Cincinnati Youth Collaborative Hires Mentoring Director

For Immediate Release ? March 6, 2006

Shannan Schmitt
Communications Manager
Cincinnati Youth Collaborative
(513) 475-4149

NEWS RELEASE

Cincinnati Youth Collaborative Hires Mentoring Director

March 6, Cincinnati: The Cincinnati Youth Collaborative (CYC) has hired Khalil Osiris as the Director of the S.P.A.R.K. (Strengthening Partnerships and Resources for Kids) program which helps children of incarcerated parents. Mr. Khalil will oversee the program and will report to Simone Bess, VP of Mentoring. While Mr. Osiris' education and teaching credentials are extensive, he is uniquely qualified for this role because he was an incarcerated parent.

Mr. Osiris thus knows first-hand the difficulties children face when their parents are imprisoned. "Were it not for loving grandparents, a caring community, and several positive male role models who took a personal interest in my two sons while I was in prison, they probably would have landed in jail also. They did not. The impact of the people who cared enough to mentor them in my absence, changed their lives and I will forever be grateful to those mentors" says Mr. Osiris. Mr. Osiris will work with local agencies and prison systems to identify children that will benefit from having a caring adult mentor in their life.

"The depth and breadth of his own life experience, coupled with his schooling and training, enable him to have an immense and clear impact on youth," says Simone Bess, Vice President for CYC's Mentoring Program. Ms. Bess further offers, "He has clearly devoted his life to working in the prisons and turning his experience into a commitment to assist others who have been incarcerated or are affected by a loved one's imprisonment."

Mr. Osiris earned his bachelor's and master's degree from Boston University while in prison. He is a certified Nonviolent Crisis Intervention Instructor and a consultant/trainer with Ann Bass Academy for Education and Training. Mr. Osiris serves as an adjunct professor at Wright State University and co-authored two books: The Psychology of Incarceration and TLC - Talking and Listening with Care. Additionally, he is a pastor of The Community Church in Dayton, Ohio.

S.P.A.RK. mentoring program identifies children who reside in Hamilton County between the ages of 4-14 who have one or more incarcerated parent. The effort is a community partnership between the CYC, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Cincinnati and Talbert House.

The S.P.A.R.K. partners work in collaboration with the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation & Corrections, Adult Parole Authority and Ohio Prisons, which helps identify and link children of incarcerated parents; and the Hamilton County Department of Jobs & Family Services, which identifies children served by the Division of Children's Services.

The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction's statistics show that 1,089 Hamilton County inmates were parents of 1,524 dependent children. Without intervention, children of incarcerated parents are seven times more likely to become involved in the juvenile and adult rehabilitation systems.

A leader in youth development programs since 1987, the Cincinnati Youth Collaborative creates, facilitates and supports positive educational, social and economic programs to benefit the region's youth, principally Cincinnati Public School?age and young-adult populations.  Focusing on two primary areas - Mentoring and College Access - CYC brings together people, institutions, and other community resources to help youth graduate from high school, enter post-secondary education, or obtain employment.  Additional information on CYC can be found at www.cycyouth.org.

##