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August 20–21, 2019, for the National Child Welfare Evaluation Summit at the Washington Marriott Wardman Park in Washington, DC.

The Evaluation Summit is a forum for child welfare leaders, members of the research and evaluation community, and their partners and stakeholders to come together for timely and important dialogue and learning. The Evaluation Summit provides participants with an opportunity to explore the gap between research and practice and consider how they can better support three overarching goals: building evidence, strengthening practice, and informing policy. Participants will share research methods and findings, exchange tools and tips, build new skills, expand their professional networks, discuss familiar dilemmas and emerging challenges, and explore possible solutions from multiple perspectives.

The Children’s Bureau is sponsoring the Evaluation Summit. The conference theme, Leveraging Data and Evaluation to Strengthen Families and Promote Well-Being, recognizes the opportunity of child welfare systems and their partners to build knowledge and use evidence to ensure that children and youth thrive in strong and healthy families.

News Release:

Mesa, Az – May 20, 2019 –  UNITY welcomes twelve young leaders who have been selected to participate in UNITY’s Peer Guide program; designed and built on the successes of the organization’s previous Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) National Intertribal Youth Leadership efforts and the Today’s Native Leaders program. The three-year program will support and enhance Native youth engagement, coordination, and action related to community support systems and cultural approaches to restorative justice, with a focus on juvenile justice and delinquency prevention in Indian country. 

“UNITY is pleased to announce this partnership with OJJDP, we are looking forward to providing Native youth with the opportunities made possible through the Intertribal Youth Development Initiative. I encourage Native youth and youth-serving programs throughout Native America to take part in this impactful three-year project,” said Mary Kim Titla, UNITY Executive Director.

With mentoring and training focused on delinquency prevention and juvenile justice issues in Indian Country, the cohort will serve as project advisors and peer trainers to lead other Native youth through a series of six regional gatherings and webinars; providing technical assistance for youth-developed projects over the next three years.

  2019-2021 Peer Guides:

• Sonwai Dj Wakayuta (Hualapai), KS
• Natane Pelkey (Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes), OK
• Santana Bartholomew (Pueblo of Pojoaque), NM
• Audriana Mitchell (Colorado River Indian Tribe), AZ
• Rory Wheeler (Seneca Nation), NY
• Cheyenne Kippenberger (Seminole Tribe of Florida), FL
• Vance Homegun (Confederated Salish and Kootenai), MT
• Collin Church (Potawatomi), MN
• Angela Noah (White Mountain Apache), OR
• Korbin Storms (Native Village of Unalakleet), AK
• Josiah Lester (Navajo-Diné), AZ
• Leticia Gonzales (Bishop Paiute), CA

UNITY received dozens of applications from highly qualified candidates who exuded both passion and dedication to empowering others to overcome adversity and challenges within their communities. Each applicant shared heartfelt testimonies of community challenges they have overcome, and their previous experiences with the juvenile justice system. The Peer Guides will look to those Native youth who have shown interest in the program, by incorporating them into the future trainings and awareness campaigns.
 
The Peer Guide cohort is made possible by a cooperative agreement (2018-TY-FX-K002) between UNITY, Inc. and the US Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

For more information about UNITY, its programs, and the 2019 National UNITY Conference, visit www.unityinc.org.

About UNITY 
Founded in 1976, United National Indian Tribal Youth, Inc. (UNITY) is a national network organization promoting personal development, citizenship, and leadership among Native Youth. UNITY’s mission is to foster the spiritual, mental, physical, and social development of American Indian and Alaska Native youth ages 14 -24, and to help build a strong, unified, and self-reliant Native America through greater youth involvement. UNITY’s network currently includes 274 affiliated youth councils in 34 states. Youth Councils are sponsored by Tribes, Alaska Native villages, high schools, colleges, urban centers, and others.

UNITY’s signature event is the National UNITY Conference, held each summer in various states. It is the longest largest Native American and Alaska Native youth leadership conference in the country, with more than 2,000 attendees annually. 

NNI’s Native American Youth Entrepreneurship Camp (NAYEC) will help you build entrepreneurial skills, gain real-world experience, and teach you how to plan, implement, and run your own business. With the guidance of highly qualified instructors, you will learn the basics of economics and business plan preparation.

OUTH ENTREPRENEURS WILL:

• Participate in fun, hands-on projects
• Transform ideas into business plans
• Gain lifelong leadership skills
• Meet with Native American business professionals
• Collaborate with students from native nations from across the U.S.

During the five-day camp, students will reside on campus, eat in the Student Union Memorial Center, and attend classes on and off the UA campus. The Youth Marketplace will give you the chance to use your new skills to try running your own business. Plus, you’ll write a plan for a real business that you can begin as soon as you return home!

JUNE 17-21, 2019 at the UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA

The aim of NAYEC is to foster skills to encourage private-sector development in Indian Country by teaching high-school youth the basics of economics, computer skills, strategies for success, and business-plan preparation.

	YOUTH MARKETPLACE Start making money! As part of the session materials, each student receives $10 of “venture capital” to purchase wholesale inventory to sell at a youth marketplace that will be open to the public. This project teaches students: sales techniques; how to price and forecast sales; and record-keeping.
	BUSINESS PLAN SHOWCASE WITH CASH PRIZES During the Camp, students will create a business plan to be implemented once they return home. At the business plan showcase, each student will make a formal presentation of their business plan to a panel of judges. Three cash prizes will be awarded to help fund the most promising businesses

STUDENT REGISTRATION: DEADLINE May 31st, 2019

NAYEC was created for Indigenous high school juniors or seniors (as of Fall 2019), or spring 2019 high school graduates. The camp is limited to 20 participants, so register early!

APPLY NOW and include the following:

• A 250-word essay on: “My Community in the Year 2029”
• $375 tuition fee OR an approval letter indicating that funding will be provided by a tribal program or department

Limited partial scholarships are available, contact us!

Complete online application by May 31st and mail check (payable to “University of Arizona/Native Nations Institute for Native American Youth Entrepreneurship Camp”) to: 

Native Nations Institute: Native American Youth Entrepreneurship Camp 
University of Arizona
803 E. First Street
Tucson, AZ 85719

Too many American Indians and Alaska Natives are the victims of abuse, sexual exploitation, or murder — or are missing from their communities.  Some of those missing may be victims of human trafficking.  We must work together as a Nation to correct these injustices and ensure the safety of all Americans, particularly our most vulnerable populations.

American Indian and Alaska Native people face alarming levels of violence.  Data from the National Institute of Justice and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicate that more than 1.5 million American Indian and Alaska Native women have experienced violence, including sexual violence, in their lifetimes.  American Indian and Alaska Native children attempt and commit suicide at rates far higher than those in any other demographic in our Nation, and often endure disproportionately high rates of endemic drug abuse, violence, and crime.

Ending the violence that disproportionately affects American Indian and Alaska Native communities is imperative.  Under my Administration, Federal agencies are working more comprehensively and more collaboratively to address violent crime in Indian country, to recover the American Indian and Alaska Native women and children who have gone missing, and to find justice for those who have been murdered.  As a result of these ongoing efforts, we are improving public safety, we are expanding funding and training opportunities for law enforcement in Indian country, and we are better equipping them with tools like access to criminal databases.  We have also established improved protocols based on our government-to-government relationships with the tribes, and have become more transparent and accountable in our efforts.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/missing-murdered-american-indians-alaska-natives-awareness-day-2019/?utm_source=link

Is your community intersted in developing a family drug court program? Does your existing family drug court program need assistance?  Supportive funding may be available to your community. The OJJDP Family Drug Court Program seeks to build the capacity to sustain existing family drug courts or establish new family drug courts. Family drug courts serve parents who require treatment for a substance use disorder and who are involved with the child welfare system as a result of child abuse, neglect, or other parenting issues. Federally recognized Indian tribal governments are eligible to apply. Applications are due on May 29, 2019. To learn more about this opportunity and to learn how to apply visit the OJJDP funding page here. 

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP)  has announced new funding availability related to opioid affected youth.   Sites will be funded to develop a data-driven coordinated response to identify and address challenges resulting from opioid abuse that are impacting youth and community safety. Sites will work with OJJDP and a technical assistance provider to develop data collection tools that will inform startegies and programs to be implemeted by the sites to address specific challenges resulting from the opioid epidemic. Data-driven strategies and programs will (1) develop a multidisciiplinary task force with working groups to identify specific areas of concern; (2) collect and interpret data that will assist the task force in developing strategies and programming that will be used to better coordinate response efforts and resources; and (3) implement services that will address public safety concerns, intervention, prevention, and diversion servces for children, youth, and families directly impacted by opioid abuse. 

Applications are due by May 7, 2019. To learn more about funding and to review the application process click here. 

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency (OJJDP) Tribal Youth Training and Technical Assistance (TTA) Center partnered with the Western Minnesota Collaborative (a collaborative comprised of 10 school in West Central Minnesota) to provide suicide prevention and postvention resources to over 600 school personnel.  Minnesota law encourages suicide prevention training for all school personnel.   During the 12th Annual Western Minnesota Collaborative In-Service held in Morris, Minnesota, Technical and Training Coordinator Erin Thin Elk trained over 70 teachers in accessing At-Risk for High School Educators.  This interactive role play simulation builds awareness, knowledge, and skills about mental health and suicide prevention, and prepares users to lead real-life conversations with students that build resilience, strengthen relationships, and connect them with support.   

The Centers for Disease and Prevention (CDC) reports suicide is the second leading cause of death for youth aged 10-24 according to the latest data from 2016.  We all play a part in preventing suicide. As a member of the school community, educators are in an idea position to engage in early intervention and prevention of youth mental health issues. If your state mandates or encourages suicide prevention training, or if you would like to support suicide prevention efforts in your community, please visit our website at https://www.tribalyouthprogram.org/training-opportunities/virtual-training-simulation-modules/ to learn more on how our resources can support your efforts.