"Micro-volunteering" is a new solution to an old nonprofit problem

There are new board members at Youth Advocate Programs. A total of five people are joining the board of the nonprofit, which works in 22 states and Washington, D.C. They will join an organization that includes Frances Lanigan, who is the the board treasurer in New York, according to a Jan. 3 press release. Lanigan is a former commissioner of the Oswego County Department of Social Services and a past president of the New York Public Welfare Association.

There’s a new state effort to address the stigma of mental health among children, youth, and families. The initiative includes three new services: “Other Licensed Practitioner,” “Psychosocial Rehabilitation,” and “Community Psychiatric Supports and Treatment,” according to a Jan. 2 press release from the state Office of Mental Health. The goal is to provide therapy and support services for Medicaid-enrolled children and youth, according to the Office for People With Developmental Disabilities.

“This collaborative approach will help ensure that young people with both developmental disabilities and behavioral health issues have access to appropriate treatment options at a young age,” said OPWDD Acting Executive Deputy Commissioner Roger Bearden. “By providing young people with developmental disabilities and their families with community-based crisis- and peer-prevention services, we can better help support young people with more complex needs to remain in their family homes, and to be participating members of their communities.”

Read more here.

GuideStar takes on “micro-volunteering.” The idea is to give potential volunteers an opportunity to contribute through specific tasks rather than regularly scheduled shifts or obligations. With the right approach, micro-volunteers can be something more than be mere “slacktivists,” writes Latasha Doyle.

“Depending on the size and mission of your nonprofit, micro-volunteering can take different forms,” she writes on the GuideStar blog. “For nonprofits that support animals or people in other countries, online opportunities may be best. For local organizations supporting the community that volunteers live in, in-person opportunities are likely ideal.”

Read more here.

The New York Academy of Medicine has received a $500,000 contract from the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. The money will fund human services consulting, according to the City Record. Catholic Charities Neighborhood Services will provide mental health services for children and adolescents, per a $284,603 contract with the department.

A few do-gooders were among the 29 immigrants granted clemency by Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Dec. 31. The executive action recognized individuals who have stayed out of trouble since their convictions, which made them vulnerable to deportation and other immigration-related actions taken by the Trump administration. Here are some of the recipients of the pardons, taken verbatim from a press release.

• Trevor Elliot, 67, was convicted of Criminal Sale and Attempted Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree and Criminal Sale of Marijuana in the Fourth Degree in the early nineties in Westchester. He was born in Jamaica and has worked at a nonprofit that provides social services for youth and as an elder care provider. A pardon would allow Mr. Elliot to apply for citizenship. He has maintained a crime-free lifestyle for 10 years.
• Wojciech Lesniak, 36, was convicted of Resisting Arrest and Attempted Unauthorized Use of a Vehicle in the Third Degree in Queens County in 2006. Mr.Lesniak has completed residential treatment for alcohol and drug use and currently works as the house manager for a sober house and a driver for a residential addiction treatment program. He has maintained a crime-free and sober lifestyle for the 12 years since his conviction. A pardon will allow him to reapply for his green card and pursue naturalization.
• Kerrone Kay-Marie Parks, 33, was convicted of Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Seventh Degree in Queens in 2013. She was born in Jamaica, is a domestic violence survivor, a mother of three children on the honor roll, and currently volunteers full-time at a nursing home. She has remained crime-free for five years.

A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that Lanigan was joining the YAP board as one of ten new members at different affiliates.