CFK Weekly -- June 14, 2004

Connect for Kids.org: Better Policies for Kids

The TABLE OF CONTENTS is now hyper-linked to take you quickly to areas of interest inside the newsletter. Please send any comments or suggestions to jan@connectforkids.org.

NEW ON CONNECTFORKIDS.ORG
**All Spelled Out
**Support Connect for Kids
**Diplomas to Treasure

ELECTION 2004
**Support Investments in Kids
**Hunger in America: Questions for Candidates
** The Long Run Budget Squeeze and the Short-Run Race to November

KIDS AND POLITICS: CITIZEN ACTION DAYS
**June 14: Youth Justice Advocacy Day
**June 19: Health Care National Day of Action
**Shirt Off Our Backs Campaign for Welfare Reform Extension
**What's Next for Public Housing?

CFK READERS RECOMMEND
**Reduced-Sugar Cereals are a Hit with Kids
**Commercial Exploitation in Schools: Parents Can Fight Back

NEW DATA ON TEEN FATALITIES
**Adolescents in Many Countries Experience Violence, but U.S. Has More Deaths
**Suicide Rate for Children, Teens Drops

KIDS AND THE MEDIA
**Helping Children Cope with Startling Images from Iraq
**Digital Television: Sharpening the Focus on Children
**Call for Study of New Interactive Advertising Strategies
**"Books Not Bars" Film Wins Award in MediaRights Festival

HELPING YOUTH BECOME EFFECTIVE ADULTS
**Rachel Jones Reports on Disconnected Youth
**Girl Scouts Launches "Commit to a Girl" Campaign
**National Youth Court Month Action Kit
**Service, Leadership, and Money: A Financial Management Guide for Youth Decision-Makers
**Knock-Your-Socks-Off Training for Teens to be Successful Activists
**CLASP Audio-Conference on "Disconnected Youth"

LEARNING IN HIGH SCHOOL AND BEYOND
**Improving Learning for Struggling Students
**Amid Tight Budgets, Two-Year Colleges Play Growing Role
**Do Graduation Tests Measure Up?

FUNDING SCHOOLS
**NEA Study: Stagnant Resources Jeopardize Public Schools
**Poor Schools Sue for Funding
**Pumping Gas into a Flooded Engine?
**Memo Suggests Education Could Be in Line for Spending Cuts

IMPROVING ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS
**Teach for America Teachers Achieve Results
**No Child Left Behind State Hearings

STATE BUDGETS STILL SQUEEZING SERVICES FOR KIDS
**Medicaid Trumps Education in State Budgets
**Squeezing SCHIP: States Use Flexibility to Respond to the Ongoing Budget Crisis
**Summer Job Outlook Daunting for Teenagers

BRIDGING GAPS FOR HEALTHIER KIDS
**Doing More to Help Grandparents Raise Maltreated Kids
**Better Eye Tests Urged for Kids Under 5
**Children's Oral Health: Disparities

STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS: OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS
**Branding and Strategic Communications Workshops
**Connect for Kids Youth in Transition Communications Tools

FOCUS ON THE STATES
Colorado
Connecticut
Florida
New Mexico
Washington
West Virginia

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PRIVACY POLICY

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

NEW ON CONNECTFORKIDS.ORG

**All Spelled Out
One kid nearly hyperventilated. Another almost knocked himself unconscious. Overanxious athletes? Nope. Spellers. What drives some students to endure the stress of competitive spelling, and what do they learn along the way? Robert Capriccioso looked for answers at the 2004 National Spelling Bee.
http://www.connectforkids.org/resources3139/resources_show.htm?attrib_id=309&doc_id=228402&parent=82343

**Diplomas to Treasure
Caps and gowns, tears and celebration -- for graduating high school and college students, this is a special time of year. Among those walking across the stage to receive a diploma this spring are some who have special reasons to be proud. Janis Avery, executive director of Treehouse, a Seattle agency serving children in foster care, applauds them.
http://www.connectforkids.org/content1552/content_show.htm?attrib_id=308&doc_id=228403

ELECTION 2004

**Support Investments in Kids
Kids don't vote and they don't contribute to political campaigns, but policy decisions affect them every day. Every Child Matters says voters can push politicians to support programs that invest in kids, families and communities -- and ultimately promote a stronger economy. This online petition calls on Bush and Kerry to keep kids in mind during this presidential campaign, and improve health coverage, after-school programs and protections for abused children.
http://www.everychildmatters.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ecm_investinkids_epetition&JServSessionIdr012=mfllkrw3z2.app7b

Looking for answers on candidates' positions? Connect for Kids' Kids & Politics section has the questions to ask when political candidates visit your community.
http://www.kidsandpolitics.org

**Hunger in America: Questions for Candidates
The Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) says a good step for good child nutrition is getting candidates for public office to speak on the record about how they plan to tackle the hunger that 13 million children experience every day in America. To help, FRAC is offering a questionnaire for elected officials.
http://frac.org/html/news/Press_06.04.04.html

** The Long Run Budget Squeeze and the Short-Run Race to November
During presidential campaigns, candidates' plans for tax cuts score more points from the public than talk of sacrifice -- but some economists and policy analysts say if we don't restructure entitlements like Medicare and tax expenditures, we'll face serious budget deficits that will likely hurt children and families the most. Gene Steuerle, who served in the Treasury Department under four presidents, opened this Urban Institute forum warning that, "An unsustainable deficit is symptomatic of a larger problem: the inability to direct budget resources toward our greatest needs. The blinders put on budget policy today threaten the very basic functions of government as they apply to many programs, particularly those affecting children and working families."
http://www.urban.org/template.cfm?Template=/TaggedContent/ViewPublication.cfm&PublicationID=8887&NavMenuID=95

KIDS AND POLITICS: CITIZEN ACTION DAYS

**June 14: Youth Justice Advocacy Day
On Tuesday, June 15, Congress is expected to begin consideration of the FY2005 Commerce-Justice-State Appropriations bill, which provides critical funding for juvenile justice programs throughout the country. The Bush administration has proposed cutting juvenile justice and delinquency prevention programs by more than 40 percent in FY05. The Children's Defense Fund recommends contacting lawmakers to make sure federal dollars are not diverted from services that help kids at risk avoid involvement with the justice system, and those detained to re-enter their communities with skills and supports they need to succeed. For more information, contact CDF's Morna Murray at
mmurray@childrensdefense.org

**June 19: Health Care National Day of Action
If you lack health insurance, you're not alone. Nearly 44 million Americans lack health care coverage of any kind for an entire year, according to the Census Bureau. Millions more go without for shorter periods. On Saturday, June 19 Rock the Vote is sponsoring "bridge walks" across the country to call for bridging the health care gaps that put families and children at risk. You can find an event near you or participate in the virtual bridge walk, and get data for your state on the interactive Web site.
http://www.bridgingthegapforhealthcare.org/?rID=2

**Shirt Off Our Backs Campaign for Welfare Reform Extension
The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) welfare reform law is due to expire June 30. With jobs hard to come by and poverty rates increasing for low-wage families and children, the Center for Community Change is urging Congress to reauthorize TANF "as is" rather than approve additional work requirements and restrictions on educational opportunities for welfare-to-work families.
http://66.36.240.156/docs/CCC329-SamplePressRelease.doc

**What's Next for Public Housing?
Safe, stable housing is out of reach for many low-wage working parents. The Urban Institute reviews recent findings on the effectiveness of different approaches to boosting access to affordable housing -- and what the data says about federal policies.
http://www.urban.org/Template.cfm?Section=ByTopic&NavMenuID=62&TopicID=183&TopicName=Housing

CFK READERS RECOMMEND

**Reduced-Sugar Cereals are a Hit with Kids
Food companies have introduced low-sugar versions of popular children's cereals. So do they pass the spoon test? Connect for Kids Weekly reader and mother of three, Kate King wrote in to say that the reduced-sugar Frosted Flakes were a big hit with her children. She sent in a link to a Seattle Times story, "Will New Reduced-Sugar Cereals Bowl Over Kids?"
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/food/2001938457_cereal26.html

**Commercial Exploitation in Schools: Parents Can Fight Back
Long-time child advocate and Connect for Kids reader Wendy Shepherd says "Consuming Kids" is one of those books that can alter your conversations with teachers, in-laws or friends!
http://www.consumingkids.com/

Wendy also recommends the action-oriented Web site that accompanies the book.
http://www.commercialexploitation.com/

NEW DATA ON TEEN FATALITIES

**Adolescents in Many Countries Experience Violence, but U.S. Has More Deaths
A study reported in the June 2004 issue of the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine found that American teenagers are no more prone to violence than their counterparts in four other countries (Ireland, Israel, Portugal, and Sweden), but bullying tends to be more common in the U.S. and violence among American teens is more likely to result in death.
http://www.healthinschools.org/2004/jun08_alert.asp

**Suicide Rate for Children, Teens Drops
Child and teen suicide rates are down about 25 percent in the last decade, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Gun suicides, in particular, fell sharply.
http://www.cdc.gov/od/oc/media/pressrel/r040610.htm

CNN reports that new gun safety measures and television programs that include gay teens may be contributing to the lower rates.
http://www.cnn.com/2004/HEALTH/06/10/suicide.cdc.ap/index.html

KIDS AND THE MEDIA

**Helping Children Cope with Startling Images from Iraq
Families may need to take deliberate steps to shield younger children from too much exposure to the news, and to make time for older children's difficult questions. Joanne Cantor, Professor Emerita of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, offers concrete tips for parents on what to do if younger children see the pictures of prisoner abuse and violence coming out of Iraq, and how to answer questions posed by older children and teens.
http://www.pta.org//parentinvolvement/parenttalk/iraqphotos.asp

**Digital Television: Sharpening the Focus on Children
Children Now warns that digital television could bring more problems along with its opportunities for interactive learning. The emerging technologies give parents more info about the programs their children are watching, and include interactive learning elements for children and families - but digital TV also allows advertisers to target audiences, imbed interactive ads, and reduce the amount of educational/informational programming that stations are required to broadcast. Advocates and some Federal Communications Commissioners are calling for updated rules for broadcasters.
http://www.childrennow.org

**Call for Study of New Interactive Advertising Strategies
The hi-tech world offers new opportunities for targeting commercial messages, and for incorporating ads into videos and interactive games in ways that outstrip current safeguards protecting children and young people, warns the Center for Digital Democracy (CDD). CDD is urging the Federal Trade Commission to review and update its regulations regarding interactive marketing and branding technologies used by advertisers to target the country's children and teens.
http://www.democraticmedia.org/resources/filings/FTCletter.html

**"Books Not Bars" Film Wins Award in MediaRights Festival
MediaRights' fourth annual Media That Matters Film Festival honors 16 jury-selected film and video shorts, digital stories and streaming online media. Among those honored this year is "Books Not Bars," a mini-documentary on the youth-led movement pushing for community-based juvenile justice facilities that focus on education, not isolation, and fighting against the growth of the U.S. prison industry. Watch this and other films online, or order a DVD.
http://www.mediathatmattersfest.org/mtm04/media/books_not_bars.php#

HELPING YOUTH BECOME EFFECTIVE ADULTS

**Rachel Jones Reports on Disconnected Youth
National Public Radio reporter Rachel Jones attended the release of the Kids Count Data Book in Washington, DC. In addition to researchers and advocates, Jones interviewed young people who turned their lives around with the help of the right resources at the right time, proving that adolescence is not too late for life changes. She reports on what communities can do to re-connect the teens and young adults who lack the skills, family and community supports they need to take on adult responsibilities. (See, "One in Six U.S. Teens Likely to Fail as Adults.")
http://www.npr.org/rundowns/segment.php?wfId=1952538

**Girl Scouts Launches "Commit to a Girl" Campaign
Did you know that one in four girls report wanting to leave home because of violence? Or that a girl is killed by gunfire every 6 hours? Girls today face more challenges than ever before. Girl Scouts offers updated programs to give girls skills to avoid unhealthy behaviors and make responsible decisions. Girl Scouts' new "Commit To a Girl" campaign uses the Internet to link young people with caring adults who can support girls' development.
http://www.CommitToAGirl.org

**National Youth Court Month Action Kit
It's not too early to start planning for National Youth Court Month, September 2004! The National Youth Court Center offers a new toolkit online.
http://www.youthcourt.net/12-month_campaign/2004_YC_Month/overview.htm

**Service, Leadership, and Money: A Financial Management Guide for Youth Decision-Makers
You can teach young people about financial responsibility or help youth board members understand the financial ins and outs of an organization with the help of this Youth Service America toolkit, produced in collaboration with the National Endowment for Financial Education and State Farm Companies Foundation. Books are free, but shipping is not. For more information or a shipping estimate, contact Andrea Felix at 202-296-2992, x23 or afelix@ysa.org .

**Knock-Your-Socks-Off Training for Teens to be Successful Activists
Youth activist Wendy Lesko's new manual is a complete guide for a teen workshop on activism and civic involvement -- with scripts, handouts, skill-based exercises and a video of the workshop in action. Cost: $25 plus $6 UPS shipping.
http://www.youthactivism.com/prodindex.php

**CLASP Audio-Conference on "Disconnected Youth"
Too many young people aged 16 to 24 are disconnected from school or opportunities for success in work and adulthood. The July 9, 2004 CLASP audio-conference discussed methods to "reconnect" youth to education alternatives -- with guest host Linda Harris and panelists Rob Ivry, of Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation, Nan Poppe of Portland Community College and Jack Wuest of the Alternative Schools Network in Chicago. A $16 registration fee allows you to listen in on the conference call live or receive an audiotape.
http://www.claspstore.org/AudioConference/2004/2004AudioConferenceBrochure.htm

LEARNING IN HIGH SCHOOL AND BEYOND

**Improving Learning for Struggling Students
With the right combination of practices, young people can turn their lives around. The second edition of National Youth Employment Coalition's Education Development Network self-assessment guide illustrates how caring adult support; schooling in smaller, less anonymous settings; leadership development; positive peer groups; and rigorous education and training coupled with work experience can make a difference. Free registration required.
http://www.nyec.org/EdStrategies.html

**Amid Tight Budgets, Two-Year Colleges Play Growing Role
Some college-bound students, especially from low-income families, are seeing community colleges as an inexpensive way to get college credits. State and federal leaders have begun touting the potential for community colleges to be easier on the public wallet by accommodating the expanding ranks of high school graduates seeking a higher education, reports Education Week.
http://www.edweek.org/ew/ewstory.cfm?slug=39Community.h23

**Do Graduation Tests Measure Up?
High school graduation exams are in place in nearly half the states, and more than half of the nation's high school students have to pass them to earn a diploma. In a new analysis of the tests, Achieve concludes that these tests are not overly demanding. While the exit tests may be more demanding than earlier minimum competency exams, and students in some states have trouble passing them, they still cover only a fraction of the knowledge and skills that colleges and employers consider essential.
http://www.achieve.org/

FUNDING SCHOOLS

**NEA Study: Stagnant Resources Jeopardize Public Schools
While schools have had to institute costly testing and other measures to comply with No Child Left Behind standards, the National Education Association reports that per-pupil dollars have increased only modestly. In some states -- Alaska, Connecticut, Kansas, New York, Wisconsin and Vermont -- teachers' salaries have declined in real dollars. Constrained resources mean shortchanges for proven reforms like reducing class sizes, early childhood education, parental and community involvement, professional development for educators and after-school programs.
http://www.nea.org/newsreleases/2004/nr040526.html

**Poor Schools Sue for Funding
In the past, the fight for civil rights in education was over equality. The new fight is over "sufficient funding for poorer districts, rather than parity with affluent ones," according to the Washington Post, which reports that half the states in the country are now involved in litigation over education funding.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A20727-2004Jun6.html

**Pumping Gas into a Flooded Engine?
The fight over education funding is also over how to crunch the numbers. In this report, Congressional lawmakers argue the problem is not too little funding, but too much -- leaving some states with unspent education dollars.
http://edworkforce.house.gov/issues/108th/education/nclb/nclbfundingreport.pdf

**Memo Suggests Education Could Be in Line for Spending Cuts
Education Week reports that President Bush would cut education funding in a second term, according to a White House memo first obtained by the Washington Post. A preliminary White House budget document suggests that if re-elected, President Bush would request about $1.5 billion less for the Department of Education in fiscal 2006 than he is seeking for the coming year. A spokesman for the White House Office of Management and Budget says the internal memorandum in question is "purely a process document" that does not reflect any budgetary decisions. (New users, complete the free Education Week registration.)
http://www.edweek.com/ew/ewstory.cfm?slug=39Budget.h23&keywords=2006

IMPROVING ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS

**Teach for America Teachers Achieve Results
Elementary students in high-poverty schools who have a Teach for America (TFA) teacher achieve comparable reading results and better math results than students taught by other novice teachers or those with a few years of experience, according to a new Mathematica Policy Research evaluation. Researchers found that many teachers in high-poverty schools lacked certification and formal pre-service training, and tend to come from less competitive colleges than TFA teachers. The bottom line, according to this report: Teach for America is a program that can help deliver quality teaching to poorly resourced schools.
http://www.mathematica-mpr.com/Press%20Releases/teach4amerrel.asp

**No Child Left Behind State Hearings
The Public Education Network (PEN) is sponsoring state hearings for parents, business and civic leaders, education advocates and students to share experiences with the No Child Left Behind law. Testimony given at the hearings, along with written testimony submitted online, will be compiled into a national report and presented to members of Congress, the media, and others.
http://www.publiceducation.org/nclb_hearings.asp

STATE BUDGETS STILL SQUEEZING SERVICES FOR KIDS

**Medicaid Trumps Education in State Budgets
Medicaid -- which provides health care for one out of every five children and pays almost 50 percent of nursing home care -- is a mandatory federal entitlement program, so states have little ability to control its costs. The program's growth is forcing states to pull back on discretionary state spending for programs like K-12 and higher education, and slowing the growth in those areas. Ray Scheppach, Executive Director of the National Governors Association, says it doesn't have to be that way. He calls for the federal government to assume the cost of low-income seniors who are currently eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid, thereby freeing up state dollars to invest in education programs that feed economic growth.
http://www.stateline.org/stateline/?pa=story&sa=showStoryInfo&id=377600

**Squeezing SCHIP: States Use Flexibility to Respond to the Ongoing Budget Crisis
The Urban Institute reports that interviews with 13 state SCHIP administrators in September and October 2003 indicate that cuts to SCHIP in FY 2003 were more widespread than in 2002. Two of the study states reduced benefits for children and two-thirds reported new efforts to simplify enrollment and renewal procedures. Large states such as California and New York implemented innovative initiatives to enroll more children or dramatically expanded outreach spending. Every state participating in the survey reported that SCHIP programs retained strong political support and fared quite well, relative to other state programs.
http://www.urban.org/url.cfm?ID=311015

**Summer Job Outlook Daunting for Teenagers
Some communities are cutting summer programs for teens, at a time when summer jobs are harder to come by. The employment rate among teenagers and young adults dropped dramatically between 2000 and 2003, and was at its lowest level since the end of World War II, according to a study released in April by Northeastern University's Center for Market Studies. Education Week has the scoop.
http://www.edweek.org/ew/ewstory.cfm?slug=39Jobs.h23

BRIDGING GAPS FOR HEALTHIER KIDS

**Doing More to Help Grandparents Raise Maltreated Kids
It used to be that relative caregivers were expected to take on such responsibilities purely for love, without the help of public resources to cover the additional health care, tutoring or other supports needed to raise kids well. Two new op-eds indicate a growing call for increased support for kinship care: Granny's Manifesto on the progressive Tom Paine.com site and the June 9 Washington Post piece, "Foster Care Plus Love".
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A26546-2004Jun8.html

**Better Eye Tests Urged for Kids Under 5
Most preschoolers do not get a comprehensive eye exam, and screenings for lazy eye and other vision problems only catch about two-thirds of cases. Parents can help spot trouble by playing peek-a-boo and watching to see if their baby responds the same with either eye.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/health/AP-Kids-Vision.html

**Children's Oral Health: Disparities
Poor children and children of color are less likely to get the dental care they need. In a briefing for lawmakers, the Children's Dental Health Project of Washington, DC, identified some changes Congress could make to close these gaps for kids.
http://www.cdhp.org/Index.asp?PA=2&XX=115&XX=153&XX=147&XX=81

STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS: OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS

**Branding and Strategic Communications Workshops
Spitfire Strategies and Bemporad/Baranowski are offering morning workshops in branding and communications strategies for nonprofits. Participation is free but space is limited. The workshop will take place in Washington, DC, on June 24 and in New York City on September 28.
http://www.bbmg.com/workshops.html

**Connect for Kids Youth in Transition Communications Tools
With funding from the Youth Transition Funders Group, Connect for Kids is coordinating the work of strategic communications experts to field-test messages for improving community supports for youth at risk. If you want to be on the e-list for this initiative, email Sanja at.
sanja@connectforkids.org

FOCUS ON THE STATES

**State-by-State News

Colorado
The Denver Post reports that Governor Bill Owens (R) -- saying local districts should find their own solutions -- vetoed legislation that would have created a commission to study high school graduation rates and whether Colorado is adequately preparing students for college. Ranking 35th in the nation on measures of the number of students who finish high school, Colorado graduates only 56 percent of African American students and 47 percent of Hispanics from high school. (See "Governor Rejects Study of State's Graduation Rates").
http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0%2C1413%2C36%25257E53%25257E2200714%2C00.html

Connecticut
Minority students are earning degrees from the University of Connecticut at virtually the same rate as the entire student body, putting the university well ahead of the national average for public universities, reports the Hartford Courant. UConn officials attribute the rising minority graduation rate to attracting better students, providing advisory and other services to help students succeed, and making minority students feel comfortable through the university's multicultural centers. (See "Minority Graduation Rate High at UConn"). Free registration required.
http://www.ctnow.com/news/education/hc-racegrad0605.artjun07,1,223316.story?coll=hc-headlines-newsat3

Florida
Governor Bush has signed legislation that will provide funding for reading coaches to help train teachers in the state's lowest-performing middle schools and requiring that, by 2008, all reading programs in the state be research-based.
http://sun6.dms.state.fl.us/eog_new/eog/library/releases/2004/May/2004-05-27-middle_school.pdf

New Mexico
By fall, 100 percent of kindergartners in New Mexico will have access to full-day kindergarten funded by the state, reports the Santa Fe New Mexican. (See "All Kindergartners To Go Full Day"). Free registration required.
http://www.ecs.oprg/00CL5012

Washington
Governor Locke is delaying implementation of monthly Medicaid premiums for children, reports the Kaiser Family Fund.
http://cme.kff.org/Key=3227.CQd.M.D.LBYjCs

West Virginia
West Virginia voters say that children's issues are second only to the economy, and significantly more important than taxes, crime, and homeland security, according to an Every Child Matters poll.
http://www.everychildmatters.org/site/DocServer/ecm_wv_polljune2004.html?docID=1905