CFK Weekly—Nov. 6, 2000

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

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NEW ON CONNECT FOR KIDS
**Raising Their Voices
**"Make as Much Noise as You Can": Kids Speak Out
**Children and Foster Care
**November 13 is National Parent Involvement Day!

CONNECT TODAY
**Voting With Children in Mind

KIDS AND POLITICS
**November 7 is Election Day
**All Politics is Local
**Battle Over Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Bill Postponed

RESOURCES FOR COMMUNITY BUILDERS
**Building Online Communities: Transforming Assumptions Into Success
**Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Your Community
**Success Measures Guidebook
**Making Television Matter
**The Impact of the Internet on Public Library Use

HEALTH NEWS
**Targeting Lead Poisoning Prevention Efforts
**Pediatricians' Role in Reducing Tobacco Smoke Exposure for Young Children
**Fathers Have a Role in Breastfeeding

TURNING TROUBLED KIDS AROUND: WHAT WORKS, WHAT DOESN'T
**Best Practices of Youth Violence Prevention
**Youth Crime/Adult Time: Is Justice Served?
**Coming Up Taller Awards Highlight Success Stories

GETTING KIDS' ATTENTION
**Sex Has Consequences Campaign
**ABC Launches Anti-Violence PSAs
**Media Tool Kit for Anti-Drug Action

A PLACE OF THEIR OWN
**Help Financing Child Care Center Facilities
**Designing Quality After-School Space

LOW-WAGE WORKING FAMILIES
**A Profile of Low-Income Working Families
**Welfare and Food Stamp Recipients Improving Skills

EDUCATION: CAN IT OFFER OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL?
**Quality Now! Results of National Conversations on Education and Race
**Bright Futures for Exceptional Learners
**Higher Wages for Higher Education is Only Half the Story
**Jonathon Kozol on Kids and Teachers and Hope

FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
**Community Nonprofits Should Approach Major Funders
**Cisco Education Grants
**New Ideas for Supporting Early Learning Programs

NEW ON CONNECT FOR KIDS

**Raising Their Voices
Over half a million U.S. children live in foster care, but their voices are often overlooked, dismissed or ignored. Journalist Nell Bernstein chose to spend a year listening. Julee Newberger interviews Bernstein about what she learned in the process of compiling A Rage to Do Better, her book about the experience.
http://www.connectforkids.org

**"Make as Much Noise as You Can": Kids Speak Out
What can kids in foster care tell us about a system that is intended to serve them, but so often falls short? Read their stories and their ideas for change, in their own words, in these excerpts from Nell Bernstein's book, A Rage to Do Better.
http://www.connectforkids.org

**Children and Foster Care
Who is in foster care, and what supports do these children need most? From programs to help children "aging out" of care, to initiatives led by foster children themselves and efforts to help foster parents succeed at a difficult job, Connect for Kids' Children and Foster Care feature is the place to go for information and links to programs and organizatons in your state and across the country.
http://www.connectforkids.org

**November 13 is National Parent Involvement Day!
When parents get involved with schools and learning, kids are more likely to succeed. The Parenting Coalition International Inc., in partnership with the U.S. Department of Education and the National Education Association, helped create National Parent Involvement Day to encourage parents and schools to work together. The Web site has tips for parents, schools and business and tips on publicizing the Day in your community.
http://www.connectforkids.org

CONNECT TODAY

**Voting With Children in Mind
Child advocate Michelle Strasz presents some of the criteria she is using to evaluate candidate portfolios this year. Read hers and offer some of your own!
http://www.connectforkids.org/thread_msg2032/thread_msg_show.htm?message_id=26170

KIDS AND POLITICS

**November 7 is Election Day
Every day, politicians make decisions that affect kids' lives -- whether they'll be able to see a doctor, get a free lunch at school, find a summer job, learn to read on time or pay for college.

When it comes to kids' issues, both liberals and conservatives place a high value on the critical role of families in raising healthy children, but the candidates in many races differ fundamentally in the role they see for government involvement. Progressives typically call for collective action to address common problems, including substantial federal support to improve education and health care for families. Conservatives typically call for policies that reward individual self-reliance, viewing government programs with suspicion.

On November 7, we will vote into office the public officials who will make crucial decisions affecting the health, education, safety and financial security of America's children. Do your civic homework, find out more about the candidates and cast your vote with kids in mind on November 7!
http://www.connectforkids.org/content1550/content.htm

**All Politics is Local
Check out news about kids and the upcoming elections in your state in the ?state by state? section of the Connect for Kids Web site.
http://www.connectforkids.org/homepage1576/index.htm

**Battle over Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Bill Postponed
Each year the Labor-Health and Human Services-Education Appropriations Bill may be the single most important federal spending bill for kids and families, as it includes a major portion of the federal funding for health, welfare and education services. Last week agreement on the FY 2001 bill collapsed when the Congressional Republican leadership and President Clinton accused each other of breaking faith on a negotiation for federal regulation of repetitive workplace injuries. Congress resumes its FY 2001 budget business November 14 -- so the November 7 results could impact FY 2001 decisions.
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20001031/pl/congress_spending_87.html

RESOURCES FOR COMMUNITY BUILDERS

**Building Online Communities: Transforming Assumptions Into Success
?Build it and they will come? is a common assumption that leads many nonprofits to shortchange their planning and staffing efforts when establishing an online discussion group or e-mail listserv. If you want to make good use of interactivity, you'll find here a list of common pitfalls and practical tips for defining an online community's purpose, moderating a discussion and locating free software to help manage discussion groups.
http://www.benton.org/Practice/Community/assumptions.html

**Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Your Community
Most how-to manuals on improving communities say you should start with gathering information at a local level. If you're lucky to live in one of the communities profiled by the Knight Foundation, a lot of your homework has already been done for you. Find detailed profiles for seventy communityies from Aberdeen to Wichita -- including Detroit, Charlotte and San Jose.
http://www.knightfdn.org/indicators/indicators.html

**Success Measures Guidebook
Lots of people are talking about building a better community, but few are talking about how to define and measure success. The Development Leadership Network has a step-by-step guide to help you identify benefits of community-based development activities (improving housing, civic participation, community cohesiveness, etc.). The guide includes steps for developing and implementing an evaluation plan and specific outcome indicators to help define success and guide effective allocation of resources.
http://www.developmentleadership.net/smp/manual/toc.htm

**Making Television Matter
Nonprofit organizations can hook up to the power of television when they become active outreach partners for a PBS documentary series -- just one of the strategies documented in the Benton Foundation's report on how documentaries can engage and mobilize communities.
http://www.benton.org/MTM/

**The Impact of the Internet on Public Library Use
According to new survey research, fears that libraries would become information dinosaurs supplanted by the Internet appear to be unfounded. The ready availability of information on the Internet is not crowding out consumers' use of libraries, which they value for being easy to use and having helpful librarians. Not only can this research help libraries fine-tune their services, but, as Urban Libraries Council head Joey Rodgers' says, it's ?exciting to learn there's still an important role in today's New Economy for the neighborhood public library.?
http://www.urbanlibraries.org/Internet%20Study%20Fact%20Sheet.html

Connect for Kids links you to how-to manuals, toolkits and resources for building better communities for kids and families in the ?Community Building? topic page in the Reference Room. http://www.connectforkids.org/homepage1543/index.htm

Find ideas for community action in our Ideas for Action section.
http://www.connectforkids.org/homepage1563/index.htm

HEALTH NEWS

**Targeting Lead Poisoning Prevention Efforts
Several community characteristics predict risk for lead toxicity in children and may provide a useful approach to focus lead screening, especially in communities where public health resources are limited. http://www.pediatrics.org/cgi/content/abstract/106/5/e69

**Pediatricians' Role in Reducing Tobacco Smoke Exposure for Young Children
Exposure to environmental tobacco smoke is a serious risk factor for babies and children, but many efforts to encourage parents to reduce such exposure have not proven to be effective. This November 2000 Pediatrics article highlights some of the ways pediatricians might effectively work with their families to help them reduce such exposure.
http://www.pediatrics.org/cgi/content/full/106/5/e66

**Fathers Have a Role in Breastfeeding
Understanding why women curtail breastfeeding can aid health workers in educating and supporting women's breastfeeding efforts beyond hospital discharge, according to a new study in Pediatrics. The study finds that a woman's perception of her husband's attitudes toward breastfeeding is a major reason given for cessation, along with uncertainty about her milk supply and her return to work.
http://www.pediatrics.org/cgi/content/abstract/106/5/e67

Learn more about health matters for kids and families by looking up ?health? in Topics A-Z in the Connect for Kids Reference Room.
http://www.connectforkids.org/homepage1543/index.htm

TURNING TROUBLED KIDS AROUND: WHAT WORKS, WHAT DOESN'T

**Best Practices of Youth Violence Prevention
The experience of community-based efforts can tell us a lot about how to reduce or prevent youth violence, and much of it is summarized in this sourcebook on best practices. The sourcebook covers four key strategies -- parent and family-based strategies, home visiting, social and conflict resolution skills, and mentoring -- and documents the science behind these approaches. The sourcebook also has examples drawn from real life with contact information on programs using these strategies successfully.  For a free print copy, call 888-252-7751.
http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/dvp/bestpractices.htm

**Youth Crime/Adult Time: Is Justice Served?
According to a new study by the Building Blocks for Youth initiative, many kids in the adult court system have cases that are dismissed or transferred back to the juvenile justice system, scarcely justifying their prosecution in adult court and subsequent detention or incarceration in adult jails and prisons. The also study reveals a marked shift in who decides where a juvenile will be tried -- 85 percent of the decisions to prosecute juveniles as adults are now being made by prosecutors or legislators, not by judges.
http://www.buildingblocksforyouth.org/ycat/

For an eye-witness account of the abuses encountered by juvenile offenders in a city jail, read an op-ed in the Baltimore Sun by Michael Bochenek, juvenile justice analyst for Human Rights Watch.
http://www.sunspot.net/content/opinion/story?section=opinion&pagename=story&storyid=1150500207520

**Coming Up Taller Awards Highlight Success Stories
Many arts programs target kids at risk, and many are finding not only artistic success, but also success in giving kids a safe haven. This year's Coming Up Taller Award winning programs are leading the way.
http://www.cominguptaller.org

Find more about keeping kids on track and reducing violence in young lives in "The Teen Years" feature on Connect for Kids. http://www.connectforkids.org/content1555/content.htm

GETTING KIDS' ATTENTION

**Sex Has Consequences Campaign
Teens may know that adults don't always think well of them, but some report they are not put off by a hard-edged new public service campaign that seems at first glance to label them as ?useless? or ?dirty,? a ?nobody? or ?reject.? A new public service campaign from the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy's (NCPTP) is already sparking controversy among adults, but, according to NCPTP's Bill Albert, it's sparking conversation among teens. As one teen put it ?these ads show us that teen pregnancy is a reality, not just a concept.? According to Albert, we can't expect too much from a single public service campaign, but the ads may catch teens' attention and get them thinking: ?Teens are not going to delay sex or use contraception unless they have real motivation to do so. These ads are designed to reach teens at this motivational level.?

Take a look at the Campaign's new interactive Web site for teens.
http://www.teenpregnancy.org/teen/index.html and see that ads at http://www.teenpregnancy.org/postcards/postcard.html

For a brief report on the focus groups, email Bill Albert at balbert@teenpregnancy.org.

For recent research on adults' attitudes toward teens, see communications expert Susan Bales' summary in the Public Opinion section of the Connect for Kids' Reference Room.
http://www.connectforkids.org/benton_topics1544/benton_topics_show.htm?doc_id=30516

**ABC Launches Anti-Violence PSAs
Rick Schroder from ?NYPD Blue? and Andre Braugher from ?Gideon's Crossing? will be using the TV screen to speak directly to teens and parents about how to ?stop violence before it starts? in ABC's new public service campaign. Call 888-544-KIDS or see the campaign online.
http://www.ncayv.org

**Media Tool Kit for Anti-Drug Action
Join a national effort to reduce drug use by adapting materials from this toolkit for your own community work. The Media Tool contains background information, ideas for engaging the community, materials for contacting the media, samples of handouts and camera-ready art and many more resources to help individuals and organizations participate in the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign.
http://www.mediacampaign.org/mediatoolkit/index.html

A PLACE OF THEIR OWN

**Help Financing Child Care Center Facilities
Communities looking to improve child care options for families often discover that finding and paying for a child care facility can be a significant problem. The Community Investment Collaborative for Kids has received major funding to help selected communities create child care facilities in distressed neighborhoods. For more information, e-mail Amy Gillman <agillman@liscnet.org>.

**Designing Quality Space for Out-of-School Time
This resource from the National Institute on Out-of-School Time has information on how to improve existing space or build a new facility, suggestions for designing space to meet the safety, comfort, and creative needs of all children and staff, and ideas for designing indoor and outdoor spaces to improve program quality. To order the video, call 781-283-2510.
http://www.niost.org/pub.html

LOW-WAGE WORKING FAMILIES

**A Profile of Low-Income Working Families
What is a working low-income family? A family with an adult working at least half-time but whose family income falls below 200 percent of the federal poverty level, according to the Urban Institute. Data from the ?1997 Snapshots of American Families? finds that substantially lower hourly earnings ($7.55 on average, compared with $16.67), fewer secondary workers in the family and fewer work hours among secondary workers are the key determinants that explain the major differences in income between working low-income families and higher-income families.
http://newfederalism.urban.org/html/anf_a42.html

**Welfare and Food Stamp Recipients Improving Skills
Data from the ?1997 Snapshots of American Families? establishes the baseline for how much low-wage adults are engaging in efforts to improve their skills and education. A new analysis from the Urban Institute finds that even before welfare reform, a greater share of welfare recipients invested in new work skills each year than was true of adults generally.
http://newfederalism.urban.org/html/series_b/b24/b24.html

EDUCATION: CAN IT OFFER OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL?

**Quality Now! Results of National Conversations on Education and Race
If you bring together parents from different racial and ethnic groups to talk openly about race and education in their community, will you get fruitful discussion or an escalation of multiethnic tensions? The Public Education Network and Public Agenda convened forums in eight communities around the country and found that well-planned, well-run discussion groups were effective in identifying areas of consensus and mutual concern and in launching collective action plans for improving student achievement. http://www.publiceducation.org/pubs/quality.htm

**Bright Futures for Exceptional Learners
Special education may be facing a ?crisis of capacity? that threatens to drive good teachers from the field as administrative duties and burgeoning caseloads take their time away from working with individual students. ?Bright Futures for Exceptional Learners? from the Council for Exceptional Children offers an 8-point action agenda for reforming the system and improving the learning environment.
http://www.cec.sped.org/cond/bfindex.html

**Higher Wages for Higher Education is Only Half the Story
Many people assume the widening income gap between college graduates and high school graduates is based on higher rewards for higher education. In an analysis published in the New York Times, Richard Rothstein argues that in fact the declining value of the minimum wage and waning union strength are key factors widening the income gap by reducing real wages among low-income workers.
http://www.nytimes.com/2000/11/01/national/01LESS.html

**Jonathon Kozol on Kids and Teachers and Hope
?All that jubilation, all that delectable pleasure that the teachers and the kids take in one another and the indescribable chemistry that ties them to each other is something that you really can't learn in any methods course,? says child advocate and best-selling author Jonathon Kozol. In an interview with Paul Houston of the American Association of School Administrators, Kozol says that pleasure is something he seldom sees described in any political demand for standards and exams and benchmarks. Read more from the author of ?Savage Inequalities.?