CFK Update: March 10, 2010

Out of the Frying Pan ... and into our Brains?
Chemicals have become so much a part of our world -- in our toys, household goods, furniture, and food -- that we need a better system for getting the facts and minimizing risks to children and adults alike. Jan Richter's blog takes a look at what's up, what's working and what more can be done.

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CFK, the Youth Policy Action Center and National Youth Development Information Center are merging and relaunching as SparkAction: for children, for youth, for change. Want a sneak peek at the new site? Become a beta tester! It's easy and it give you the chance to lend your voice to the growing SparkAction community.

Email beta@sparkaction.org to get in on the action.

While we wait for a vote in Congress on health care reform, Families USA has analyzed the consequences of delay. Since 1995, more than 294,000 American adults (25-64 years old) died prematurely due to a lack of health insurance. If Congress fails to pass health reform this time, it could lead to another 275,000 estimated fatalities in the next decade.

The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA), first enacted in 1974, provides federal funding to states that comply with a set of best practices aimed at avoiding the detention and incarceration of young people in juvenile and adult facilities. The JJDPA is currently three years overdue for reauthorization. The Act4JJ Working Group of the National Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Coalition is heading up a campaign to urge Congress to reauthorize JJDPA without delay. For details, email Erin Davies.

More Federal Action Needed to Spur Job Growth

• The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities says a second federal stimulus may be needed to keep recovery on track and spur job growth.

• The Economic Policy Institute says the latest jobs report shows that we need a jobs bill big enough to match the size of our unemployment problem.

Hydrolized vegetable protein (HVP) is added to many processed foods -- chips, salad dressings, soups. In what could balloon into one of the largest food recalls in American history, the FDA reports that salmonella has been found in HVP added to foods already on grocery shelves.

Sen. Harkin is urging passage of legislation to equip the Food and Drug Administration with "the tools to prevent a food borne illness outbreak before it happens, rather than react when it is already too late. And when food is tainted, we must provide the tools to respond quickly and protect consumers."

In the meantime, you can tell the FDA to insist on updated labels that reflect accurate serving sizes for consumers.

Or you can eat fresh, unprocessed foods. The California-based Youth Leadership Institute reports on a project in Fresno, California where young people are bringing fresh products to corner stores in neighborhoods that lack a larger grocery store. They are also working to provide students and staff with healthy food choices by allowing farmers to set up farmstands on school grounds.

And you can urge Congress to pass a strong Child Nutrition reauthorization. On March 9, national groups presented a letter to Congress to bring together the pieces of the Child Nutrition Act for reauthorization -- supporting adequate funding for nutritious school meals, after-school snacks, child care food subsidies and more.

This Robert Wood Johnson Foundation webinar will talk about how farm-to-school efforts can boost access to fruits and vegetables, as well as federal proposals that could improve school food.

Another Robert Wood Johnson Foundation webinar looks at competitive foods in schools as part of its fight against rising rates of childhood obesity.

WIC and Child Care Feeding Programs Support Young Children's Healthy Development

The Child Welfare League of America says that the President's budget proposes $1.6 billion in increased child care funding and nearly $1 billion more for Early Head Start and Head Start. There is also an additional $1 billion for child nutrition programs. Congress must hear from their constituents if these investments are to become a reality.

The Child and Adult Care Food Program and WIC are key components in giving young children a healthy start, according to two new reports from the Children's Health Watch (CHW). CHW found that children were healthier -- fewer hospitalizations, better growth, less illness -- in settings where the providers offer snacks than where children must bring snacks from home.

CHW also found that WIC is a sound and effective investment in children's health, yet only 57% of those eligible for WIC are enrolled.

This Zero to Three guide offers advocates a comprehensive set of tools to help educate policymakers on how to good policies and programs help very young children get off to a very good start.

The National Center on Education Statistics says its latest DVD, "Kindergarten Through Eighth Grade Full Sample Public-Use Data and Documentation," is now available.

Michigan's Network for Children's Environmental Health says Congress is poised to pass the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), but the chemical industry is ready to oppose it. Add your voice to those calling for better regulation of toxic chemicals in everyday products.

On March 9, Senator Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Superfund, Toxics, and Environmental Health, held a hearing with leaders of businesses that manufacture or use chemicals to examine their business perspectives on reforming U.S. chemical safety laws. The hearing was the third in a series of oversight hearings leading up to the introduction of legislation to reform the TSCA.

See Also: This week on Connectforkids.org, Jan Richter, daughter of a chemist and editor of this Update, blogs about commonplace chemicals, the potential risks and what we can do about it.

Staff beginning in after-school programs often describe a "sink-or-swim" initiation, but this Forum for Youth Investment commentary says efforts to train supervisors and strengthen pre-service training and on-the-job feedback may improve practice and reduce turnover in out-of-school programs.

Youth Service America's new Semester of Service Strategy Guide offers educators help in engaging young people in service-learning with step-by-step instructions on how to identify and implement meaningful service and learning experiences.

MDRC's report finds that "nothing works" isn't true. Paid work experience and good incentives are common to many successful programs that reach and engage youth who are not finishing school or getting a job. MDRC's research provides a framework for understanding what is working well, what needs to be brought "to scale" and the gaps that remain.

One in five students in America has used an inhalant to get high by the time he or she reaches the eighth grade, but many parents and communities are unaware of the dangers or extent of inhalant abuse. The National Inhalant Prevention Coalition kicks off National Inhalant Prevention Week with a national press conference on March 11. In 2009, Connecticut chartered state laws regarding inhalant use and sales.

The 1st Global Youth Justice Institute sponsored by Global Youth Justice will take place June 15-17 in Cape Cod.

The U.S. Department of Education announced the states, out of an application pool of 25, that will advance as finalists in the Race to the Top funding competition: Colorado, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Tennessee.

The Race to the Top High School Commencement Challenge invites public schools across the U.S. to compete to have President Obama speak at their graduation this spring. Applications must be completed by students and submitted by the school's principal no later than March 15 at 11:59 p.m. ET.

School Restraint and Seclusion

Campaign to Pass Student Loan Reform

Facing opposition from Sallie Mae, the U.S. Student Association is ramping up its fight for student aid reform.

Making the case for reforming the student aid program to direct more funding to needy students is especially important now that student aid reform and health care reform are linked through Senate procedural rules regarding reconciliation. Inside Higher Ed has a civics lesson on how health care reconciliation could affect the chances of passing the student loan reforms.

The Institute for Higher Education Policy emphasizes the importance of financial aid for African-American students trying to complete a college degree. These students cite the demands of balancing school with work and financial aid gaps as major barriers to achieving their higher education dreams. With 4.5 million African-American young adults, helping these students, especially those who are first in their families to attend college, could offer great rewards for our economic future -- and theirs.

Can I Get a Little Advice Here?

Six in 10 young adults who go on to further education say the advice they got from high school counselors was fair or poor at best and nearly half said they felt like just another "face in the crowd," according to Public Agenda's latest survey. Students who got little help tended to delay college and/or make questionable higher-ed choices.

Achieve's fifth annual report charts the progress of their college- and career-ready agenda in all 50 states, including aligning standards with college expectations and career-ready skills and developing P-20 data systems that support their agenda.

This hour-long audioconference will be hosted by the Youth, Education and Family Institute of the National League of Cities.

Fifteen years after the landmark Beijing conference where nations agreed to improve the status of women and girls, a UNICEF report says that world leaders have failed to deliver.

In his latest book Stones into Schools, Greg Mortenson, author of Three Cups of Tea, chronicles his work with local tribal leaders in Afghanistan and Pakistan building schools for girls, beginning with the hardest-to-reach areas. If you want a first-hand account of how important schools are to remote communities, this is it. Read how children explained to Mortenson the importance of having a desk for security after the Pakistani earthquake destroyed their schools.

Many of us take it for granted that a thriving economy means better care for kids. A recent NPR report offers some evidence to support that assumption. Comparing two Caribbean islands -- Jamaica with a low GDP and the Bahamas with a relatively high GDP, Alex Blumberg toured schools in each and found dramatic differences in the kinds of schools these nations can afford for their children.

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee is holding a hearing on pay equity in the new American economy on March 11.

Reaching the Hardest-to-Reach Youth

U.S. Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration has released new guidance for states, workforce investment boards and local service providers to help them deal with contractual and performance goals in a way that ensures these services reach those young people most in need.

Paths to 21st Century Competencies through Civic Education Classrooms

Workers trying to enter the workforce often lack basic workforce skills -- math and reading skills as well as communication and teamwork skills.

Ready by 21 reports that a significant new analysis demonstrates that these sorely needed workforce skills can be taught. Ninth grade students who took civics classes characterized by a combination of lectures and interactive discussions on current events outpaced their peers with no civics classes -- in media literacy, positive attitudes toward hard work and obeying the law, ability to work with others and more.

Even before the recession began, some youth-serving programs were taking steps to aggressively manage costs, creatively generate new revenues, and form partnerships. The Finance Project profiles ways to keep quality programs afloat during tough economic times.

Be sure to check out the CFK Updated Funding Toolkit for details about funding opportunities. Keep an eye out for these opportunities with March deadlines: Kohl's Kids Who Care Scholarship Program, Arts in Education Models, 2010 Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Prize in Education, Drug-Free Communities Support Program and Recovery Act Conservation Projects.