New Mexico Public Education Department Awarded 1.7 Million Dollars for the Family and Youth Resource Program

(Santa Fe, NM)—The New Mexico Public Education Department has awarded school districts $1,700,000 to develop programs as an intermediary for students and their families at public schools to access social and health care services. The Family and Youth Resource Program recognizes that non-academic needs of students and their families can have a direct impact on the results in the classrooms. The FYRP awards will help schools forge mutual long-term relationships with public and private agencies, community-based, including faith-based organizations, civic and corporate organizations to help students attain high academic achievement. The Family and Youth Resource Program employs a liaison who:

· Assesses student and family needs and matches those needs with appropriate public or private providers, including civic and corporate sponsors;
· Makes referrals to health care and social service providers;
· Collaborate and coordinate with health and social service agencies and organizations through school-based and off-site delivery systems;
· Recruit service providers and business, community and civic organizations to provide needed services and goods that are not otherwise available to a student or his family;
· Establish partnerships between the school and community organizations such as civic, business and professional groups and organizations, as well as establishing partnerships with recreational, social and after-school programs such as boys’ and girls’ clubs and the boy and girl scouts;
· Identify and coordinate age-appropriate resources for students in need of:
a. counseling, training and placement for employment;
b. drug and alcohol abuse counseling;
c. family crisis counseling;
d. mental health counseling;
· Promote family support and parent education programs.

The following districts received awards:

Alamogordo, Albuquerque, Belen, Bernalillo, Clovis, Espanola, Farmington, Gadsden, Gallup, Hobbs,
Las Cruces, Lordsburg, Mora, Santa Fe and West Las Vegas.