 140 volunteer adoptive and foster parent groups in every region of New York State.  www.nysccc.org


The Youth Transition Funders Group is a network of grantmakers whose mission is to help all youth make a successful transition to adulthood by age 25.  www.ytfg.org

Founded as a home for abandoned children, The New York Foundling has been saving children, preserving families and building communities since 1869.  The agency helps children, youth and adults in need through advocacy and through preventive and in-care services that help each individual reach his or her potential. www.nyfoundling.org

Legal Advocacy and the Justice System

Lawyers for Children offers free legal and social work advocacy to abused and neglected children, children in foster care, and children in high conflict custody cases, insuring that every young person that we represent finds the love, safety and true sense of family that they need. www.lawyersforchildren.org

CASA: Advocates for Children of New York State was founded in 1991 under the Task Force on Permanency Planning to promote and support trained community volunteer advocacy programs. The role of CASA programs is to assist Family Courts in making crucial decisions affecting children who have been abused and neglected. www.casanys.org

The Judge David L. Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law is been the nation's leading legal advocate for people with mental disabilities.  www.bazelon.org

Building Blocks for Youth is an alliance of children and youth advocates, researchers, law enforcement professionals and community organizers that seeks to reduce overrepresentation and disparate treatment of youth of color in the justice system; and promote fair, rational and effective juvenile justice policies. www.buildingblocksforyouth.org

The Alliance for Justice is a national association of environmental, civil rights, mental health, women's, childrens, and consumer advocacy organizations. Since its inception in 1979, AFJ has worked to advance the cause of justice for all Americans, strengthen the public interest community's ability to influence public policy, and foster the next generation of advocates.  www.afj.org

The National Center for Youth Law (NCYL) uses the law to improve the lives of poor children. NCYL works to ensure that low-income children have the resources, support, and opportunities they need for a healthy and productive future. Much of NCYL's work is focused on poor children who are additionally challenged by abuse and neglect, disability, or other disadvantage.  www.youthlaw.org

The Vera Institute of Justice combines expertise in research, demonstration projects, and technical assistance to help leaders in government and civil society improve the systems people rely on for justice and safety.  www.vera.org

Cultural Competency

The National Consumer Supporter Technical Assistance Center was established in 1998 by a grant from the Center for Mental Health Services. Our purpose is to strengthen consumer organizations by providing technical assistance in the form of research, informational materials, and financial aid.  www.ncstac.org

Parent Handbook on Cultural Competence explains the importance of cultural competency and how to achieve it.
 
The American Academy of Family Physicians is one of the largest national medical organizations, representing more than 94,000 family physicians, family medicine residents, and medical students nationwide. Founded in 1947, its mission has been to preserve and promote the science and art of family medicine and to ensure high-quality, cost-effective health care for patients of all ages. http://www.aafp.org/fpm/20001000/58cult.html

National Standards on Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) are primarily directed at health care organizations; however, individual providers are also encouraged to use the standards to make their practices more culturally and linguistically accessible. The principles and activities of culturally and linguistically appropriate services should be integrated throughout an organization and undertaken in partnership with the communities being served. http://www.omhrc.gov/templates/browse.aspx?lvl=2&lvlID=15

General Information and Resources For Youth

The New York State Independent Living Council is responsible for developing, implementing and monitoring the State Plan for Independent Living (SPIL). Their Vision is a world where people with disabilities achieve equal opportunities in all aspects of society.  www.nysilc.org

Youth @Work, the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's (EEOC) website for youth in the workforce. The EEOC's goal is to eliminate illegal discrimination from the workplace for all workers.  This website is designed to teach you about some of your rights and responsibilities as an employee. Be an informed employee - Know your real world rights and responsibilities!   www.youth.eeoc.gov

The National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth assists state and local workforce development systems to better serve youth with disabilities.  www.ncwd-youth.info

The National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities serve the nation as a central source of information on disabilities in infants, toddlers, children, and youth; IDEA, which is the law authorizing special education; No Child Left Behind (as it relates to children with disabilities); research-based information on effective educational practices. www.nichcy.org

Youth Communication helps teenagers develop their skills in reading, writing, thinking, and reflection, so they can acquire the information they need to make thoughtful choices about their lives.  www.youthcomm.org

mpower is a new youth awareness campaign that's harnessing the power of music to change youth attitudes about mental health and fight the stigma facing the 1 in 5 youth with mental health problems.  www.mpoweryouth.org

The HSC Foundation is dedicated to improving access to services for individuals who face challenging social and health care barriers due to disability, chronic illness, or other circumstances that present unique needs.
www.hscfoundation.org

Youth Success NYS is a resource for youth in care and after care. Information on education, housing, jobs, sexuality, health, mental health and practical skills are shared with youth.  The purpose of the site is to give teens the information they need to be successful while in foster care and when they leave foster care.  www.youthsuccessnyc.org

National Youth Voice

The mission of the Youth In Progress is to enhance and advance the lives of today's and tomorrow's foster care youth by giving them a sense of self responsibility. To do this, YIP pledges to educate everyone involved in the foster care system to the realities of this experience. We will accomplish this mission by listening to youth in care and by offering them guidance that will allow them to achieve success in their lives and to realize their full potential.www.youthinprogress.org

The National Youth Leadership Network is dedicated to advancing the next generation of disability leaders. The NYLN promotes leadership development, education, employment, independent living, and health and wellness among young leaders representing the diversity of race, ethnicity and disability in the United States; fosters the inclusion of young leaders with disabilities into all aspects of society at national, state and local levels; communicates about issues important to youth with disabilities and the policies and practices that affect their lives.  www.nyln.org


Youth Move is a youth led national organization devoted to improving services and systems that support positive growth and development by uniting the voices of individuals who have lived experience in various systems including mental health, juvenile justice, education and child welfare. www.youthmove.us

The National Council on Disability (NCD) Youth Advisory Committee (YAC) was established as a non-paid advisory body to include youth perspectives in carrying out the mission of NCD. This is to ensure that NCD's activities and policy recommendations incorporate the needs of youth with disabilities. NCD's mission is to promote policies, programs, practices, and procedures that guarantee equal opportunity for all individuals with disabilities, regardless of the nature or severity of the disability; and to support the empowerment of individuals with disabilities to achieve economic self-sufficiency, independent living, inclusion and integration into all aspects of society.  www.ncd.gov


Kids as Self Advocates is a national, grassroots network of youth with disabilities and needs (and our friends), speaking out. We are leaders in our communities, and we help spread helpful, positive information among our peers to increase knowledge around various issues. Those issues include: living with disabilities and health care needs, health care transition issues, school, work, and many more. We also help health care professionals, policymakers and other adults in our communities understand what it is like to live our lives and we participate in discussions about how to help each other succeed.  www.fvkasa.org

Resources for Youth Advocates

UNICEF Voices of Youth’s mission is to offer all children and adolescents, including the hard-to-reach, a safe and supportive global cyberspace within which they can explore, discuss and partner on issues related to human rights and social change, as well as develop their awareness, leadership, community building, and critical thinking skills through active and substantive participation with their peers and with decision makers globally. www.unicef.org/voy


Ben’s Guide to Government provides learning tools for K-12 students, parents, and teachers. These resources will teach how our government works, the use of the primary source materials of the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) and how one can use GPO Access to carry out their civic responsibilities. http://bensguide.gpo.gov/index.html

Youth Development

The goals of the Advancing Youth Development (AYD) Partnership are to institutionalize the basic priciples of positive youth development in New York State agencies and programs serving youth;  increase the knowledge and skills of frontline youth workers; support recognition of the field of youth work as a valued profession; and to initiate and strengthen local youth development networks for youth workers. www.nyayd.org


ACT for Youth—Assets Coming Together for Youth—aims to strengthen community partnerships that promote positive youth development and prevent risky and unhealthy behaviors among young people, aged 10 to 19. The ACT for Youth initiative is a project of the New York State Department of Health, and was developed in cooperation with the Partners for Children, a collaboration of public and private sector organizations committed to improving the health and education of children and adolescents throughout New York State. www.actforyouth.net


Search Institute is an independent nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide leadership, knowledge, and resources to promote healthy children, youth, and communities. To accomplish this mission, the institute generates and communicates new knowledge, and brings together community, state, and national leaders. www.search-institute.org