|
 On
September 12, 2011, Dr. Kerby T. Alvy, Executive
Director for the Center for the Improvement of
Child Caring was named a "Champion of the
Children" by First 5 in Los Angeles, which is a
major funding source for services to children
under five and their families in Los Angeles
County. The following is the profile written by
First 5 that appeared on their
website...
When Kerby Alvy took a job
at a juvenile hall right after graduating
from college,
he had difficulty sleeping at night. He worked
with the incarcerated kids, read their charts and
saw them interact with their parents on visiting
day - and became acutely aware of the cycles of
violence and maltreatment in some families.
"That really got me
thinking that I should do something," said Alvy, a
child psychologist and author who founded the Center for the
Improvement of Child Caring 38 years ago in
Los Angeles.
Alvy, who remembers always
being enamored by children, even when he was one,
earned his doctorate degree in psychology at the
State University of New York at Albany. Alvy, now
the executive director of the CICC, worked closely
with families, helping parents develop skills to
make them better at interacting with their
children.
"I came to realize that the
most profound way one can be a champion for the
welfare of children is to help their parents be
more sensitive, more caring and nonviolent and
effective in raising their children," Alvy
said.
While treating patients was
fulfilling, Alvy felt he wanted to impact more
people. That's when he founded the CICC, which
creates, delivers and disseminates model parent
programs nationwide. The nonprofit, a former First
5 LA grantee, has earned accolades for its
accomplishments, including an award from former
President Bill Clinton during a ceremony on
National Parents Day at the White House in
1995.
Through Alvy's practice and
research, he began to look at how parenting
programs can be sensitive to different cultural
and racial issues. Recently, he authored and
released The Soulful Parent: Raising
Healthy, Happy and Successful African American
Children, which addresses the unique,
additional challenges black parents face from
dealing with a history of racism and
discrimination.
The book is based on the
CICC's Effective Black Parenting Program, and
includes true stories from program participants
who say they now have happier, healthier
relationships with their children. Topics in the
book include culturally-specific parenting
strategies, breaking generational cycles and how
slavery has impacted today's use of corporal
punishment, and why it should be
rejected.
Alvy said he and others
have focused on helping black children because
studies show that African American kids are more
likely to be abused and neglected, living in
poverty and underachieving.
Alvy was born in New York
and raised in Los Angeles. He earned his
bachelor's degree in political science at UCLA and
his doctorate in psychology at the State
University of New York at Albany in 1970. He
has two adult daughters - one who is earning her
doctorate and the other who is serving in the
Peace Corps. Being their father is "a peak
experience" of his life, he said.
Alvy is now focusing on
getting word out about The Soulful Parent and is
hoping to make a documentary related to it. He
says he's "full of energy" and loves his work, but
is worried about generating enough funds to keep
the CICC going. "It's just the reality of where we
are now," he said. "It's unfortunate."
To learn more about the
CICC, including upcoming training events, or
The Soulful Parent, visit the
CICC
website at www.ciccparenting.org.
| 
The Center
for the Improvement of Child Caring (CICC) has
received a contribution of $5,500 from the Morgan
Stanley Foundation through the efforts
of Jac Stulberg who is shown on right with
CICC Executive Director Dr. Kerby
T. Alvy.
