CFK Weekly February 20, 2008

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Bringing you up-to-date and relevant news, research and policy developments affecting children, youth and families.

February 20, 2008

In This Issue

New on Connect for Kids [2]

Foster Care Resources [3]

Education News [4]

After-School Resources [5]

Child Well-Being [6]

Child Care and Early Learning [7]

Tools for Your Work [8]

Grants and Funding [9]

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Quick Links

Connect for Kids [11]

Forum for Youth Investment [12]

Youth Policy Action Center [13]

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 [14]. 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.

Keep working for kids, everyone!
Caitlin Johnson
weekly@connectforkids.org [15]

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[16]To read PDF files, download the free Adobe Reader [17].

New on Connectforkids.org

first focus

[18]How Kids Fare in the President's 2009 Federal Budget: The Lowlights [19]
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.

hershel

[20]Paul Krugman and the P Word [21]
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.

Foster Care Resources

YouthCommunication

[22]From Youth Communication [23]: New Comprehensive Site for Youth in Foster Care [24]
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 [25]
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.

OFA

[26]Scholarships for Former Foster Youth [27]
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 [28]
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.

Education News

Avoidable Losses: High-Stakes Accountability and the Dropout Crisis [29]
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.

[30]Read Across America Day Is March 3, 2008 [31]
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 [32]
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.

After-School Resources

National Call-In Campaign to Support Afterschool (February 25 and 26) [33]
President Bush's federal budget proposal includes $300 million in cuts to after-school funds and restructures the 21st Century Community Learning Centers Program as a voucher program, according to the Afterschool Alliance. The group is sponsoring this campaign to help adults contact their elected officials about the issue.

Synergy Conference (North Carolina, March 3-5) [34]
The fourth annual North Carolina Center for After-School Programs (NC CAP) conference will include a special pre-conference opportunity on afterschool funding, sustainability and quality enhancement.

AfterschoolDIGEST Newsletter [35]
Get the latest updates and news from AfterSchoolPRO.

[36]National Partnership for Quality After-School Learning [37]
Check out the after-school training toolkit, which explores successful and innovative practices to engage student learning.

Child Well-Being

[38]Reduci [39]ng Maternal Depression and Its Impact on Young Children [40]
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 [41]
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.

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:

CCDBG State Plan Reported Activities to Support Limited English Proficient (LEP) and Immigrant Communities [42]. This Center for Law and Social Policy paper finds that state-reported activities to reach children in immigrant families through the Child Care and Development Block Grant program -- the largest source of federal child care funding to states -- are "often vague and few states reported carrying out multiple strategies."

Elevating the Field: Using NAEYC Early Childhood Program Accreditation to Support and Reach Higher Quality in Early Childhood Programs [43]. This National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) report highlights strategies that states are using to improve the quality of their early care and education systems, with linkages to NAEYC accreditation.

Charting Progress for Babies in Child Care: Policy Framework Summary [44]. This CLASP and ZERO TO THREE guide sets forth four key principles that all babies and toddlers in child care need and offers 15 recommendations that state child care licensing, quality and subsidy policies should address.

Early Learning Guidelines for Infants and Toddlers: Recommendations to States ( [45]Webinar, February 28) [46]
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 [47]
March Forth

[48]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.

[49]Tools for Your Work

How a Bill Becomes a Law: Roles of Congressional Staff [50]
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 [51].

Promising Practices in Nonprofit Governance: A Checklist [52]
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 [53]
"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.

[54]Grants and Funding

Staples Foundation Education Programs for Disadvantaged Youth [55]
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 [56]
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 [57]
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 [58]
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 [59]
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.

Caitlin Johnson and Thaddeus Ferber
Connect for Kids and the Forum for Youth Investment