Youth and Adolescent Services promote leadership, healthy decision making, adolescent sexual health, pregnancy prevention, and assists youth and young parents to become healthy, self-sufficient, successful adults.  It’s achieved by developing, strengthening, and advancing clinically-proven policies and programs based on industry best practices.  EOC of Suffolk, Inc. offers a wide range of youth development, professional, and community education services focused on youth development.   Adolescent and parent education services are provided at the request of school districts, community-based agencies, religious institutions, and civic organizations.  Services include:

• Promoting and nurturing youth leadership
• Educating youth on topics such as healthy relationships, communication, anger management, conflict negotiation skill building, and dating through various evidence-based interventions
• Helping youth deal with societal pressures surrounding sexuality
• Helping parenting adolescents towards self-sufficiency and responsible behavior
• Professional education programs on “hot topics” concerning today’s youth
• Workshops to help parents and caregivers become the primary educators for their children
• Advocating for confidential medical care and counseling for sexually active youth
• Special events throughout the year for youth, their parents, and for professional staff

Adolescent Parenting Program

Funded through various resources, the adolescent parenting program focuses on early childhood development, empathy, early literacy, and proactive – rather than reactive – parenting techniques, this program is available in a group setting in select school district, as well as limited case management services for pregnant or parenting adolescents throughout SC.  Please call for more information and eligibility.

Comprehensive Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention (CAPP)

The CAPP program helps to decrease adolescent pregnancy through a comprehensive approach to reducing the risk of initial and repeat pregnancies, reducing STDs and HIV/AIDS rates among adolescents, and promoting healthy sexual behaviors.  The initiative – which receives funding from the New York State Department of Health – addresses through evidenced based curriculum, the underlying issues associated with adolescent parenting as well as race, ethnic, and geographical disparities related to adolescent sexual health outcomes.  CAPP encourages alternatives to sexual activity by promoting an optimal transition into healthy young adulthood with afterschool programs, evidence-based interventions, and community service learning.

Learning and Enrichment Afterschool Program Supports (LEAPS)

Funded through the NYS Office of Children and Family Services, EOC of Suffolk, Inc.’s innovative program serving up to 210 middle school students each day.  The program provides a safe environment for academic assistance in core subject areas in addition to skill-building activities that combine vocational and educational growth in a recreational framework.  Topics include cooking, dancing, robotics, audio/visual production, nutrition, wellness, community service, and video game design.  The program is supported at the following locations:  South Ocean Middle School, Saxton Middle School, and Oregon Middle School.

LEAPS is a completely free after-school program for middle school students in districts in which Economic Opportunity Council of Suffolk, Inc. (EOC) has partnerships and is funded through the Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS). Our mission a is to provide a safe and productive environment for children of working families. We begin directly after school and execute program for 3 hours. Official program outcomes are as follows:

• To improve the social, emotional, academic and vocational competencies of school-age children.
• To prevent and reduce the incidence of adolescent pregnancies.
• To reduce other negative behaviors such as violence and crime; tobacco, alcohol, and substance abuse; disengagement from school; school suspension; and truancy and health-compromising behaviors.
• To provide parents with a safe after school environment for their children.

Three major Performance Targets that help to quantify our effectiveness are as follows:

• The program will provide academic support and enrichment opportunities that will assist students in meeting academic and personal goals as well as expose youth to future learning and life opportunities.
• The program will prioritize students social-emotional wellness and increase opportunities to mitigate the impacts from COVID-19 as well as expand students’ access to social and emotional support services.

The program will expand students’ community and family engagement and programs that support mentorship, employment, and life skills training.

Community Credible Messenger Initiative

The Community Credible Messenger Initiative battles recidivism on the part of young people returning from juvenile incarceration.  EOC of Suffolk, Inc. and Youth Enrichment Services, in collaboration with the lead agency, Family and Children’s Association, will support referred youth and their families through mentoring, education and youth development.  EOC specifically provides “Parent Partners” to mentor the parents, guardians and families of the incarcerated youth.

"How to Talk to Me, Your Teen, About Sex"
(Part One)