Ceil Zalkind Honored for her Work as New Jersey Child Advocate

Home > NewsRelease > Ceil Zalkind Honored for her Work as New Jersey Child Advocate

This News Release is no longer active. Please go to YCS _Youth Consultation Service_ to visit this member's press room and see current news releases.

Ceil Zalkind Honored for her Work as New Jersey Child Advocate

From:

YCS _Youth Consultation Service_

East Orange, NJ

Thursday, September 11, 2003

Ceil Zalkind Honored for her Work as New Jersey Child Advocate

Surrounded by more than a hundred of her peers, who are at the forefront of educating and protecting New Jersey children, Cecilia (Ceil) M. Zalkind will receive the prestigious Thea Bry Award ?For the Advancement of Infant, Child and Family Emotional Development? at a professional conference in Newark.

On behalf of the YCS Institute for Infant and Preschool Mental Health, Gwendolyn Harris, Commissioner of the Department of Human Services, will present Zalkind with the award at the Robert Treat Hotel on Thursday, September 24, at 11:45 am.

?For more than three decades Ceil has led the way to advance the well-being of all children?speaking out for innocent vulnerable children who have no voice,? said Gerard Costa, Ph.D, the director of the YCS Institute and a colleague who has worked with Zalkind on numerous projects.

As an advocate for New Jersey children, Zalkind has worked as an educator, social worker, mediator and attorney. In her current position as executive director of the Association for Children of New Jersey, Zalkind speaks out on a wide range of issues including early learning, child welfare, health, juvenile justice and family support. Zalkind also chairs the Early Care and Educational Coalition, which has been instrumental in advocating for the expansion of high quality preschool programs in New Jersey.

?Ceil is respected and trusted statewide as a consensus builder and a staunch advocate with the courage to put children first,? Costa added.

In addition to her role as an administrator, Zalkind has authored numerous reports on children?s issues, including You Have the Right! a handbook on the legal rights of children in New Jersey. She is also an adjunct professor of family and adoption law at Seton Hall Law School. Zalkind received her B.A. and M.A. from New York University and earned her J.D. from Rutgers Law School.

Longtime Montclair residents, Zalkind and her husband Alan educated their two daughters, Joy and Polly, at Montclair public schools. Joy is currently a professional musician with the El Paso Symphony Orchestra and Polly teaches fifth grade for Teach for America in New Orleans.

About the Thea Bry Award

The YCS Institute for Infant and Preschool Mental Health established the Thea Bry Award in 2002 to honor individuals committed to the advancement of infant, child and family emotional development. Thea Bry (1911-2000) co-founded the YCS Institute for Infant and Preschool Mental Health. As a master teacher, mentor clinician and supervisor, Bry and was tireless in the pursuit of understanding and helping infants, parents and their relationships.

About Youth Consultation Service

As YCS celebrates more than 85 years of service to the New Jersey community, the organization dedicated to behavioral health maintains over 55 different locations throughout 33 New Jersey towns and cities. As the state?s largest provider of social services for children, YCS provides individualized care through over 90 programs that include pre-school therapeutic learning centers; special education schools; infant, child and young adult residential programs; specialized foster care; adoption; counseling and support services of every kind. The organization maintains a web site at www.ycs.org.

Get E-mail Alerts When YCS _Youth Consultation Service_ Sends news releases.
Email Address
Please enter Email address. Invalid Email Address	Subscriber login

Pickup Short URL to Share

News Media Interview Contact

Name: Eileen Leistner

Title: Vice President of Development

Group: Youth Consultation Service

Dateline: East Orange, NJ United States

Direct Phone: 201-678-1312

Jump To YCS _Youth Consultation Service_

Click to Contact

1.	Autism
2.	Child Development
3.	At-Risk Youth Services
4.	Behavior Management
5.	Child Abuse and Neglect
6.	Child Behavior Problems
7.	Child Psychology
8.	Childhood Depression
9.	Special Education