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NEW ON CONNECT FOR KIDS
**Girls to People: "We'll Show You Beauty!"
**Not Their Parent's MD: Why Teens Need a Doctor of Their Own
**It's May, Let's Get Moving!
**And Justice for Some?
CONNECT TODAY
**After-School Ideas for Middle and High Schoolers
RESTORING THE JUSTICE IN JUVENILE JUSTICE
**Just the Facts
**Prevention is the Best Policy
**Predictors of Youth Violence
**The Color of Justice
**Take a Stand for Justice in Juvenile Justice
CHILDREN AND WELFARE
**Poverty and Welfare Patterns: Implications for Children
**Reality Check ? How Much Does It Cost to Raise a Child?
**Federal Action Needed to Overcome Information Problems in Welfare
Reform
**Reforming or Dismantling Welfare?
**USDA Says Food Stamps Are Reaching Poor Children
**HUD Redefines ?Welfare Dependence? for Self-Sufficiency Program
**The Role of Intermediaries in Linking TANF Recipients with Jobs
WANTED: STRONG, HEALTHY GIRLS
**Trends in Educational Equity for Girls and Women
**Tech-Savvy Girls
**Tips for Nurturing Healthy Girls
IMPROVING HEALTH CARE
**Recent Trends in Children's Health Coverage
**Adolescents and State CHIP: Healthy Options for Meeting the Needs
of Teens
**Back to Sleep Campaign Needs More Help from Doctors
**More Effort Needed to Win the War Against Resistant Infectious Diseases
RESOURES FOR COMMUNITY BUILDING
**"From Fund-Raising to Hell-Raising?
**Family Skills Training for Parents and Children
**Growing Your Organization
THINGS TO DO! PLACES TO GO!
**White House Conference on Teenagers
JOB OPENINGS
FOCUS ON THE STATES
NEW ON CONNECT FOR KIDS
**Girls to People: "We'll Show You Beauty!"
This week, People Magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People edition will
hit the newsstands. On May 8, 2000, and New Moon Magazine: The Magazine
for Girls and Their Dreams will counter with "We'll Show You Beauty Day,"
a celebration of media images that promote healthy behavior for boys and
girls. And it doesn't end there?
http://www.connectforkids.org
**Not Their Parent's MD: Why Teens Need a Doctor of Their Own
Most parents recognize that their adolescent children need a measure
of privacy and independence. Yet the idea of a medical specialty devoted
to teens is unfamiliar to many. Historian Heather Munro Prescott argues
that this lack of awareness contributes to a serious shortage of age-appropriate
health services for American teenagers.
http://www.connectforkids.org
**It's May, Let's Get Moving!
Maybe you already know that May is National Foster Parent Recognition
Month, or that a Million Moms are marching against gun violence on May
14 -- but did you know that Worthy Wage Day, The Read In! and Black Child
Development events are also coming up this month? And there's more.
Check out our May Calendar to get connected to something you care about!
http://www.connectforkids.org
**And Justice for Some?
Although white youth make up majority of juvenile arrests, minority
youth are over-represented in the juvenile justice system -- and they are
more likely to serve longer jail sentences and be incarcerated in adult
facilities than their white counterparts for the same offenses, especially
nonviolent drug convictions. So says a new report from Building Blocks
for Youth, an alliance of researchers, law enforcement and advocacy groups
that includes the American Bar Association's Juvenile Justice Center.
http://www.connectforkids.org
CONNECT TODAY
**After School Ideas for Middle and High Schoolers
Linden Williams' community has after-school care for children through
fifth grade. But for middle school and high school children there are fewer
options. Linden writes, "How do we watch our children after school when
we don't get home from work until after 6:00 p.m.?" Share your ideas
and experiences -- what's worked in your community?
RESTORING THE JUSTICE IN JUVENILE JUSTICE
**Just the Facts
For background information on juvenile justice, visit Building Blocks
for Youth's Fact Sheets section online at http://www.buildingblocksforyouth.org/facts.htm
**Prevention is the Best Policy
Fight Crime: Invest in Kids' report, "America's Child Care Crisis:
a Crime Prevention Tragedy" reviews the research that documents the links
between quality child care education and preventing future crime and violence,
and the inherent costs that put quality care out of the reach of many low-
and moderate-income parents. Despite state initiatives like North Carolina's
Smart Start and federal programs like Head Start and the Child Care and
Development Block Grant, the analysis holds that "no state is yet close
to meeting the full need for quality child care programs."
http://www.fightcrime.org/pdf/childcarereport.pdf
**Predictors of Youth Violence
A new summary from the Juvenile Justice Office may help us better target
services for kids by identifying the age-specific characteristics that
best predict future violent offenses. Younger kids (6-11 year-old) who
commit a juvenile offense, even a nonviolent one, and abuse drugs are more
likely to end up committing violent offenses later. But for older youth
(12 to 14 years old), a lack of social ties and involvement with antisocial
peers are the two strongest predictors of future violence. ?Broken homes?
and abusive parents are among the poorest predictors of subsequent violence
for both groups.
http://www.ncjrs.org/html/ojjdp/jjbul2000_04_5/pag3.html
**The Color of Justice
An analysis of racial disparities in the treatment of youth in California's
juvenile justice system parallels the findings of the national ?And Justice
for Some? study. http://www.buildingblocksforyouth.org/index5.htm
**Take a Stand for Justice in Juvenile Justice
The Building Blocks Coalition is calling for the federal government
to strengthen, not weaken, current Disproportionate Minority Confinement
provisions in the pending federal Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
Act and to appropriate $100 million for the Department of Justice to address
issue of unequal throughout the country.
http://www.buildingblocksforyouth.org/justiceforsome/soler.html
http://www.childrensdefense.org/juvenilejustice/jjact.html
CHILDREN AND WELFARE
**Poverty and Welfare Patterns: Implications for Children
Financial instability and declines may be a greater impediment for
children's well being than stable but disadvantaged economic conditions.
According to this report from Child Trends, results from economic transitions
for children 10-11 years old in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth-Child
Supplement suggest that fluctuating incomes and a decline in income are
related to poorer math and reading skills and behavior problems for children.
Early childhood experiences and characteristics of the mother are also
important predictors of children's outcomes. Cost: $8 or read the summary
online at http://www.childtrends.org/viewsummary.cfm?summaryid=632&topic=welfare
**Reality Check -- How Much Does It Cost to Raise A Child?
Try close to $10,000 a year or $160,140 ($237,000 when adjusted for
inflation) for food, shelter, and other necessities to raise a child over
the next seventeen years. http://www.usda.gov/news/releases/2000/04/0138
**Federal Action Needed to Overcome Information Problems in Welfare
Reform
The Government Accounting Office (GAO) finds serious shortcomings in
the capacity of state and local automated information systems for social
programs. The problems can hinder case management, service planning, and
monitoring and result in families being improperly sanctioned or dropped
from assistance programs. The GAO is recommending that the Secretary of
Health and Human Services "establish an interagency group to identify,
and develop implementation plans for, federal action that would facilitate
states' efforts to improve their automated systems for federal programs
that serve low-income families."
http://www.gao.gov/new.items/he00048.pdf
**Reforming or Dismantling Welfare?
Welfare reform gave states much of the responsibility for shaping benefits,
supports, and requirements and eliminated the federal guarantee for a minimum
family welfare benefit. Some states are doing better than others -- and
most are doing better than Mississippi. A report from stateline.org that
finds that Mississippi has essentially dismantled its welfare system, providing
few supports to struggling families. Although rolls have dropped as much
as 77 percent, the state has the lowest post-welfare employment rate, and
a state unemployment rate three times above the national average.
http://www.stateline.org/story.cfm?storyid=73226
**USDA Says Food Stamps are Reaching Poor Children
More than half of all food stamp recipients are children, according
to a new USDA report on FY1998 data. Among food stamp households with children,
68% were headed by a single parent and nearly 40 percent (39.3%) were headed
by working adults. Ninety percent of food stamp households had incomes
at or below the federal poverty level.
http://www.fns.usda.gov/oane/MENU/Published/FSP/FSP.htm#char98
**HUD Redefines ?Welfare Dependence? for Self-Sufficiency Program
Families participating in HUD's Family Self-Sufficiency Program may
find it easier to collect the money they've accumulated in their escrow
accounts upon completion of the five-year contract, under new HUD rules
effective March 29, 2000. Visit http://www.cbpp.org5-5-99hous.htm
for background and http://www.hudclips.org/sub_nonhud/cgi/pdf/6898.pdf
for the new rules.
**The Role of Intermediaries in Linking TANF Recipients with Jobs
Nonprofit and for-profit intermediary organizations are important agents
in linking welfare recipients with jobs to implement the work mandates
of welfare reform, according to this Mathematica Policy Research report.
http://www.mathematica-mpr.com/intermediaries.pdf
You'll find background information on kids, poverty, and welfare in
the Connect for Kids topic pages in our Reference Room. http://www.connectforkids.org/homepage1543/index.htm
WANTED: STRONG, HEALTHY GIRLS
**Trends in Educational Equity for Girls and Women
The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) fact sheets review
gender gaps on everything from school readiness to academic aspirations
to workforce participation and earning power. On average, girls start out
more ready for school and leave high school more keen on higher education,
but gaps in their post-graduate careers and earning power persist when
compared with males. http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2000/2000030.pdf
**Tech-Savvy Girls
Girls are not turned off to computers per se, but to a computer culture
that they find boring and violent, according to ?Tech-Savvy: Educating
Girls in the New Computer Age? from the American Association of University
Women. http://www.aauw.org/2000/techsavvy.html
**Tips for Nurturing Healthy Girls
Congressional debate over the Elementary and Secondary Education Act
includes the elimination or protection of the Women's Educational Equity
Act (WEEA), which represents the federal commitment to helping schools
eradicate sex discrimination from their programs and practices. http://www.handsnet.org/alerts1242/alerts_show.htm?doc_id=28123
The Girl Power! Community Education Kit is designed to help coaches,
teachers, business leaders and other caring adults help girls make the
most of their lives. Visit www.health.org/gpower
or call 800-729-6686.
On Father's Day, Dads and Daughters will honor the Father of
the Year who best advocates for a world with healthy, independent and strong
girls and will award $1,000 to the nonprofit of the honoree's choice. Families,
friends, co-workers, and especially daughters can nominate fathers.
The deadline is May 8, 2000.
www.dadsanddaughters.org/award.htm
Connect for Kids has a topic page devoted to girls in the Reference
Room. http://www.connectforkids.org/homepage1543/index.htm
IMPROVING HEALTH CARE
**Recent Trends in Children's Health Coverage
Public health insurance programs like the state Children's Health Insurance
Program (CHIP) and Medicaid are picking up the slack from dropping private
insurance coverage for low-income children, but are not gaining ground
against the loss in employer-supported benefits, according to this issue
brief from the Center for Studying Health System Change.
http://www.hschange.org/releases/kids.htm
**Adolescents and State CHIP: Healthy Options for Meeting the Needs
of Teens
The National Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs recommends
strategies to improve teen enrollment in state CHIP programs -- including
developing outreach materials directed to teens, positioning eligibility
workers in areas where teens congregate, like schools and community centers,
and training hotline operators to answer the questions that teens most
often pose. Call the National Maternal and Child Health Clearinghouse at
703-356-1964 for a copy.
Physicians specializing in adolescent health care echo these
recommendations in a call for more proactive efforts by the medical community
to reach out to teenagers, including allowing teens to enroll themselves
in state Children's Health Insurance Programs (SCHIP) and bypass gatekeepers
when seeking access to adolescent specialists and school-based services.
http://jama.ama-assn.org/issues/v283n16/full/jlt0426-1.html
?Medicaid and SCHIP: Comparisons of Outreach, Enrollment Practices,
and Benefits? (GAO/HEHS-00-86) from the Government Accounting Office
(GAO) will be posted online soon. Hard copies are available by calling
202-512-6000.
**Back to Sleep Campaign Needs More Help from Doctors
The Back to Sleep campaign recommends putting babies to sleep on their
backs to reduce Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, which kills 3,000 babies
a year. More and more caregivers are putting babies to sleep on their backs
and the SIDS rate has dropped dramatically. But unless their doctor recommends
putting babies down on their backs, many caregivers are not heeding the
call because they fear babies will choke on spit-up or are more comfortable
on their tummies.
http://www.nichd.nih.gov/new/releases/bts.htm
http://jama.ama-assn.org/issues/current/abs/joc90991.html
**More Effort Needed to Win the War Against Resistant Infectious
Diseases
If you grew up before penicillin, you probably remember what it was
like to be afraid of infections that could not be treated with readily
available antibiotics. New England Journal of Medicine editor Michael T.
Osterholm reviews the multiple factors leading to a dangerous global resurgence
of resistant infectious diseases and urges a concerted, focused public
health strategy supported by resources equal to the threat. ?I believe
that the public health infrastructure cannot and will not keep up with
these infections unless we refocus our efforts and reevaluate the resources
needed to respond. Senators William Frist (R-Tenn.) and Edward Kennedy
(D-Mass.) have recently authored a bill to amend Title III of the Public
Health Service Act to provide a new and critical public health infrastructure
to address this growing crisis.?
http://www.nejm.org/content/2000/0342/0017/1280.asp
RESOURES FOR COMMUNITY BUILDING
**"From Fund-Raising to Hell-Raising"
Long-time advocate for an equal partnership between parents and schools,
Arnold Fege analyzes forces that are changing the traditional role of parents
in schools, and the opportunities and pitfalls these pose for the future
of public education. He recommends specific strategies for developing meaningful
relationships between parents, schools, and communities that support student
success and sustain public support for public schools.
http://www.ascd.org/readingroom/edlead/0004/fege.html
**Family Skills Training for Parents and Children
Strengthening family skills can help troubled parents do a better job
with their kids. Projects across the country are using the Strengthening
Families Program of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
(OJJDP) to help families change.
http://ojjdp.ncjrs.org/pubs/substance.html#180140
**Growing Your Organization
Clover Corners, the National 4-H newsletter, recommends this resource
from the International Youth Foundation for nonprofits seeking long-term
sustainability, including how-to's on strengthening internal capacity,
creating a strong corporate identity, and strategies for public fund-raising.
To order a copy, write International Youth Foundation, 32 South Street,
Suite 500, Baltimore, MD 21202, or fax 410-347-1188. Cost: $20.00 plus
$4 S&H.
Find more resources for community builders in the Connect for Kids ?Community
Building? Topic Page.
http://www.connectforkids.org/homepage1543/index.htm
THINGS TO DO! PLACES TO GO!
**White House Conference on Teenagers
On May 2nd, the White House President and Mrs. Clinton will host the
day-long Conference on Teenagers: Raising Responsible and Resourceful Youth,
covering the importance of pre-teen years, the impact of media on teens
and perceptions and realties of parents' roles.
http://www.pub.whitehouse.gov/uri-res/I2R?urn:pdi://oma.eop.gov.us/2000/4/13/3.text.1
Before attending or tuning in via satellite, check out Child Trends'
brief, "Preventing Problems or Promoting the Positive: What Do We Want
for Our Children?" at http://www.childtrends.org/r_pd.cfm.
**Connect for Kids Calendar
Want to know what's up for May? Check out the Connect for Kids calendar.
http://www.connectforkids.org/calendar1569/calendar_list.htm?month=5&year=2000
If you want to get involved in your community, you'll find a wealth
of ideas and stories of like-minded people in our ?Ideas for Action? section.
http://www.connectforkids.org/homepage1563/index.htm
Find volunteer opportunities by visiting your state page on Connect
for Kids.
http://www.connectforkids.org/homepage1576/index.htm
JOB OPENINGS
Connect for Kids is now posting job openings on our state pages. We
have a number of new job postings, especially for the DC metro area and
Arizona. http://www.connectforkids.org/homepage1576/index.htm
FOCUS ON THE STATES
**Big Budget States
The 1998 Annual Survey of Government Finances released by the Census
Bureau shows that California, New York, and Texas had the biggest state
budgets in the nation in 1998. Across the nation about a third ($295 billion)
of state spending went to education, and 22% ($208 billion) went for public
welfare spending.
http://www.census.gov/govs/www/state.html
California. School Wise Press is currently featuring a stark
and powerful photo essay on the conditions of some of California's schools.
There are also resources and ways to make a difference and bring attention
to neglected and unsafe schools. http://www.schoolwisepress.com/l_bricks/index.html
A Consumers Union reports finds that school-based outreach offers a
?Golden Opportunity? for enrolling uninsured children in public health
insurance programs. http://www.consumersunion.org/health/goldinfo.htm
Connecticut. How much money does it take to raise a family in
the state? The 1999 Connecticut Self-Sufficiency Study shows that it takes
between $42,000 and $58,980 for a two-parent family with two young children,
depending on region.
Massachusetts. Join the Candlelight Vigil for the Uninsured,
Tuesday, May 2 at 6:45 pm at the Boston State House. 800-383-1973
Mississippi. See **Reforming or Dismantling Welfare? under Children
and Welfare above.
New Mexico. The Albequerque Journal reports that a fourth of
the families who have left New Mexico's welfare system earn too little
to buy enough food. Only half of the 63% of former welfare recipients who
have found jobs are earning more than $1,000 a month.
http://www.abqjournal.com/news/1news04-19-00.htm
Pennsylvania. The Public Education Network reports that standards-based
education is slowly moving into America's classrooms and having an impact
on teacher practice. A new report from the Philadelphia Education Fund,
?The Preparation of Middle Grades Teachers in an Era of High Stakes and
High Standards: Philadelphia's Predicament,? outlines the need for more
standards-oriented professional development and the disconnection between
teacher preparation and the needs of schools.
http://www.philaedfund.org/documents.html
Keep in touch, everyone!
Jan Richter and the Connect for Kids team
jan@benton.org
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