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Robert J. McMahon, Executive Director of SCO Family of Services, and Joe McLaughlin, Director of Youth Programs at the Center for Alternative Sentencing and Employment Services CASES), were among this year’s recipients of the National Child Labor Committee’s prestigious Lewis Hine Awards for Service to Children and Youth. The presentation took place on January 31st at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City.
McMahon was honored for his nearly four decades serving New York’s most vulnerable children and families, providing them with the support and tools needed for a stable, healthy, and successful future. Throughout McMahon’s tenure, SCO has been at the forefront of direct child welfare service in addressing social problems as they emerge. He is a strong advocate for integrative community care and effective case management. McMahon has overseen the development of SCO as it has grown to become one of the largest, most diverse, and most respected child welfare agencies in the nation. It helps over 40,000 children and families in New York City and Long Island through a variety of services: family support, education, special needs, foster care, and homeless shelters.
McLaughlin was honored for his work over the past twenty years with court involved young people. Under his leadership and guidance, CASES has created an array of innovative youth development programming including group counseling, art therapy, the nationally recognized Career Exploration Project, and education services. Today, all young people served by CASES youth programs have access to support and services to help them increase academic skill levels, graduate from high school or earn their equivalency diplomas, and enroll in and support their efforts to pursue post-secondary education. In addition to his work with young people in New York City, Joe serves on the Lehigh County Office of Children and Youth Services.
The Hine Awards recognize men and women who come from many walks of life and from across the United States. The recipients, who this year hail from as far away as Anchorage, Alaska and as close as Glen Cove, New York, are selected by a distinguished panel of judges from among hundreds of nominations submitted each year by business, community and non-profit leaders.
This year’s program was chaired by William J. Mullaney, President of U.S. Business for MetLife.
“Children hold the key to our nation’s collective success and prosperity. MetLife and MetLife Foundation have a longstanding commitment to improving the health and well-being of young people and preparing them for the future. We are proud to join NCLC in recognizing these distinguished honorees for their dedication and hard work toward making the welfare of all children a priority,” said Mullaney.
The award is named for Lewis Wickes Hine who is well-known for his work photographing child labor practices. Beginning in 1908, Hine became a staff photographer for the NCLC with a difficult and unusual assignment. His photographs provided the NCLC with the leverage it needed to advance the enactment of state and federal laws to protect the rights of children in the workplace, including the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938.
As part of the Awards, NCLC also presented Distinguished Service Awards to business leaders and individuals in the public eye who have made a positive impact on the welfare of the nation’s children and youth. This year’s recipients were Andre Agassi, President and Founder of the Andre Agassi Foundation for Education; Stephen H. Spahn, Chancellor and Headmaster of The Dwight School in New York City for over 40 years; and Elaine Wynn, National Chairperson for Communities in Schools and Director of Wynn Resorts, Limited.
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