CFK Weekly - August, 24, 2004
Connect for Kids.org: Better Policies for Kids
August 24, 2004
Please send any comments or suggestions to jan@connectforkids.org.
Table of Contents. Click on heading to jump to that section.
NEW ON CONNECTFORKIDS.ORG
**College Toolkit
**Celebrating Families
**Small Things that Mean a Lot
KIDS & POLITICS
**Poverty and Income Data to be Released August 26
**New Rules May Affect Overtime Pay for Working Parents
**Action Alert: STOP Underage Drinking Prevention Act
**State Efforts to Control Obesity
IMPROVING CHILDREN’S HEALTH AND NUTRITION
**State Efforts to Control Obesity
**Schools Adjust for Higher Lunch Costs
**Help for Kids Not Getting Enough Sleep
**Community Toolbox for Children's Environmental Health Grants
**Reaching Out to Cover More Kids
**Proposed Criteria for Selecting the WIC Food Packages
IMPROVING SCHOOLS AND LEARNING
**Students at Nation's Charter Schools Lag Behind
**Schools Turn to Courts for Funding
**State High School Exit Exams: A Maturing Reform
**Truant Teens Lose Licenses in Georgia and Other States
**Benchmarks for an Effective State Standards and Testing Strategy
**Can Public Schools Affect Economic Development?
FAVORING THE WEALTHY OVER WORKING FAMILIES?
**Wealthiest Gaining Ground over Middle- and Low-Income Households
**Our Opinions: Poor Attempts
**Poverty and Income Data to be Released August 26
**A Chance to Hear Jason DeParle
**New Rules May Affect Overtime Pay for Working Parents
**Cost of Providing Employee Health Benefits One Factor in Tight Job Market
**Public Assistance Dropping for Poor Families
KEEPING ADOLESCENTS SAFE
**Treating Adolescent Depression
**A Whole-Family Approach to Meds
**Action Alert: STOP Underage Drinking Prevention Act
**Promoting Mental Illness Education in the Schools
**The State of Our Nation's Youth 2004
**Environmentally Safe Back-to-School Supplies
THE EARLY YEARS
**Connecting with Parents in the Early Years
**Grandma and Grandpa Taking Care of the Kids: Patterns of Involvement
**True Cost of Quality Care Toolkit
CONNECTING FOR FOSTER YOUTH
**Youth Who are Chronically AWOL from Foster Care: Why They Run, Where They Go, and What Can Be Done
**Children Missing from Care
**Hard Data on Hard Times: An Empirical Analysis of Maternal Incarceration, Foster Care, and Visitation
FOCUS ON THE STATES
**Strong Finish for Many State’s Fiscal Years, But Problems Remain
**State-by-State News
**College Toolkit
Encouraging your child to apply to and attend college, and supporting that effort in as many ways as you can, is one of the most important efforts you can make as a parent or guardian. To help, Connect for Kids has put together this tool kit to help parents and their children understand the college process. It includes everything from scholarship searches to courses your child should be taking at what year to search engines helping you decide on the right college.
http://www.connectforkids.org
**Celebrating Families
Did you know that September is National Youth Court Month? From the "No Room for Poverty" national rally to the first Presidential candidates' debate, September is filled with all kinds of ways to help all kinds of kids.
http://www.connectforkids.org
**Small Things that Mean a Lot
For a sick child in the hospital, it can be hard to stay cheerful. For a young adult starting college with no family support system in place, it's tough to watch a roommate open a box of home-baked cookies. Connect for Kids intern Diana Strumbos reports on a pair of programs that understand the importance of small things.
http://www.connectforkids.org
**Poverty and Income Data to be Released August 26
Working parents are finding it harder to provide for their children as the
economy continues to sputter. The public services that have been effective
in helping struggling families are eroding or at risk as federal and state
budgets continue to lack adequate revenues. This year’s report will have
national, state and local data on child poverty rates, income levels for
working families, and more.
http://www.census.gov
**New Rules May Affect Overtime Pay for Working Parents
Today, new Department of Labor (DOL) regulations go into effect that may
render many workers ineligible for "time-and-a-half" overtime pay. DOL says
that by guaranteeing overtime pay to workers earning less than $455 a week,
the rules make many workers, particularly those in low-wage jobs, newly
eligible for overtime pay. But according to the National Education
Association, many school support staff - including secretaries, bus drivers,
maintenance workers - could lose overtime pay if they earn more than $455 a
week and their employer deems their duties “administrative or professional.”
(K-12 teachers who are not eligible for overtime pay, are not affected.)
http://capwiz.com/nea/issues/alert/?alertid=5592396
The Economic Policy Institute estimates that the new rules will cost some
30,000 nursery school teachers their right to overtime pay.
http://www.epinet.org/content.cfm/briefingpapers_bp152
The DOL Web site outlines the changes.
http://www.dol.gov/esa/regs/compliance/whd/fairpay/main.htm
**Action Alert: STOP Underage Drinking Prevention Act
Underage drinking contributes to the deaths of 6.5 times more young people
than all illicit drugs combined. The Center for Science in the Public
Interest says a bill recently introduced in both the House and Senate
represents a modest first step in developing a national response to this
devastating public health and safety problem.
http://actionnetwork.org/campaign/HR4888S2718/xwsxib24jwe5db
**State Efforts to Control Obesity
Half of all states are failing - and another 10 just keeping pace - to
control obesity (medically defined as a body-mass index equal to or greater
than 30), according to a new University of Baltimore Obesity Initiative
report card. Obesity harms more than the adults and children it affects, it
also costs the United States tens of billions of dollars annually in health
carecosts. The report found only one Arkansas is taking significant steps
via legislation, regulation and education to combat obesity among its
population.
http://www.ubalt.edu/glance/ur_releases/2004/08_09_04_obesity.html
IMPROVING CHILDREN’S HEALTH AND NUTRITION
**State Efforts to Control Obesity
Half of all states are failing – and another 10 just keeping pace – in efforts to control obesity (which is medically defined as a body-mass index equal to or greater than 30), according to a new University of Baltimore Obesity Initiative report card. Obesity harms more than the adults and children it affects, it also costs the United States tens of billions of dollars annually for associated health care. The report found that only Arkansas is taking significant steps via legislation, regulation and education to combat obesity among its population.
http://www.ubalt.edu/glance/ur_releases/2004/08_09_04_obesity.html
In the Connect for Kids article, “Arkansas Gets Serious about Kids’ Health,” staff writer Robert Capriccioso reported on Arkansas’ efforts.
http://www.connectforkids.org/resources3139/resources_show.htm?doc_id=230399
**Schools Adjust for Higher Lunch Costs
Schools nationwide are raising the price of lunch in response to rising food, labor, and transportation costs, reports CNN.
http://www.cnn.com/2004/EDUCATION/08/10/school.lunches.ap/
**Help for Kids Not Getting Enough Sleep
Do your kids sleep well at night? The National Sleep Foundation’s SleepforKids.org Web site has info for kids (age 7 and older) and their parents on how sleep works, productive sleep habits, sleep disorders, and dreams. The site also links to grown-up resources from its sponsor, the National Sleep Foundation.
http://www.SleepforKids.org
**Community Toolbox for Children's Environmental Health Grants
Community-based, parent/grandparent, and emerging groups working to prevent childhood lead poisoning and other children's environmental health hazards are eligible to apply for these grants by September 13, 2004.
http://www.communitytoolbox.org/grantmk.htm
**Reaching Out to Cover More Kids
Not all eligible kids are enrolled in the state Children’s Health Insurance Program. Community organizations can help reach out to eligible families using the posters, bookmarks and public service announcements developed for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Covering Kids and Families initiative.
http://coveringkidsandfamilies.org/communications/materials/order/
**Proposed Criteria for Selecting the WIC Food Packages
The Institute of Medicine reports on the dietary intakes of families eligible for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), and outlines which nutrients and food groups should receive priority attention in the new rules for WIC food packages, to be released next year.
http://www.iom.edu/report.asp?id=21866
IMPROVING SCHOOLS AND LEARNING
**Students at Nation's Charter Schools Lag Behind
An analysis of U.S. Department of Education data by the American Federation of Teachers finds that most students attending charter schools have lower reading and math scores than their public-school counterparts. This AAFT also charges that the repeated delays in releasing NAEP charter school achievement data are “especially disturbing because one of the sanctions for [public] schools that persistently fail to make adequate yearly progress under the federal No Child Left Behind Act is restructuring as a charter school.”
http://www.aft.org/presscenter/releases/2004/081704.htm
**Schools Turn to Courts for Funding
Some schools have plenty of money; some don’t -- particularly those in low-income communities where students have greater educational and social needs. CNN reports that in 15 states, advocates are using lawsuits to achieve better funding for poor-resourced schools.
http://www.cnn.com/2004/EDUCATION/08/17/schools.funding.suits.reut/index.html
**State High School Exit Exams: A Maturing Reform
High school exit exams now determine whether the majority of the nation’s public school students will graduate, but only 11 states have developed in- or out-of-school programs, computer-based lessons, or study guides to help students prepare for or retake this important test, according to the Center on Education Policy. Programs or funding to prepare special populations -- particularly students with disabilities and English language learners --are not common.
http://www.ctredpol.org/highschoolexit/
**Truant Teens Lose Licenses in Georgia and Other States
Nationally, 33 percent of high school seniors skipped classes during a four-week period in 2000, according to U.S. Department of Education statistics. Stateline.org reports on efforts in Georgia and other states to deny or revoke students’ driver’s licenses when they are truant. There is little evidence yet available to show that such practices decrease truancy or keep more students in high school through graduation.
http://www.stateline.org/stateline/?pa=story&sa=showStoryInfo&id=393472
**Benchmarks for an Effective State Standards and Testing Strategy
The idea behind standards-based education reform is simple: measure advancement by student’s skills instead of the passage of time. But the actual implementation is complex. This report looks at how Massachusetts and Washington are producing challenging state standards for what students should know and be able to do, establishing tests that measure skills that matter, holding high school students responsible for developing essential skills and schools accountable for helping them do so, and ensuring the right resources and supports to help communities, schools, parents and students accomplish the job.
http://www.massinsight.org/docs/LessonsLearned_C.pdf
**Can Public Schools Affect Economic Development?
Yes, according to this Knowledge Works Foundation report. A review of the research finds convincing evidence that investments in public schools affect national economic growth by increasing productivity and supporting higher wages and greater social opportunity. Some research indicates school spending also makes states and localities more economically competitive, and school quality can play a role in attracting business. Strong local, community-oriented and well-maintained school facilities directly influence residential property values, and have a particularly positive effect on economically distressed areas.
http://www.kwfdn.org/ProgramAreas/Facilities/econ_devel.html
FAVORING THE WEALTHY OVER WORKING FAMILIES?
**Wealthiest Gaining Ground over Middle- and Low-Income Households
The Baltimore Sun reports that the income gap has steadily grown over the past 20 years between the wealthiest Americans and those at the middle and bottom of the pay scale. In 1973, the Census Bureau found the top 20 percent of Americans accounted for 44 percent of total U.S. income; that share rose to 50 percent in 2002, while everyone else's fell. Tax cuts have shifted the overall tax burden from the richest Americans to the middle class. A soft job market has sent wages down, and lost jobs are being replaced by lower-paying ones with fewer benefits. Economists expect wages to rise as companies boost hiring, but say the growing gap between the haves and have-nots will remain. (See the August 17 article, “Wealthiest 20% See Income Share Grow 50%.” Free registration required)
http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bal-bz.income17aug17,1,3630968.story?coll=bal-business-headlines
**Our Opinions: Poor Attempts
The Wichita Falls Times Record News says America hasn’t done a great job in taking care of our own. New jobs are hard to find and labor is cheap – which means more families are going hungry and more children are experiencing serious hardship. In addition, current policies put more of the tax burden on middle class households. The Times Record is calling for the presidential candidates to spell out their plans to address the needs of the poor and the hungry, saying, “Trickle-down won’t do it.”
http://www.timesrecordnews.com/trn/lo_our_opinions/article/0,1891,TRN_5782_3123406,00.html
**Poverty and Income Data to be Released August 26
Working parents are finding it harder to provide for their children as the economy continues to sputter. The public services that have been effective in helping struggling families are eroding or at risk as federal and state budgets continue to lack adequate revenues. This year’s report will have national, state and local data on child poverty rates, income levels for working families, and more.
http://www.census.gov
**A Chance to Hear Jason DeParle
On Friday, September 10 from 12:30-1:30 pm (EDT), the Center on Law and Social Policy will host a special Audio Conference with New York Times senior writer Jason DeParle to discuss his soon-to-be-released book, American Dream: Three Women, Ten Kids, and a Nation’s Drive to End Welfare. For more on his work, visit http://www.jasondeparle.com.
http://www.claspstore.org/AudioConference/2004/2004AudioConferenceBrochure091004.htm
**New Rules May Affect Overtime Pay for Working Parents
Today, new Department of Labor (DOL) regulations go into effect that may render many workers ineligible for “time-and-a-half” overtime pay. DOL says that by guaranteeing overtime pay to workers earning less than $455 a week, the rules make many workers, particularly those in low-wage jobs, newly eligible for overtime pay. But according to the National Education Association, many school support staff – including secretaries, bus drivers, maintenance workers – could lose overtime pay if they earn more than $455 a week and their employer deems their duties “administrative or professional.” (K-12 teachers who are not eligible for overtime pay, are not affected.)
http://capwiz.com/nea/issues/alert/?alertid=5592396
The Economic Policy Institute estimates that the new rules will cost some 30,000 nursery school teachers their right to overtime pay.
http://www.epinet.org/content.cfm/briefingpapers_bp152
The DOL Web site outlines the changes.
http://www.dol.gov/esa/regs/compliance/whd/fairpay/main.htm
**Cost of Providing Employee Health Benefits One Factor in Tight Job Market
Despite nearly three years of uninterrupted economic growth, there are still about one million fewer jobs nationwide than before the recession in 2001, according to the New York Times. Health insurance premiums -- "one of the fastest-growing costs for companies” -- are putting a drag on the economy and may be discouraging employers from hiring of full-time workers. The Kaiser Network has a summary, and link to the original article.
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=25338
**Public Assistance Dropping for Poor Families
The Department of Health and Human Services says that the decline in TANF
(Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) caseloads is good news.
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/news/press/2004/TANF.htm
Others disagree, noting that cash assistance is dropping while child poverty
rates are not.
http://www.cbpp.org/8-23-04tanf-pr.htm.
**Treating Adolescent Depression
Some research indicates that antidepressant medications may increase suicidal ideation among depressed teens. But the Journal of the American Medical Association reports on a clinical trial that found a combination of fluoxetine (“Prozac”) with cognitive behavior therapy offered the most favorable tradeoff between benefit and risk for adolescents with major depressive disorder.
http://jama.ama-assn.org/
On August 20, 2004, the Food and Drug Administration announced that it is reviewing the data on the risks and benefits of antidepressant medications for children and teenagers, and plans to hold a hearing in mid-September.
http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/ANSWERS/2004/ANS01306.html
**A Whole-Family Approach to Meds
The confusing research evidence and concerns that some antidepressants may be linked to an increased risk of suicide and suicidal thinking in children and adolescents have raised the stakes for families struggling to help a depressed child. Connect for Kids interviewed two experts—Dr. Stanley Greenspan and Dr. Lawrence H. Diller—and found powerful similarities in their messages for parents.
http://www.connectforkids.org/resources3139/resources_show.htm?doc_id=211133
**Action Alert: STOP Underage Drinking Prevention Act
Underage drinking contributes to the deaths of 6.5 times more young people than all illicit drugs combined. The Center for Science in the Public Interest says a bill recently introduced in both the House and Senate represents a modest first step in developing a national response to this devastating public health and safety problem.
http://actionnetwork.org/campaign/HR4888S2718/xwsxib24jwe5db
**Promoting Mental Illness Education in the Schools
Middle and high school students learn about AIDS and cancer, but little is done to educate them about mental illness and reduce the stigma attached to seeking mental health services, argues Janet Susin, head of a group working to break the silence (see page 3.)
http://www.btslessonplans.org/PromotingBulletin.pdf
The Breaking the Silence Toolkit is available online.
http://www.btslessonplans.org/
**The State of Our Nation's Youth 2004
From the number of hours teens report spending on homework to how many say there is at least one teacher they can confide in, the Horatio Alger survey of adolescents provides a yearly snapshot of how teenagers perceive their world and their community. This year’s survey included questions on Iraq, required military or community service, and the importance of the 2004 election. (Free registration required; the document downloads slowly on some connections).
http://www.horatioalger.com/pubmat/surpro.cfm
**Environmentally Safe Back-to-School Supplies
The Center for a New American Dream lists environmentally friendly papers, pencils and other school supplies along with in-store comment cards to help shoppers find and request environmentally and socially preferable products.
http://www.newdream.org/consumer/toolkit.html
**Connecting with Parents in the Early Years
Parents play a crucial role in helping young children get ready for school, and educators and policymakers want to strengthen parental involvement in child care centers and preschools. What’s lacking is rigorous qualitative and quantitative research to guide practice, according to this Clearinghouse on Early Education and Parenting summary of a symposium and literature review.
http://ceep.crc.uiuc.edu/pubs/connecting.html
**Grandma and Grandpa Taking Care of the Kids: Patterns of Involvement
Grandparents, even working grandparents, play a key role in providing regular free or low-cost child care as well as occasional weekend or evening care for young children while their parents work or relax, reports Child Trends.
http://www.childtrends.org/Files/GrandparentsRB.pdf
**True Cost of Quality Care Toolkit
This Northwest Finance Circle Toolkit gives child care centers an accounting outline to calculate the true cost of quality budgets. Even if the budget is beyond the reach of what parents can pay, it can be used to demonstrate the gap between the true cost of high quality programs and the actual price parents are charged for services.
http://www.seattle.gov/humanservices/fys/TrueCostQualityCare/#toolkit
** Youth Who are Chronically AWOL from Foster Care: Why They Run, Where They Go, and What Can Be Done
This Vera Institute report finds that most adolescents who run away from group care stay with friends and return to care voluntarily, but one-third are involved in high-risk situations such as drug use or physical violence.
http://www.vera.org/publications/publications_5.asp?publication_id=244
**Children Missing from Care
Teenage boys in foster care are twice as likely to run away as to be reunited with their biological families. The Child Welfare League of America looks at the numbers and the reasons behind them, and what can be done to reduce the problem.
http://www.cwla.org/programs/fostercare/childmiss01.pdf
**Hard Data on Hard Times: An Empirical Analysis of Maternal Incarceration, Foster Care, and Visitation
A sizable minority of biological mothers whose children are placed in foster care end up in prison, typically for drug or other nonviolent offenses. According to the Vera Institute, substance abuse problems often underlie the child welfare and criminal justice problems of these families. The data suggests that efforts to preserve and strengthen families before children must be removed can not only avert foster placement but also serve to prevent maternal criminal activity, which tends to increase after (not before) a child is removed from the home. The research also suggests that child removal is an opportune time to evaluate biological mothers of foster children for substance abuse problems, and to make drug treatment available where necessary.
http://www.vera.org/publication_pdf/245_461.pdf?bulletin=30&token=2113
**State-by-State News
California
Confused about the current fight over how to divvy up the billions of dollars in state school funding? A CFK reader recommends the Sacramento Bee series on school funding to explain the structure of school financing and the many complexities – categoricals, mandates and revenue limits – that complicate adequate and equitable financing decisions.
http://www.sacbee.com/content/news/projects/paying_for_schools/
The Hi-Desert Star reports that welfare cash assistance is declining in San Bernadino County, but more families are getting food stamp and public health coverage assistance. (See, “While Cash Aid Declines, More Get Food Stamps.”)
http://hidesertstar.com/articles/2004/07/30/news/news2.txt
Colorado
Governor Bill Owens on Thursday ordered state officials to put a new computer into service that offers residents one-stop service for many state benefits programs.
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2004-08-20-coloputers_x.htm
Connecticut
Governor Rell threw her support behind a push to give young kids the chance to enroll in preschool. State Education Commissioner Betty Sternberg wants the state to pay for seats for every 3- and 4-year old child in the seven poorest communities by the end of the next school year. The state is spending about $48 million this fiscal year to pay for 7,000 low-income, mostly urban, children to attend preschool. Another 18,000 children qualify, if there were more state funding.
(See, "Rell Makes Preschool for Every State Child a Top Priority.")
http://www.nhregister.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=12717988&BRD=1281&PAG=461&dept_id=517515&rfi=8
District of Columbia
Registering to vote, e-mailing DC’s congressional lawmaker, getting information on becoming a federal food program site or sponsor, and locating the nearest feeding site are some of the new interactive tools available on the D.C. Hunger Solutions Web site. Visitors may also add their personal experience with hunger and food insecurity to the online story bank.
http://www.dchunger.org/
Indiana
The Indianapolis Star calls on the state to undertake a comprehensive reform of Indiana's child welfare system. (See, “Heed the Advice on Overhauling Indiana’s Child Welfare System.”)
http://www.indystar.com/articles/5/170312-7895-021.html
Kansas
Two weeks before a court battle over school finance, Governor Sebelius reiterated her call for a tax increase to fund public schools. Last month key Republican legislators who sponsored tax increases for schools were defeated by anti-tax candidates in primary races. But Sebelius, a Democrat, said the need for tax increases for schools remained necessary because base state aid per pupil has remained at the same level since 2001 while salaries, health care costs and maintenance expenses have all increased. (See, “Governor Reiterates Need for Increased School Funding.”)
http://www.ljworld.com/section/schoolfinance/story/179005
New Hampshire
The Children's Alliance of New Hampshire is seeking a Research Director, responsible for the research and education work of the organization, including the creation and promulgation of a bi-annual Kids Count Data Book. Interested parties should e-mail info@childrennh.org or call 603-225-2264.
http://www.childrennh.org/ResearchDirector.htm.
New Mexico
Scores for 4th- and 8th-graders on standardized tests taken in March 2004 reflected across-the-board improvements in math and reading, reports the Albuquerque Tribune. (See, “State: Kids' Scores Inch Up .”)
http://www.abqtrib.com/archives/news04/081904_news_tests.shtml
Ohio
The Akron Beacon Journal reports that the Head Start program for preschoolers is alive and well in Summit County. (See, “Preschool Kids Get Head Start.”)
http://www.ohio.com/mld/beaconjournal/9420791.htm
Stay in touch, everyone!
Jan
Jan Richter, Advocacy Director and the Connect for Kids team
jan@connectforkids.org
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