Ice hockey fans are devoted to their sport, unfazed by the game's physical demands, cumbersome equipment, and the red-hot competition for ice time. Massachusetts is one of the centers of hockey fever in the U.S. So it's only fitting that the gradually growing list of hockey clubs for children with special needs now includes The Boston Bear Cubs, which hit the ice in February. Lisa M. Cataldo explains how the Cubs got their start, and what the club means to its players and their parents.

Too often, kids who lose their homes also lose much more, as they are either abruptly transferred to new schools or stop going because they lack documentation to enroll. A federal law, McKinney-Vento, helps. But it takes caring people, teamwork, and funding to make it work. Judith Reppucci reports on how New Bedford, Massachusetts is facing up to the challenge.

Armed with data from KIDS COUNT statistics and a strong sense of the issues facing Massachusetts kids, citizens involved in this grassroots campaign will demand that candidates for public office put forth their positions on issues affecting children and families.

The Massachusetts Campaign for Children is borrowing techniques from the world of business and politics to position itself for the 21st century.

The mission of the Children's League of Massachusetts is to promote the welfare of children and their families in the Commonwealth by influencing public policy.

Stand For Children promotes grass-roots action on behalf of improving policies and funding for children's programs, with chapters in Massachusetts, Oregon and Tennessee.

Massachusetts Citizens for Children (MCC) was founded in 1959 by Dr. Martha May Eliot, an internationally recognized pediatrician and chief of the US Children's Bureau (1951 - 1956). We are a non-profit statewide child advocacy organization, whose mission is to improve the lives of the state's most vulnerable children through advocacy by concerned citizens.

MCC is the source that citizens and the media turn to for an independent view of events, legislative issues or public policies affecting and their families. We are independent of political, partisan, and government organizations.

This Mass Insight Education brochure outlines the benchmarks and reform strategies in standards, testing, curriculum and investment that have helped boost achievement among struggling students in Massachusetts and Washington state.

Do you know an outstanding young woman who is a sophomore in high school? Nominate her for Mount Holyoke College's Take the Lead program, helping young women turn their ideas into action with a long weekend of workshops and activities on campus.

Issue Areas:
Adolescent and Youth Development
Data and Trends
Employment and Career Raediness
Family and Parenting
Foster Care
Juvenile Justice
Life Skills
Mentoring
Minority Youth
Model Practices and Policies

Foster care
Adoption
Youth who have aged out of the foster care system Adolescent permanency Positive youth development Transitioning youth

Transition from high school to college, especially for vulnerable youth
Alternative education
Out-of-school youth
Education and re-entry to the community of adjudicated youth
Policy directions for vulnerable youth

Education Reform
Transitions from high school to college for low-income youth
Alternative Education
Out-of-School Youth
Workforce development