CFK Weekly—Sep. 24, 2001
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NEW ON CONNECT FOR KIDS
**Raising Funds and Spirits
**What the Under-Threes Need Most
**Aftershocks of a National Trauma: Helping Kids Cope
**Responding to a Nation in Need
SPEAKING OF CHILD CARE
**Integrating Work and Family Life
**Request for School Readiness Materials
**The Economic Impact of the Child Care Industry in California
**The Child Care Problem: An Economic Analysis
TOLERANCE AFTER TRAGEDY
**Join the Discussion
**Understanding the Roots of Terrorism
**Lesson Plans
CHILDREN AND POVERTY ? THE IMPACT OF WELFARE REFORM
**A Better Measure for Poverty?
**Census Releases New Welfare Database
**Families in Transition Report
**Teens, Jobs and Welfare: Implications for Social Policy
**The New World of Welfare: An Agenda for Reauthorization and Beyond
**High-Risk Behavior in Youth
FAMILY VIOLENCE
**Linking Substance Abuse and Child Maltreatment
**Health Professionals Need Education and Training on Family Violence
IMPROVING LEARNING
**How Well Are American Students Learning?
HEALTH MATTERS
**Health Across America
**Economic Status and Health in Childhood
**Eligibility under State Children's Health Insurance Programs
**Asthma in Children
ADVOCATES TOOLS
**Who Speaks for America's Children? The Role of Child Advocates in
Public Policy
**An Advocate's Guide to the Medicaid Program, 2001 Edition
FOCUS ON THE STATES
**State-by-State News
SUBSCRIBE/UNSUBSCRIBE
_________________________________
NEW ON CONNECT FOR KIDS
**Raising Funds and Spirits
by Caitlin Johnson
We've spent long hours worrying about how to help children feel safe
after the terrorist attacks on September 11. Now it may be time to step
back and look at what kids themselves are saying and doing. Connect for
Kids Staff Writer Caitlin Johnson finds that some children are taking comfort
in taking action.
http://www.connectforkids.org
**What the Under-Threes Need Most
Most adults in the United States believe that the youngest children
should be cared for by a parent at home. But public policies rarely offer
much help, or support for high-quality alternatives. Connect For Kids Managing
Editor Susan Phillips looks at a recent report from The Future of Children,
Caring for Infants and Toddlers, that urges policymakers to do more for
new parents.
http://www.connectforkids.org
**Aftershocks of a National Trauma: Helping Kids Cope
Fear, anger, grief -- these are, even in ordinary times, tough emotions
for kids to handle. In response to the September 11 attacks, Connect for
Kids has compiled resources to help.
http://www.connectforkids.org
**Responding to a Nation in Need
America's Promise Alliance for Youth is keep track of how young people,
businesses and organizations in their network are taking action in response
to the attacks on September 11.
http://www.connectforkids.org
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SPEAKING OF CHILD CARE
**Integrating Work and Family Life
The challenges of integrating work and family life were never more
apparent than on Sept. 11, when parents across the country scrambled to
retrieve their children and families made urgent calls to make sure all
relatives were safe and accounted for. This report from the Sloan Foundation's
Work-Family Policy Network calls for a collaborative effort on the part
of employers, families, advocacy groups, government and communities to
address the challenges to integrating work and family life for people of
all income levels.
http://lsir.la.psu.edu/workfam/integrate.htm
**Request for School Readiness Materials
The FrameWorks Institute, directed by Connect for Kids co-founder Susan
Bales, will be developing guidelines for child advocates to most effectively
frame school readiness issues. FrameWorks is asking for samples of brochures,
press releases, op/eds, testimony or fact sheets on the subject of school
readiness, early childhood development and brain research, child care,
physical and mental health of young children, family structure, and all
related issues. Send materials to Debbie Morgan (dmorgan@frameworksinstitute.org).
**The Economic Impact of the Child Care Industry in California
The California licensed child care system supports thousands of jobs
and generates billions of dollars in revenue statewide, argues the National
Economic Development and Law Center. A new report urges a commitment to
support the multi-billion dollar child care industry in California as a
vital component of the state's economic infrastructure. Free registration
requested.
http://www.nedlc.org
**The Child Care Problem: An Economic Analysis
According to Connecticut Voices for Children, economist David Blau
is arguing that lack of demand for high quality care is the cause of the
nation's child care dilemma. In ?The Child Care Problem: An Economic Analysis,?
Blau faults government welfare policies that treat child care subsidies
as a means to increase maternal employment without standards regarding
the quality of child care the subsidies can purchase. His recommendations
include a systematic effort to provide all families with the information
they need to make better decisions, and specific revisions to social welfare
policy, including an allowance to defray child care costs and a child care
voucher that is worth more when used for higher quality care. To order,
call the Russell Sage Foundation (800-688-2877). Cost: $17.50.
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TOLERANCE AFTER TRAGEDY
**Join the Discussion
Last week Connect for Kids invited you to share your concerns and your
stories of how communities and schools are helping kids following the September
11 tragedies. Join the discussion or learn from others' ideas.
http://www.connectforkids.org/thread_msg2034/thread_msg.htm
Here are some postings from the week of September 17:
Dave Brown reminded us of the importance of after-school programs for young people in anxious times: ?On Thursday, September 13, buildings were evacuated and streets were closing all around New York Avenue Presbyterian Church (in DC), but 26 new students made their way to ask for tutors -- and 22 were disappointed.? http://www.nyapc.org/service/tutoring.html
Jessie Gower, a fourth grade teacher in rural Maine, is looking for a fourth grade classroom in the New York or Washington, DC area interested in beginning a Pen Pal project with her students. jstgower@aol.com
Several teachers wrote to say their students are creating and sending cards to families of rescue workers killed on September 11. Kidscare.org has simple ideas for children to show their sorrow and empathy, including addresses for sending cards of caring to New York and Washington, DC. http://www.kidscare.org/kidscare/sept01_helpinghand.html
Others are sending letters and cards of comfort to children. US Fund for UNICEF is using its ?Trick or Treat? network to distribute cards to children in distress. http://www.unicefusa.org/totalert/index.html
Dawn Fisher described how her community held a USO-style dance for teens and adults to raise money for the American Red Cross.
Worried about an anti-Arab backlash, Gabrielle Lange is looking for posters that encourage tolerance and multi-culturalism. GLange@nea.org
Art teacher Sharon explained how students were making origami cranes, traditional symbols of peace, in remembrance of those who died and in appreciation and honor of those who continue to risk their lives to help others. http://www.art-rageous.net
The publisher of "This Book Is For All Kids, But Especially My Sister Libby. Libby Died," is donating the book to grieving families in New York and Washington, DC. The book uses the words of 5-year-old Jack Simon as he grieved his little sister to help young children deal with loss.
**Understanding the Roots of Terrorism
Americans who had not paid much attention to world politics are suddenly
trying to understand the roots of terrorism and why some people are hostile
to the United States. Here are some sources for background information.
The Benton Foundation's OneWorldUS Web site offers daily news and analysis
from around the world.
http://www.oneworld.net/us/
Frontline's documentary ?Hunting Bin Laden? offers background information
on Osama bin Laden and his appeal to those who feel disenfranchised.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/binladen/
Because it serves America's largest Arab-American community, the Detroit
Free Press has put together ?100 Questions and Answers about Arab-Americans:
A Journalist's Guide.?
http://freep.com/jobspage/arabs.htm
The Middle East Institute has an ?Introduction to Islam.?
http://www.mideasti.org/library/islam/introislam.htm
**Lesson Plans
In addition to offering reassurance to frightened children, teachers
are in an important position to increase young people's knowledge and understanding
of the world and U.S. involvement in global affairs. Here are some lesson
plans prepared in response to September 11.
PBS has a variety of lesson plans -- ?A World at Peace? for elementary
grades and ?Tolerance? and ?Emergency Preparedness? for older students.
http://www.pbs.org/americaresponds/educators.html
The New York Times Learning Channel has lesson plans on talking about terrorism and analyzing world views. http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/specials/terrorism/index.html
Youth Communication has posted its stories on tolerance, stereotyping,
war, loss and friendship, each followed by several questions to spark discussion
and reflection on those themes.
http://www.youthcomm.org/NYC%20Features/WTC/WTC-index.htm
Connect for Kids' has compiled resources for families and communities
in helping children cope with fear and loss. http://www.connectforkids.org/usr_doc/CopingWithGrief.htm
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CHILDREN AND POVERTY ? THE IMPACT OF WELFARE REFORM
**A Better Measure for Poverty?
Different measures of poverty provide different answers to such questions
as how many, or which, youth are living in poverty or how it affects their
behavior. ?A New Approach to Measuring Poverty? from the Joint Center for
Poverty Research argues that the 1996 National Research Council recommendations
for improving how we measure poverty would result in improved understanding
and developing better policy responses for its alleviation.
http://www.jcpr.org/newsletters/vol5_no5/
**Census Releases New Welfare Database
The Commerce Department's Census Bureau has released data files from
the Survey of Program Dynamics. The 1992-1998 Survey of Program Dynamics
Longitudinal File will enable researchers to follow individuals over time.
The Census Bureau's analytic report, ?Preparing to Measure Welfare Reform
using the Longitudinal Survey of Program Dynamics: 2001,? provides a first
look at the kind of data available from the survey.
http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2001/cb01-154.html
**Families in Transition Report
What does it take to help welfare-to-work families successfully overcome
serious and multiple barriers to financial self-sufficiency? This evaluation
of the Families in Transition program finds positive results for families
in an intensive, individualized case management program that addresses
housing and other barriers to stable employment and improved financial
supports. According to the report, alcohol and substance abuse and domestic
violence were the most difficult barriers for families to overcome.
http://www.bpacal.com/expertise/PolicyBrief.pdf
**Teens, Jobs and Welfare: Implications for Social Policy
Child Trends finds that the impact of work on teens' development and
future employment tends to be positive for teens who work moderate hours
but negative for those who work more than 20 hours a week. Further, work
patterns of teens vary across family situations. Teens in families with
moderate or affluent incomes tend to work moderate hours. Teens in families
receiving welfare benefits are least likely to have jobs, while a large
majority of those in low-income families who have left welfare are working
over 20 hours a week.
http://www.childtrends.org/pdf/CT_Research_Briefs.pdf
**The New World of Welfare: An Agenda for Reauthorization and Beyond
A new book by the Brookings Institution includes perspectives from
both conservatives and liberals, but offers a united message that Congress
should consider the findings of social scientists on when it addresses
the reauthorization of Temporary Assistance to Needy Families by October
2002. It identifies key issues including the question of full funding for
the TANF block grant, steps states should take to encourage marriage, whether
reduction of child poverty should be adopted as an official goal of federal
welfare policy, how to assure that families leaving welfare receive food
stamps and Medicaid, how to help families make the transition from welfare
to work, and what can be done to help poor and low-income working families
advance to better jobs.
http://www.brookings.edu/wrb
**High-Risk Behavior in Youth
The Joint Center for Poverty Research's Jonathan Gruber finds that
youth are not the irrational decision-makers they are often thought to
be. For example, teen pregnancy risk falls when teenage girls have good
job opportunities. Teen drinking decisions are very sensitive to the legal
drinking age. When state college tuition is low, individuals are more likely
to complete high school, as the cost of continuing education is reduced.
Gruber argues that close attention to such data can help policy makers
make effective decisions to reduce teen risk-taking behaviors.
http://www.jcpr.org/newsletters/vol5_no5/
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FAMILY VIOLENCE
**Linking Substance Abuse and Child Maltreatment
Child abuse and neglect and parental alcohol and substance abuse are
closely intertwined, but the unavailability of adequate, comprehensive
treatment for substance abusing parents poses a major barrier to breaking
the cycle of addiction and abuse, argues the Child Welfare League of America.
http://www.cwla.org/articles/cv0109sacm.htm
**Health Professionals Need Education and Training on Family Violence
This National Academy of Sciences report finds serious gaps between
research, services and professional training in addressing family violence
?Confronting Chronic Neglect? offers recommendations, such as creating
education and research centers, that would help raise awareness of the
problem on all levels.
http://www.nap.edu/catalog/10127.html?onpi_listserv091401
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IMPROVING LEARNING
**How Well Are American Students Learning?
The first section of the 2001 Brown Center Report on American Education
focuses on achievement gaps between the United States and other countries
in mathematics and analyze the gap between the nation's best and worst
readers in fourth grade. The second section explores the culture of the
American high school, where the low status of academic accomplishments
within teen culture may present formidable obstacles to the attainment
of academic excellence. Finally, the third section analyzes achievement
in urban schools, compared with rural and suburban districts in the same
state.
http://www.brookings.edu/gs/brown/bc_report/bc_report_hp.htm
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HEALTH MATTERS
**Health Across America
Americans who live in the suburbs fare significantly better in many
key health measures than those who live in the most rural and most urban
areas, according to ?Health, United States, 2001,? the 25th annual statistical
chart book from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs
**Economic Status and Health in Childhood
The disparities in health between wealthier and poorer children widen
with age, finds this Joint Center for Poverty Research report. Even among
children with similar chronic conditions, the gap between children from
different income families becomes more pronounced over time. As a result,
children from poor households enter adulthood in poorer general health
and with more serious chronic conditions than do children from higher-income
families.
http://www.jcpr.org/newsletters/vol5_no5/
**Eligibility under State Children's Health Insurance Programs
States have expanded eligibility for children substantially in response
to the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), from 121 percent
to 206 percent of the poverty level. States with lower pre-SCHIP eligibility
thresholds expanded coverage the most, suggesting that states may be coming
closer together in their coverage policies for children.
http://www.ajph.org/cgi/content/abstract/91/9/1449
**Asthma in Children
Asthma is the most common chronic childhood illness in the United States
and is a leading cause of childhood disability. The National Center for
Education in Maternal and Child Health has gathered informative Web sites
and a selection of recent, high-quality resources and tools for service
providers and families.
http://www.ncemch.org/RefDes/Asthma.html
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ADVOCATES TOOLS
**Who Speaks for America's Children? The Role of Child Advocates
in Public Policy
There are some 45,000 nonprofits providing children's services or promoting
their interests in the United States, one for every 1,300 children, according
to this Urban Institute collection of essays reviewing successes and challenges
of the child advocacy movement. More than 12 million U.S. children live
in serious poverty, yet child advocates are hampered by a lack of consensus
on issues and strategies, difficulties in mobilizing a parents' movement,
and a continual tension between securing funds for universal programs vs.
targeted programs for children in need. Cost: $26.50. To order, call 877-847-7377.
http://www.urban.org
**An Advocate's Guide to the Medicaid Program, 2001 Edition
This just-updated manual offers a detailed yet concise overview of
the enormously complex Medicaid program for health advocates and lawyers.
Cost: $135 for nonprofit advocacy organizations; $235 for for-profit companies,
government agencies, and universities.
http://www.healthlaw.org/advguide
**State-by-State News
Check out news about kids in your state in the ?state-by-state? section
of the Connect for Kids Web site. Here's a sample of this week's additions
to our state pages.
http://www.connectforkids.org/homepage1576/index.htm
Connecticut
The Twentieth Annual Connecticut Lobbying Conference is scheduled for
October 23, 2001. For a brochure, or to register, call 860-247-4322.
District of Columbia
DC Action for Children's annual ?What's in It for Kids?? analyzes DC's
proposed budget for FY 2002 and offers recommendations. Cost: $5. To order,
call 202-234-9404.
http://www.dckids.org
Massachusetts
According to the Boston Globe (August 30, 2001), Acting Governor Jane
Swift has proposed awarding grants of up to $1,000 for private tutoring
to the families of students who repeatedly fail the state exam. The governor's
"Extra Help Guarantee" would cost $5.2 million.
http://www.state.ma.us/gov/
New Jersey
According to the National Education Goals Panel, a new Harvard Graduate
School of Education study finds that more than 4 in 10 teachers new to
the teaching profession last year in New Jersey do not plan to remain classroom
teachers for the rest of their careers. http://www.gse.harvard.edu/~ngt/nj_survey_study.htm
Michigan
?Place, Race and Work: The Dynamics of Welfare Reform in Metropolitan
Detroit,? by Scott W. Allard of the Brookings Institution is available.
http://www.brookings.edu/urban
New York
The deadline for proposals for New York's Safe and Accessible Places
to Play and Learn After School Program has been extended until October
12, 5 pm.
http://www.dfa.state.ny.us/ocfs/safeplaces/default.htm
Ohio
According to Education Week, Ohio's decade-long court battle to find
a constitutional way of paying for its schools may finally have reached
its end, but the end of one era may usher in a time of political debate.
http://www.you-click.net/GoNow/a15864a41940a89281975a9
Texas
The Center for Public Policy Priorities testimony on the Temporary
Assistance to Needy Families State Plan is available online.
http://www.cppp.org/products/testimony/testimony/tst91001.html
Virginia
Virginia's new Secondary PTA/PTSA Committee has tips and information
to assist middle school and high school units to actively recruit student
members for involvement and to keep parents involved.
http://www.vapta.org/Committees/2ndaryPTA/2ndaryPTA.htm
Washington
The Seattle Times (August 31) reports that two school districts in
Washington have issued new civility guidelines that spell out what is and
is not appropriate communication between parents, staff and students
http://www.misd.wednet.edu/ADMINWebPage/Superintendent/LetsTalk.htm
Keep in touch, everyone!
Jan Richter, Policy and Outreach Specialist, and the Connect for Kids
team
Jan@benton.org
connect
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