YOP HELPS — PEF member Gail Patalino, 2nd from right, supervises teens Alum Guthrie, Tyisha Childs, Sam Ford and Christina Vazquez as they work with disabled and mentally ill youngsters.
Program linking youths and disabled, mentally ill at risk
By DEBORAH A. MILES
Economically disadvantaged high school students who gain work experience through the state’s Youth Opportunity Program (YOP) would lose that opportunity under the governor’s 2002-03 Executive Budget proposal.
PEF is lobbying legislators to restore $1.3 million for the state Offices of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (OMRDD) and Mental Health (OMH) to keep YOP afloat.
Established in 1967 and authorized by the state Legislature in 1977, YOP has a long history of proven success offering high school students an opportunity to gain real work experience and supplement their families’ incomes.
“This program keeps the students going to school,” said PEF Supervisor of Budget Policy Susan Mitnick. “And it prepares them for a career or further education.”
Since its inception, more than 18,000 students have participated in YOP and 95 percent went on to graduate from high school. In 2000-01, more than 80 percent of the program’s graduating seniors enrolled in college, and more than half planned careers in health and human services.
“Why ax the one program that proved to be successful?” Mitnick asks. “This one works.”
“Students who participate in YOP are provided valuable work experience while enhancing the lives of developmentally disabled consumers whose treatment they assist,” said PEF member and OMRDD youth program supervisor Gail Patalino.
Patalino said the students work after school, approximately 20 hours a week, usually from 4 to 8 p.m. and sometimes on weekends.
“Because of this program, fewer children are getting in trouble,” Patalino said. “And they are an excellent example to other youth in the community.
“The program raises their self-esteem, and they learn the rewards of contributing to society at an early age,” she said. “That’s why so many of these kids continue in a health or human-services career. They want to give back what the program has given to them.”
The students are closely monitored. Report cards are reviewed, and if a student does not maintain at least a C average, he or she is encouraged to get a tutor. Patalino said many of the students improve academically after being in the program.
“One of our goals is to provide a well-rounded education for these kids,” Patalino said. “The ones participating in YOP are provided flexible leave time so they can join a school band or participate in a sport.
This year, more than 200 students from many areas of the state are participating in YOP, working in OMRDD and OMH programs for adults and children.