Albany, NY – Cindy Misrock, LCSW - the school social worker at Bayview Avenue School - has been honored at the New York State Office of Mental Health’s "What’s Great in our State 2018" event. The annual event, held May 8 in Albany, celebrates the people and programs making a difference in the field of children’s mental health.

Ms. Misrock has worked for the Freeport School District on Long Island since 1990. She has brought many prevention initiatives to the school district including: Developing Understanding of Self and Others, an Annual Health Expo, Adopt-A-Cop, The PeaceJam Juniors Club, and the Hooked on Firefighters program. She has been teaching wellness strategies to students in classrooms, as well as during individual and group counseling sessions. Recently, Ms. Misrock was trained at the Child Institute and is supervising the Primary Project program and Child Associate at Bayview Avenue School:

“Cindy is a perfect example of how the passion and effort of one individual can make an incredibly profound impact to keep children healthy in every facet - physically, emotionally and mentally,” said New York State Office of Mental Health Commissioner Dr. Ann Marie T. Sullivan. “We thank Ms. Misrock and each of our honorees for their hard work and commitment to children’s mental health.”

Misrock was nominated for her dedication, innovation and collaborative efforts to bring prevention programming to the elementary school level.

“I feel honored to be recognized for What’s Great in Our State. I am fortunate that the Freeport school district’s administration has always supported my endeavors in bringing innovative, early-prevention education programming - which embraces the students, families of Freeport, and the community at large - into the classrooms and the school buildings, starting during the elementary school years,” said Cindy Misrock. “Our children have the opportunity to think critically, take care of their physical and emotional needs, develop socially and demonstrate the skills that they learn that promote their mental health." 

For more information on Freeport schools, visit, www.freeportschools.org

‘What’s Great in Our State’

‘What’s Great in Our State’ is an annual event hosted by the New York State Office of Mental Health, the New York State Council on Children and Families, and a number of children’s mental health advocacy organizations in order to celebrate the individuals and programs that are successfully advancing the cause of children’s mental health in New York State. The event features a reading of Governor Andrew Cuomo’s announcement proclaiming the week as Children’s Mental Health Awareness Week, a ceremony recognizing our honorees, and an art show featuring artwork created by children receiving services from New York State’s mental health system. This year’s event will also feature two keynote speakers and a moderated round-table discussion featuring the awardees.

The event coincides with Children’s Mental Health Awareness Week, a national movement that seeks to raise awareness about the importance of children’s mental health and to show that positive mental health is essential to a child’s healthy development from birth.

For more information on the partners involved with this year’s ‘What’s Great in Our State’ event, visit https://conta.cc/2ppIfwS.