The school year is winding down and with summer right around the corner, parents everywhere are searching for the right summer camp for their child. Identifying the perfect summer camp for your child can be challenging, but taking a few basic factors into consideration can make the selection process much simpler.

The first choice to consider is whether an overnight camp or a day camp is suitable. Overnight camps nurture independence skills while giving children a vacation-like experience. But, day camps can give children a similar experience while allowing them to come home at the end of the day to share their experiences with family and friends.

Ask yourself what’s most important to you and your child.  Are you looking for a camp that offers an educational experience or one that gives them the opportunity to unwind?  What about specialty camps? Options here include sports, computers, the arts and more.

What about field trips? Horizons are expanded when children are given the opportunity to visit places of interest around their community. Field trips should be age appropriate and relevant. You’ll want to find out ahead of time where the camp plans to take children and if there are any additional costs.

Speaking of field trips, how are the children transported?  Find out if the camp has their own buses; whether they will be outsourcing or if they’re asking parents to car pool. If the camp has their own bus, ask how often the bus is inspected, who drives it and what type of training they have.

The quality of the camp staff can make a huge difference in the type of experience your child will have. Do they enjoy working with school-aged children? Have they worked with that age group previously?  Ask how long each of the camp counselors has been employed. Look for a camp that has highly qualified staff and conducts background checks and training regularly.

Before choosing, you’ll also want to ask about the discipline policy and how conflicts between campers are handled. You should feel comfortable that the camp’s practices are in line with your family’s values. If your child has special needs, you will certainly want to ask how the camp plans to accommodate them.

Finally, ask the camp for references. A good camp will have families that return annually. These parents are usually more than happy to serve as a reference. If you can, visit the camp ahead of time with your child to ensure both of you feel comfortable with the camp environment and staff. Like most decisions that affect you and your family, you’ll know when it feels right.

Article by Tracy Musgrave

Summer in Orlando brings a host of new opportunities and challenges. The kids are out of school, the weather is sunny (except for those pesky afternoon showers), and the tourism dollars start flowing. However, the weather can bring some unwanted dangers as well. Here are some typical Florida concerns and ways to stay safe during the summer.

While Swimming:

Summer is the perfect time to head for the water. While Orlando itself does not have beaches, there are plenty of local alternatives like a YMCA pool or local campground.

• Florida is a leader in child drowning. The good news is that drowning under the age of 18 has been reduced drastically by 73% and continues to decrease over time with proper swim education.
• If your child is younger than five years old, make sure they know how to survive in the water. Many local facilities offer classes at reasonable prices.
• Always be aware of your surroundings. Crowded swimming environments make it tough to watch out for each other, so go somewhere that isn’t as densely populated.

During Bad Weather:

The Sunshine State is great to travel to in the summer time, but with the summer time comes hurricane season and afternoon rain. This summer alone, it is predicted that we’ll have six to eight hurricanes, and 90 percent of these hurricanes will make landfall.

• Teach safety measures during severe weather. Once you hear thunder, it’s time to get out of the water.
• If you’re not near a safe building to enter, retreat to an open area and crouch as low as possible.

While Visiting Attractions:

Did you know that about 17 million people visited Disney’s Magic Kingdom in 2008? Visiting the area attractions is one of the main reasons people come to Orlando. Even at the happiest place on Earth, there are some dangers to be aware of.

• Make sure nothing in your car is visible. Orlando averaged about 1,689 auto theft incidents between 2008 and 2009, all of which range from breaking into cars for items, to total car theft. If possible, stash valuables in your trunk. Out of sight equals out of mind.
• Consider dressing up the family in a similar and bright shirt. Take note of the color your family members are wearing, as this will make it easier to spot them out of a crowd.

A lot of these tips are common knowledge, but without some statistical backing, many residents overestimate their safety during their travels. By keeping these guidelines in mind, you too can get the most out of your vacation.

Article by Amanda Ferencz

Orange County Government spends $400 million on public safety programs for citizens, $150 million on corrections and jail operations, $185 million goes to the sheriff’s office and $150 million is allocated for the fire department. Together this amount accounts for $885 million of the $3.1 billion total budget for Orange County.

Keeping citizens safe is a fundamental function of government, and making the investment in people, training and proper equipment is essential for maintaining the public sense of safety.  For the past year, I’ve spent Friday mornings learning more about the departments within Orange County Government and its partners. I’ve had the opportunity to visit multiple agencies; but perhaps more importantly, I’ve heard directly from the leaders in charge that if we want to find real solutions then we must go to the core of the problem.

We spend $885 million on public safety in Orange County, yet what we spend on supporting programs and issues such as access to healthcare, homeless help, domestic and sexual violence programs, senior care and drug rehabilitation are such a very small piece of our $3.1 billion pie.

It’s the organizations that receive the smallest piece of the pie that I believe have the biggest potential impact on keeping the public safe. I recently spent some time at the Cherokee School near downtown Orlando and saw firsthand the important role this school plays in helping our at-risk youth (some as young as 6-years-old) work through what life has dealt them .  I’ve had several lengthy conversations with Corrections Officers and truly believe that if we can concentrate on the fundamental problems, we can have an impact.

The county jail also hosts a number of necessary programs to help those in need ranging from drug abuse treatment to domestic violence counseling and even technical and basic social skills training programs that that help inmates become productive pieces of the community upon re-entry.

Programs like these are critical in keeping our communities safe, because they address the root cause of the issues the inmates and students face. These programs help rehabilitate in an effort to keep the re-incarceration rate down. Despite repeat offenders, if the time between incarceration periods lengthens, that alone demonstrates the power of these programs and the need to maintain their funding.

The long term solution for keeping our communities safe is to focus additional energy on providing opportunities to end the cycle that gets people off track in the first place. We must continue to provide the necessary tools and outstretched hands to our fellow neighbors because if we don’t, there is nowhere to turn but the streets.

Article by Jennifer Thompson

Every day in the United States, 202 children are arrested for violent crimes, and 377 children are arrested for drug crimes. Every day, 2,175 children are confirmed as abused or neglected, and every day, 2,222 high school students drop out. These numbers, according to a study in December 2009 by the Children’s Defense Fund, confirm that at-risk youth is a problem in our country.

At-risk youth can be defined as any person under 18 that faces violence in schools, an unstable family structure, drug abuse, pressure from the media, gang activity or a combination of any of these, according to At-Risk.org. Teenagers who don’t know how to cope with these pressures are more likely to abuse drugs and get involved with crime; many of these teenagers run away and end up in jail or on the streets.

Fortunately for Central Florida, multiple organizations are working to prevent children from becoming at-risk youth and are helping those that are already considered at-risk.

The Cherokee School, located on South Eola Drive in Orlando, is for students that have significant emotional problems. Through the school, faculty addresses behavioral and academic needs and build a curriculum for each student based on those. The school also offers individual counseling, social skill development, mentoring and guest appearances from the staff at the Florida Department of Corrections, according to Marcia Gilliam, the project manager of Orange County Schools’ SEDNET, the Multiagency Network for Students with Severe Emotional Disturbance. She stresses that getting an education is necessary for an at-risk youth.

“Education is the key to their future,” she says. “Dropping out of school is not an option.”

All 63 students at the Cherokee School are at-risk, according to Gilliam. Most students are African-American males of low socioeconomic status living in a single-parent household with the mother working two jobs or making minimum wage. They live in high-risk areas where gangs and drugs exist with extended family members and rarely have their own bed or bedroom. “Most important, [our students] lack a positive male role model,” Gilliam says.

One such student has attended the Cherokee School for four years lacking a positive male role model, but this hasn’t stopped his success. Having a history of attention deficit hyperactivity problems, which would cause him to attack staff and peers, Gilliam says he transitioned in 2009. The school and his family developed an effective behavioral intervention plan that included his parents’ involvement and participation in monthly meetings.

“He was placed on level systems that required him to earn privileges and rewards based on the number of points he earned,” Gilliam says. “He received counseling and had a mentor who believed in him. Being consistent and holding him accountable for his actions allowed him to learn how to take responsibility.”

Another way for at-risk youth to become responsible is by getting a job, a service that Workforce Central Florida has helped at-risk youth do in the past through their Summer Connections Program. The program provides summer work experience in local jobs for young adults ages 16-21 who come from a low socioeconomic status. Last year, 1,200 young adults were placed in the program at 225 local employers, according to Kimberly Cornett, vice president of communications and business development at Workforce Central Florida.

“WCF’s Summer Connection Program is great news for everyone,” Cornett says. “Young adults are exposed to new job opportunities, build their resumes, and earn some cash, while employers can make a difference in their lives by expanding their skills during the internships.”

If you know an at-risk youth, Gilliam suggests making contact with the child and the family as well, if they are willing. She also encourages parents to contact their son or daughter’s school guidance counselor for resources in the community if they believe their child is at-risk. While parents may initiate an intervention, a child has to be the one to finish it.

“Character is so important, because it takes courage,” she says. “It requires doing what is right, not what’s easy or popular.”

Looking for Help?

• If there is no guidance support from the school, contact the school district to talk to the district counselor for elementary, middle or high school at 407-317-3200.

• Student Assistance and Family Empowerment: for middle school resources on bullying, violence, and drugs, 407-317-3327.

• Youth and Family Services Division: for youth and families experiencing crisis or difficulties at home or school, 407-897-6370.

• Workforce Central Florida Summer Connection Program: to apply, www.WorkforceCentralFlorida.com/SummerWork.

Article by Nicole Lauber

On March 2, 2010, around 8:00 p.m., Andreau Yankton approached his wife’s checkout lane at the Publix supermarket in downtown Orlando and shot her in the face, killing her almost instantly. His two former wives had filed injunctions against him in 1996 and 2002.

On February 8, 2010 Cocoa resident Alissa Blanton, 23, was gunned down by a man who stalked her at her home and workplace, the AT&T Wireless Call Center near UCF.

In December 2009, a Sanford man fatally shot his wife and then took his own life. In June, a father fatally shot his wife and two children inside their Heathrow home and then killed himself. In July, a 34-year-old man in Deltona shot and killed his former longtime girlfriend and then himself.

With a little awareness training, all these tragic incidences could have been identified and prevented.

According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, one in every four women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime, and an estimated 1.3 million women are victims of physical assault by an intimate partner each year. Young boys who witness domestic violence are twice as likely to abuse their own partners and children when they become adults.

Laura Williams, executive director of CourtWatch Florida, Inc., knows a little about domestic violence and what is needed to help protect victims. The mission of her organization is to empower the community to positively impact the court system’s handling of domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse cases. Their goal is to make sure that the justice system holds perpetrators accountable while not re-victimizing victims in the process.

“Abusers don’t always batter their victims. My husband never battered me. But he engaged in nearly every other controlling behavior that is detailed on the power and control wheel,” says Williams. “After a three and a half year marriage, my estranged husband fatally shot our two-year-old daughter, Sarah, before he committed suicide in 1996. At the time, I vowed that my loss would not be in vain.”

There are several things that you can do to identify and prevent domestic violence in your own spaces and in the homes around you. By being active in educating people about this problem, you can lessen the chances of domestic violence in your own community.  Williams suggests that you focus on helping people understand it’s about “power and control”, not an anger problem.

“East Orlando, like many other communities, suffers from a lack of awareness on the issue of how domestic violence spreads into various realms of society,” says Carol Wick, chief executive officer of Harbor House, a safe shelter for victims of domestic violence.  “It is not just one family that is being affected by the abuse; it’s their neighbors, their schools, their work environments, friends and extended families.”

Domestic violence affects the bottom line of the business community as well.  According to the Family Violence Prevention Fund study, domestic violence costs American businesses an estimated $3 billion per year and victims are absent approximately 8 million paid working days of the year.

Employers can play a vital role in the protection of domestic violence victims.  Duncan Consulting, Inc., in partnership with Harbor House, has created a Domestic Violence Policy for businesses. The policy is a guideline both for the victim of domestic violence and business leaders. It offers a confidential way for victims to approach management for help and provides resources for victims of domestic violence.

“It is important to be able to know how to respond to a survivor of abuse, without judging, criticizing or telling them what to do,” says Wick. “Protecting survivors starts with believing and validating them. Protection does not mean putting yourself or others in harm’s way; it means acting as a responsible community member who is willing to become educated on knowing how to recognize, respond and refer.”

For more information on how you can help or be helped, visit www.HarborHouseFL.com, (Crisis Hotline: 407-886-2856) or www.CourtWatchFlorida.org.

Article by Johnny Duncan

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Johnny Duncan, PHR, is President of Duncan Consulting, Inc., and is on the Harbor House Advisory Board. He can be reached at johnny@duncanconsult.com or by calling 407-739-0718.