NEW ON CONNECTFORKIDS.ORG

Detroit’s Tough Times Spur Effort to Help Schools
The national spotlight is shining on Detroit, as Superbowl XL roars into town. But after the glitz and glitter are gone, nearly half of the children in this beleaguered city will still be living in poverty, and Detroit will still be hard-pressed to provide basic services they need. Connect for Kids’ Cecilia Garcia looks at how one nonprofit organization, Communities in Schools of Detroit, is trying to pick up the slack.
http://www.connectforkids.org/node/3871

A Love Like No Other: Stories From Adoptive Parents
Twenty adoptive parents – all of them professional writers, but otherwise presenting a broad range of voices and views – contributed to this powerful collection of stories about the fears, joys, pains and triumphs of adoptive families.
http://www.connectforkids.org/node/3872

Kruger and Smolowe join us on Wednesday, February 08th @ 1:00 PM ET for a discussion of the book—and some of the authors will also chime in to answer your questions. Submit a pre-question:
http://www.connectforkids.org/node/3782

KIDS & POLITICS

CHN Report to Accompany State of the Union Address
Before settling in to listen to President Bush’s State of the Union address tomorrow, take a moment to read the new Coalition on Human Needs report, “Taint of the Union,” which offers context and a critical framework for the key points the President is likely to cite. For example, while there has been a 13.5 percent growth in productivity from 2001 to 2005, many workers are seeing no benefit. Since 2003, only the top 5 percent of wage-earners have gained ground; non-managerial workers’ wages have actually dropped over the past two years, taking inflation into account. The number of Americans living in poverty has risen by 5.4 million since 2000 -- nearly 37 million Americans (and more than 13 million children) lived in poverty in 2004.

One in four families—that’s 10.7 million families with kids—don’t earn enough to pay for housing and bills. Despite the rising costs of health care, housing, and college, Congress is poised to pass a budget that will make health care and college even more expensive for thousands, and force states to collect less child support and provide less child care to families.

The report includes a clear, close look at what cuts to discretionary programs will mean, and how services like maternal and child health care, juvenile delinquency prevention, and after-school programs have been cut drastically since 2002. It also includes ideas for positive action – for example, a look at the post-Katrina Emergency Food Stamps initiative as a model of disaster relief.
http://www.chn.org/pdf/taintoftheunion2006.pdf

CHN also offers state-by-state fact sheets about the impact of some of the cuts described in the report.
http://www.chn.org//issues/opportunityforall/statefactsheets.html

Federal Budget Heats Up this Week
On February 1, the House is expected to vote on the federal budget, passed by the Senate before the holidays. If approved, this budget will cut federal funding for Medicaid, kinship care assistance, child support enforcement, child care subsidies and college aid over the next five years.

Round-Up of Resources. The Center for Law and Social Policy has the low-down on how the federal budget, up for a vote in the House on February 1, will affect programs like foster care, child support, student aid, Medicaid, and TANF/Child care. This page includes CLASP reports and links to information from other organizations.
http://www.clasp.org/NewsFlash/Reconcil/

CFK and CHN Conference Call. Connect for Kids and the Coalition on Human Needs are hosting a conference call for state and local advocates on the federal budget. Listen in on February 2, 2006 at 2 p.m. Eastern time (11:00 a.m., Pacific time). RSVP to rsvp@chn.org for more information and contact numbers. There is no charge.

Citizens’ Voices Do Matter
Voices for America’s Children reports that Rep. Rob Simmons (R-CT) specifically cited Connecticut Voices for Children in explaining his decision to vote against the budget spending bill. “I have met with and listened to a wide range of constituents—including AARP, American Federation of Teachers, Connecticut Voices for Children, labor unions and radiologists—regarding the details of the proposed changes,” he said. “The consensus is that the bill, despite the improvements, remains unsatisfactory. Consequently, I have decided to vote against the budget on February 1.”

The American Friends Service Committee is offering a toll-free line to contact members of Congress. Dial 800-426-8073 and ask to speak to your elected officials.
http://www.afsc.org/economic-justice/sos/

Once Again, from the Top: the 2007 Budget
With the ink barely dry on the 2006 budget (if it’s dry at all!), President Bush is expected to release his proposal for fiscal year 2007 federal spending on February 6. The Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) is hosting a conference call with Bob Greenstein, executive director of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, to help you make sense of the new budget and what it means for families, communities, and your work. Cost: $16.
http://www.clasp.org/confdescriptions.php#17

Violence Against Women Act Includes Important Youth Programs
President Bush signed the reauthorized Violence Against Women Act on January 5. Girls Inc. says that the Act can help young girls; it includes a new grant program for schools to address dating and domestic violence and sexual assault, and funding for intervention services for young people who witness and experience violence in their lives. Language was also included to increase attention to the needs of girls in the juvenile justice system, who are overwhelmingly victims of violence.
http://www.girlsinc.org/ic/page.php?id=4.9

Policy Matters: Twenty State Policies to Create Bright Futures for Children, Families, and Communities
Last week, we covered a new report that examines how social programs and policies -- ranging from education and foster care to TANF, Medicaid, and others -- affect state economies. We incorrectly said the report was “developed in cooperation with the National Conference of State Legislatures,” when in fact it is solely the product of the Center for the Study of Social Policy (which had a partnership with NCSL early on). We apologize for the confusion, and thank the Center for clarifying – our blunder also gives us a chance to get out the word out again about this groundbreaking report!
http://www.policymatters.us/

EDUCATION NEWS

Politics Pulls Teacher Pay to Forefront
Teachers’ salaries aren’t keeping up with inflation, according to the National Education Association. But that may change in the coming school year, thanks to increasingly flush state coffers and the politics of an election year. This January 25, 2005 Education Week article reports that governors in many of the 36 states holding gubernatorial elections in the fall are urging pay raises or cash incentives to improve teachers’ skills and boost student performance—including across-the-board raises in Alabama and New Mexico and a hike in the minimum salary in Arizona. http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2006/01/25/20teachpay.h25.html

By the Numbers: State Goals for Increasing Postsecondary Attainment
It’s widely agreed that a college degree is crucial for helping workers get and keep good jobs that pay living wages, offer benefits, and include room for advancement. A skilled workforce is also good for state and local economies. In recent years, many states have invested in improving college enrollment and graduation outcomes; are these investments working? This report -- based on Jobs for the Future’s 2005 survey of higher education plans in all 50 states -- finds that overall, fewer than 25 states have set measurable goals for increasing the proportion of their population with college degrees; 20 have set enrollment goals; 10 have retention goals; and nineteen have graduation goals. The report also includes information on how states are measuring and publicizing their programs.
http://www.jff.org/jff/kc/library/0269

EVALUATING SCHOOL REFORM

Charter Schools: Success by Age?
Do charter schools improve student outcomes? The answer may depend on students’ age, according to a new study by the Colorado state Department of Education, which found that charter schools do improve the academic performance of elementary kids, but not so ninth and tenth graders, who perform better in reading and math when enrolled in traditional high schools. Advocates for charter schools note that the populations may be quite different, with charter schools serving teens with significant educational needs. The report also found that charter-school students generally made larger gains in reading, writing, math and science in the past three years than students in traditional schools.
http://www.cde.state.co.us/cdechart/charsurv.htm

Neighborhood and Academic Achievement: Results from the Moving to Opportunity Experiment
The federal Moving to Opportunities program, run by the Department of Housing and Urban and Development, gives families in high-poverty areas housing vouchers to help them move to areas with better school systems and employment prospects. A new study released by the National Bureau of Economic Research finds that four to seven years after leaving their old neighborhoods, children in these families are doing no better in school that their peers who remained in housing projects in the program's cities (Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York). There is, however, evidence that the program reduces some stresses and hardships for families.
http://nber15.nber.org/papers/w11909.pdf

EDUCATION NEWS FROM THE STATES

Education Week’s State of the States Coverage
In their 2006 State of the State Addresses, the nation's governors outline their ideas on education and other legislative priorities. Education Week has the low-down, including a complete transcript of the address; some stories also include audio versions.
http://www.you-click.net/GoNow/a15864a141363a205894482a30

State of Education: Who Makes the Grade?
Most public schools are making “lackluster” academic gains nationwide but some, like Delaware and North Carolina, are doing a standout job of boosting the numbers of students who pass math and reading tests. This Stateline.org comparison of national test scores from 1992 to 2005 identifies states that are doing the best – and worst – job of improving scores.
http://www.stateline.org/live/ViewPage.action?siteNodeId=136&languageId=1&contentId=83484

New York City's New Century High Schools Initiative: A Study in Meaningful Partnerships
New York is running what many are calling the nation's largest and most ambitious effort to transform urban high schools; a central component of the New Century High Schools effort is the requirement that schools must establish a working partnership with at least one community organization or institution. These partnerships -- with diverse organizations including youth-serving groups, arts alliances, hospitals, social services centers, theaters -- are bringing new resources to schools and enhance curriculum. All partners were accountable for schools’ and students’ performance.
http://www.fcny.org/portal.php/syd/NewPublication/

“First Things First” School Reform Raising Student Achievement in Kansas City
Kansas City has shown strong improvements on middle and high school performance and graduation rates, student dropout rates, and student reading and mathematics scores -- the result, this MDRC study says, of the state’s school reform program, First Things First. The program centers on (1) small learning communities, (2) a family advocate system that pairs students with a staff member who keeps the family informed about the student's progress, and (3) instructional improvement efforts that are measured. The program is being replicated throughout the state, but results of the expansion are not yet clear.
http://www.mdrc.org/publications/412/overview.html

FAMILY INCOME AND WORK

PULLING APART: A State-by-State Analysis of Income Trends
Between the early 1980s and the early 2000s, the incomes of the country’s highest-income families climbed substantially, while middle- and lower-income families saw only modest increases in income – resulting in a deep income gap between families, according to a new study by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and the Economic Policy Institute. On average, the incomes of the top fifth of families were more than ten times greater than the incomes of the bottom fifth. Without government programs like the earned income tax credit and food stamps, this gap would be even wider. The report includes state-by-state comparisons in addition to a national picture.
http://www.cbpp.org/1-26-06sfp.pdf

CBPP has also pulled out one-page state fact sheets on income trends and disparities.
http://www.cbpp.org/1-26-06sfp-states.htm

Web Feature on Low-Income Working Families
More than 9 million working families with children are just one health crisis or job setback away from catastrophe, according to the Urban Institute. They play by the rules, work hard, and struggle against seemingly insurmountable odds – but still these families often remain invisible to the public and policymakers. In this web feature, Urban gathers the latest data and snapshots of families’ circumstances, as well as implications for policy and programs.
http://www.urban.org/toolkit/issues/workingfamilies.cfm

Model Workplace Supports for Lower-Wage Employees
Corporate Voices for Working Families designed this toolkit to assist companies in the development of workplace supports that recognize and reward the critical contributions of hourly employees. The programs and case studies highlighted represent corporate commitments to help employees with financial and family issues.
http://www.cvworkingfamilies.org/BestPracticesToolkit/Bestpractices.shtml

When Work Is Not Enough
This new Brookings Institution publication presents the first comprehensive analysis of the work support system for low-income and welfare-to-work families.
http://www.brookings.edu/press/books/whenworkisnotenough.htm

GAO Welfare-to-Work Assessment of Approaches to Boost Family Income
The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program met with initial success in moving families from welfare to work – but recent attention to TANF has focused on whether and how the program can help parents move into good jobs with living wages, benefits, and room for advancement and increased earnings. This Government Accountability Office report examines four strategies -- training, post-secondary education, self-employment, and financial asset building – to help families, and finds that programs that involve local nonprofits, state and local TANF agencies, employers, and community colleges have the best chances of helping parents find good jobs and improve their financial security.
http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d06108.pdf

On the Corner: Day Labor in the United States
For some 117,600 adults in this country, a typical workday begins at a day-labor site, waiting for potential employers to offer a day’s work on construction sites, farms, and other workplaces. While many day laborers are immigrants -- legal and nonlegal alike – 11 percent have been in the United States for more than 20 years; 29 percent of the children of day laborers are U.S. citizens. This report from UCLA Center for the Study of Urban Poverty offers a picture of day laborers and the conditions they face on the job and in communities. It also examines work centers and policies that alleviate community tensions and safeguard workers' rights.
http://www.coshnetwork.org/Day%20Labor%20study%202006.pdf

SPOTLIGHT ON DADS

Sustaining and Growing Father Involvement for Low-Income Children
Dads make a significant difference in their children’s lives, yet half of poor children do not live with their fathers. While about 25 percent of kids (of all incomes) see their non-residential fathers each week, one in three have no contact with live-away dads. These fathers often face barriers to getting and staying involved in their children’s lives, and providing important emotional and financial support. This policy brief looks at effective father-involvement programs. It calls for policies that address disadvantaged fathers’ needs for employment services and other supports, which can be done with existing federal funds.
http://www.nassembly.org/fspc/practice/documents/Fathersbrief.pdf

OUT-OF-SCHOOL TIME INNOVATIONS

Making a Difference in the Lives of Youth
This new compendium from the National Collaboration for Youth profiles 10 out-of-school-time programs and identifies the best approaches offered throughout the country, and they can lead to positive outcomes for youth.
http://www.nassembly.org/nydic/programming/newideas/MakingaDifferenceintheLivesofYouth.htm

Harnessing Technology in Out-of-School Time Settings
The seventh annual Out-of-School Time Evaluation Snapshot from the Harvard Family Research Project looks at technology-focused programming in after-school and summer programs, and identifies best practices and ways that states and local communities are addressing challenges associated with establishing and running high-tech programs. It includes information on integrating technology and multimedia into project-based learning, and how states are creating community technology centers that serve school-age kids.
http://www.gse.harvard.edu/hfrp/projects/afterschool/resources/snapshot7.html

FOSTERING POSITIVE YOUTH DEVELOPMENT

Studies Show Benefits of Keeping Youth in Foster Care During Transition to Adulthood
What are states doing to ease the transition of youth “aging out” of foster care at age 18? This Chapin Hall report examines the experiences of young people in three states with different options for remaining in care after eighteen. The bottom line? Those with access to some care after their 18th birthday were more likely to receive transitional services, to be working or in school, and to have access to health and mental health care services.
http://www.chapinhall.org/article_abstract.aspx?ar=1355&L2=61&L3=130

Increasing Resiliency in Children
This Urban Institute report identifies factors increasing children’s resiliency – including boosting parent involvement in school and lowering parental stress and depression.
http://www.urban.org/publications/411255.html

Can Positive Youth Development Improve Juvenile Justice?
If you missed this Urban Institute/Chapin Hall forum on incorporating what we know about how youth develop capacities for reason, self-respect and personal and social responsibility into juvenile justice practices, you can hear the panel online at
http://www.urban.org/Pressroom/thursdayschild/jan2006.cfm

Connect for Kids’ editor Susan Phillips also did a field report, available at http://www.connectforkids.org/field_reports

YOUTH DEVELOPMENT “TO DOs”

Bookmark the Youth in Transition BlogSpot for Weekly News
Can’t get enough news on youth? Every Monday the Youth Transitions Funders Group is posting an update of news on youth in transition from online news publications and websites.
http://youthintransitionnews.blogspot.com/

National Network for Youth Symposium 2006
This conference will be held in Washington, DC, from February 5-8, 2006. If you can’t make it to the event, you can check out many of the materials online.
http://www.nn4youth.org/site/PageServer?pagename=meetings_symposium

Forum: Vulnerable Youth and the Transition to Adulthood
Young people in foster care, with physical or mental health problems, and those who are disconnected from school and work have a particularly tough time transitioning to adulthood. This public policy forum, co-hosted by the Urban Institute and Chapin Hall, looks at what can help; it will take place at the Urban Institute in Washington, D.C. from 9:00 am to 10:30 am on February 9.
http://www.about.chapinhall.org/conferences/urban/conference.html

Keep working for kids, everyone!
Caitlin

Caitlin Johnson, sr. writer, and the Connect for Kids team