Advocacy Training- Draft
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Presentation Transcript
Online Advocacy Training Draft 3
Training Objectives By the end of this training, we hope that you will have a clear understanding of: Your enhanced mentoring role What it means to be an advocate Ways that you can support your Little The importance of boundaries
Definition of an Advocate An advocate is someone who takes action to help people say what they want to say, who helps others secure their rights, helps to obtain needed services, works in partnership with others, and empowers others to help themselves.
For example, advocate mentors can: Identify and engage in supporting strengths of their little and empower them to recognize their strengths and overcome their challenges. Partner with Little’s family and school. Find activities in the community to support their Little’s strengths. Assist their Little’s family in navigating school, court, and/or entitlement programs.
Boundaries Spending Money Meeting more frequently than program guidelines recommend Sharing too much personal information, too soon Solving all your Little’s problems
Strengths-Based Approach Focus on Little’s talents or special skills Encouraging interests Understanding the 40 Developmental Assets List of developmental assets
Working as a team- with your Little Learn about your Little’s interests Talk about your Little’s goals and dreams Ask your Little if they are comfortable with you helping them Come up with action steps together Reflect on your experiences together
Working as a Team- with Parents Matches are a partnership between the Big, Little, Parent and agency Each partnership will look different Parents are the experts on their child Need to coordinate with parents Develop communication pattern that works for you
Working as a team- with Bigs All matches have an assigned match support specialist Connect you with community resources and programs Let you know about upcoming activities Partner for problem solving, venting, etc Provide quarterly trainings and networking opportunities
What does Advocacy Look Like? Advocacy takes many forms, in many different settings. Schools Community Your work, school, etc. Courts Human Services
Advocacy In Schools Checking in on how things are going Discussing importance of attendance Homework help Contact with teachers Helping in the classroom Parent/Teacher conferences IEPs and 504 Plans Disciplinary hearings
Advocacy in the Community Exploring businesses, festivals Targeting your Little’s interests Connecting with colleges and universities Community service and volunteerism Connecting with local youth or civic organizations Utilizing community agencies and services
Advocacy in Your Work/School Talking about careers/paths of study Cheering favorite college sports teams Bring your Little to Work or School Exploring career interests
Advocacy in the Courts Researching information about child and family rights Discussing or debriefing contact with legal system Contact with court officer Acting as a reference Attending a court date with the family or child
Advocacy in the Human Service System Researching community programs Connecting families to local resources Researching steps on obtaining services Discuss and help families understand programs, eligibility and requirements Offering to assist with paperwork
Chaz and Bob Chaz and Bob have been matched together for two years. Last summer was hard for Bob; he had a couple suspensions at the end of eighth grade and in May he was ticketed for becoming aggressive with a police officer when CPS removed his little sister from the home. When Chaz found out what was going on, he called his Match Support Specialist. The Match Support Specialist tracked down the phone number of the Juvenile Court Officer and Bob’s court date. Chaz spoke with the court officer and decided that he wanted to attend Bob’s court date so that Bob had moral support at the hearing. When the Juvenile Court Officer read his report, he mentioned Bob’s strong friendship with Chad as a great strength. Based on the report, the judge waived the community service component of Bob’s probation. That fall, Bob’s mom was able to get him into a new, high performing school district. Bob tried out as a freshman, but made the varsity football team and broke the school’s 40-yard record. Chaz met with Bob before the season started, and they decided that Chaz would take video of Bob’s games to be used for college recruitment. Chaz and Bob are planning to visit colleges together next year.
What would you do? Six months into your match, you find out that your Little loves to write poetry, but is shy about sharing her writing. One day over lunch, she tells you that she really wants to be a writer when she grows up, but doesn't think she will be able to because her family can’t afford to send her to college.
What would you do? Whenever you ask your Little Brother how school is going, he just says, “Fine.” The day before your next visit, your Little’s mom gives you a call to let you know that he is home suspended for getting into a fight, and just found out that he is failing his math class. His mom says that she does not know what to do with him now that he home alone, all day.
Review Your role is to be a mentor first. You have a special opportunity to advocate on behalf of your Little The agency is here to support you and provide additional training Boundaries will help ensure match success Reach out to your Match Support Specialist with questions.
Next steps Once you have completed your answer guide, email or fax it back to the agency staff that sent it to you Agency staff will follow up with you about setting up a match meeting, if you have not yet met your Little Agency staff will follow up with you as quarterly trainings become available
Additional Questions Regarding this Training or BBBS Michigan Capital Region: Alicia Barajas Alicia.Barajas@bbbsmcr.org 517-372-0160 BBBS Metro Detroit: Beth O’Connor Beth.OConnor@bbbsdetroit.org 313-309-9229
