CFK Weekly - June 6, 2005
Connect for Kids.org: Better Policies for Kids
June 6 , 2005
Table of Contents. Click on heading to jump to that section.
NEW ON CONNECTFORKIDS.ORG
**Cyber Bullying: No Muscles Needed
**Book Chat: Submit Your Pre-questions Today!
**Parents Speaking Up in California
ACTION CENTRAL
**19th Annual National Peer Helpers Association Training Institute
**Ed Seeks Public Input on IDEA
**High School Alternatives – A Public Forum
**Conference: Preparing a New Generation of Active Citizens
**Service-Learning Network Online
**SMASHED: Toxic Tales of Teens and Alcohol – A Toolkit
**Mark Your Calendar: Youth Courts: An Implementation Training Seminar
**Heads Up: Student Conference on Hunger and Homelessness
FAMILY INCOME AND EMPLOYMENT UPDATE
**Jobs and Employment: A Mixed Picture for Americans
**Long-Term Care Jobs and Welfare-to-Work Enrollees: A Match?
**All About Family Income
MEDICAID: COST, CUTS AND A PROGRAM THAT MATTERS
**Poor Medicaid Beneficiaries Are Paying More Out of Pocket
**This Wednesday: Can Medicaid Serve More and Still Save Money?
**National Governors Association Will Not Participate in Medicaid Commission
FOSTER CARE AND CHILD WELFARE
**Update on the Impact of the Adoption and Safe Families Act
**New Family Assessment Guidelines for Child Welfare
**Program Reforms Can Improve Foster Youth Outcomes
**Understanding Foster Parenting and Retention
**In NY, Home Visiting During Baby’s First Year Shows Promise
KIDS & POLITICS
**Youth Voter Turnout Surged More than Any Other Age Group
**Education Nominees Announced
HEALTH NEWS
**CDC to America: Sorry for the Confusion, but Obese Isn’t Good
**Study Finds Little Follow-up after Screening for Lead Blood Levels
**Vaccine News
EDUCATION NEWS
**Condition of Education 2005
**When to Hold Them and When to Fold Them: Strategies for Raising Achievement
**Sparking Support for School Budgets Without Using Mass Media
SPOTLIGHT ON SERVICE LEARNING
**“Education News Parents Can Use” Broadcast
**Citizenship Day/Constitution Day
FOCUS ON THE STATES
**State-by-State News
**Cyber Bullying: No Muscles Needed
Bullying has a new face. Or perhaps, no face at all. Joan Lisante reports on cyber-bullying -- kids using new technologies to hurt feelings, trash reputations, and wreck relationships.
http://www.connectforkids.org/node/3116
**Book Chat: Submit Your Pre-questions Today!
Join CFK on Wednesday, June 8 @ 1:00 ET for an online chat with Cheryl Coon, author of Books to Grow With. We'll be talking about summer reading strategies for kids and more. You can send advance questions and comments for the author to rob@connectforkids.org.
**Parents Speaking Up in California
It seems obvious that any organization that serves kids will benefit from understanding parents’ perspectives. But it’s not always easy to include the parent voice. This article by Casey Flaherty from the May-June 2005 issue of Children’s Advocate looks at three examples of bringing parents into the discussion.
http://www.connectforkids.org/node/3118
**19th Annual National Peer Helpers Association Training Institute
The 2005 National Peer Helpers Training Institute and Conference will be held June 23-26, 2005 at the Hyatt Lodge in Oak Brook, Illinois (20 miles from Chicago). Anyone who is interested in programs that involve helping people through mentoring, tutoring, hotlines, peer ministry, service learning, and conflict resolution are welcome.
http://www.peerhelping.org
**Ed Seeks Public Input on IDEA
The Department of Education is hosting a series of public meetings to solicit feedback on the proposed regulations under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA). The meetings will be held from 1-4 p.m. and 5-7 p.m. in Nashville, TN (6/17/05), Sacramento, CA (6/22), Las Vegas, NV (6/24), New York, NY (6/27), Chicago, IL (6/29), San Antonio, TX (7/7), and Washington, DC (7/12).
http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/osers/osep/idea/public-meetings.html
**High School Alternatives – A Public Forum
On July 6, CIRCLE -- a nonprofit dedicated to the civic and political participation of young Americans -- will convene expert panels on fundamental school reform, research about civic education, and exemplary schools. Called “Alternatives to Large, Traditional High Schools: Can They Enhance Students’ Preparation for Work, College, and Democracy?” this public event runs from 9:30-4:30 at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. Please RSVP to Demetria Sapienza at dsapienz@umd.edu or 301-405-2790.
http://www.civicyouth.org
**Conference: Preparing a New Generation of Active Citizens
This two-day event, followed by a conference for teachers, will provide an in-depth look at service learning, youth development and ideas for better policies and learning environments in today’s global economy. It will take place from June 27-28, 2005 at Sunday River Resort near Bethel, Maine.
http://www.kidsconsortium.org/conf_institute.html
**Service-Learning Network Online
Want to receive more information and resources for service-learning? Sign up for Service-Learning Network, now available online. It’s free! Past issues are also archived online.
http://www.crf-usa.org/marketing/form.html
**Smashed: Toxic Tales of Teens and Alcohol – A Toolkit
To fight underage drinking and impaired driving, student groups and others created this educational toolkit for use in your community. Its centerpiece is a hard-hitting HBO documentary called “Smashed: Toxic Tales of Teens and Alcohol.” Call the National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information at 1-800-729-6686 and request DVD190 or VHS198. There is no cost for the kit -- even shipping is free!
http://www.saddonline.com/campaign/smashed.htm
**Mark Your Calendar: Youth Courts: An Implementation Training Seminar
Interested in starting a youth court – where young people serve as juries and judges for peers standing trial – in your community? The National Youth Court Center will host an implementation training seminar for communities on October 17-19, 2005 in Cincinnati, Ohio. You can register online. http://www.youthcourt.net/training_ta/2005/OH_Overview.htm
**Heads Up: Student Conference on Hunger and Homelessness
The largest national gathering of student activists working on Hunger and Homelessness issues will be at the 18th Annual Conference of the National Student Campaign Against Hunger and Homelessness at Seattle University on November 11th to November 13th, 2005.
http://www.studentsagainsthunger.org
FAMILY INCOME AND EMPLOYMENT UPDATE
**Jobs and Employment: A Mixed Picture for Americans
Are the latest U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics employment figures good or bad for working families? Depends on how you look at it. In May, unemployment hit its lowest point since September 2001 -- but job creation slowed to a crawl. Employers added the fewest jobs in nearly two years, just 78,000 new positions.
http://www.bls.gov/
**Long-Term Care Jobs and Welfare-to-Work Enrollees: A Match?
The long-term care industry struggles to attract and retain aides to care for elderly, disabled, and chronically ill people. At the same time, adults -- most of them parents -- receiving Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) are searching for jobs to move from welfare to work. Is there a match? Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., a D.C.-based think tank, says there just might be. Just over half of those on the TANF caseload in the four study states have the potential to succeed in paraprofessional long-term care jobs.
http://www.mathematica-mpr.com/publications/PDFs/linkingtanf.pdf
**All About Family Income
For more on jobs, hiring and assistance to low-wage families, visit Connect for Kids’ Family Income pages.
http://www.connectforkids.org/taxonomy/term/284
MEDICAID: COST, CUTS AND A PROGRAM THAT MATTERS
**Poor Medicaid Beneficiaries Are Paying More Out of Pocket
Medicaid provides low-cost health care coverage to roughly 53 million adults and children, and it’s expensive. To reduce the cost, federal and state officials are considering increasing beneficiaries’ co-payments for medical care. A new study finds that out-of-pocket medical expenses for adult Medicaid beneficiaries are already high and growing – they’ve grown twice as fast as these adults’ incomes in recent years. Adults in Medicaid spend more than three times as much of their income on health care as middle-class adults with private insurance. The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities has the report.
http://www.cbpp.org/5-31-05health.htm
Higher co-payments often force low-income beneficiaries to cut back on essential care. Higher premiums have led to fewer low-income people enrolling in health insurance programs – and may result in poorer health among vulnerable families. In a companion to the above study, CBPP has summarized a substantial body of research.
http://www.cbpp.org/5-31-05health2.htm
**This Wednesday: Can Medicaid Serve More and Still Save Money?
On Wednesday June 8 from 12:30-2:00, the Center for American Progress will bring together researchers to discuss the main costs in Medicaid and suggest ways Congress can improve its ability to connect low-income families, persons with disabilities and seniors with needed care. Presenters include Judy Feder, professor and dean of the Georgetown Public Policy Institute and Joy Johnson Wilson, federal affairs counsel and director of health policy at the National Conference of State Legislatures. Location: Center for American Progress, 1333 H Street NW, 10th Floor, Washington, DC.
http://www.americanprogress.org/site/apps/nl/content3.asp?c=biJRJ8OVF&b=593305&ct=927753
**National Governors Association Will Not Participate in Medicaid Commission
The National Governors Association's executive committee unanimously agreed not to join a new Medicaid study commission, which is tasked with recommending ways to cut Medicaid costs by $10 million over five years. The group will offer assistance to the commission, and is working on its own plan to cut Medicaid costs while improving care and access for low-income families. Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R) and Virginia’s Gov. Mark Warner (D) say they will offer specific ideas to congressional committees later this month.
http://www.nga.org/nga/newsRoom/1,1169,C_PRESS_RELEASE^D_8461,00.html
On June 2, C-SPAN's "Washington Journal" included an interview with Huckabee about the group's decision to not participate in federal Medicaid reform. The full broadcast is available online.
http://www.c-span.org/videoarchives.asp?CatCodePairs=Series,WJE&ArchiveDays=100
**Update on the Impact of the Adoption and Safe Families Act
The Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 was designed to place children in foster care into stable, permanent families (their own or adopted) as quickly as possible to minimize trauma. A new study from the Chapin Hall Center for Children at the University of Chicago finds that adoptions of children in foster care do appear to happen more quickly (a trend that was already in effect before the law). But researchers discovered something unexpected: a slowdown in the family reunification process.
http://www.chapinhall.org/home.aspx
**New Family Assessment Guidelines for Child Welfare
Comprehensive family assessments take into account not only symptoms but underlying causes for behaviors and conditions affecting children, and help agencies develop plans that match services to real needs and address families' key issues in the timeframes required by law. The Children's Bureau Web site has the guidelines and supporting material for state and tribal agencies.
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/publications/family_assessment/index.htm
**Program Reforms Can Improve Foster Youth Outcomes
A recent report from the Northwest Foster Care Alumni Study found that when foster care experiences -- such as placement history and experience, education services and experience, and resources upon leaving care -- were “optimized,” estimated outcomes improved, revealing the potential power of targeted program improvements.
http://www.casey.org/resources/publications/northwestalumnistudy.htm
**Understanding Foster Parenting and Retention
Retaining qualified foster parents for the more than 500,000 U.S. kids in foster care has long been a struggle -- but a new study of three states finds that at least one in five foster homes leave the system each year. The estimated median length of service for foster parents is 8 to 14 months, shorter than the 5 to 8 years reported in earlier studies. The study, conducted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, examined data from child welfare agencies in New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Oregon, and found little to explain why foster parents stay or leave.
http://nccanch.acf.hhs.gov
**In New York, Home Visiting During Baby’s First Year Shows Promise
Families with infants at risk for abuse or neglect who received home visitors as part of the rigorous Healthy Families New York program showed positive effects in parenting, child health and development, and parental life course development. The impact of this home visiting program was apparent at the one-year evaluation, according to a recent report by the Center for Human Services Research at the University of Albany. Studies of other home visiting programs in various states have found mixed results.
http://www.albany.edu/chsr/reports/25561_inside_88.qxd.pdf
More information about collaborative home visiting projects like Healthy Families is available from Harvard’s Home Visit Forum. http://www.gse.harvard.edu/hfrp/projects/home-visit/index.html
This week, Congress returns after a Memorial Holiday recess. The Senate reconvenes today (June 6), at 2 p.m. and the House on Tuesday, June 7, at 2 p.m. Connect for Kids is tracking several bills, including the Head Start reauthorization and the “Gangbusters” bill, passed by the House last month, that expands federal ability to prosecute gang-related crimes. We’ll keep you posted in the coming weeks.
**Youth Voter Turnout Surged More than Any Other Age Group
Last week, we reported the good news that voting rates were up in 2004. The same new Census Bureau data show that the increase in turnout among voters age 18-24 was higher than any other age group. While overall turnout rose about 4 points, from 60 to 64 percent, rates among youth jumped 11 points, from 36 to 47 percent, from 2000 to 2004.
http://www.civicyouth.org
A pilot project of Annenberg Foundation for Policy is working to engage kids in civic life in some unconventional ways. Our recent article, “Not Your Parents’ Civics Class”, looked at what’s happening in Albemarle County, Virginia.
http://www.connectforkids.org/node/2284
**Education Nominees Announced
Raymond Simon has been confirmed as Deputy Secretary of Education. President Bush intends to nominate Henry Johnson to be Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education and Tom Luce to be Assistant Secretary for Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development. Secretary Spellings is reorganizing the department to integrate all K-12 initiatives and create the Office of Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development to administer the budgetary functions and coordinate policy development across the Department's offices. To learn more, visit the Ed Department’s Web site.
http://www.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2005/05/05202005.html
**CDC to America: Sorry for the Confusion, but Obese Isn’t Good
In the “wait, that’s not what I meant” category, Centers for Disease Control director Julie Gerberding has apologized for the confusion about a recent study that found overweight people might live longer than those of normal weight. Health experts from Harvard and the American Heart Association cautioned that the findings may be skewed because the normal-weight group included people with health problems like heart disease and cancer (conditions that can result in lower weight). Just to be clear, Gerberding says, “it is not OK to be overweight.”
http://www.cdc.gov/od/oc/media/transcripts/t050602.htm
**Study Finds Little Follow-up after Screening for Lead Blood Levels
Although it’s acknowledged that elevated levels of lead in children’s blood can lead to cognitive impairment, there may be very little follow-up after an abnormal blood lead level is detected. In Michigan, half of the Medicaid-enrolled children age 6 and under identified as having elevated blood levels between January 1, 2002, and June 30, 2003 received no further care. The study, "Follow-up Testing Among Children with Elevated Screening Blood Levels," appeared in the May 11 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. The corresponding author can be contacted at kempera@med.umich.edu.
http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/293/18/2232
**Vaccine News
The Food and Drug Administration has approved the first combination vaccine for adolescents 10 to 16 years of age that provides booster immunization against whooping cough, tetanus, and diphtheria. The new vaccine, Boostrix (manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline), is to be given as a single dose.
http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/ANSWERS/2005/ANS01354.html
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is now recommending that kids ages 11 and 12, those entering high school at about age 15, and college freshmen, be vaccinated with the newly licensed meningococcal conjugate vaccine (MCV4). Meningococcal disease (meningitis) is particularly common in young people and is potentially deadly for with 10 to 12 percent of those who contract it.
http://www.cdc.gov/nip/vaccine/mening/mcv4/mcv4_acip.htm
**Condition of Education 2005
The Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics has released its annual report on the progress of American education. Reading tests showed mixed results: between 1992 and 2003, eighth-graders improved, but fourth-graders’ performance did not change. Math achievement rose steadily among both groups during this time. The high school dropout rate declined from 1972 to 2002 -- but has remained fairly stable over the last decade. A special analysis also describes the teacher workforce and the movement of teachers into and out of teaching.
http://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/
See the last year’s Connect for Kids article on adolescent literacy approaches: “For Teens, Phonics Isn’t Enough.”
http://www.connectforkids.org/node/580
**When to Hold Them and When to Fold Them: Strategies for Raising Achievement
In international education studies, America's 10th graders rank below average in math and science, while 4th graders rank very high. What happens between 4th and 10th grade to explain the drop in performance? This paper, presented at an Institute of Education Sciences conference in May, looks at possible explanations and posits some structural strategies for raising achievement.
http://www.chse.org/policy/paperstructural.pdf
**Sparking Support for School Budgets Without Using Mass Media
The current political landscape has placed school districts at the mercy of voters to finance their basic needs. Advocates typically launch mass-media campaigns to urge community members to get to the polls for the budget or tax levy vote. But activist Ron Whitmoyer found what he says is a better strategy: target those likely to vote yes, and avoid the mass publicity that will bring uninformed and opposition voters to the polls. The approach helped his campaign turn a 52 to 48 percent defeat into a 65 to 35
percent victory 12 months later.
http://www.aasa.org/publications/sa/2005_06/foc_whitmoyer.htm
**“Education News Parents Can Use” Broadcast
Tune in on June 21 at 8:00-9:00 p.m. ET for info and examples of an explicit strategy to help young people grow up to be good, responsible citizens: service learning. To have a long-lasting impact on student citizenship and performance, service learning must engage students for a significant duration; expect students to interact with people and not work in isolation; require students to reflect on the work; and benefit the organization and the student. You can watch live and archived Web casts.
http://www.ed.gov/news/av/video/edtv/
**Citizenship Day/Constitution Day
In a recent Federal Register announcement, the Education Department outlined how it plans to implement Citizenship Day/Constitution Day, a teaching mandate passed by Congress last year. Essentially, every school and college that receives federal aid must teach about the Constitution on September 17, the day the document was adopted in 1787. (If September 17 falls on a weekend or holiday, schools must schedule a program immediately before or after that date.) Neither Congress nor the agency dictate a specific curriculum or particular interpretation, but the announcement does suggest some Web sites, including one run by the National Archives.
http://www.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegister/other/2005-2/052405b.html
**State-by-State News
Connecticut
The state legislature passed a school nutrition bill that outlaws soda and junk food in school cafeterias, school stores, and vending machines, making Connecticut’s the most restrictive school nutrition law in the nation. It’s unclear whether the governor will sign the bill.
http://www.healthinschools.org/2005/may27_alert.asp
Florida
Governor Bush has signed a bill to allow low-income families to enroll children in KidCare, the state's child health insurance program, throughout the year,
http://www.floridakidcare.org/
Illinois
State legislators have approved a budget and sent it to Governor Blagojevich for consideration. The spending plan includes $30 million more for the Early Childhood Block Grant and more than $300 million in new funding for elementary and secondary education, and $5.75 million for the FamilyCare program, offering health care to more than 50,000 more low-income, working parents. Voices for Illinois Children will offer a complete budget analysis in the coming weeks.
http://www.voices4kids.org
Kentucky
The 2nd Annual Great Kids Summit will be held at the Galt House in Louisville, KY on July 13-15, 2005. A workshop on youth courts will also be featured during the conference. For more information, call 502-227-7722 or visit http://www.kychildnow.org.
Michigan
According to a recent study by the U.S. Government Accountability Office, the state's child care inspectors carry some of the highest caseloads in the country, and the result has been that child care consultants are finding it difficult to even process basic paperwork and conduct minimally required site visits.
http://www.michiganschildren.org/page.cfm/29/
On April 28, 2005 Representatives George Miller (D-CA) introduced the FOCUS Act (HR 2000) This bill seeks to give federally funded scholarships to states to help child care workers obtain higher education and receive compensation rewards to help them remain in their programs. Health care benefits are also provided through this legislation.
http://www.michiganschildren.org/page.cfm/89/
Minnesota
Thirty-five Minnesota hospital systems on Thursday announced their participation in a legal agreement to offer uninsured patients discounted rates similar to those offered to large health insurers, bringing to 58 the total number of hospitals in the state to sign on to such an agreement. (Free registration is required to access this article.)
http://www.startribune.com/stories/1556/5436265.html
North Carolina
A new poll shows overwhelming public support (81 percent) to expand pre-kindergarten and early education. Large majorities of voters across the political spectrum expressed serious concern that many children in the state are not well-prepared for school.
http://www.preknowinfocenter.org/ct/DpLUNNp1HR3D/
The state’s More at Four pre-K program meets 9 of the 10 quality checklist criteria evaluated by the National Institute for Early Education Research. Due in part to this success, More at Four has been enlarged to serve an estimated 12,000 at-risk children, a 1,000 percent increase since 2001. The legislature has created the North Carolina Partnership for Children to oversee early childhood education programs and keep stakeholders engaged in the growth and development of this expanding initiative.
http://www.preknowinfocenter.org/ct/K1LUNNp1HR3K/
Oregon
Working families in Oregon face a hunger rate that’s twice the national average.
http://www.frac.org/html/news/newsdigest/05.27.05.html#12
Keep up the good work, everyone!
Caitlin
Caitlin Johnson, senior writer, and the Connect for Kids team
