“Guidance Center to Host its Annual Golf Classic at North Hempstead,” Blank Slate/The Island Now, May 20.2019

by North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center | May 21, 2019 | In The Media

“Photo of Guidance Center Spring Luncheon,” Long Island Business News, May 10-16, 2019

by North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center | May 16, 2019 | In The Media

(From left) Sandy Milillo, Maureen Ferrari, Jo-Ellen Hazan, Keith Mait and Toni Ann Naha helped North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center raise a record $87,000-plus at its Spring Luncheon.

“National Grid Helps Beautify Local Guidance Center,” Blank Slate/The Island Now, May 13, 2019

by North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center | May 14, 2019 | In The Media

Volunteers from National Grid included (left to right) Malcolm Minott, Fran Di Leonardo, Kathleen Wisnewski, Alanna Russo, Susan Eckert, Lauren Benetos and Carie Manticos, pictured with Dr. Nellie Taylor-Walthrust of the Guidance Center.

On May 7, North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center welcomed seven employees of National Grid to its Leeds Place location on Brush Hollow Road in Westbury, one of the Guidance Center’s three sites.

The seven volunteers — who brought with them new large decorative planters, several beds of petunias, geraniums, catmint, hostas and juniper bushes, along some white paint—spent the day planting, painting and cleaning the Leeds Place signpost, giving the building a fresh, friendly look.

 “National Grid is happy to partner with North Shore Child & Family Guidance at their Leeds Place,” said Kathleen Wisnewski, National Grid customer and community manager, who was part of the volunteer team. “The planting and beautification project performed by employees from our Customer and Community and IS Teams is another example of how National Grid gives back to the community we live and work in. It’s nice to know that the people entering the Leeds Place will be greeted by beautiful flowers to help brighten their day.”

 Fran DiLeonardo, director, IT customer service management at National Grid, was enthusiastic as he put his all into the project. “It was another great day making a difference in the community that we live and work in!” said DiLeonardo. “It’s always rewarding to put the time aside and make it happen; that’s why we keep coming back!”

“I love meeting new people and learning about the good work they are doing to support folks in their communities who need a little extra help,” said volunteer Susan M Eckert, IT Infrastructure and Operations at National Grid. “It was very inspiring!”

This is the third time this year that National Grid has volunteered for the Guidance Center. “We are very proud of our partnership with National Grid,” said Lauren McGowan, director of development, North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center. “Everyone is so generous with their time and talents. The volunteers all worked tirelessly to help make the Guidance Center’s Leeds Place office an attractive place for our clients to continue on their path to healing.”

If your company would like to discuss opportunities to volunteer at the Guidance Center or support our mission in other ways, contact McGowan at LMcGowan@northshorechildguidance.org or call her at (516) 626-1971, ext. 320.

“Separated immigrant children may suffer lifelong effects,” By Andrew Malekoff, Times Union, May 13, 2019

by North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center | May 14, 2019 | In The Media

In this file photo taken on June 30, 2018 a person holds a sign during protest against US immigration policies on the international bridge between Mexico and the US, in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. (HERIKA MARTINEZ/AFP/Getty Images)

Just the other day I had a conversation with a young father who, along with his wife, bought their first house. He described moving from their apartment to his in-laws’ home in preparation for the big move. He spoke about how discombobulated their 2-year-old daughter was as a result.

Now, imagine if instead of a move to a new house, that child was unceremoniously taken away by strangers and placed in an unfamiliar setting, with people she never met before, for an undetermined period of time. Picturing this sends chills up my spine.

The separation of thousands of migrant children from their parents at our southern border has generated enough finger-pointing to overshadow the focus on the long-term traumatic impact of the zero-tolerance family separation policy on the children, especially the youngest ones.

The subjects of debate include which president bears the greatest responsibility for the separation policy; whether an area enclosed by a cyclone fence used to involuntarily house children is a cage or a shelter; and whether a zero-tolerance policy is an effective deterrent.

Somewhere beyond politics, the truth exists about the real impact of prolonged separation on children’s emotional well-being. Yet, even that has become a subject of debate.

Some supporters of the zero-tolerance policy argue that the separated children are probably better off because while they are detained, they’ll be more likely to get better health care, more recreational options and nutritional meals.

They forget to mention toxic stress. They will get that too.

The American Academy of Pediatrics affirmed that “Highly stressful experiences, like family separation, can cause irreparable harm, disrupting a child’s brain architecture,” and that “prolonged exposure to serious stress — known as toxic stress — can carry lifelong consequences for children.”

The consequences of this adverse childhood experience include learning difficulties, behavior problems, difficulty regulating emotions and increased and potentially debilitating physical and mental health issues.

As it currently stands, a large majority of the estimated 2,400 separated children have been reunited with their families, or placed with a relative in the U.S. following the June 13, 2018, executive order reversing the zero-tolerance family separation policy.

In viewing broadcast footage taken at several such reunifications, it does not take a trained eye to see the heightened levels of anxiety and dysregulation that the children are experiencing. Returning from what amounts to sudden and involuntary detention is just not the same as a return home after a month at sleepaway camp.

Despite the executive order reversing the zero-tolerance policy, recently released government data indicate that at least 250 children have been separated from their parents since that time.

The damage done to thousands of innocent young lives at the border was an unforced error by the United States. It was entirely unnecessary because it is not a deterrent for a parent who fears that his or her child’s life is in danger in their home country.

The fact that separating children from their families and placing them in an institutional environment can lead to irreversible changes in their brains is a violation of human rights and an atrocity.

The good news is that the children have a decent chance of recovering from toxic stress — provided that they and their parents get quality professional bilingual mental health counseling upon reunification. But what are the odds of that happening? The Refugee Mental Health Resource Network states that there is an increasing need for services for asylum seekers, and the demand far exceeds the supply of mental health professionals.

According to Allan Shapiro, a pediatrician and co-founder of Terra Firma, a nationally recognized medical-legal partnership located in the South Bronx, the office of the inspector general found that separated children placed in office of refugee resettlement care face a mental health staff-to-child ratio of 1:100. That includes staff who have not been fingerprinted or otherwise properly vetted.

To the extent that the federal government does not actively facilitate the children getting the quality mental health care that they need, we will forever bear responsibility for the havoc it will wreak on their future lives.

Andrew Malekoff is the executive director of North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center on Long Island, which provides comprehensive mental health services for children from birth through 24 and their families. www.northshorechildguidance.org.

“Health Insurers Count on our Silence,” by Andrew Malekoff, L.I. Herald, May 3, 2019

by North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center | May 9, 2019 | In The Media

I didn’t attend many funerals in my childhood. One that I recall was for the father of a close childhood friend. He died of a heart condition during our first year of high school.

In the intervening years I have paid my respects on numerous occasions, including a disturbing number of times after the untimely deaths of young people. Conversations at funerals inevitably lead to the circumstances of the death and the conditions leading up to it. Talking about the cause of a loved one’s death is never easy. But these conversations are especially difficult, even taboo, in the aftermath of a drug overdose or a death by suicide, when grieving is complicated by circumstance.

In most cases when someone dies, the feelings of loss and numbness ease incrementally, enabling the bereaved to process the experience and gradually return to a new state of normal. In contrast, when grief is complicated and survivors are inconsolable, accepting the loss and moving forward is far more difficult.

The stigma, shame and discrimination that accompany living with a mental health or substance-use disorder often have the effect of silencing not only those who have the disorder but also their family members. And after losing a loved one to one of these illnesses, surviving family members are often rendered voiceless once again.

Matt Shapiro, associate director of public affairs for the Albany-based National Alliance on Mental Illness New York State, shared that “The impact that mental illness had on me and my family led me to shame, silence and masking who I really was. [Becoming an advocate for] the National Alliance on Mental Illness has given me the ability to take off that mask, end the silence and speak about my issues.”

Shapiro is one of a growing number of those fighting to ensure that people with a mental health or substance-use disorder have timely and affordable access to treatment and care in accordance with the federal Mental Health Parity and Addiction Act. The passage of that bipartisan law in 2008 aimed to prevent health insurers from imposing less favorable benefit limitations on such care than on medical and surgical coverage.

But having a law on the books doesn’t guarantee compliance or effective enforcement. Millions of dollars in fines imposed on violators have had little impact on the trillion-dollar behemoth that is today’s health insurance industry.

Bad publicity doesn’t seem to work, either, because tens of thousands of New Yorkers continue to have difficulty accessing timely and affordable in-network care. Still, advocates like Shapiro battle on with unwavering determination.

Also fighting to make a difference are larger-scale advocacy efforts like Parity at 10, a three-year campaign to unite local and national advocates in 10 states, including New York, to pursue full enforcement of the Parity Act. Achieving full enforcement of parity compliance and enforcement, however, remains highly problematic.

It’s about time to ask Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the commissioners of the state Departments of Health and Financial Services, which are responsible for enforcing parity, questions such as, what will it take for you to suspend the licenses of serial violators in the health care industry and to put them out of business if they fail to reform?

Corporations have no empathy, and are unencumbered by conscience and shame. What do they care about? The profits they accumulate from the misery of people living with untreated mental health and substance-use disorders whose access to care they deny. If fines alone won’t work, only the real threat of putting them out of business will.

Do Cuomo and the State Legislature have the nerve to take on the health care insurance industry when it comes to parity enforcement, beyond passing nominal legislation for funding to add staff to the DOH and the DFS for monitoring and trouble-shooting, as they have done this year?

Increasing staff in those departments to enhance surveillance of parity compliance is a good step forward. But without impactful enforcement when persistent deficiencies that impede access to care are identified, the benefits are questionable.

Greedy health insurers and neglectful government regulators have two things in common: They count on stigma and our silence — in life and death.

Andrew Malekoff is executive director of the North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center, a nonprofit children’s mental health center. For more information, go to www.northshorechildguidance.org.

“When Self-Interest Overrides Ethics,” by Andrew Malekoff, Blank Slate Media, May 7, 2019

by North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center | May 8, 2019 | In The Media

What does it take for a group with a strong ethical foundation to stray from its ethical convictions? This is a vital question for anyone affiliated with an organization that espouses human rights — and it’s also relevant to anyone of any age who feels reluctant to speak out in our increasingly divided culture.

The American Psychological Association, founded in 1892, offers a case in point by demonstrating how even the best of intentions can go awry in dire circumstances. It is a situation that all of us may face in our lives.

To set the stage, although there has been much debate in recent years as to whether “enhanced interrogation” constitutes torture, it has been determined to be so according to international standards set forth in the 1949 Geneva Conventions and the 1984 United Nations Convention Against Torture.

Nevertheless, in the aftermath of 9/11, the APA supported this practice in the interrogation of detainees held in Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, Abu Ghraib in Iraq and in a number of so-called “Black Sites” across the globe, including Lithuania, Thailand, Romania, Afghanistan and Poland.

How did the APA, whose mission is to apply psychological knowledge to benefit society and improve people’s lives, come to support torture? One possibility, according to psychologist Dr. Nina Thomas, who has served on an APA ethics panel, was for APA members to take the position: “We didn’t know about it.”

Thomas wrote about this matter in an article entitled, “We didn’t know: Silence and silencing in organizations,” which was published in the International Journal of Group Psychotherapy in 2016.

Thomas says that a full understanding of context is critical to unraveling how the APA became involved in enhanced interrogation. She notes that soon after the 2001 attack on America, “national security was uppermost in the minds of government officials and private corporations and organizations.” No one living in the vicinity of the attacks at that time would doubt that there was growing fear and insecurity. Any sense of American invincibility was replaced by paranoia.

Living on Long Island, just about 25 miles from the World Trade Center, I was hesitant to travel by way of bridges or tunnels for a time. Was I being cautious, irrational or paranoid? Whichever it was, there was a visceral sense of something profoundly different. It was my sense that most people, especially in the areas directly affected by the attacks experienced this feeling.

Historically, according to Thomas, psychologists assisted the U.S. military in “analyzing propaganda and countering its effects as well as boosting morale during protracted war.” They also provided research on “learned helplessness” that was used to prepare captured American soldiers to resist interrogation during times of war.

This history of collaboration contributed to a growing relationship between the APA and the U.S. Department of Defense and the Central Intelligence Agency. At a time when there was a pervasive sense of acute fear, the APA was positioned to be a vital asset in helping to extract information from detainees that might protect American lives from further attacks. And perhaps by any means possible.

Thomas says some of the APA members who directly or tacitly supported the role of psychologists in the interrogations later reported taking issue with the international standards and their definition of torture.

Consequently, in a context of immense fear and hyper-vigilance, interrogation practices that overrode the APA’s ethical standards were excused or perhaps ignored by conveniently distorting the conventional standards used to define torture.

Potential dissenters — essentially bystanders — were then faced with the challenge of being silent (“We didn’t know about it”) or speaking out and being ostracized and marginalized. Apparently a good number chose the option of “going along to get along.”

In any group that strays from its ethical standards, according to Thomas, “when personal interests hold sway over ethical concerns, the group runs the risk of self-destructing,” particularly when an impression of “we were just following orders” prevails.

Some APA members (and others) may have felt that psychologists’ role in the interrogations were justified as they were used in their entirety for what was perceived as the greater good.

Perhaps the lesson for members of all organized groups, as articulated by Dr. Thomas is, “when self-interest trumps ethics, no one is served.”

This story offers a good lesson for children (and for all of us) growing up in an increasingly divided America. The bottom line: Citizenship involves being active participants in community affairs, even when it may place you at odds with your friends, neighbors, colleagues or others. It is vital that we teach young people that dissent is a cornerstone of democracy. They need to know that their voices will make a real difference in changing the world where others have failed.

Andrew Malekoff is the executive director of North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center, which provides comprehensive mental health services for children from birth through 24 and their families. To find out more, visit www.northshorechildguidance.org.

“Guidance Center Spring Luncheon Breaks Record in Fundraising,” Anton Media/LI Weekly, May 7, 2019

by North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center | May 8, 2019 | In The Media

A sellout crowd of 245 people recently joined together for North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center’s annual spring luncheon. This year’s event, which supports the Guidance Center’s mission to restore and strengthen the emotional well-being of children and their families, was a record-breaker, raising more than $87,000.
The luncheon, which took place at Glen Head Country Club, began with a morning round of Mahjong, Canasta and Bridge, along with unique shopping boutiques from some of Long Island’s trendiest and most charitable small business owners, including Buy the Bag, Club & Country, Dash, I Thrive, Transitions and RFC Fine Jewelry, among others.

After a delicious luncheon buffet, Vanessa McMullen, who is the supervisor at the Guidance Center’s Marks Family Right From The Start 0-3+ Center in Manhasset and also head of the agency’s Diane Goldberg Maternal Depression Program, introduced the day’s speaker, former client Katherine. The audience was completely engrossed as Katherine shared her experience with postpartum depression and talked about the lifesaving treatment she received at the Guidance Center.

She told the crowd, “I was desperately seeking someone who could tell me that I could get through this and convince me that it would get better. When I was finally connected with North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center, my life and my daughter’s life were changed forever. The Guidance Center has not only given me back my life, it has given my family a future.”

“Katherine’s story was incredibly moving,” said Nancy Lane, who is the Guidance Center board president. “When she spoke about the dedication of the Guidance Center staff to both her and her family, I was incredibly proud. Our dedicated team of professionals gives their all to bring hope and healing to each and every client.”

The luncheon couldn’t have been so successful without the hard work of the co-chairs, Jan Ashley, Amy Cantor and Alexis Siegel.

“The enormous success of this year’s event is largely due to the incredible dedication of our three co-chairs,” said Andrew Malekoff, executive director of the Guidance Center. “They have put so much time and energy into the luncheon for several years, and we are truly grateful to them for continuing to make each year more special than the last.”

—Submitted by North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center

Guidance Center Appears on CBS News, April 4, 2019

by North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center | May 8, 2019 | In The Media

“Guidance Center Luncheon Raises Over $87,000,” Blank Slate Media, April 22, 2019

by North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center | Apr 23, 2019 | In The Media

A sellout crowd of 245 people joined together on Wednesday, April 17 for North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center’s Annual Spring Luncheon. This year’s event, which supports the Guidance Center’s mission to restore and strengthen the emotional well-being of children and their families, was a record-breaker, raising more than $87,000.

The luncheon, which took place at Glen Head Country Club, began with a morning round of mahjong, canasta and bridge, along with unique shopping boutiques from some of Long Island’s trendiest and most charitable small business owners, including Buy the Bag, Club & Country, Dash, I Thrive, Transitions and RFC Fine Jewelry, among others.

After a luncheon buffet, Vanessa McMullen, supervisor at the Guidance Center’s Marks Family Right From The Start 0-3+ Center in Manhasset and also head of the agency’s Diane Goldberg Maternal Depression Program, introduced the day’s speaker, former client Katherine. The audience was completely engrossed as Katherine shared her experience with postpartum depression and talked about the lifesaving treatment she received at the Guidance Center.

She told the crowd, “I was desperately seeking someone who could tell me that I could get through this and convince me that it would get better. When I was finally connected with North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center, my life and my daughter’s life were changed forever… The Guidance Center has not only given me back my life, it has given my family a future.”

“Katherine’s story was incredibly moving,” said Nancy Lane, Guidance Center board president. “When she spoke about the dedication of the Guidance Center staff to both her and her family, I was incredibly proud. Our dedicated team of professionals gives their all to bring hope and healing to each and every client.”

The luncheon couldn’t have been so successful without the hard work of the co-chairs, Jan Ashley, Amy Cantor and Alexis Siegel.

“The enormous success of this year’s event is largely due to the incredible dedication of our three co-chairs,” said Andrew Malekoff, executive director of the Guidance Center. “They have put so much time and energy into the luncheon for several years, and we are truly grateful to them for continuing to make each year more special than the last.”

The Guidance Center is also grateful for the support of its sponsors. They are: Adelphi University, Baxter Smith & Shapiro PC, Amy Cantor, Ruth Fortunoff Cooper, Fara Copell, Linda Cronin, Julie Epstein, Fifth Avenue of LI Realty/Americana Manhasset, Joan & Jeffrey Grant, Janni and Associates/FNA, Deborah Klein, Rosemarie Klipper, Tracey Kupferberg/CBR, NYU Winthrop Women’s and Children’s Services, Raich Ende Malter & Co. LLP, Alexis Siegel, Signature Bank, Ruth & Michael Slade, South Oaks and Zucker Hillside Hospitals — Northwell Health and Carol Wolowitz.

“Birth Justice Warriors Fight for Healthy Moms and Babies,” by Andrew Malekoff, L.I. Herald, April 18, 2019

by North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center | Apr 22, 2019 | In The Media

In the modern world we live in, in the richest country in the world and in one of the wealthiest areas of that country, you’d think that Nassau County’s expectant and new mothers, along with their babies, would get the best care in the world.

You’d be wrong — especially when it comes to black women and their babies.

Hackett points to the startling differences between the infant mortality rates in contiguous communities in Nassau. (Infant mortality refers to the death of children before their first birthday.) For example, in Roosevelt there were 8.8 infant deaths per 1,000 births from 2014 to 2016, while neighboring Merrick had a rate of 1 death per 1,000 births. For all of Nassau County, regardless of economic status, the black infant mortality rate is more than four times that of the rate among whites — and even higher than the black infant mortality rate in New York City.

What needs to happen for change to occur in Nassau County, according to Hackett, is the following: 1) inform women after childbirth of warning signs for hemorrhage, embolism or infection; 2) enhance service integration for women and infants; and 3) treat women of color with dignity, respect and culturally relevant care.

Studies show that structural racism is a major factor in disparate infant mortality rates. There is unconscious bias among clinical staff, which negatively perceives black women’s pain before, during and after pregnancy. Even Serena Williams, hardly your average mom, experienced the denial of her concerns by medical professionals during and after the birth of her baby, and it almost led to her death.

Another factor is at work. On a recent NPR broadcast, Tasha Green Cruzat, president of Voices for Illinois Children, cited a study that concluded, “The accumulation of experiences of the African American woman, the racial discrimination that she experiences, produces chronic stress and brings on problems that constitute risk factors for pre-term delivery.”

In March 2018, Hackett and Dr. Nellie Taylor-Walthrust, of the North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center, announced the launch of Birth Justice Warriors, an initiative to train birth advocates to decrease birth inequities. Since the launch, 22 Warriors have been trained. The organizational partners — the Child & Family Guidance Center, Planned Parenthood Nassau County, the March of Dimes, Hofstra’s National Center for Suburban Studies and the Long Island Community Foundation — have provided support and guidance from the beginning, according to Hackett. “Over the past year I have met many strong advocates for black mothers and infants in Nassau County who acknowledge the challenges we face,” she said. “The positive response to Birth Justice Warriors from communities of color tells me that we have tapped into a growing movement for birth equity.”

As the initiative begins its second year, efforts will continue to make injustice visible and raise awareness of black maternal and infant mortality in Nassau by educating medical staff, holding “conversation cafes” with women, partnering with prenatal sites in the county, creating video stories that share the pregnancy and birthing experiences of black women in the county, and making legislative visits to advocate for policy changes to improve birth outcomes.

What can you do? Clearly, there is never a good reason to disrespect someone based on race, sexual orientation, religion — for any reason. But if you are an employer, colleague, physician or neighbor, it is important to understand that a pregnant woman who is disrespected in the workplace or community can develop chronic stress that can lead to miscarriage or the death of an infant. This is disproportionately the experience of pregnant women of color, and it is our moral obligation to remedy this injustice.

Joining up to be a Birth Justice Warrior project is one big way you can make a difference. But whatever you choose to do, awareness, respect and kindness are a great place to start.

Andrew Malekoff is the executive director of North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center, which provides comprehensive mental health services for children and their families, including support for pregnant and parenting teens and their babies. For more, visit www.northshorechildguidance.org.

“A Civil Rights Case for those with Mental Health Issues,” By Andrew Malekoff, Long Island Business News, April 19, 2019

by North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center | Apr 22, 2019 | In The Media

Last month, a federal court in the Northern District of California found that the giant health insurer United Behavioral Health had been using flawed criteria, contrary to generally accepted standards, to determine medical necessity for the care and treatment of patients with mental health and substance use disorders (MH/SUD).

D. Brian Hufford, a partner at Zuckerman Spaeder, who heads the firm’s health care practice that represented more than 50,000 plaintiffs in the class action lawsuit, commented that “This is a monumental win for mental health patients, who face widespread discrimination in attempting to get the coverage they were promised and that the law requires.”

Why did UBH discriminate? They did it for one reason: to reap the financial rewards that restricting or denying access to outpatient and residential care for individuals living with MH/SUD generates.

Although the finding did not specifically address federal parity law, it does speak directly to the need for far better enforcement of the law.

During the final year of George W. Bush’s administration in 2008, the U.S. Congress passed the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA), a federal law to prevent health insurers that provide MH/SUD benefits from carrying out less favorable benefit limits on those benefits than on medical and surgical benefits. In other words, parity law holds that it is illegal to treat diseases of the brain differently than those of any other part of the body.

Chief Magistrate Joseph C. Spero stated that UBH guidelines were aimed first at reducing costs through “an excessive emphasis on addressing acute symptoms and stabilizing crises while ignoring the effective treatment of members’ underlying conditions.”

This decision fires a powerful warning shot at all insurance carriers that cut corners in determining medical necessity without regard for quality of care and with the sole aim of enriching themselves at the expense of their beneficiaries living with MH/SUD.

As plaintiff’s attorney D. Brian Hufford concluded, “For the first time, an insurer was forced to stand trial for denying thousands of mental health and substance use disorder claims, and the court delivered a strong message: what you’re doing is harmful and illegal, and it must end.”

In his decision, Judge Spero found that UBH demonstrated “an abuse of discretion” that was “infected” by monetary incentives intended restrict access to care.

Patrick Kennedy, former US representative and leading mental health advocate, correctly frames the case as a matter of civil rights. He compared the ruling to the landmark 1954 Supreme Court decision that found racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional. He said that the UBH ruling is the Brown v. Board of Education for the mental health movement.

The insurance industry has consistently discriminated against individuals with MH/SUD and with impunity. Government officials, federal and state, have failed to adequately enforce parity law ever since its passage more than 10 years ago.

Now, according to Kennedy, “we have a federal court specifically and forensically breaking down how they get around the federal law. Judge Spero’s decision makes it clear that there will be consequences for disregarding established clinical practice in favor of a financial bottom line.”

Andrew Malekoff is the executive director of North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center.

“How to ‘Be Best’ In Contentious Times,” by Andrew Malekoff, Blank Slate Media, April 16, 2019

by North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center | Apr 22, 2019 | In The Media

Regardless of where you stand in the political spectrum, we can pretty much all agree that these are highly divisive times in our culture.

It often seems that pundits, politicians and people on all sides of the various issues of our day have lost their ability to disagree respectfully. And kids of all ages aren’t immune to absorbing the notion that speaking loudly, aggressively and in a denigrating manner is somehow perfectly acceptable.

In such an environment, how do we teach our kids to approach disagreements without resorting to bullying words and behaviors?

One initiative designed to tackle this problem is First Lady Melania Trump’s “Be Best” campaign. As she states on her website, “It is our responsibility as adults to educate and reinforce to children that when they are using their voices — whether verbally or online they must choose their words wisely and speak with respect and compassion. It remains our generation’s moral imperative to take responsibility and help our children manage the many issues they are facing today, including encouraging positive social, emotional and physical habits.”

Can we really expect political figures to serve as models who live up to the First Lady’s “Be Best” ideal?

In our own backyard, there seems to be a never-ending parade of perp walks, criminal trials, convictions, fines, prison sentences and incarcerations of elected officials for taking bribes, bid-rigging, obstructing justice and more.

Brokering official favors for personal benefit seems to be part of the culture in many political clubhouses, executive offices and legislative chambers in Long Island and New York state. We even see the breakdown in the recent college admission scams, where parents sought preferential treatment for their children through what used to be called payola.

The ideals that Mrs. Trump wants to advance will be more likely to gain traction at home, in school houses, fields of play and or houses of worship. Yet, on occasion an inspiring political leader, super athlete or charismatic musician or actress will touch one’s heart by exuding compassion as they champion meaningful causes such as mental health or drug prevention. They deserve our respect and appreciation for living out the message that people should care about others, not just talking the talk but walking the walk.

Some might say that “Be Best” is an easy phrase to poke fun at, just as “just say no” was during Nancy Reagan’s tenure as first lady, when she launched an anti-drug campaign.

But, as deeply divided as we are becoming as a nation, “Be Best” is a good message. Just because it is a bit corny and not embodied in Washington, D.C., and statehouses across the nation, we should not let our cynicism dilute the message or allow our behavior to dilute the ideal.

To do so would be to turn our back on our kids. If these are times in which we just cannot be best, maybe we can at least strive to be better.

Andrew Malekoff is the executive director of North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center, which provides comprehensive mental health services for children from birth through 24 and their families, including support for pregnant and parenting teens and their babies. To find out more, visit www.northshorechildguidance.org. For more on the Be Best Initiative go to www.whitehouse.gov/bebest.

“Kiwanis Presents $1,000 to Guidance Center,” April 10, 2019, Long Island Business News

by North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center | Apr 11, 2019 | In The Media

Kiwanis of North Shore donated $1,000 to support the mission of North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center. (From left) Leslie Kle and Jenna Kern-Rugile.

“Kids First: Child marriage: A widespread and dangerous reality,” The Island Now, April 2, 2019

by North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center | Apr 8, 2019 | In The Media

Did you know that 650 million women and girls alive today were married as children and 12 million girls under 18 are married each year? Globally, around 21 percent of young women were married before their 18th birthday, according to UNICEF.

UNICEF — now called The United Nations Children’s Fund but originally known as the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund — was founded in 1946. It was created to offer emergency food and health care to children and mothers in countries that had been devastated by World War II.

I was awakened to this issue while attending the 36^th Social Work Day at the United Nations on April 1, 2019. The theme for the day was “Strengthening Human Relationships: Policies and Programs to Protect Children.”

I must confess that I am typically focused on what is happening closer to home, but the information presented by a panel of UN diplomats, policy officers and child protection specialists, as well as front-line social workers, was eye-opening.

In addition to child marriage, the international group of experts focused on a number of other disturbing statistics such as the astounding number of children that are forced into labor from as early as five years old. Worldwide, 218 million children between 5 and 17 years are employed and 73 million work in hazardous conditions

Although the presentations were all compelling, I was particularly interested in how the issue of child marriage manifests itself in the U.S.

The facts are that, although child marriage happens mostly in sub-Saharan Africa, more than 200,000 minors (mostly girls) were married in the United States between 2000 and 2015, and not only in rural areas as is widely believed.

The minimum legal age that young people are permitted to marry in most states in our country is 18, although in six states that age is as low as 14 or 15.

But there are a number of “loopholes,” reported social worker Bushra Husain from NYC-based Sanctuary for Families. For example, if one of the parties is pregnant or if the minor has given birth to a child, then in 47 states, marriage is permitted for children under 18.

Child marriage is a violation of human rights that remains widespread despite laws against it. It can forestall their education and lead to a lifetime of suffering including high rates of domestic violence and the deaths of young adolescent girls due to more complications in pregnancy and childbirth than for women in their 20s.

Furthermore, their children are more likely to be stillborn or die in the first month of life.

The good news is that there is a movement toward change. In 2018, New Jersey and Delaware became the first states to outlaw marriage for anyone less than 18 years of age, with no loopholes.

UNICEF reports that strong bills to end child marriage are currently pending in 11 state legislatures. To learn more about this, go to the link for this special 2018 report by Sarah Ferguson entitled: “What you need to know about child marriage in the U.S.” https://www.unicefusa.org/stories/what-you-need-know-about-child-marriage-us/35059

H.E. Georgi Panayotov, an ambassador to the UN from Bulgaria, tied the day together with a caution by Nelson Mandela: “History will judge us on the difference we make in the everyday lives of children.”

Andrew Malekoff is the Executive Director of North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center, which provides comprehensive mental health services for children from birth through 24 and their families. To find out more, call (516) 626-1971 or visit www.northshorechildguidance.org.

“North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center Plans Luncheon,” Anton/LI Weekly, April 2, 2019

by North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center | Apr 3, 2019 | In The Media

Board members Andrea Leeds (left) and Ruth Fortunoff Cooper

Are you ready for a fun-filled day of shopping, delicious dining and your favorite games? Then mark your calendars for North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center’s eagerly anticipated annual Spring Luncheon.

This year’s event will be held at the elegant Glen Head Country Club on Wednesday, April 17, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Clubhouse, which includes a beautiful ballroom, cozy living room area and spacious card room, is the perfect setting for a fun-filled afternoon.

From left: Co-chairs Amy Cantor, Alexis Siegel and Jan Ashley, with Guidance Center board president Nancy Lane

For those who love to play, the day will open with Mahjong, Canasta and Bridge. Or, if those popular games are not your cup of tea, you can jump right in and start shopping at the unique boutiques, which will feature items from some of Long Island’s trendiest and most charitable small business owners, including Buy the Bag, Club & Country, Dash, I Thrive, Transitions and RFC Fine, among others. The jewelry and apparel are always favorites, but just as chic are the fashionable purses, accessories and housewares. There will also be plenty of opportunities to participate in raffles for luxury prizes, including a $500 gift certificate to Americana Manhasset.

The event will include a fabulous gourmet luncheon featuring the talents of Glen Head Country Club’s master chef.

Registration is now open and sponsorships are available by visiting the Guidance Center’s website, northshorechildguidance.org/spring-luncheon-registration or calling 516-626-1971, ext. 309.