Annual Awards

The Connecticut Youth Services Association recognizes the outstanding people and programs that serve children, youth, and families in Connecticut through our annual awards program. These awards are presented at the CYSA Annual Conference each year.

Previous award winners are not eligible.

Awards

Youth Services Employee of the Year Award

This award is presented to an outstanding employee (administrator or front-line worker) of a youth service bureau.

Program Award

This award is presented to a youth service bureau program of outstanding quality.

Youth Leadership Award

This award is given to a young person who has made an outstanding contribution to his or her peers or community. The criteria for selection is:

Must have some connection to one of the Youth Service Bureaus in Connecticut
Must be nominated by a Youth Service Bureau and submission should come from one of the seven Chapter Reps
Must not be older than 18 years of age (19 if still in high school)

Special Award

This award is reserved for special occasions when CYSA wishes to acknowledge an individual or agency that advances the cause of young people but does not fit in the other award categories (e.g. media, non-legislative advocate, funder, etc.).

All award nominations must be approved by your Chapter Rep before submission. For questions please contact Liz Langevin, Membership Committee Chair, liz.langevin@southwindsor.org.

Laura T. Brown Career Achievement Award

The Laura T. Brown Career Achievement Award is selected by the CYSA Membership Committee. The nominee must have a long history of service with YSB(s) and has mastered the ACU functions as evidenced by one or more of the following:

Creation of new, innovative program(s)
Adaptation of existing program(s) into a model program(s)
Effective collaborations among service providers
Increasing the YSB’s budget, services, and or volunteer pool
Research into youth issues and service delivery models
Advocacy for youth on the individual and on the systems level
Furthering the understanding of positive youth development and the role of YSBs locally, among YSBs and throughout the state.
Previous award winners are not eligible to receive this award again.

About Laura T. Brown

Laura T. Brown (born July 18, 1949) dedicated her life to supporting youth and families in Connecticut. After beginning her career in elder services in Waterbury, she joined the Meriden Youth Services Bureau in 1988, where she became a transformative director and an active CYSA Board Member focused on advocacy. Having overcome her own early challenges—including becoming a mother at 17 and later earning her GED, bachelor’s, and master’s degrees—Laura championed teens facing similar struggles. She created the Laura T. Brown Teen Center, helped launch Meriden’s first Project Graduation in 1989, and was deeply engaged in her community through church service, Big Brothers/Big Sisters mentoring, and her love of the outdoors. Though the teen center has since been torn down, more than 30 organizations, including Meriden Youth Services, continue the advocacy work she began.