Directory

Youth Programs
BYS uses the Search Institute’s 40 Asset Development® as a framework for supporting youth in their journey to adulthood.  The 40 Assets are common sense, positive experiences and qualities that help influence choices young people make and help them become caring, responsible adults.  Our youth development projects may include: community service/ learning projects; leadership development & character education; effective communication training; and youth empowerment projects.

The Rochester After School Academy (RASA)  is a comprehensive after school program developed through dynamic partnerships between community agencies, schools, students and families at 4 City high schools.
The Pillars of Hope provides City School District students with visible and accessible professionals and role models, who conduct presentations about their journeys from adolescence to successful adulthood.

The Bureau of Youth Services also oversees two new projects that aims to reduce teen pregnancy rates, and the impact this issue has on our community:

The CAPP (Comprehensive Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention) project offers training & workshops in evidenced-based curriculums in select middle and high schools throughout the greater Rochester community.
The THRIVE project (Teens Helping to Reinvent Integrity, Values and Empowerment) is an afterschool youth development program offered in 14 City Recreation Centers.  This program is a five year evaluative study funded by the US Department of Health’s Office of Adolescent Health.

 
Parenting Programs
The Bureau of Youth Services recognizes the role of parents as the primary teachers and influencers of children, and seeks to support them in this role.  To this end we offer several parenting skills training and resources for parents of the youth we serve.

Strengthening the Black Family is a parenting skills program for African American parents that is inclusive of their heritage, history and
traditions, utilizing the Effective Black Parenting Training™ curriculum.  The program is delivered in a 6 hour seminar, offered in 2-hour weekly sessions over 3 weeks; or as a 12 week course for a more in-depth process.
Family Talk is a workshop series for parents and caregivers who want to know how to talk to their children about healthy sexuality, healthy relationship and substance abuse.  The workshop series is offered in partnership with the Family Resources Centers of Crestwood, and uses their Parents as Primary Sexuality Educators™ curriculum, delivered in four 2-hour weekly sessions.
Family Roundtable, in partnership with the Mental Health Association, are platforms for empowerment, education and support of families of children with emotional and behavioral challenges. Roundtables create a model for family and system relationships and offer opportunities for families to gain information and tools necessary to be effective caregivers and advocates of their children’s needs. Parents will meet monthly, beginning September 2013, to share knowledge, build natural supports and learn about community resources that can aid them in self sufficiency.
Parent Leadership Training Institute (PLTI) is a community-wide parent training initiative that teaches parents how to become more involved in the civics process, and increasing their involvement and engagement in their child’s academic and development process.  PLTI is an evidenced-based program that increases parent engagement & involvement to improve the lives of children.  Each September, parents begin the 20-week training, which includes child and adolescent youth development, as well as public speaking and police development skills.  Each parent will also develop and implement a community service project addressing an identified need in the community.  BYS is a collaborative partner in the delivery of PLTI.  Pleas check the PLTI website at www.greaterrochesterplti.org for more information.