Rogers County Youth Services, the Claremore, Oklahoma-based non-profit, was recently recognized with the GuideStar Platinum Seal of Transparency, to honor to organization’s commitment to transparency in the use and results of donations.

RCYS Executive Director Herb McSpadden said transparency is important to RCYS because, “We want to make sure that when people donate to us, they are aware of what they are giving to and that the money they give is going to services, not being wasted.”

GuideStar is a free, online, searchable database of over two million national nonprofits, which gives users access to all of the publicly available information about any given nonprofit. The platinum designation is the highest level of recognition offered by GuideStar, an opt-in service where nonprofits can give the website more information about themselves than that found in IRS records.

The organizations annual budget of just over $560,000 is allocated toward counseling services, the Love and Logic Parenting Program, the Parenting Through Divorce Program, the family academy program, Botvin LifeSkills Training, the iCrimes program and the U-Turn Academy Program.

LifeSkills Training is done by request, with $40,000 budgeted each year. Certified instructors of the evidence-based Botvin LifeSkills Training curriculum give free presentations to area 4th, 5th and 6th grade students, with proven success reducing drug use, alcohol use, violence, and tobacco use.

The Botvin curriculum is taught in the classroom for a semester, where the student’s regular teacher and the life skills instructor co-teach. Students have work books for the skills and take pre- and post- training tests to assess how much students learned from the lessons.

“It teaches the kids how to say no to peer pressure, how to have better self-esteem, how to watch out for and take care of each other and it builds empathy,” McSpadden said.

There has been a steady rise in the number of K-12 students taught the life skills material since 2014, from 220 to 320 in 2018, and an expected 600 in 2019.

“With the expansion of counseling and prevention services as well as the development of new programs, RCYS will provide counseling services to approximately 500 individuals and families this year, and approximately 850 individuals and families in FY21,” GuideStar indicates, “Through our education and prevention groups/classes, RCYS will provide services to an estimated 1,200 students this year, growing to 2,500 students during FY21.”

Read full article: Rogers County Youth Services receives seal