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Editor's Note
Much of the news of this week underscores a central premise for our work: when a child lacks medical care or a young person leaves high school early or transitions to adulthood without the right supports, they and their family are not the only ones who pay the price -- we all do.
We need look no further than our own neighborhoods: a flu-stricken child or mother without access to treatment puts the health of the whole community at risk. A young person sent to an adult jail (rather than a juvenile facility) returns home more likely to be re-arrested. And while our schools are improving in some areas, a new study finds that continuing achievement gaps are hurting our economy more than the current recession.
So, we've got our work cut out for us. I hope you will consider putting out a bag of food by your mailbox on May 9, signing the online petition for CACFP, and urging your Senators to work for better juvenile justice policies. And be sure and check out the campaign to establish a White House Office for Children and Youth!
You'll find the info you need on these and more below.
Keep working for children and youth everyone,
Janis Richter, editor emeritus
jan@connecforkids.org
CFK gathers, synthesizes and promotes the best news, research, and stories from the child and youth field. To suggest content, email weekly@connectforkids.org
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Take Action. Make a Difference.
Campaign to Establish White House Office on Children and Youth
A White House Office on Children and Youth would streamline and improve the effectiveness of funding and supports for young people. Momentum is building: several high-profile members of Congress have joined the thousands of agencies, organizations and individuals (including many of you in the CFK community!) urging President Obama to create this office.
Want to see this happen? Take action by sending President Obama and Congress an email telling them why YOU think it is important that they create a White House Office on Children and Youth.
Campaign for the U.S. to Ratify Agreement on Child Rights
Somalia and the United States remain the only holdouts in ratifying the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, an international treaty that sets forth basic standards for protecting children's rights and welfare.
Best Practices: How to Be a Citizen Advocate
DC Action for Children -- a Washington, DC, child advocacy group -- has revised their guide for child and youth advocates. Its focus is on the DC government, but many of its strategies will be helpful no matter where you live and work.
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 Following the Money in Washington
Budget and Health Care Reform Leap First Hurdle
Without a single Republican vote, Democrats in the House and Senate passed the FY2010 budget conference report establishing the revenue-raising and appropriations framework for building next year's budget. The Coalition on Human Needs has the news and a Budget 101 guide.
Where Does it All Go? Not to Kids
 Want a broad overview of where federal taxes go? Federal spending has remained around 20 percent of GDP for decades and most of it goes to defense, social security and major health care programs (Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP), says the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
In addition, First Focus' children's budget analysis reports that children are losing ground in the federal budget. Their share of the federal non-defense budget declined from 11 percent in 2004 to 10 percent in 2008.
You'll find more resources in Connect for Kids' Kids & Politics section online. |
What's Happening -- Health & Nutrition News
 Health Care Reform in the Federal Budget
The federal budget resolution included instructions for health care reform, giving Congressional committees until Oct. 15 to pass reform legislation, a new Kaiser Network round-up explains.
Where We Stand: Health Poll
Have you delayed or skipped medication or a dental check-up in the last year because of cost? You're in the majority, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation's April health tracking poll.
CACFP - An Important Program for Kids
The Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) doesn't reach all eligible children, but it does provide snacks and two meals for over 3 million kids in family and center-based child care, Head Start, Pre-K and after-school programs. It also provides nutrition training for staff. FRAC has the details.
Take Action: CACFP is up for reauthorization this year and it can do more to reduce hunger and obesity among young children. The National Women's Law Center has an action alert.
 Stamp Out Hunger: May 9
Letter carriers across the country will gather food from homes along their routes and deliver it to food banks in more than 10,000 local communities. This Saturday, May 9, just leave a sturdy bag of nonperishable foods next to your mailbox for pick-up and delivery to a local food bank. |
Kids & Politics: Then and Now
The First 100 Days: A Social Media Experiment
The Annie E. Casey Foundation is asking the public to weigh in:
After 100 days of the Obama Administration, are kids and families
better off? Why or why not? What should be next on the agenda? The campaign is
designed as the start of a national conversation.
 Taking Stock: A Century of Progress for Children and Families
Imagine a time when poor children labored long hours in dangerous factories, or high maternal and infant mortality rates were the norm. First Focus examines our progress over the last century to improve the nutrition, health, protection and welfare of children and families.
Related on CFK>> Almost a decade ago, Connect for Kids convened a group of historians to help us develop The History of Childhood, a timeline and story bank of American policies affecting children and families, including essays on the groundbreaking importance of the first Children's Bureau and the shifting role of government aid for maternal and child health over the last century. |
Youth Voices
Exhibit: Through the Lens of D.C. Youth
On May 6, at Critical Exposure's fourth Annual Photography Exhibit in Washington, DC, youth will share their photos of the causes and consequences of the city's graduation crisis. Not in DC? You can still see parts of the exhibit online!
 Crisis and Hope: WKCD Speech Contest 2009
Young people today are living through a time of economic and world
crisis -- but crisis also gives birth to hope and opportunity. As graduation season approaches, What Kids Can Do (WKCD) invites young people to raise their voices and let
others know what matters most to them.
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Juvenile Justice News: Making Sense of Scandal
Striving for More Justice in Juvenile Justice Funding
The Justice Department awarded juvenile justice grants based on ideological preferences and cronyism rather than peer reviews during the Bush administration -- The Washington Post reports on these ethics violations.
Addressing Scandals in Criminal and Juvenile Justice Systems
Juvenile justice scandals are not confined to federal grantmaking. According to the Associated Press, some states ignore a 34-year-old federal law that requires juvenile offenders to be separated from adults behind bars. The amount of money the federal government fines are are less than the cost of building and maintaining juvenile lock-ups.
 Youth Today Says OJJDP Buried Suicide Report
Writing in Youth Today, reporter John Kelly says the US Justice Department commissioned a study on teens who committed suicide behind bars, then sat on its startling findings for five years.
 Read the study: Characteristics of Juvenile Suicide in Confinement
Take Action: Weigh in on Juvenile Justice in Congress
 With
numerous exposed scandals in the news, it's a good time to urge your Senators
to support a quality reauthorization of the Juvenile Justice and
Delinquency Prevention Reauthorization Act of 2009.
A Final Goodbye to a Good Crusader Lost to the Madoff Scandal
There aren't many who stick their necks out on behalf of youth in the juvenile justice system. The JEHT Foundation  was courageous in funding work to improve outcomes for young people in the system. JEHT understood that we all benefit if young offenders get the mental health services they need and are protected from abuse and age-inappropriate facilities. Unfortunately, JEHT closed its doors after losing millions in the Madoff scandal. |
Education News: Taking the Long View
The Nation's Report Card Shows Mixed Grades on Long-Term Trends
The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has released the results of the 2008 long-term trend assessment in mathematics and reading. Some highlights: math scores for 9- and 13-year-olds are higher than in all previous assessment years, black and Hispanic students made greater gains than white students in math since 1973 and average reading scores for white, black and Hispanic 9-year-olds are higher in 2008 than in all previous assessments.
The Latino Education Crisis: The Consequences of Failed Social Policies
At every educational level, gaps persist between Latino and white students -- with significant social, economic and political implications. Highlights from this American Youth Policy Forum panel are now available.
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Spotlight on Early Learning
Building Blocks for Literacy
This successful (and free) 12-hour program uses play to develop sound awareness, shared book reading and speech-to-print understanding. After a decade in Vermont, the program is going nationwide.
A Stimulus for Preschool Quality
Quality matters when it comes to early learning. The New America Foundation says states can use stimulus dollars to improve the quality ratings systems that assess preschools and child care settings, including one-time grants to boost center improvements and/or publicizing ratings to raise parents' awareness.
Young Hispanic Children: Boosting Opportunities for Learning
 This recent Society for Research in Child Development report makes the case that investing in dual-language instead of English-only programs and encouraging Pre-K attendance can improve learning opportunities for Hispanic children and increase their chances for success. |
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Grants and Funding Resources
Target Early Reading Grants
To
foster a love of reading and encourage children from birth through age
9 to read with their families, Target is offering grants of $1,000 to
$3,000. Deadline: May 31.
National Endowment for the Arts Grants
Find funding to support youth arts and learning. Deadline: June 11.
Disney Minnie Grants
Youth Service America and Disney are supporting children's efforts to improve their communities. Children ages 5 to 14 and the organizations that engage them are eligible. Questions? Email MinnieGrant@ysa.org. Deadline: June 15.
Gladys Marinelli Coccia Awards
Youth Service America is pleased to launch the first annual Gladys Marinelli Coccia Awards to recognize two young female social entrepreneurs, ages 14 to 17, whose initiatives serve the common good. Gladys Coccia began her entrepreneurial career when she was a young girl in West Virginia and later became a successful businesswoman in Washington, DC. Deadline: June 15.
Quaker Go - Community Grants
The Quaker Oats Company is supporting efforts to fight hunger. Deadline: July 31.
 Find more on the Connect for Kids Funding Resources topic page!
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Janis Richter and Thaddeus Ferber
Connect for Kids and the Forum for Youth Investment
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