CFK Weekly: April 29, 2002

We encourage distribution of this information! If reprinting in whole or part, please attribute it to Connect for Kids (www.connectforkids.org).

NEW ON CONNECT FOR KIDS
**The Police vs. the Playground Lady
**Courtroom Champions for Kids in Care

LEARNING BEYOND THE ABC'S
**Community Schools
**Eligibility Rule Changes Offer More Help for Homeless Children
**Interim Evaluation Report on Abstinence Education
**The Workforce Investment Act Needs Improvement

THINGS TO DO! PLACES TO GO!
**PBS Frontline Explores Juvenile Justice
**Regional Hearings on Implementing ESEA
**May Events
**?Kids and Chemicals? -- May 10 on PBS
**"Making Welfare Work" Audioconferences from CLASP
**National Young Women's Health Summit

KIDS AND POLITICS
**Accountability for All: What Voters Want From Education Candidates
**TANF Reauthorization Moving Quickly in House
**Final Farm Bill Due to Restore Food Stamps for Legal Immigrant Children
**Federal Budget Could Pull the Plug on Technology Centers

IMPROVING SERVICES FOR YOUTH IN FOSTER CARE
**Meeting the Health Care Needs of Children in the Foster Care System
**Guide to Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Benefits

ORAL HEALTH AND MENTAL HEALTH ? ALL PART OF HEALTH
**Bush, Democrats in Congress Closer on Mental Health Parity than House Republicans
**Is It More Than the Blues? Children Can Suffer from Depression, Too
**Bright Futures in Practice: Mental Health
**Ambulatory Pediatrics Supplement on Children's Oral Health

WELFARE REFORM -- GETTING IT RIGHT IN 2002
**Government Can Do More to Help Extremely Poor Families
**Former Welfare Families Need More Help
**Welfare to Work: What Have We Learned?
**Without a Safety Net
**The Choice Before Congress on Welfare Reauthorization: Real Jobs or Make Work?"
**Faces of Change: Welfare Policy Through the Lens of Personal Experience
**Accessing TANF Assistance: A Survey of Low-Income Young Mothers
**Is there a Safety Net for Families Caring for Disabilities?
**Left Behind in the Labor Market: Recent Employment Trends among Young Black Men

WELFARE REPORTS IN BRIEF
**Short Takes on TANF
**Welfare Reform and Beyond Policy Briefs from Brookings
**Unfinished Agenda in Child Care Policy
**Welfare Reform and Beyond: The Future of the Safety Net

TOOLS AND MODELS FOR ADVOCATES
**Education Finance Database
**Advocacy and Organizing Pay Off Big for San Francisco's Early Care and Education Workforce
**Myths about Orphanages
**Child Advocates Lead the Way in Integrating Child Welfare and Substance Abuse Services

FOCUS ON THE STATES
**State-by-State News

SUBSCRIBE/UNSUBSCRIBE

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NEW ON CONNECT FOR KIDS

**The Police vs. the Playground Lady
How can we keep children safe on the wild, wild Web -- while still protecting free speech? Connect For Kids' Susan Phillips thinks that the ?Dot-Kids? bill now making its way through Congress might be a partial answer.
http://www.connectforkids.org

**Courtroom Champions for Kids in Care
More than 50,000 people volunteer as CASAs (Court-Appointed Special Advocates) for children in the child welfare system. With Foster Care Month beginning on May 1, hear from CASA Dago Benavidez about what he gives, and what he gets in return. This is an excerpt from "Lighting the Way," a new book from the Child Welfare League of America.
http://www.connectforkids.org

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LEARNING BEYOND THE ABC'S

**Community Schools
Community schools offer a model for bringing classroom learning together with before- and after-school programs, community resources and parental involvement, so that what happens outside the classroom enhances what happens inside, according to this Education Week article.
http://www.educationweek.org/ew/newstory.cfm?slug=31harkavy.h21

**Eligibility Rule Changes Offer More Help for Homeless Children
On April 4, the USDA updated policy guidance regarding homeless children's participation in school breakfast and lunch programs, making it easier for children who are living in shelters, motels, campgrounds or ?doubled up? with others to get free school meals.
http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/Lunch/Governance/Policy/HomelessMemo.final.pdf

**Interim Evaluation Report on Abstinence Education
In 1996, Congress authorized $50 million annually for five years to promote abstinence-only sex education. The verdict is still out on how these controversial programs affect youth behavior, but this interim report from Mathematica indicates that states are including self-esteem and good decision-making in the messages.
http://www.mathematica-mpr.com/3rdLevel/abstinencehot.htm

**The Workforce Investment Act Needs Improvement
Low-wage families need better skills to get ahead in the job market, and businesses need more skilled workers for jobs in health care, manufacturing and information technology fields. But the current policies and insufficient funding levels under the Workforce Investment Act limit the training options available to low-skilled workers, according to this policy analysis from the Workforce Alliance.
http://www.workforcealliance.org/policy/WIA%20Reauthorization%20Forums.shtm

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THINGS TO DO! PLACES TO GO!

**PBS Frontline Explores Juvenile Justice
Scheduled to air April 29, a new Frontline program explores the rhetoric of ?adult time for adult crime? and the reality behind it.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/juvenile/

**Regional Hearings on Implementing ESEA
The U.S. Department of Education is hosting five regional meetings to give the public an opportunity to comment on new rules for standards, assessments and academic progress under the new Elementary and Secondary Education Act, beginning May 6 in Cincinnati.
http://www.ecs.org/html/newsMedia/e-Connection.asp#um

**May Events
- May 1 is Worthy Wage Day
- May 4 begins National Safe Kids Week with this year's focus on sports
http://www.pta.org/parentinvolvement/healthsafety/hs_sports_injuries.asp
- May 5 begins Teacher Appreciation Week http://www.pta.org/parentinvolvement/teacher/index.asp
- May 8 is National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy http://www.teenpregnancy.org/about/announcements/events/article.asp and May 15 is Turn Beauty Inside Out Day.
- The entire month is Foster Parent Recognition Month and Mental Health Month. Find these and other important days and events on the Connect for Kids May calendar. June 1 is Stand for Children Day (800-663-4032), if you want to take a peek to prepare ahead for June's events!
http://www.connectforkids.org/calendar1569/calendar_list.htm?month=5&year=2002

**?Kids and Chemicals? -- May 10 on PBS
This special ?NOW with Bill Moyers? program will investigate recent research on the link between children's health and the environment, factors contributing to increased toxicity and ways to protect children's health. It is scheduled to air on May 10 at 9:00 p.m. on the PBS television network, but check your local listings to be sure.
http://www.pbs.org/now/

**?Making Welfare Work? Audioconferences from CLASP
The Center on Law and Social Policy audioconference on Couples
and Marriage is scheduled for May 3; Families and Work is scheduled for May 17.
http://www.clasp.org/audioconference/2002_brochure.htm

**National Young Women's Health Summit
Applications are due May 15 for young women, mentors and parents to apply for this July 31 - August 4 Summit that will focus on health, social issues and skill-building sessions on communications.
http://www.4women.gov/nwhic/current/calendar/YWHS/2002/index.htm

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KIDS AND POLITICS

** Accountability for All: What Voters Want From Education Candidates
The Public Education Network reports that even amid concerns about the economy and terrorism, improving public schools remains at the top of the "to do" list for most Americans. As nearly 40 states are struggling with significant budget shortfalls that threaten state school funding by $10 billion nationwide, a new national poll indicates the public will vote against elected officials who cut support for public schools. Americans are far less likely to favor candidates who suggest visionary programs without talking about how to fund or implement them (40 percent), who support vouchers (39 percent), or who favor giving control of schools to mayors and city councils (38 percent).
http://www.publiceducation.org/news/042402.htm

**TANF Reauthorization Moving Quickly in House
Child advocates report that the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant will likely be debated by the full House Ways and Means Committee this week, after being approved on a party-line vote in the Human Resources Subcommittee on April 18. The House bill closely mirrors President Bush's proposal with more rigid work requirements for states and families. Amendments to increase child care funding to help shorten long waiting lists and improve quality were rejected in subcommittee.  Several bipartisan bills in the Senate are proposing increased child care funding through the Child Care Development Block Grant.

?At What Price?? the Center on Law and Social Policy's analysis of the cost implications of the President's plan, concluded that the five-year costs of complying with the Administration's proposed work requirement provisions, assuming a flat TANF caseload, are in the range of $15.1 billion above what states would otherwise spend under current law.
http://www.clasp.org

**Final Farm Bill Due to Restore Food Stamps for Legal Immigrant Children
The House and Senate conference committee approved a final Farm Bill that is reported to restore food stamps to legal immigrant children and other specific categories of legal immigrants currently barred from receiving food stamps. The final language of the bill should be released soon.  The Food Research and Action Center is tracking the progress.
http://www.frac.org/html/news/alert042602.htm

**Federal Budget Could Pull the Plug on Technology Centers
Imagine a student with no reference materials at home creating a presentation for class using poster board and clipped pictures from old magazines. Another downloads primary-source data from the Library of Congress, exchanges e-mail messages with a researcher at a distant university, and puts together a multimedia presentation using his laptop computer. This is a picture of the digital divide -- current plans will pull the plug on funding for community technology centers that serve students and families in disadvantaged communities, threatening recent advances in leveling the playing field, argues the Benton Foundation's Norris Dickard in this Education Week op-ed.
http://www.edweek.org/ew/newstory.cfm?slug=32dickard.h21

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IMPROVING SERVICES FOR YOUTH IN FOSTER CARE

**Meeting the Health Care Needs of Children in the Foster Care System
This Georgetown University Child Development Center report identifies the ?critical components? of a comprehensive, community-based health care system to address the health, mental health and developmental services that children in foster care need. Included are an initial health screening, better management of health care data and information, coordination of care, cultural sensitivity, parental involvement and improved evaluation and monitoring.
http://www.georgetown.edu/research/gucdc/fccomponents.pdf

**Guide to Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Benefits
Here is a guide to the basic application requirements, eligibility rules, and appeal procedures for SSI and Social Security benefits for which children in foster care are entitled, along with practical tips for effective advocacy.
http://www.casey.org/cnc/support_retention/ssi_guide.htm

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ORAL HEALTH AND MENTAL HEALTH ? ALL PART OF HEALTH

**Bush, Democrats in Congress Closer on Mental Health Parity than House Republicans
Policymakers in Washington, DC are expected to debate the merits and costs of mental health insurance parity -- legal protections to remove discriminatory limits on mental health benefits --  this week. A new Mathematica report on California's mental health parity law found that in the first year, mental health services expanded with no apparent effects on the purchase of health insurance. The state law succeeded in removing limits on mental health benefits under private insurance, but more public awareness is needed to improve access to care and reduce social stigma.
http://www.mathematica-mpr.com/Press%20Releases/camentalrelease.htm

**Is It More Than the Blues? Children Can Suffer from Depression, Too
Can you tell the difference between children's sadness and depression? This National PTA resource lists depression's typical warning signs, and identifies the actions you should take if you recognize these symptoms in your own child.
http://www.pta.org/parentinvolvement/helpchild/oc_blues.asp

**Bright Futures in Practice: Mental Health
This two-volume guide and toolkit from the Georgetown Public Policy Institute's National Center for Education in Maternal and Child Health helps health professionals and caregivers put mental health in a developmental context with information on early recognition and appropriate intervention for mental health problems for infants, children and adolescents.
http://www.brightfutures.org/mentalhealth/

**Ambulatory Pediatrics  Supplement on Children's Oral Health
Low-income children do go to the dentist, but their visits tend to be for pain relief rather than for preventive care. Children disadvantaged by poverty or minority status suffer higher rates of dental caries and untreated disease and higher frequency of dental pain than do their more advantaged peers, according to the lead article in this special issue Ambulatory Pediatrics. To get a copy contact the Centers for Disease Control (770-488-5301; dohinfo@cdc.org).

Proceedings from the 2001 Surgeon General's Conference on Children and Oral Health are available online.
http://www.nidcr.nih.gov/sgr/children/children.htm

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WELFARE REFORM ? GETTING IT RIGHT IN 2002

As Congress debates how to stabilize or change welfare reform policies in the TANF reauthorization process, research is emerging about family hardships when jobs fail to deliver sufficient earnings and benefits, or when welfare policies fail struggling families. The evidence makes it clear that while the 1996 welfare reform law enabled states to take advantage of an economic boom to help welfare-to-work families, some policies may not work well in all economic conditions and for all needy families.

**Extreme Poverty Rising, Government Programs Could Do More
While many are celebrating the apparent success of welfare reform, this Urban Institute study finds that when all types of income are taken into account, extreme poverty (income below 50 percent of the federal poverty level) has increased since welfare reform. Government assistance programs suggest a stronger safety net for welfare and working poor families than participation rates are delivering.

Researcher and co-author Sheila Zedlewski explains, "If policymakers improved participation in Food Stamps, Supplemental Security Income, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, and the Earned Income Tax Credit, poverty could fall by 20 percent--extreme poverty could be reduced by 70 percent." This opportunity to reduce economic hardship for so many, she says, is a strong rationale for improving access to programs by streamlining eligibility, application and recertification processes.
http://www.urban.org/Template.cfm?NavMenuID=24&Template=/TaggedContent/ViewByPubID.cfm&PubID=310455

**Former Welfare Families Need More Help
Policymakers may think the simple solution to end welfare families' dependence on public benefits is to get them a job, but this Economic Policy Institute analysis shows that families in the low-wage workforce face big economic challenges.  Families face losing Medicaid insurance coverage, housing subsidies under public housing or Section 8, food stamps or other benefits even though their earnings are often not enough to cover these costs. Among individuals in families with a full-time worker, the largest hardship increases were an inability to pay housing bills and child care. Among families with only a part-time worker, there was a marked increase in the lack of health insurance.
http://www.epinet.org/briefingpapers/bp123.html

**Welfare to Work: What Have We Learned?
Welfare caseloads have plummeted in the Midwest, as elsewhere in the nation, and many welfare-to-work families have benefited from work supports such as child care, food stamps and the Earned Income Tax Credit. But this major Joyce Foundation report finds that many working poor families still face serious economic hardships because their jobs are part-time, short-time, and/or too low-paying.
http://www.joycefdn.org/welrept/

**Without a Safety Net
Six years ago, welfare reformers overlooked the role of welfare as a safety net for low-wage mothers in an unstable job market or recession, argue Barbara Ehrenreich (author of the book, ?Nickel and Dimed?) and sociologist Frances Fox Piven. You can buy the current issue of Mother Jones magazine to read this close-up look at women who have lost their jobs to the recession or their work-support benefits to arbitrary time limits. Cost: $4.95. The article will be available online at no cost in July.
http://www.motherjones.com/magazine/MJ02/index.html

**The Choice Before Congress on Welfare Reauthorization: Real Jobs or Make-Work?"
This Community Service Society of New York position paper argues that President Bush's welfare proposals for steep hikes in mandated work requirements, especially with no comparable increase in federal funding, are unworkable. The proposals would give states little leeway, driving them to adopt New York City-style workfare programs, which have proven to be counterproductive in helping New York City's families get the skills and opportunities they need to find good, permanent jobs.
http://www.cssny.org/welfare.pdf

**Faces of Change: Welfare Policy Through the Lens of Personal Experience
The Alliance for Children and Families' series of interviews with welfare-to-work parents tells their stories in their own words -- about how hard it is to guarantee that welfare offices will actually pay their child care subsidies, or that bosses will hire them for more than part-time at a living wage, or that their child's asthma or transportation breakdown won't get them fired. The stories and policy analysis gathered in ?Faces of Change: Welfare Policy Through the Lens of Personal Experience? chronicle the continuing barriers from low education, chronic health conditions or low-wage jobs that block these families' attempts to gain financial stability. Order it online.
http://www.alliance1.org

**Accessing TANF Assistance: A Survey of Low-Income Young Mothers
This Chicago report from the Center for Impact Research found that in 2000 and 2001, many young mothers were incorrectly told they were ineligible for TANF, with welfare offices turning them away without their filling out the application that triggers services for teen mothers. Older respondents who were too old to qualify for in-depth case management reported more financial hardship than the younger respondents, particularly in having been evicted and having to borrow money from
friends and relatives in order to pay bills or buy food.
http://www.impactresearch.org/publication/publication.html

**Is there a Safety Net for Families Caring for Disabilities?
Many parents responsible for children with serious disabilities are lumped into the ?hard-to-serve? category of families who have not been able to leave welfare for work. ?TANF Recipients as Caregivers for Family Members with Disabilities? from the Welfare Information Network gives an overview of the issue and links to online information.
http://www.welfareinfo.org/TANFrecipientsascaregiversRN.htm

**Left Behind in the Labor Market: Recent Employment Trends among Young Black Men
Paul Offner and Harry Holzer's analysis finds that, unlike their female counterparts,  a significantly smaller proportion of young black men with only a high school education are working today than 20 years ago, especially in central cities and older industrial metro areas where employment prospects are more limited than in the rest of the nation.
http://www.brookings.edu/es/urban/publications/offnerexsum.htm

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WELFARE REPORTS IN BRIEF

**Short Takes on TANF
The Urban Institute's "Do We Need a Stronger Welfare Policy for a Weaker Economy?" concludes that TANF should be adjusted to strengthen aid to the unemployed poor and help states manage caseload costs during periods of higher unemployment.
http://www.urban.org/pubs/welfare_reform/ShortTakes.html ("PDF" is the link)

**Welfare Reform and Beyond Policy Briefs from Brookings
?The Structure of the TANF Block Grant,? ?State Policy Choices Under Welfare Reform,? and ?The Role of Education and Training in Welfare Reform? are all available from Brookings.
http://www.brookings.edu/dybdocroot/wrb/

**Unfinished Agenda in Child Care Policy
Despite significant increases in child care funding and in the number of children served since 1996, many families still need, and do not get, child care assistance and early learning opportunities, according to this new report from the Center on Law and Social Policy.
http://www.clasp.org/pubs/claspupdate/2002/CLASPupdate04.02.pdf

**Welfare Reform and Beyond: The Future of the Safety Net
This Brookings Institution compendium of research and policy briefs on welfare reform will be available as of May 2.
http://www.brookings.edu/press/books/welfare_reform_and_beyond.htm

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TOOLS AND MODELS FOR ADVOCATES

**Education Finance Database
School leaders, national and state policymakers, and other education
stakeholders now can tap into a new online, interactive database to find out how the nation spends the estimated $350 billion earmarked each year for education. You can use the database to answer questions like which states fund education with lottery revenues or how much each state spent on school technology, according to eschoolnews.
http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/showStory.cfm?ArticleID=3655

**Advocacy and Organizing Pay Off Big for San Francisco's Early Care and Education Workforce
Turnover has declined among child care workers and the number of those pursuing professional development as increased in the wake of increased local funding in San Francisco's early childhood investment portfolio, which is virtually unmatched by any city of comparable size in the country. This National Association of Child Advocates' brief tells how advocates worked together to secure public funding for two child care provider wage supplement programs worth over $8 million annually.
http://www.childadvocacy.org/camad0202.pdf

**Myths about Orphanages
Is it nostalgia that is driving increased support for orphanages for neglected or abused children? It certainly isn't reality, according to this Children's Rights, Inc. fact sheet on the differences in experience and impact on children of large-scale institutions as opposed to smaller, family-based settings.
Contact Children's Rights, Inc. (212-683-2210; info@childrensrights.org).

**Child Advocates Lead the Way in Integrating Child Welfare and Substance Abuse Services
Substance abuse by parents can land them in the child welfare system when they neglect or abuse their children, but that doesn't mean they will have access to the substance abuse treatment services they need. Maryland advocates worked with legislators to win unanimous passage of a state bill to integrate child welfare and substance abuse services, and kept up their work to improve funding and implementation.
http://www.childadvocacy.org/camad.htm

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FOCUS ON THE STATES

**State-by-State News

California
The California Budget Project reports that it will cost an estimated total of $2.8 billion between 2003 and 2007 for California to meet the work requirements in the TANF welfare reauthorization now moving through the House of Representatives, according to the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office.
http://www.cbp.org/adobe/2002/w020404.pdf

?Evidence-Based Practices in Mental Health Services for Foster Youth? from the California Institute for Mental Health Caring for Foster Youth initiative offers two screening tools for assessing mental health needs for children in foster care in California.
http://www.cimh.org/

Florida
?Passport to Economic Progress: Florida's Wage Supplement Program? examines the states wage subsidy demonstration program, launched in two counties in November, 2001, which provides families leaving welfare with wage supplements for one year as well as four years of transitional benefits, including education and training, child care and transportation.
http://www.clasp.org/pubs/claspupdate/2002/CLASPupdate04.02.pdf

Idaho
Governor Kempthorne signed legislation creating a new online education program for grades 9-12. The Idaho Digital Learning Academy will be organized as a fully accredited high school to deliver courses statewide to Idaho students at no cost to the student or school district, reports the Education Commission of the States.
http://www.ecs.org/html/newsMedia/e-Connection.asp#ws

Indiana
The Alliance to End Childhood Lead Poisoning reports that Indiana Governor Frank O'Bannon has signed into law a comprehensive lead poisoning bill that will dramatically increase lead-safe work practices, improve reporting requirements for blood lead screening, and streamline contractor licensing in the state. For more information contact Tom Neltner (317-283-5648; neltner@in.net).

Maine
A new Maine law requires that all 1- and 2-year-old children enrolled in the MaineCare (Medicaid) program be screened for lead poisoning. Children not covered by MaineCare must also be screened at ages 1 and 2, unless their physician using a risk assessment tool concludes they are at low risk, reports the Alliance to End Childhood Lead Poisoning.
For more information, contact Susan Thornfeldt (207-871-7905; leadsafe@gwi.net).

Ohio
?The State of Poverty in Ohio: 2002? from the Ohio Association of Community Action Agencies finds that the proportion of the state's neediest children who are receiving any cash welfare assistance fell from 72% in 1997 to 28% in 2001, suggesting that falling welfare caseloads do not reflect declining need, but rather declining assistance for children in poverty.
http://www.ceogc.org/research/index.htm

Vermont
Stateline reports that Gov. Dean is considering rejecting $26 million in federal school aid for his state because, he says, there are too many strings attached to the money in the new Education and Secondary Education Act.
http://www.stateline.org/story.do?storyId=234386

Virginia
A new state law authorizes local school boards to establish a Banking-at-School Partnership Program which would place banks or credit unions in public schools, giving students the opportunity to learn and apply mathematical concepts, communication and computer technology skills, economic principles and money management skills, reports the Education Commission of the States.
http://www.ecs.org/html/newsMedia/e-Connection.asp#ws

Keep up the good work, everyone!

Jan Richter, Policy and Outreach Specialist, and the Connect for Kids team
Jan@benton.org