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Editor's
Note
The CFK Weekly is getting a new name, since we now publish
every two weeks. By a wide margin, our readers chose CFK
Update as our new moniker. While we're mocking
up the new banner, you can still weigh in here.
And thank you to everyone who voted!
This week, we've got resources on the federal budget
and child poverty. There are two new foster care resources
to note: Child Welfare League of America's new Internet
radio program and a comprehensive site that connects New
York teens to stories by their peers and real supports
to help them transition from foster care.
On the Education front, there are stunning new dropout
numbers from Texas, whose accountability system served
as the model for the federal No Child Left Behind law.
The data heighten concerns that high-stakes testing and
accountability may incentivize dropout.
There are good tools for reducing the impact of parental
depression on child well-being. Also check out action
alerts on after-school and child care and early learning.
Don't miss the grants and tools sections, either.
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New
on Connectforkids.org
 How
Kids Fare in the President's 2009 Federal Budget:
The Lowlights
President Bush's fiscal year 2009 budget proposal
includes $2.8 billion in cuts to programs that impact
children -- a 3 percent drop from last year's federal
budget. First Focus, a bipartisan children's advocacy
organization, takes a reader-friendly look at the numbers
and what they say about our nation's priorities.
 Paul
Krugman and the P Word
To be poor "is to be an outcast in your own country.
And that, the neuroscientists tell us, is what poisons
a child's brain," writes Paul Krugman in a recent
New York Times
op-ed. In his CFK/CA360 column, Hershel Sarbin wrestles
with the often-daunting task of communicating about child
poverty -- and why a renewed, solutions-based focus on
child poverty may be around the corner.
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Foster
Care Resources
 From
Youth Communication:
New
Comprehensive Site for Youth in Foster Care
Teens
leaving or aging out of foster care in New York have a
new one-stop hub for information, inspiration and real
resources to help them transition to adulthood. The site
-- developed by New York City Administration for Children's
Services; New Yorkers For Children; and Youth Communication
-- houses teen-written stories, legal and educational
information and links to programs and services. Other
states and cities can use it as a model for making resources
available to teens, foster parents and staff.
Keith
Hefner, executive director of Youth Communication, tells
Connect for Kids, "We don't think teens will
go to the site simply because it exists. In many cases
they'll go because an adult points them in the right
direction."
New:
CWLA Radio
Another new resource! On
the Line with CWLA is an interactive, live Internet
radio program devoted to discussions about the welfare
of America's vulnerable children. It features numerous
points of view and voices of experience within the child
welfare universe. You can listen online.
 Scholarships
for Former Foster Youth
The
Orphan Foundation of America, which administers the Casey
Family Scholars program, is now accepting applications
for scholarships for the 2008-2009 academic year. Eligible
former foster youth who are pursuing postsecondary education
can receive up to $10,000 per year.
Audio
Recording: Racial Disparity in the Child Welfare System
During
a recent Chapin Hall policy forum, Research Fellow Fred
Wulczyn discussed a study that found African-American
infants are nearly three times more likely than white
infants to be placed in foster care. Child welfare administrators
on the panel discussed initiatives in New York City and
Washington, D.C. to reverse the tide of racial disparity.
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Education
News
Avoidable
Losses: High-Stakes Accountability and the Dropout Crisis
A new Rice University and the University of Texas-Austin
study finds a strong association between high-stakes accountability
and dropping out. "Losses of low-achieving students
help raise school ratings under the accountability system,"
the researchers note. The Texas system was the model for
the federal No Child Left Behind Act. Among the findings:
- Texas public high schools have an overall graduation
rate of 33 percent;
- Disproportionate numbers of African American (60
percent), Latinos (75 percent) and English Language
Learners (80 percent) do not graduate in five years.
 Read
Across America Day Is March 3, 2008
Sponsored by the National Education Association and Dr.
Seuss Enterprises, this year's day-long celebration
of reading is expected to attract more than 45 million
readers in their homes, schools and communities. This
year, there's also a free digital read-along version
of Horton Hears a Who!
on the Website.
New
Resource: Parent Involvement Matters
This new site offers free resources, including articles,
success stories, research, links organizations, parent
programs and materials to help schools, parents, counselors
and others boost parent involvement at school and at home. |
Child
Well-Being
 Reducing
Maternal Depression and Its Impact on Young Children
Maternal depression is a significant risk factor affecting
the well-being and school readiness of young children.
Low-income mothers of young children experience particularly
high levels of depression, often in combination with other
risk factors. This National Center for Children in Poverty
policy brief examines why addressing maternal depression
should be a key element of school readiness efforts.
For
Fatherhood Programs: Mental Health Services
An estimated six million men struggle with significant
mental health challenges every year, according to the
National Institute of Health. Assisting fathers in programs
to access mental health services can be effective -- the
National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse has resources
and tools to help.
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Child
Care and Early Learning
Child Care in the States
Three new reports look at what states are and could
be doing to improve the quality and reach of child care
and early learning:
 Early
Learning Guidelines for Infants and Toddlers: Recommendations
to States (Webinar,
February 28)
ZERO TO THREE's Policy Center is hosting a series
of webinars for state policymakers, early childhood
advocates and professionals across the country. The
first, on February 28 (2:00pm eastern), focuses on creating
and revising Early Learning Guidelines for infants and
toddlers. More than 20 states have such guidelines,
and others are developing them.
March
Forth on March 4th
 The
National Women's Law Center reports that the Bush
administration's federal budget plan would cut off
child care assistance for 200,000 families and Head
Start for 13,000 children. On March 4, advocates will
contact Congress to ask for increased investments in
child care. AFSCME has donated a toll-free number (1-888-460-0813),
and there's an email alert online.
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 Tools
for Your Work
How
a Bill Becomes a Law: Roles of Congressional Staff
Federal policy has a direct impact on how services are
provided to infants, toddlers and their families. In case
you missed "Schoolhouse Rock" in your youth,
this ZERO TO THREE advocacy tool recaps how a bill becomes
a law and explains the roles of key Congressional staff.
There's more great resources on the ZERO TO THREE
advocacy
tools page.
Promising
Practices in Nonprofit Governance: A Checklist
Is your organization constituency- or vision-based? Does
the Board guide planning in the "four horizons"?
This three-page checklist from the National Assembly,
BoardSource, National Association of Corporate Directors
and the National Center on Nonprofit Enterprise is a quick,
useful gauge of effective practices.
Capture
an Email Address, Start a Relationship: 4 Tips for Getting
Proactive about Building Your House File
"You can craft a fabulous e-newsletter, send it out
just the right number of times per year and impart some
really powerful information, but you need to create an
email contact list (an audience) at your organization
to be effective." Network for Good has four tips
to get you started -- and a contest for best newsletter
promo or sign-up page. |
 Grants
and Funding
Staples
Foundation Education Programs for Disadvantaged Youth
The Staples Foundation for Learning funds programs that
support or provide job skills and/or education for all
people, with a special emphasis on disadvantaged youth.
For the first two funding cycles in 2008, the deadlines
for proposal are: March 14 and June 16.
Department
of Education's Safe Schools/Healthy Students Program
This program supports integrated, comprehensive, community-wide
plans that create safe and drug-free schools and promote
healthy childhood development. Deadline:
March 14.
Sprint
Ahead for Education
The Sprint Foundation has a forthcoming grant program
in character education. It offers grants for schools (up
to $5000) and districts (up to $25,000). Deadline:
April 15.
School
Wellness Grant Program
This program from the U.S. Potato Board and the School
Nutrition Foundation offers elementary schools $2,500
for equipment and/or educational programs that help move
children toward healthier diets and improve their overall
wellness. Deadline: April
15.
Kaiser
Permanente Cares for Communities Program
This program supports nonprofit organizations that focus
on community and children's health nationally and
in California, Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Maryland, Virginia,
Washington, D.C., Ohio, Oregon and Washington. Requests
are accepted throughout the year.
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Caitlin Johnson and Thaddeus Ferber
Connect for Kids and the Forum for Youth Investment
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