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Editor's Note
In 1996, Connect for Kids began with the idea that information
alone was not enough to push children's issues to the top of the public agenda.
While most of us believe that families and communities make the best "first responders" for their own needs, we also know that the resources allocated by our government far surpass what individual families and communities can come up
with.
If we want families, kids and adolescents to benefit from
better policies and public services, we need to compete effectively in the
political marketplace for
the limited public -- especially federal -- resources.
In this Update, we offer examples of how far
we've come as effective advocates using the tools of the trade -- op eds,
Congressional hearings and personal stories -- to make the case that better
investments in the least fortunate among us are important for us all. (Read about these in Voices from the Ground.)
President Obama says "...we can upgrade
not only our high schools but also our community colleges to provide a sound
technical basis for being able to perform complicated tasks in a 21st-century
economy... that not only is that good for the individuals, but
that's going to be critical for the economy as a whole." (Look in Teaching Skills for the 21st Century.)
You'll also find news, tools, funding ideas 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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 New on CFK
Good Work is Not Enough -- It Takes a Chorus to Spread the Word
The vast majority of community-based youth-serving
organizations lack the funding and skills required to best announce their successes, tell the stories from their own communities of how they are making a difference and build sustainable support. In his latest column, Hershel Sarbin of Child Advocacy 360 calls on private foundations, corporate funders and government to offer resources specifically targeted to improving communications.
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 News from Washington
URGENT Sign On Letter to Support Funding for Home Visiting Services
for Low-Income Families
President Obama's 2010 Budget included approximately $8.6 billion in mandatory funding over ten years for quality evidence-based home visitation programs for low-income children and families. A number of groups have written a joint letter to members of the Committees who could have jurisdiction over this new initiative urging them to actively support the President's proposal. If your organization would like to sign on, contact David Laird at Voices for America's Children (laird@voices.org or 202-380-1712) no later than the close of business TODAY, Wednesday, May 20.
 Tracking the Details in the President's Budget
In President Obama's 2010 budget request, children's programs saw a $16.7 billion boost over last year's levels. However, the overall level of discretionary spending on children is still below fiscal year 2005 levels. First Focus' Children's Budget project has specifics.
 The National Youth Employment Coalition has a side-by-side comparison of appropriations proposed by the President (and soon by the House and Senate) for programs serving youth.
Senate Passes McKinney-Vento Reauthorization
The Senate has unanimously passed the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act,
which includes the Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to
Housing (HEARTH) Act that reauthorizes McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance programs in schools.
The House version does not include the HEARTH Act, so the bill will go to
conference stage committee that will decide whether or not the act appears in the final bill.
Family Tax Relief Act Introduced
In every region of the U.S., average monthly child care fees for an infant are higher than the average monthly cost of food. According to U.S. Census Bureau Statistics, those living below the federal poverty line spend nearly one-third their income on child care.
- The Family Tax Relief Act, introduced by Senators Lincoln (D-AR) and Snowe (R-ME), would extend more child care tax credits to low-income families.
- Opposition comes from those who don't like how the bill would pay for more child care tax cuts, including eliminating some estate tax cuts.
Foster Care Mentoring Act Introduced
The Foster Care Mentoring Act of 2009 proposes to connect children in foster care with responsible caring adults. It would authorize $15 million to establish statewide foster care mentoring programs, $4 million to begin a national public awareness campaign and offer a $20,000 student loan forgiveness program to volunteers who mentor foster youth.
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Teaching Skills for the 21st Century
Community Colleges and the Economic Recovery
"According to Georgetown University's Center for Education and the
Workforce, at least 54 percent of the new positions created by the American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act will require at least a postsecondary
certificate. If the economy is to begin to recover and grow under the
president's economic policies, now is the time to better educate America's
workforce to fill jobs that require increasingly complex skills," writes
Jullian Alssid,
Executive Director of the Workforce Strategy Center.
 High Schools and Community Colleges for a 21st Century Economy
In an interview with The New York Times, President Obama described a link between individual and national
economic success: "I think everybody needs enough post-high-school training
that they are competent in fields that require technical expertise... And
so to the extent that we can upgrade not only our high schools but also our
community colleges to provide a sound technical basis ... I think that not only is that
good for the individuals, but that's going to be critical for the economy as a whole."
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 The Workforce Alliance says the proposed FY 2010 budget makes significant strides toward the
goal of at least one year of post-secondary education and training for every
young person, but in some areas it simply maintains the status quo.
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Voices from the Ground
 Voices from the Front Lines of the Economic Crisis
Congressional hearings are a powerful tool for educating not
only lawmakers, but the public as well. From Los Angeles to New York, New
Orleans to Boston, people most severely affected by the economic crisis gave
witness to the need for a shared economic recovery at an ad-hoc hearing
convened by the Congressional Progressive Caucus on May 12. The speeches are on the Institute for Policy Studies site (see the middle column).
 Students on Being Valued
It's one thing to see data showing that a school
program is working, but the success is even more dramatic when you hear the
students describe how their lives have changed. Essay winners from the Coca-Cola Valued Youth Program tell how the program
helped them do better in school and how they helped their tutees to do
better.
 Parents Speak Up
Protecting your child can take the form of advocating for
cleaner air or better schools, as stories in the latest Children's Advocate explore.
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Out of School Time Learning that Lasts
Opportunities in Hard Times: Building Out-of-School Time Learning Systems that Last
A number of U.S.
cities have been building high-quality citywide after- and out-of-school time systems.
This Wallace Foundation conference report suggests forging closer ties with
schools, using new data systems to inform budget decisions and making the
recession an opportunity for bold changes to make sure these systems endure.
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Mapping: Getting Where You Want to Go
Forum for Youth Investment's Program Landscape Mapping Webinar
Landscape mapping helps communities take
inventory of existing youth services and organizations. This presentation looks at how states and localities are using mapping to identify gaps, create connections and use their limited resources more efficiently. For more information, contact the Forum for Youth Investment.
Transformation Evaluation through Story Mapping
 Do you want to track the progress of program participants,
youth and families, staff, funders and partner organizations and others for more
effective assessment and planning purposes? Tap into the power in
storytelling by attending this free Connecticut
Assets Network workshop on May 27.
- Community Connection Asset Mapping Process (CCAMP), another mapping
tool from the Connecticut Assets Network, is a multifaceted, internet-based,
community-building system of strategies and technologies to help groups create
supportive environments and reports for strategic planning.
 Common Good Forecaster
If your community cut your high school dropout rate in half,
how much would you improve life expectancy or median personal earnings
outcomes? This new United Way
tool, The Common Good Forecast, tracks how improving the
education profile of the nation, a state or local community is linked to
wide-ranging ripple effects in ten critical social and economic indicators.
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Protecting Children and Young People
 Child Care Providers: Preventing and Reporting Child Abuse/Neglect
Child care providers are in a unique position to recognize
and report suspected child abuse and neglect, as well as to support prevention
measures and good parenting practices. A new manual from the Office on Child
Abuse and Neglect provides information and guidance to child care providers in
preventing, recognizing and reporting child abuse and neglect.
May is Safe Jobs for Youth Month
Having a job as a teenager can be great. Young workers
earn money, learn responsibility and new skills. But is the work
safe? Are they trained? Do they know what to do if there is a
problem? Find out what
you can do to educate and protect working teens! |
Education News
 Teacher Responses Make a Difference for Young Children
Parents lobby for a specific kindergarten or first-grade
teacher for their child because they know that a teacher's temperament or style
can make a difference for their child. Robert Pianta has been studying and
making explicit how different teaching styles and responses can help or hinder
classroom learning. Validated in research in over 2,000 classrooms, Pianta's widely
used observational instrument, Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS), has
been linked to improved student outcomes.
Immigrant Families, English Language Learners and the Future of Education Reform (Forum May 21)
One fifth of school children have at least one
foreign-born parent. Soon, more than 30 percent of all students will come from
homes where English is not the primary language. For example, the public schools
of Rochester, New York serve students from 35 language groups. On May
21, the Urban Institute is hosting this panel on educating English
language learners. If you can't make it in person, you can listen to a
live audio webcast.
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Investing in Older Youth Means Investing in America
Congressional Research Service Report on Youth Not Working and Not in School
In its April
2009 analysis, CRS predicts that, given the current state of the economy, we
can expect to see higher rates of young people out of work and out of school. Overall, the trend data show that during
recessions, when jobs become scarce, rates of youth
disconnection increase.
 Models for Changing Juvenile Justice
Recently, we reported on various scandals that have plagued
the juvenile justice system, and efforts to work toward a better juvenile
justice system. The Models for Change initiative has a new
resource to support effective, fair and developmentally sound juvenile
justice policies.
Toward Positive Youth Development: Transforming Schools and Community Programs
Social settings have enormous power to promote
or hinder positive youth development. This book shifts the debate from simply
enhancing youth outcomes at the individual level to improving the settings of
youths' daily lives.
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Grants and Funding Resources
Find Funds Available through the Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program
The California Coalition for Youth and the John Burton
Foundation are holding a webinar June 10th from 10:00-11:30am to inform homeless youth
providers in California about the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act's $1.5
billion investment in the Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program
(HPRP).
A Brighter Future for Children and Youth Grants
The Women's division of The United Methodist Church offers
grants for projects and programs addressing the needs of children and young
people between the ages of 5 to 18 in the areas of violence prevention,
anti-abuse and relationship abuse. Deadline: July 1. http://hbs.gbgm-umc.org/umw/money/grants/abrighterfuture/
American Legion Child Welfare Foundation
Nonprofits can apply for grants ranging from $1,500 to
$70,000 for projects that disseminate knowledge about new and innovative
organizations and programs that contribute to the physical, mental, emotional
and spiritual welfare of children and youth. Grants must have the potential to
help American children in a large geographic area (more than one state). Deadline:
July 15.
GoGirlGo!
Administered by the Women's Sports Foundation and sponsored
by The Gatorade Company, this program awards 20 grants of $2,500 each to high
school teams that show community leadership by inspiring girls to get involved
in sports and physical activities. Deadline: July 17.
Community Access to Child Health Planning Funds Program
Pediatricians can apply for support in developing
innovative, community-based initiatives that increase children's access to
medical homes or to specific health services not otherwise available. Deadline:
July 31.
 Strengthening Communities Fund (SCF)
The objective of SCF is to enable nonprofit organizations to
contribute to the economic recovery. The program aims to build the capacity of nonprofit organizations to address the broad economic recovery
issues in their communities, including helping low-income individuals secure
and retain employment, earn higher wages, obtain better-quality jobs and gain
greater access to state and Federal benefits and tax credits, including those in
the stimulus package. |
Janis Richter and Thaddeus Ferber
Connect for Kids and the Forum for Youth Investment
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