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In The NEWS
August 13, 2009 - State Selects Children, Youth & Family Services as Sole Recipient
of Stimulus Money For Victims of Child Abuse
CYFS is pleased to announce a grant of $133,220 from the Virginia Department of Social Services’ Victims of Crime Act program. The grant is part of the Recovery Act Stimulus Funds package and is targeted to increase services for victims of child abuse in underserved areas. The Virginia Department of Social Services identified the City of Charlottesville as
well as the counties of Albemarle, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa, and Nelson as underserved communities. CYFS was the only agency state-wide to receive this highly competitive grant.
The stimulus funds were awarded to CYFS’s Victims of Child Abuse program (VOCA) which provides no-fee counseling to victims of child abuse and their non-offending family members for as long as needed to help the victim overcome the trauma and feel safer at home. The grant will be used to hire one new full time counselor and two new part-time counselors. Expanded counseling services will meet the needs of 124 additional clients over the next two years. The Recovery Act Grant included funding to support satellite services in the five-county area. As a result, one counselor will travel to the counties of Fluvanna, Louisa, Greene and Nelson, providing counseling on-site in those counties.
June 21, 2009 - CYFS REAL Dads Program Helps Inmates at the local Jail More
June 15, 2009 -  Local Child Care Centers Earn Stars in New Rating System
Fourteen child care centers and preschool programs in Charlottesville and Albemarle are among the first programs in the Commonwealth to receive a star rating as part of the Virginia Star Quality Initiative, a quality rating and improvement system for early learning programs. By participating in the initiative, early learning programs are awarded one of five star levels of increasing quality. This rating system will give families an easy-to-use tool when researching options for their children’s earliest learning experiences. Children, Youth & Family Services participated in the pilot program for this area and provided raters for the initial assessments.
The Virginia Star Quality Initiative is entirely voluntary. If a child care center participates and earns a two-star rating, for example, this distinction signals a commitment to continuing quality improvement and distinguishes the program for going beyond expectations and standards required of them. If a program earns additional stars, the number of stars reflects their additional achievements in their commitment to quality.
“We commend the preschool classrooms and child care centers that are pioneering this valuable tool. Parents will benefit from enhanced consumer information; communities will benefit from greater availability of high quality care; and early childhood programs will benefit from the support provided to reach quality achievements. But the children participating in these programs are the real winners, since day by day, high quality environments and experiences equip them with the skills and abilities they need to be successful in school and life,” said Scott Hippert, president of the Virginia Early Childhood Foundation. The VECF awards the star designations to participating programs.
Established in 2007, the Virginia Star Quality Initiative has five Star levels that incorporate and build upon current regulations for early care and education programs. The Virginia Star Quality Initiative awards from one to five stars to early learning programs based on achievement in each of the four standard areas. The four standard areas in the Virginia Star Quality Initiative— 1) education, qualifications and training of the teaching staff; 2) interactions among teachers and students; 3) group size and child-to-teacher ratio; and 4) learning environment and instructional practices—have indicators that must be achieved for each star level. Programs are assessed by a thorough documentation review and by on-site observations by trained and reliable Star Quality Raters. At this time, over 100 programs in 13 communities across Virginia have been awarded a star rating. For more information and a list of rated early learning programs, go to www.smartbeginnings.org/QRIS.
April 4, 2009 - CYFS VOCA Counselor Wins Women's Field at Charlottesville 10 Miler
Click here for coverage in the Daily Progress
Shannon Saunders, a counselor in the Victims of Child Abuse program at CYFS, finished with an impressive time of 61:39.
April 4, 2009 - Law School Softball Tournament Nets $20,000 Donation to CYFS
Click here for TV coverage
The 26th Annual UVA Law School Softball Invitational Tournament was played beginning Friday, April 3rd and continuing through Sunday, April 5th. An incredible 112 teams representing over 40 different law schools from all over the country will be playing in 250 games on fields around Charlottesville, VA. More than 1,300 law student/softball players from 17 different states will converge on the city filling scores of hotel rooms as they compete for trophies in two divisions. The tournament provides more than fun; for the tenth year in a row, Children, Youth & Family Services will be the primary beneficiary of the proceeds. This year the Tournament organizers donated $20,000 to CYFS. Over the years, Children, Youth & Family Services has received a total $106,500 from the efforts of these community-minded Law students.
Two tournament directors, Brittani Head and Klinton Miyao, have overseen the work of 11 individual committees, which have been staffed by more than 75 UVA law students, all members of the North Grounds Softball League. They will be playing 250 games at 13 fields in six local parks: Darden Towe, The Park, PVCC, McIntire Park, Copeley Field, and Washington Park.
March 10, 2009 - $40,000 Grant from the Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Victims Fund to expand CYFS Victims of Child Abuse Program
CHARLOTTESVILLE — Children, Youth & Family Services (CYFS) is pleased to announce receipt of a grant of $40,000 from the Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Victims Fund (VSDVVF). CYFS was one of only two agencies in the state to win this highly competitive grant. Funding is renewable for $40,000 for a second year when all grant requirements are met.
The VSDVVF grant provides funds to hire a new full-time counselor for the Victims of Child Abuse program (VOCA), allowing us to serve an additional 30 clients per year. VOCA provides unlimited specialized counseling to victims of child abuse or neglect and their families to help them heal and overcome the trauma. Services are provided at no-cost to clients. The new funding helps CYFS eliminate the waiting list for services so that no victim has to wait for counseling help. VOCA expects to serve 120 clients in 2009 and to participate in at least 10 outreach events.
To Teach Kids Reading Habits, These Volunteers Get Creative The Daily Progress, January 19, 2009
December 16, 2008 - $4,500 Bama Works Fund Grant Brings CYFS ParentingMobile to the Southwood Neighborhood
 CHARLOTTESVILLE — Children, Youth & Family Services (CYFS) is pleased to announce a grant of $4,500 from the Bama Works Fund of the Dave Matthews Band in the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation (CACF). The Bama Works Fund supports many local charities working to improve the quality of life for all who live in Charlottesville, Albemarle and surrounding counties.
With the support of this grant, the CYFS ParentingMobile will make weekly visits to the Southwood neighborhood in Albemarle County. The Parenting Mobile brings parent educators and volunteers to the neighborhood to offer parenting tips, information and referrals for available community services. The program also brings developmental playgroups and reading activities for neighborhood children, and free nutritious food donated by Crozet United Methodist Church. The ParentingMobile works with the parents and children together to help the whole family reach for a future bright with possibilities.
December 4, 2008 - CYFS Counselor for Runaway Teens Wins Regional Award
CHARLOTTESVILLE — Children, Youth & Family Services (CYFS) is pleased to announce that Paige Nolt, a counselor in their Runaway Emergency Services Program, received the Outstanding Youth Worker of the Year award from the Mid-Atlantic Network on Youth at their conference held earlier this Fall.
Mrs. Nolt, an outstanding and energetic counselor, joined CYFS less than a year ago, but in that time the RESP program has significantly increased the number of teens being served. The Runaway program reaches out to serve youth ages 11 to 18 who have run away, are homeless, or are at risk of running away. In addition to counseling teens during the regular workday, Mrs. Nolt also handles the 24 hour crisis hotline on weekends and evenings. Mrs. Nolt is a compassionate and dedicated member of the CYFS team.
The Mid-Atlantic Network on Youth (www.MANYnet.org) is dedicated to those who desire to be outstanding leaders and managers, pioneers and risk takers, and those who provide innovative practices grounded in positive youth development.
November 1, 2008 - $2,000 Party Parade Grant Supports Play Partners literacy program
CHARLOTTESVILLE — Children, Youth & Family Services (CYFS) is pleased to announce a grant of $2,000 from the Party Parade Fund of Virginia. The Party Parade Fund supports many local charities working to improve the quality of life for all who live in Charlottesville, Albemarle and surrounding counties.
This grant will be used to recruit and train community volunteers for the Play Partners program. Play Partners volunteers visit area center and home based child care settings and provide reading and enrichment activities for the children. The program seeks to better prepare children to succeed in kindergarten, and to improve the quality of local child care. It targets child care providers serving predominantly low-income children and provides the children with a pre-literacy curriculum.
Play Partners volunteers currently visit eleven child care homes every week to share the love of books with the children in their care. A new book is introduced every month, and after four weeks of activities around the themes in the book, a copy is given to each child to take home. The skills that children gain through Play Partners activities help them arrive at their first day of Kindergarten ready to learn. Both the providers and the children receive a new book each month to take home and keep for their own.
August 4, 2008 - Orzo Kitchen and Wine Bar To Benefit Children, Youth & Family Services in August
Orzo Kitchen and Wine Bar will donate 10% of their revenue to Children, Youth & Family Services every Tuesday during the month of August. Orzo spokesperson, Kate Kroloff, calls it “our way of giving back to the community”. Orzo is open for lunch Monday – Saturday, Siesta (2 – 4 pm) and Dinner Tuesday – Saturday. CYFS is one of the oldest nonprofits in Charlottesville. For 86 years CYFS has been working to help kids increase their chances for a successful future by focusing its efforts on the prevention of problems. CYFS starts as early as possible and its programs meet kids and families where they are – in their homes, schools, communities, and even on the streets.
June 12, 2008 - CYFS Receives $5,000 Community Endowment Grant from the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation.
 A preschooler enjoys her new-found reading skills at a Charlottesville Child Care Center. The Play Partners program of Children, Youth & Family Services sends a volunteer to the center once each week.
Children, Youth & Family Services’ Play Partners Program received a generous grant of $5,000 from the Community Endowment Fund in the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation. Play Partners sends pairs of trained volunteers into home-based child care settings and child care centers that serve low-income families to expose children ages 2-5 to early literacy activities. The program increases their enthusiasm for reading and builds skills that will help them succeed in school. Children who participate in the program greatly increase their school-readiness skills.
Every week, more than 150 preschoolers in Charlottesville’s low-income neighborhoods get a visit from their Play Partners volunteers. These volunteers read to them, lead hands-on activities relating to the themes in the books, and ultimately, present the children with their own copies of the books to take home and share with their families. By the end of the year, each child has added nine books to his home library.
Charlottesville City Schools have the state's highest achievement gap between low-income students and their peers. The gap in the surrounding counties is also of great concern.
June 30, 2008 - FACT Award supports CYFS Family Connections Programs
CHARLOTTESVILLE — Children, Youth & Family Services (CYFS) is pleased to announce a grant of $10,000 from the Family and Children’s trust Fund (FACT) of Virginia. The Family and Children’s Trust Fund supports local programs in Virginia that provide support and education services to prevent and treat violence in families.
This grant will be used to offer our parenting class series called “Surviving the Teen Years—It Can Be Done,” a six-week course that uses the nationally recognized STEP curriculum to help families adapt to living with teenagers. Both parents and teens participate in these classes where they develop new methods for communicating with each other, resolving conflicts, and managing stress and anger. The program provides help to families at-risk for violence or other problems, and many parents are referred by the court system, social services, counselors and schools. Others learn about the classes in newspapers, newsletters, or through word-of-mouth. “Surviving the Teen Years” has helped many families find a more positive and effective way to grow together through the teen years. 100% of teen participants have said they have seen their parents trying to apply what they learned in the classes, and 90% of participants say they have seen an improvement in relationships as a result of the classes.
The Family and Children’s Trust fund is administered by a Board of Trustees appointed by the Governor to raise and distribute funds to local communities for family violence prevention, treatment and public awareness throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia.
CYFS is one of the oldest nonprofits in Charlottesville. For 86 years we have been opening doors to brighter futures for kids. For more information, visit our website at www.cyfs.org.
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