SCO News
Hillary Clinton and Chirlane McCray Announce “Talk To Your Baby” Campaign at SCO/FirstStepNYC
April 1, 2015 / SCO News
NYC First Lady Chirlane McCray and Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton visited SCO Family of Services’ SCO/FirstStepNYC early childhood education center Wednesday, April 1, 2015 to jointly launch New York City’s “Talk To Your Baby, Their Brain Depends On It” public awareness campaign, urging parents to talk, read and sing to their babies from birth. Clinton, McCray and Deputy Mayor Richard Buery announced a collaboration between the New York City Children’s Cabinet and the Clinton Foundation's Too Small to Fail children's initiative that will feature major public awareness campaigns and a new partnership with Scholastic Inc. to distribute baby book bundles to hundreds of thousands of new NYC parents. These efforts will focus on closing the “word gap.” Studies have found that by age four, children in middle- and upper-income families hear 30 million more words than their lower-income peers. This disparity in hearing words from parents and caregivers translates directly into a disparity in learning words. And that puts our children born with the fewest advantages even further behind.
Read MoreHillary Rodham Clinton and Chirlane McCray to Launch Early Childhood Initiative at SCO/FirstStepNYC
March 31, 2015 / SCO News
Update: Click here for our recap of the event. THE CITY OF NEW YORK OFFICE OF THE MAYOR NEW YORK, NY 10007 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT:[email protected], (212) 788-2958 **Media Advisory** WEDNESDAY: FIRST LADY CHIRLANE MCCRAY AND SECRETARY HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON JOINTLY LAUNCH NEW YORK CITY EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVES NEW YORK – On Wednesday, First Lady Chirlane McCray will team up with Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to jointly launch New York City’s Talk to Your Baby public awareness campaign and toolkit distribution, and the Clinton Foundation’s Too Small To Fail Community Campaign Guide at SCO Family of Services' FirstStepNYC Child Development Center.
Read MorePRESS RELEASE: 5th Annual SCO/Family Dynamics Art Auction & Cocktail Party
March 26, 2015 / SCO News
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Press Contact: Sharman Stein, Director of Communications [email protected], (718) 797-3068 Brooklyn, New York – The 5th Annual SCO/Family Dynamics Art Auction & Cocktail Party will be held from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 28th at Site/109, 109 Norfolk St., in Manhattan. The auction’s Honorary Artist Chair is contemporary artist Harif Guzman of New York. Harif’s early years in his father’s print shop and roots in street art, collage and mechanical reproduction continue to inspire and inform his transformation from “street-smart skate punk” to acclaimed contemporary painter and mixed media artist. Guzman has created an original painting for the Auction entitled “Death Divorce Debt.” In addition to Guzman, whose work has a worldwide following, and has been featured at The Whitney Museum of Art, the other talented artists whose works will be auctioned off include: Ryan Keeley, Richard Phillips, Alison Jackson, Ron Diorio, Robert Szot, Deborah Brown, Erik Parker, Clayton Calvert, Andrew Fladeboe, Eric Demarchelier, Patricia Avellan, Ashley Woodson Bailey, Georgia Elrod, J Grabowski, Ann Jackson, Richard Jacobs, Anthony Kiernen, Glenn Paul Smith, Ross Watts and Brian Pearson. The Art Auction supports Family Dynamics’ after-school art programming, which provides art instruction for children and teens in high-need communities throughout Central Brooklyn. To date, students have created striking self-portraits, mixed media and collage style landscapes, sculptures and stagecraft all with discarded materials. As their contribution to the Auction, students will create and donate for auction a large mixed media portrait of President Barack Obama made of fabric, beads and other nonconventional materials provided in partnership with Materials for the Arts.
Read MoreFirstStepNYC hosts CityTech Nurses for community health event
March 24, 2015 / Independent Youth News
Seeking to raise awareness for two major health concerns facing children and families in Brownsville – uncontrolled asthma and childhood obesity – the New York City College of Technology Nursing Department and representatives from Brookdale and Kings County hospitals Tuesday held a community meeting at SCO/FirstStepNYC, an early childhood education…
Read MoreANNOUNCEMENT: NYC Worker Cooperative Development Initiative
March 20, 2015 / SCO News
The Center for Family Life (CFL) has been incubating worker cooperatives in Sunset Park, Brooklyn for the past eight years. We have seen how our work has helped empower our community by supporting cooperative members in their quest for fair wages and dignified employment through their cooperative businesses. In the…
Read MoreSCO Taft Academy Conference
March 13, 2015 / SCO News
Nearly 200 staff members from our five campuses for youth with special needs attended the first SCO Taft Academy conference in March for a robust panel discussion and professional development activities. Through Taft, our staff are improving outcomes for children and youth with special needs by enhancing their skills and performance through Taft’s educational and professional development opportunities, and establishing a culture of performance excellence through consistent practice and interdisciplinary approaches. Participants attended from the schools and residences at Robert J. McMahon Children’s Center/Tyree Learning Center, Ottilie RTF/Theresa Paplin School, Madonna Heights RTF & School, The Christopher School and Westbrook Preparatory School. The SCO Taft Academy is made possible by the generous support of the Taft Foundation.
Read MoreDream Big, Speak Out Open Mic Event
March 9, 2015 / Independent Youth News
“About My Black”, “Unlucky Number 8” and “The Last Fight” were just a few of the poems our transfer school students recited March 2nd at the 1st Annual Dream Big, Speak Out Open Mic Event at the famous Nuyorican Poets Café. The students have been participating in Dream Big, Speak Out – a program created by the New York Knicks,Garden of Dreams Foundation and Urban Word NYC – designed to celebrate the African American Experience. Watch video highlights from the performance and check out photos from the event below (click thumbnails to view gallery)! Your browser does not support iframes.
Read MoreBecoming a Forever Family: Declan Redwood O’Hare’s Adoption Story
January 22, 2015 / SCO News
Adoption Day: Making Their Tribe Complete The excited buzz in the Kings County Courthouse was more noticeable than you would normally expect for the small group of New Yorkers hanging around a waiting room near Judge Robert Ross’ offices on the morning of April 10, 2014. When Declan Redwood O’Hare burst out of a nearby office and tore down the adjacent hallway, the preschooler was trailed by his laughing pint-sized clone and little brother, Arthur (“Arty”), sporting a dark blue sweater nearly identical in color to Declan’s miniature suit jacket and vest. While the significance of the day may have been lost on Declan, who would turn three the next day, the adults were fully aware of what a momentous occasion it was: Three years after a five-day-old Declan was first placed into their arms, longtime couple Hugo Redwood and Denis O’Hare would officially go from foster parents to legally-recognized dads, when Declan’s adoption was finalized that morning.
Read MoreJanuary is National Mentoring Month – Get Involved!
January 12, 2015 / Independent Youth News
Could you navigate through a twisting, turning, pitch-black tunnel using only your sense of touch? Our kids did just that in the “Touch Tunnel,” one of many cool exhibits enjoyed Saturday by participants in our Family Dynamics Mentoring Program at the Liberty Science Center. See more photos below! January is National Mentoring Month – If you’d like to Be Someone Who Matters to Someone Who Matters, email us at [email protected]. Find out more: http://sco.org/2014-mentoring-benefit/
Read MoreSCO Teens Visit Washington, D.C. with “Dream Big, Speak Out”
January 7, 2015 / Independent Youth News
Fifteen students from SCO's transfer high schools traveled to Washington, D.C. this week for the launch of "Dream Big, Speak Out," a program created by the New York Knicks, Garden of Dreams and Urban Word NYC to inspire students to engage with and reflect on the African American experience. New York Knicks Legend John Starks joined SCO's teens on their action-packed day trip to the nation's capital, which included an introduction to the program, a tour of Washington D.C.’s monuments and memorials, and a Langston Hughes-inspired dining experience and poetry reading at Busboys & Poets.
Read MoreSCO Celebrates the Holidays
December 16, 2014 / SCO News
Thanks to the many acts of generosity, care and compassion by donors from eastern Long Island to New York City, children, teens and adults throughout SCO's programs will enjoy a taste of holiday magic. SCO has always provided holiday gifts for the people we serve, going back to when the agency and the number of people we served was much smaller than it is today. But this year may be our most successful effort yet. Some 5,600 of our clients - from infants through adults - will receive approximately 15,000 gifts!
Read MoreSCO elects Jessica Taylor O’Mary to Board of Directors
December 11, 2014 / SCO News
December 12, 2014 – New York – The SCO Family of Services Board of Directors has elected Jessica Taylor O’Mary, a partner at Ropes & Gray LLP, to the SCO Board of Directors, effective immediately. Ms. O’Mary, who was named one of Institutional Investor’s “2014 Hedge Fund Rising Stars,” joined Ropes & Gray in 2003 and was promoted to Partner in 2012. She specializes in fund formation and regulatory advice to hedge fund and private equity fund sponsors; and advises clients on operational, regulatory, legal and business issues, as well as contract negotiations with service providers and limited partners. She also is one of two partners who oversee the firm’s private investment funds training program. “We are very excited about having Jessica join our Board,” said SCO Board Chair Kelly L. Williams. “Her expertise and commitment will help tremendously as we work to ensure SCO’s future as a leader in the nonprofit sector.”
Read MoreYouth in Care Find Employment Through SCO’s Work Readiness Program
December 10, 2014 / Independent Youth News
The next time you’re looking for a shirt at a Banana Republic Factory Store, the very helpful sales associate might well be the young woman pictured here or another one of our young people who participated in SCO’s work readiness program facilitated by Gap Inc. employee volunteers. Six of the new part-time salespeople, who are part of SCO’s redesigned foster care program, were offered jobs and started working during the holiday season!
Read MoreNYS Senator Phil Boyle Visits Our Morning Star II Residence
December 4, 2014 / Madonna Heights News
Two young mothers who were addicted to heroin and are currently in recovery at our Morning Star II residence on Wednesday described their experiences to New York State Senator Phil Boyle (R) 4th Senate District, Chair of the Senate Standing Committee on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse, in a meeting at our Madonna Heights campus in Dix Hills, Long Island.
Read MoreRJMCC Thanksgiving
November 26, 2014 / SCO News
Residents at our Robert J. McMahon Children's Center celebrated Thanksgiving this week with a much-anticipated RJMCC annual tradition: a family-style Thanksgiving feast. The entire campus enjoyed good food and good company, joined by 42 local volunteers who shared a festive evening with youth in each of RJMCC's seven residential units. The volunteers brought games, music and gifts for all of the children. "Everyone had an absolutely amazing night," said SCO Director of Recreation and Volunteer Services Shelley Feldman. "We have the most dedicated and kind-hearted volunteers that you could ever imagine!"
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88%
of young adults in foster care (18+) are enrolled in school or working
93%
of adults with developmental disabilities living in SCO’s IRAs (group homes) made meaningful connections by participating in community inclusion activities