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Editor's
Note
Welcome to the
first issue of the newly designed CFK Update! Although
congress is currently on break, they'll return at
the end of the month to tackle the fiscal year 2008
federal budget, which sets spending for many programs
for children and families. We've linked you to the
latest news and analyses in our budget section below.
Speaking of budgets, there are new FAQs, stats and resources
for understanding and fighting child poverty. There's
also a new global comparison of child well-being from
the United Nations -- you can see how the U.S. measures
up.
There are two great opportunities to hear from youth
themselves as they weigh in on the high school dropout
crisis and major education issues. Don't miss the
new interactive clearinghouse of successful education
interventions, Public School Insights.org.
You'll also find tools for turning set-backs into
successes (see the Tools section), and funding alerts
below.
Keep us posted
on your work, everyone!
Caitlin Johnson
weekly@connectforkids.org
 To
read PDF files, download the free Adobe
Reader.
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 New
on Connectforkids.org
The
Scorecard: Tracking Reach and Results
For many child and youth organizations, tracking the reach
and results of the work is a challenging task. As part
of our ongoing Scorecard series, CFK and Child Advocacy
360 are sharing examples of organizations' efforts
to measure impact and results.
This week, Children's Rights, Inc. shares its follow-up
to the groundbreaking Hitting
the M.A.R.C. foster care reimbursement study, and
our own Hershel Sarbin offers his take on the difficult
yet important job of keeping score.
Profiles
in Action: Moms' Walking Group Leads Push for a Walkable
Neighborhood
In Bakersfield, California, parents formed a walking group
that turned out to be good for the health of their community,
as they took on dangerous litter, crime and traffic to
make their streets more "walkable." This grassroots
-- and pavement-pounding -- snapshot from The
Children's Advocate has the story.
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 Resources
for Reconnecting
Youth
America's
Promise Alliance Launches National Dropout Prevention
Campaign: April 1
On the 25th Anniversary of the landmark education report,
A
Nation At Risk, the
America's Promise Alliance warns that "our educational
system remains in peril -- with more than one-third of
high school students dropping out before graduation."
On April 1, the Alliance will launch a two-year national
campaign that will include more than 100 summits nationwide
to prepare our youth for college, work and life. Get involved
in your hometown!
Y outh
Conference on High School Dropout Rate - What do Teens
Think?
This winter, about 200 teens gathered to discuss the school
dropout rate in New York City, covering such factors as
peer pressure, lack of support from parents, schools and
the community, barriers for immigrants and gender inequities.
The Children's Aid Society has posted recommendations
from the conference on its Website.
Second
Chance Act Passes
The Senate has passed the Second Chance Act (HR 1593),
which is designed to help former prisoners -- both adults
and juveniles -- receive housing, employment, education
and health care assistance and family strengthening services
where possible. President Bush is expected to sign the
bill into law, the Child Welfare League of America reports.
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 Foster
Care Resources
Foster
Care Central
Here's a new nonprofit social network (think MySpace
or Facebook) for social workers, foster parents and others
interested in improving the lives of foster and adoptive
youth.
Youth
with Disabilities in the Foster Care System: Barriers
to Success and Proposed Policy Solutions
At least one-third of children in foster care have physical
or mental disabilities and are at higher risk for poor
educational, employment and well-being outcomes. This
report from the National Council on Disability finds that
federal investments are undercut by lack of coordination
across programs and agencies. It offers recommendations
for policymakers.
Recommendations
for Policy, Practice and Research on Youth Permanence
Casey Family Services has released a report from the research
roundtable held during the last National Convening on
Youth Permanence in 2006. The report offers an overview
from national experts of how to document and understand
youth permanence strategies for children in foster care.
(See left sidebar of this site.)
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Child
Safety and Well-Being
Promoting
Healthy Families in Your Community: 2008 Resource Packet
April is National Child
Abuse Prevention Month. The Children's Bureau
has an update and enhanced version of the 2007 packet
offering (1) guidance for service providers in exploring
protective factors with families, (2) tipsheets in both
English and Spanish, (3) ideas for engaging the community
in strengthening families and other tools to prevent child
abuse and neglect.
 World
Youth Report 2007
From the United Nations Programme on Youth, this report
examines the challenges and opportunities existing for
the roughly 1.2 billion young people between the ages
of 15 and 24 in the world. It also summarizes major youth
development trends in the 15 priority areas of the World
Programme of Action for Youth.
Safety
and Risk Assessments Breakthrough Series Collaborative
(Deadline March 24)
The Breakthrough Series Collaborative is a partnership
between Casey Family Programs and the American Humane
Society to support and evaluate rapid, small-scale testing
of new strategies in child welfare systems across the
country. The deadline for applications for the latest
round of the Collaborative has been extended. Contact
Donna Parrish at 303-925-9427 for information.
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Education
News
Youth Voices on Education
Issues
Among the great new resources from What Kids Can Do are
two new sections that bring young people's perspectives
into the discussion on schools and learning.
 Native
Education 101: Basic Facts about American Indian, Alaska
Native and Native Hawaiian Education
From the National Indian Education Association and the
National Education Association, this report looks at achievement
barriers facing American Indians, Alaskan natives and
native Hawaiians in schools. It finds that policies and
resources are needed to preserve indigenous languages
and cultures, recruit and retain quality teachers and
support safe, effective schools.
What's
Working: Public School Insights.org
This new site from the Learning First Alliance offers
"a fresh vision for public schools in the 21st century,"
along with real stories about what's working in public
schools and school districts around the country. It includes
a feature that lets users upload their own accounts of
what's working locally. A site to spend time on!
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Health
and Health Care News
Phys
Ed May Boost Girls' Academic Achievement
As recess and gym classes decline in schools across the
country, a new Center for Disease Control study found
that girls who get more than an hour a week of physical
education scored consistently higher on standardized tests
than those getting less than 35 minutes a week. There
was no significant change for boys.
New Medicaid and SCHIP
Rules -- Impacts on Children
Two new reports look at recent changes in the regulations
and administration of government health insurance programs
for children. These changes include a requirement that
states prove that they have enrolled at least 95 percent
of all uninsured children eligible for the State Children's
Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) or Medicaid before they
can expand coverage to other children, and prohibiting
the use of schools to administer Medicaid. The summaries
offer clear explanations of the new rules.
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Government
Budgets...
More
than Half of States Face Budget Problems; Many Are Imposing
Cuts
Some important news from the Center on Budget and Policy
Priorities (CBPP): at least 17 states facing deficits
have made or proposed budget cuts that threaten vital
services, including key programs for children and families.
Learn more in CBPP's special section on state budget
issues. Policy staff, check out Helpful
Hints for States Dealing with Deficits.
Families
and the Federal Budget
Congress is on break until March 31, but House and Senate
negotiators will still work to reconcile the two budget
resolutions. "The resulting joint resolution sets
overall spending allocations between programs and does
not have to be signed by the President," CWLA reports.
Here are some resources for understanding and keeping
an eye on the budget process as it unfolds:
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...Family
Budgets and Fighting Poverty
 Child
Poverty and Family Economic Hardship: 10 Important Questions
Are Americans who experience poverty now better off than
a generation ago? What are the effects of economic hardship
on children? What's working to reduce poverty? The
National Center for Children in Poverty answers these
questions and more.
2007
Poverty Scorecard: Rating Members of Congress
The Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law offers
"the only national analysis that ranks Members of
Congress solely on their performance in fighting poverty..
 Getting
Ahead or Losing Ground: Economic Mobility in America (March
20)
How much opportunity to get ahead is there in America,
with our growing economic inequality? Center on Children
and Families at Brookings and the Pew Charitable Trusts'
Economic Mobility Project will hold a forum to discuss
recent findings on gender, race and immigration, as well
as new findings on education, international comparisons,
trends and wealth. (See Related Content for the recent
studies.)
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 Tools
for Your Work
The
Mistakes, Learning, and Adaptation Project
The best laid plans ... can be fertile ground for learning!
This project from the Casey Foundation and MDC, Inc. is
documenting a range of mistakes (e.g., failures of capacity,
collaboration, replication or efforts to scale effective
programs) in order to challenge assumptions and gather
insights. A new round of submissions is currently open.
Revising
Inquiries and Proposals: A Language-Based Approach
This GrantStation series explores writing techniques that
can help nonprofits craft effective letters of inquiry
and grant proposals.
Monthly
Funding Tip
The Finance Project's Youth Programs Resource
Center offers strategies and approaches to help programs
finance and sustain their work.
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 Grants
and Funding
Captain
Planet Foundation Grants for Youth
This program supports hands-on environmental projects
for children and youth to work individually and collectively
to solve environmental problems in their neighborhoods
and communities. Deadline:
March 31.
ESA
Grants for Youth Programs
The ESA Foundation is dedicated to supporting geographically
diverse projects and programs that benefit American youth
(ages 7 to 18) of all races and denominations and make
a difference in the quality of their life, health and
welfare. Deadline: April
15.
Building
Healthy Teen Relationships
This Robert Wood Johnson Foundation program will support
the creation and evaluation of comprehensive community-based
models of prevention that aim to decrease relationship
violence and increase positive, protective relationship
skills. Deadline: April
16.
Intergenerational
Grant Project
This project will support the creation of one unique intergenerational
program in which youth serve elders in New York City or
Boston. The grantee will receive a one-time grant of $10,000
to develop or expand an intergenerational program. Deadline:
April 30.
Staples
Foundation Education Programs for Disadvantaged Youth
This fund supports programs that provide job skills and/or
education for all people, with a special emphasis on disadvantaged
youth. Deadline: June 16.
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Caitlin Johnson and Thaddeus Ferber
Connect for Kids and the Forum for Youth Investment
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