Connect for Kids.org: Better Policies for Kids
September 19, 2005
EDUCATION NEWS [4]
**Ed Department to Cover Student Costs, Post-Katrina
**Slowing Down to Save Kids
For seven years, a Nebraska couple has been pushing a simple idea to save kids’ lives: encourage drivers to observe a 25 MPH speed limit on residential streets. Cindy Murphy McMahon reports on how Tom and Wendy Everson have spread their message to hundreds of cities and towns in 46 states.
http://www.connectforkids.org/node/3392 [9]
**Talktime Live: Coping & Support Strategies for Kids in Katrina’s Aftermath
Homes, toys, friends, pets -- in some cases even parents or family members -- the list of what Hurricane Katrina has taken from hundreds of thousands of children is overwhelming. For kids — both those directly and indirectly affected by the storm — there is still much coping left to do and a lot of support still needed. How can adults help children through this stressful time? What kind of public programs and services are needed most to help families and communities rebuild? For the latest ConnectforKids.org free online chat on September 21 at 1 p.m. ET, we’re connecting our audience with two experts who will answer questions on a variety of coping and support strategies for children, youth and families. Parents, educators, advocates and anyone else wanting to ask questions and submit comments on kids and Katrina are encouraged to submit advance questions and comments for the experts:
http://www.connectforkids.org/node/3389 [10]
Please share our press release with people who might be interested in joining the chat:
http://www.connectforkids.org/node/3390 [11]
**Stable Ground to Grow On
Like many organizations, Connect for Kids is lucky to benefit from the skills and energy of highly-motivated interns each summer. Along with their hard work, our interns sometimes bring us new insight into the issues that matter to them as young adults for whom childhood experience is still fresh. Tameka Patterson, who spent several years in foster care, says stability should be a top priority for children in care.
http://www.connectforkids.org/node/3394 [12]
**Recent CFK Blog Headlines
The End of All-Knowingness
Vote for Pedro
Asthma Can't Stop a Parade
By Any Means Necessary?
Almost Remembering New Orleans
http://www.connectforkids.org/blog [13]
Action Central continues to post new action alerts on improving policies for children, youth and families, especially in the wake of Katrina’s devastation.
http://www.connectforkids.org/action_central [14]
**CFK Katrina Toolkit
In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Connect for Kids is continuing to update our list of online resources for helping those affected.
http://www.connectforkids.org/node/3372 [15]
**Public Forum in Washington, DC: Youth of Color in Juvenile Justice
Authors from the latest report by the Building Blocks for Youth Initiative, No Turning Back, will discuss the racial and ethnic disparities affecting youth of color in the justice system and reform efforts that have been successful across the country. When/Where: Tuesday, October 4, 2005 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm at the Public Welfare Foundation, 1200 U Street, Washington, DC, (Green line at the U Street/Cardozo Station). Space is Limited. Please RSVP by contacting Valerie McDowell, vmcdowell@ylc.org [16] or (202) 637-0377 x. 101.
**September 24, 2005: National Public Lands Day
Sponsored by the National Environmental Education and Training Foundation, this annual event is the nation’s largest hands-on volunteer effort to improve and enhance America’s public lands. In 2004, nearly 90,000 volunteers built trails and bridges, planted trees and plants, and removed trash and invasive plants. Get involved in your hometown on Saturday, September 24, 2005.
http://www.npld.com/ [17]
REBUILDING COMMUNITIES POST-KATRINA
**Campaign for Youth Issues Rebuilding Guidelines
Even before the storm and floods, many of the young people in the affected areas were already adrift -- disconnected from school, work, and other supports all youth need to make the transition to successful adulthood. As communities struggle to integrate newcomers, or rebuild damaged infrastructure, the National Campaign for Youth says the needs and abilities of disconnected young people should not be overlooked. In fact, now’s the time to help both communities and kids ages 16-24 by involving them in rebuilding and developing their neighborhoods.
http://www.nyec.org/CFY-katrinal.pdf [18]
**9/11 Reconstruction Watchdogs Issue Warning About Hurricane Katrina Rebuilding
Make sure aid packages and rebuilding work are distributed equitably – that’s the message three watchdog groups, including two in New York that monitored the post-9/11 reconstruction of Lower Manhattan, sent members of Congress last week. In New York, the groups warn, most of the $20 billion allocated for economic development has benefited real estate developers and wealthy neighborhoods. In the aftermath of Katrina, the groups say, Congress should establish accountability measures to ensure that low- and moderate-income people, dislocated and unemployed workers, and small businesses have access to federal and state rebuilding subsidies.
http://www.reconstructionwatch.net/openletterpage.htm [19]
**New Survey of Hurricane Katrina Evacuees in Houston Shelters
Last week, the Washington Post, the Kaiser Family Foundation, and the Harvard School of Public Health surveyed evacuees in shelters in the Houston area. More than 1 in 10 (14 percent) people evacuated following the hurricane report a family member, neighbor, or friend was killed by the storm or subsequent flooding; more than half (55 percent) report that their home was destroyed, and 53 percent that they are separated from or missing members of their immediate family. The survey also includes a number of health-related questions and information on people's plans for the future.
http://www.kff.org/newsmedia/7401.cfm [20]
**Katrina Relief, Federal Spending & Deficits
Some lawmakers are saying that, while the U.S. should fund relief and recovery efforts, costs should be recouped by sharp cuts in other domestic programs. Some also reject the suggestion that planned tax cuts be revisited. The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities says the rhetoric about an explosion in federal spending is not supported by the facts.
http://www.cbpp.org/9-17-05bud.htm [21]
**Ed Department to Cover Student Costs, Post-Katrina
There are about 372,000 students from Louisiana and Mississippi who are unable to attend class in their local schools, because of the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. Last week, the U.S. Department of Education announced that it will cover 90 percent of costs incurred by students forced to relocate after Katrina. That means providing as much as $7500 per student to schools that have enrolled more than 10 displaced children. It’s unclear where the money – estimated to top 1.9 billion – will come from.
http://ifap.ed.gov/eannouncements/katrina.html [22]
**Congress Postpones Budget, Other Bills, to Focus on Katrina
Congress has delayed the final round of the federal budget reconciliation – which would have included deep cuts to mandatory programs and the passage of more tax cuts – until mid-October. The Senate has also postponed its vote on the repeal of the estate tax, to focus on hurricane relief. Advocacy organizations remind concerned adults that this means there’s more time to weigh in on the issues that matter most, from higher ed funding to health care, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families to child care subsidies.
http://www.connectforkids.org/action_central [23]
**Families USA Says Medicaid is Good for What Ails Us, Post-Katrina
Families USA has issued a new Health Policy Memo, “Medicaid: Supporting Emergency Relief.” It outlines the arguments why Medicaid is the right mechanism for disaster relief – even as the program is facing looming funding cuts.
http://www.familiesusa.org/site/PageServer?pagename=Media_Release_Emergency_Medicaid_Katrina [24]
**Secondhand Smoke as Harmful to Fetus as Inhaled Smoke
Secondhand cigarette smoke exposure might be as harmful to a fetus as a pregnant woman inhaling smoke directly from a cigarette, according to a study published in BMC Pediatrics on June 29. According to the study, secondhand cigarette smoke can cause genetic mutations in the fetus that can lead to leukemia and lymphoma. The mutations in fetuses of women exposed to secondhand smoke were indistinguishable from those found in the fetuses of pregnant smokers.
http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2431/5/20 [25]
**Children's Enrollment in SCHIP Up Modestly in 2004
Medicaid covers more than one in four children in the U.S., and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) covers about 4 million children, according to the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured. A new report from the Commission shows that SCHIP enrollment grew slightly (1.6 percent) during the last two quarters of 2004, reversing the trend of declines that began in June 2003. For the year, monthly SCHIP enrollment grew by 25,000 (0.6 percent) to 3,950,000, slightly under the enrollment record in the program (3,951,000) achieved in June 2003.
http://www.kff.org/medicaid/7348.cfm [26]
Another Kaiser report finds that in June 2004, a total of 41.3 million people were enrolled in Medicaid, an increase of 1.6 million (just over 4 percent) from June 2003.
http://www.kff.org/medicaid/7349.cfm [27]
**Updated Data on Medicaid & SCHIP, Health Insurance, Unemployment Rates & HIV/AIDS Funding
Statehealthfacts.org provides free, up-to-date, and easy-to-use health data on all 50 states, covering more than 500 health topics.
http://www.statehealthfacts.org/r/whatsnew.html [28]
**Survey: Steady Decline in Employers that Offer Health Benefits
The percentage of businesses offering health insurance to their workers has declined steadily over the last five years, and where it is provided, premiums are up 9.2 percent, according to the 2005 Annual Employer Health Benefits Survey by Kaiser and Health Research and Educational Trust. Three in five firms (60 percent) offered coverage to workers in 2005, down significantly from 69 percent in 2000 and 66 percent in 2003. Most of the drop comes from fewer small businesses offering health benefits, as nearly all businesses (98 percent) with 200 or more workers offer such benefits. Complete results, and an archived Web cast of the briefing, are available.
http://www.kff.org/insurance/7315/ [29]
**Dental Health Getting Worse for Vulnerable Families
The dental health of adolescents and adults improved over the past decade, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention -- but at the same time, there’s been a sharp increase in dental decay, or caries, among the nation's poorest and youngest children.
http://www.cdhp.org/ [30]
**Report Examines Medicaid Dental Cuts in Massachusetts
Although research has increasingly recognized the importance of dental care and coverage for overall health and well-being, adult dental benefits are often one of the first targets of Medicaid cost cutting. A new Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured report examines the impact of Massachusetts eliminating coverage of most dental services for adults in its Medicaid program, MassHealth.
http://www.kff.org/medicaid/7378.cfm [31]
**CFK Oral Health Topic Pages
http://www.connectforkids.org/taxonomy/term/261 [32]
WORKING POOR: SEARCHING FOR GOOD JOBS, GROWING JOBS
**Working, but Still Falling Behind: Senate Democrats Offer Stats
Working families are finding it harder to get by – let alone get ahead – in the face of wages that have not kept pace with productivity, cutbacks on employer-based health insurance, and downsizing employment. The Democratic staff of the Joint Economic Committee has issued three briefs that analyze national and state-by-state trends in poverty, household income, and health insurance coverage since 2000 (based on new 2004 data released by the Census Bureau).
Poverty Brief:
http://jec.senate.gov/democrats/Documents/Reports/poverty7sep2005.pdf [33]
Household Income Brief:
http://jec.senate.gov/democrats/Documents/Reports/income7sep2005.pdf [34]
Health Insurance Brief:
http://jec.senate.gov/democrats/Documents/Reports/healthinsurance7sep2005.pdf [35]
**Putting a Human Face on Welfare Reform
The harsh realities of urban poverty have been pushed to center stage by Hurricane Katrina. But for Jason DeParle, a New York Times reporter who has delved deeply into the workings of welfare reform, it’s familiar territory. DeParle spoke recently with Robert Capriccioso about the world of the working poor.
http://www.connectforkids.org/node/3380 [36]
Keep up the good work, everyone!
Caitlin
Caitlin Johnson, Sr. Writer and the Connect for Kids team