CFK Weekly—September 18, 2000
We encourage distribution of this information! If reprinting in whole or part, please attribute it to Connect for Kids (www.connectforkids.org).
NEW ON CONNECT FOR KIDS**When Welfare Works
**Building a Nonprofit: Advice from the Field
**Missing Children Myths
**Welfare in the First Person
CONNECT TODAY
**How Welfare Makes a Difference
KUDOS
**For Connect for Kids
**For Can-Do Kids
**For Family-Friendly Companies
FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
**Ideas from Public Education Network
**Federal Funding for Community Health Programs
**Funding for Anti-Hunger Programs
**Multidisciplinary Research Funding
**National Book Scholarship Fund Open for Applications
COMBAT DRUGS WITH CARING
**Safer Schools -- Helping Students Resist Drugs
**NIDA to Teens: "Keep Your Brain Healthy. Don't Use Drugs"
**Demand Treatment!
**Tip for Parents
TECHNOLOGY TALK
**Teachers' Tools for the 21st Century
**State of the Internet 2000
A NATION OF READERS AND MATH LEARNERS
**Thousands Benefit from New Smaller Classes
**Kids who Read Poorly Benefit from Adult Mentors
**From the Margins to the Mainstream: an Action Agenda for Literacy
**Moving to a Nation of Math Learners?
SCHOOL REFORM
**High Schools of the New Millennium
**Promising Results for School Reform
**Caution on High Stakes Testing
REDUCING VIOLENCE
**Marketing Violent Entertainment to Children
**Center for Media Education
**FBI Releases Violence Study
ADVOCATES' CORNER
**Capacity Building for Nonprofits
MOMS VOTE
**Citizens for Tax Justice Analysis of Tax Plans -- Who Will Gain?
**Digital Divide Network Analysis of Technology Agendas
FOCUS ON THE STATES
**Children in the States
**State by State News
SUBSCRIBE/UNSUBSCRIBE
NEW ON CONNECT FOR KIDS
**When Welfare Works
Last week, women from around the country came together to share their
experiences with our nation's public welfare system. They came as part
of the Welfare Made a Difference national campaign, to speak, in their
own words, about what really helps families move out of poverty. Caitlin
Johnson reports.
http://www.connectforkids.org
**Building a Nonprofit: Advice from the Field
Starting your own organization sounds like a daunting challenge, but
plenty of members of the Connect for Kids community have done it. Here's
a list of useful resources and information, taken from our discussion boards.
http://www.connectforkids.org
**Missing Children Myths
It's the ultimate parental nightmare: a child vanished, abducted. But
few parents and other adults who care about children have a clear idea
of which children are most at risk, and what dangers they really face.
Dr. Daniel D. Broughton, chairman of the board of the directors of the
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, explores some of our
most common misconceptions.
http://www.connectforkids.org
**Welfare in the First Person
Many families have escaped poverty with the help of welfare, but that's
not the picture of welfare recipients that American people usually see.
The Welfare Made a Difference Campaign shares personal stories of past
and present welfare recipients from all regions of the country and all
walks of life. The campaign's goal is to show the virtues of a supportive
and adequate welfare system and the consequences of punitive welfare policies.
http://www.connectforkids.org
CONNECT TODAY
**How Welfare Makes a Difference
A new public education campaign challenges misconceptions about welfare
in preparation for the upcoming elections -- and reauthorization of the
federal welfare reform act. Do you have any stories about how welfare has
helped -- or could help -- families move out of poverty?
http://www.connectforkids.org/thread_msg2033/thread_msg_show.htm?message_id=24352
KUDOS
**For Connect for Kids
Our numbers continue to soar! And we've got some real numbers to prove
it. The Connect for Kids Web site logged over 500,000 user sessions in
August. Weekly subscribers now number close to 27,000, representing a tripling
since last year!
Thanks to all of you who keep us up to date about your activities and
help us keep our information current! Now you can check out our Web site
stats online!
http://www.connectforkids.org/newsletter1538/newsletter_show.htm?doc_id=30355
**For Can-Do Kids
Contrary to popular belief, a lot of young people today are solving
problems, not causing them. The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards demonstrate
that for every story about a kid gone wrong, violence in our schools, drug
use and high school drop-outs, there are thousands of stories about kids
helping the needy, feeding the hungry, tutoring other children and preserving
the environment. If you know such a kid, send in a nomination! The deadline
for the 2001 awards is October 31, 2000.
http://www.prudential.com/community/spirit/awards
**For Family-Friendly Companies
"Working Mother" magazine has issued its 15th annual list of top employers,
honoring the 100 companies deemed best at helping working moms balance
their careers with the rest of their lives.
http://www.workingwoman.com:80/wwn/wwn_driver.showpage?area=30&content=4085
FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
**Ideas from Public Education Network
The Public Education Network e-newsletter compiles news about funding
sources for schools and communities each week.
http://www.PublicEducation.org/news/signup.htm
**Federal Funding for Community Health Programs
The Healthy Tomorrows Partnership for Children Program offers federal
funding for community-based health initiatives to improve the health of
mothers, infants, children and adolescents. To Receive a Grant Application,
contact the HRSA Application Grants Center and request application number:
CFDA #93.110V.
http://www.aap.org/advocacy/annce2000.htm
**Funding for Anti-Hunger Programs
The Food Research and Action Center has put together a good list of
non-nutritional funding sources for after-school programs.
http://www.frac.org/html/building_blocks/newssummer2000.html
**Multidisciplinary Research Funding
The Science and Ecology of Early Development 2000 initiative invites
research grant applications to help create a science base on the development
of children living in low-income families. For information, contact Natasha
Cabrera
cabreran@exchange.nih.gov
or Cheryl Boyce cboyce@nih.gov.
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAS-00-108.html
**National Book Scholarship Fund Open for Applications
Laubach's National Book Scholarship Fund distributes books and other
educational material to adult literacy and education programs nationwide.
Grant application materials are available online until Nov. 30. Applications
are due by December 7.
http://www.laubach.org/NBSF/indexnbs.html
COMBAT DRUGS WITH CARING
**Safer Schools -- Helping Students Resist Drugs
A free satellite broadcast on Sept. 28 focuses on after-school programs
that help students resist peer pressure to engage in drug use. Specialists
will discuss the link between substance abuse and violence and offer warning
signs to help identify at-risk students. Young people will share their
views and experiences.
http://www.dlnets.com/cadca_28sep00.htm
**NIDA to Teens: "Keep Your Brain Healthy. Don't Use Drugs"
The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) is introducing a new campaign
designed to help America's youth understand the risks associated with drug
use. Says Alan I. Leshner, MD, NIDA director: "The college student who
sees himself as a social user, or the teen who's only going to 'try it
once' doesn't feel in any real danger until it's too late.?
http://www.drugabuse.gov/DrugPages/PSAs.html
**Demand Treatment!
Join Together is launching ?Demand Treatment,? a new national initiative
to improve substance abuse treatment options by ?driving up demand.? The
October 26-27 conference in San Jose will kick off four regional organizing
conferences scheduled this fall.
http://www.jointogether.org/tx/
**Tip for Parents
The transition from elementary to middle school is a treacherous time
for kids -- a time when drug use jumps 300 percent. It's a time when parents
and mentors need to be especially alert to their kids' need for love, trust,
honesty and ongoing communication.
http://www.theantidrug.com
Find more information keeping kids on track in the Connect for Kids
Reference Room.
http://www.connectforkids.org
Learn more about youth today in the Connect for Kids ?Teen Years? feature.
http://www.connectforkids.org/homepage1543/index.htm
TECHNOLOGY TALK
**Teachers' Tools for the 21st Century
Based on 1999 survey data, this National Center on Educational Statistics
report found that about half of those teachers who have computers available
in their schools are using them for student instruction. Teachers were
more likely to use computers and the Internet when enough computers were
available in their classroom (as opposed to computer labs) and when teachers
felt well-prepared to use the new technologies.
http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2000102
**State of the Internet 2000
Today there are more than 3,000 times the number of people online as
there were in 1993, according to the ?State of the Internet 2000.? The
report points to trends favorable to narrowing the digital divide and opening
up a world of new opportunities to low-income families.
http://usic.wslogic.com/intro.html
A NATION OF READERS AND MATH LEARNERS
**Thousands Benefit from New Smaller Classes
In the 1999-2000 school year, the new federal class-size reduction
program, with an appropriation of $1.2 billion, reduced first- to third-grade
class sizes from an average of 23 students to 18 students in one-third
of the nation's elementary schools. For FY 2000, Congress appropriated
an additional $1.3 billion to help states continue class-size reduction
efforts.
http://www.ed.gov/PressReleases/09-2000/0907.html
FY 2001 federal funding is still under debate in the Education-Labor-HHS
Appropriations bill in Congress. To keep track of this and other appropriations
bills, check out the Coalition on Human Needs frequent updates.
http://www.chn.org/status/
**Kids who Read Poorly Benefit from Adult Mentors
Adult mentors can help kids who read poorly, according to a U.S. Dept.
of Education study. After adults in Washington DC's Power Lunch Program
read once a week with second and third-grade who lagged behind in reading
skills, the students' academic performance, classroom behavior and enthusiasm
for learning improved, especially among boys.
http://www.ed.gov/offices/OUS/eval/elem.html#Miscl
**From the Margins to the Mainstream: an Action Agenda for Literacy
This report from the National Literacy Summit calls for a system of
high quality adult literacy, language and lifelong learning services to
help adults in every community make measurable gains. Focusing on resources,
access and quality, the report puts new emphasis on federal and state funding
to sustain a system of adult literacy services.
http://www.nifl.gov
**Moving to a Nation of Math Learners?
A teen culture reinforced by schools, families, business, and public
policy that diminishes the importance of academic achievement in the teen
years is the most probable explanation for the ?middle school slump? in
math learning, according to the ?Brown Center Report on American Education:
2000.? The report explores the meaning of math test scores over the last
two decades and recommends better research on the impact of student calculator
use early on. The report also calls for setting a national goal for all
students to master arithmetic by the end of eighth grade.
http://www.brook.edu/GS/brown/bc_report/BC_Report_hp.htm
**Background Information on ADHD and IDEA
September 18 the White House Conference on Children's Mental Health
is focusing on Attention Deficit with Hyperactivity Disorder. AEL has posted
background information on ADHD and the Individuals with Disabilities Education
Act. http://www.ael.org/rel/policy/adhd2000.htm
You'll find a wealth of information and resources in the Connect for
Kids "Children's Mental Health" feature. http://www.connectforkids.org/homepage1548/index.htm
SCHOOL REFORM
**High Schools of the New Millennium
This report from American Youth Policy Forum argues for a new vision
of high school and lays out key principles for high school reforms, such
as basing instruction and school environments on what we know about adolescent
development, integrating community resources with school learning and ensuring
that each child has at least one caring adult who is pay attention. The
report also gives guidance for thinking through effective school reform
goals and implementation.
http://www.aypf.org/whatsnew.htm
**Promising Results for School Reform
Eighteen hundred high-poverty or low-performing schools across the
United States have demonstrated the ability to rethink their entire school
operations, use proven strategies and research-based reforms and improve
student learning, according to this new report from the U.S. Dept. of Education.
The federal Comprehensive School Reform Demonstration program was enacted
with bipartisan support in 1998.
http://www.ed.gov/PressReleases/09-2000/0913.html
**Caution on High Stakes Testing
The American Education Research Association's July 2000 position statement
cautions against some dangers in high stakes testing, including using test
scores alone to make major decisions about students. The statement highlights
the importance of validity and reliability standards for tests, notes ways
in which resources and curricula must match what's tested and highlights
the need to help with language differences or learning disabilities. [Thanks
to the Public Education Network for alerting us to the AERA statement].
http://www.aera.net/about/policy/stakes.htm
REDUCING VIOLENCE
**Marketing Violent Entertainment to Children
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reported on the results of its investigation
into the current marketing practices of the entertainment industry -- movies,
music and video games. Citing ?pervasive and aggressive marketing? of violence-rated
entertainment products to children and young teens, the FTC called for
the entertainment industries to more effectively monitor and regulate their
marketing practices.
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2000/09/youthviol.htm
**Center for Media Education
The federal report on marketing violence to kids calls for immediate
action, according to the Center for Media Education. Although industry
leaders have promised to provide parents with the tools they need to make
effective choices within their families, the marketing practices documented
in the report undermine parents by enticing children with powerful imagery
and ?manipulative advertising techniques.?
http://www.cme.org/press/000911pr.html
**FBI Releases School Violence Study
Rejecting the practice of profiling, this FBI report offers schools
guidance in how to assess a given threat of violence, what to look for
in the personality and circumstances of a child who makes a threat and
how to develop a plan for assessing and responding to threats.
http://www.fbi.gov/pressrm/pressrel/pressrel00/school.htm
ADVOCATES' CORNER
**Capacity Building for Nonprofits
Should the federal government fund community technology centers in
every Congressional district, or create a ?National Endowment for Grassroots
Efforts?? Should lobbying and advocacy tax rules be clarified for foundations
and nonprofits? These are just a few of the ideas the nonprofit world could
submit in an agenda to the next President. Identify your priorities and
add your thoughts to the survey, posted by OMB Watch.
http://ombwatch.org/npadv/2000/infosubmit.phtml
MOMS VOTE
**Citizens for Tax Justice Analysis of Tax Plans -- Who Will Gain?
Citizens for Tax Justice's analysis of the Gore and Bush tax cut proposals
finds distinct differences in who will benefit from the tax breaks.
http://www.ctj.org/html/election.htm
**Digital Divide Network Analysis of Technology Agendas
The Benton Foundation's Digital Divide Network project will look at
the leading Presidential candidates and their take on education technology,
the digital divide, e-commerce and public media, beginning with this analysis
of Vice President Gore's agenda.
http://www.digitaldividenetwork.org/gore.adp
FOCUS ON THE STATES
**Children in the States
?Children in the States? from the Children's Defense Fund charts the
health, education, child poverty rates and other measures of children's
well-being. Vermont ranked first in the nation for children's health insurance
coverage, with only 6.4 percent of children without health insurance, while
Arkansas (22.6 percent), Texas (25.3 percent), and Arizona (25.6 percent)
ranked last for the proportion the states' children without health coverage.
New Jersey led the nation in per-pupil spending, at $9,361, while Utah
ranked 51, spending an average $3,604 per pupil.
http://www.cdfactioncouncil.org/childrensdatahome.htm
**State by State News
Check out news about kids and the upcoming elections in your state
in the ?state by state? section of the Connect for Kids Web site.
http://www.connectforkids.org/homepage1576/index.htm
Here's a sample of this week's additions to our state pages.
California.
California's low-income families are falling farther behind as their
wages stagnant, despite the booming economy, according to this California
Budget Project report.
http://www.connectforkids.org/cal_cat1668/cal_cat_show.htm?state_id=381&doc_id=35279
Colorado.
Denver residents will vote on a $.02 rise in the city sales tax to
pay for a host of day-care, early-education, and other child services in
the city this fall.
http://www.connectforkids.org/homepage1667/index.htm?state_id=382
Illinois.
Voices for Illinois Children has launched a new web site to keep advocates
and endorsers up to date on how people across Illinois are using the ?Charter
for Illinois Children? along with information on the Charter and upcoming
events.
http://www.connectforkids.org/homepage1667/index.htm?state_id=390
Massachusetts.
With an increase in youth violence in Massachusetts, activists are
once again putting Operation Ceasefire into full operation.
http://www.connectforkids.org/homepage1667/index.htm?state_id=398
Minnesota.
Research evidence suggests that housing subsidies can help long-term
welfare recipients find and retain jobs from the center on budget and policy
priorities.
http://www.connectforkids.org/cal_cat1668/cal_cat_show.htm?state_id=400&doc_id=35281
New Mexico.
"Increasingly, children once cared for in psychiatric hospitals or
residential treatment centers are showing up in jails,? laments Rep. Rick
Miera, D-Albuquerque, as quoted in this article on juvenile detention and
lack of mental health care for New Mexico's children.
http://www.connectforkids.org/homepage1667/index.htm?state_id=408
New York.
Is the poverty line a meaningless threshold when low-wage families
need 5 times that much to make it in the Big Apple? Find out how families
are struggling below the ?living wage? line in New York City.
http://www.connectforkids.org/cal_cat1668/cal_cat_show.htm?state_id=409&doc_id=35284
North Carolina.
Jump Start Reading Project is looking for volunteers to participate
in a 16 week program starting in January.
http://www.connectforkids.org/cal_cat1668/cal_cat_show.htm?state_id=410&doc_id=35287
Oregon.
Beginning October 1, a user-friendly 4-page application for Food Stamps
will replace the cumbersome 16-page model now in use in Oregon, at least
in specific pilot sites in Portland.
http://www.connectforkids.org/homepage1667/index.htm?state_id=414
Texas.
Tarrant County's wing of the Camp Fire Boys and Girls is asking for
public support for a proposed Office for Early Childhood Coordination to
be housed within the Texas Health & Human Services Commission. [Thanks
to W. Gardner Selby's ?Falling Down to Get Up? newsletter for this information]
http://www.connectforkids.org/homepage1667/index.htm?state_id=421
Washington.
Public school students statewide made significant gains in reading,
math and writing on the Washington Assessment of Student Learning, according
to results released yesterday by the state.
http://www.connectforkids.org/homepage1667/index.htm?state_id=425
Washington, D.C.
The White Paper on D.C.'s child welfare was released in August by the
Mayor's office.
http://www.connectforkids.org/homepage1667/index.htm?state_id=385
Keep in touch, everyone!
Jan Richter, Outreach Specialist, and the Connect for Kids Team
Jan@benton.org
