Co ectando - Action Alliance for Children

Transcripción

iPáciinas en Español!
Non-Profit Organization
U.S. Postage
PAID
Oakland, CA
Permit #1 846
TE
IULY
BY ACTION AWANCE FOR C
-
AUGUST 2004
to health
c re
COnn
9
Co ectando
co4 Ia salud
—
—
IN THIS ISSUE / EN ESTE NUMERO
Car seat safety
Seguridad en asientos infantiles
para coches
FAMILY ECONOMIC SUCCESS
Individual Development Accounts
.
SuCeac’;.
5uCESO ECONOMICO FAMILIAR
Action against lead poisoning
°
Las Cuentas para el Desarollo
Individual
REGULAR FEATURES/ARTICULOS REGULARES
LflL FAMILY SUPPORT WORKS!
IN MY OPINION
More academics in.preschool?
%R
BOOKBASKET
Summer!
Linking kids to health care
EL APOYO FAMILIAR FUNCTIONAl
Conecfando a los niños con los ii
servicios de salud
NEWS FROM THE CHILDREN’S
ADVOCATES: ROUNDTABLE
NOTICIAS DE ORGANIZACIQNES
ABOGANDO POR LOS NINOS.
‘‘•
%R
FAMILY SUPPORT WORKS!
Measuring program impact
COVER PHOTO BY NITA WINTER, www.nitowinier.com
ACTION ALLIANCE FOR CHILDREN
•
THE HUNT HOUSE
•
1201 MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. WAY
www. fchildren.org
•
OAKLAND, CA 94612-1217
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ADVOCATE
The bimonthly Children’s Advocate is published
by Action Alliance for Children, a nonprofit org
anization dedicated to informing and empowering
people who work with and on behalf of children.
Volume 41
3 Grassroots Snapshot:
Instantáneci de Ia Comunidad
Campana en L.A. consigue comida mãs sana para
les escuelas
Por Suzette Anderson
Accountant
Pam Elliott
-
Outreach Manager
Melia Franldin
Assistant Editor
Jessine Foss
4
Eric Foss
5
Interns
Suzette Anderson
Meg Hamill
Andrea Hernandez
Publication Design and Production
lockwood design
AAC Logo Design
Mitche Manitou
Printing
Fricke Parks Press
Distribution
Jane Welford
Legal Counsel
Nonprofit Legal Services Network
Board of Directors
Charles Drucker, President
Catalina Alvarado, Vice President
Victor Rubin, Interim Treasurer
Carlos Castellanos, Secretary
Kathy Flores
Lisa Lee
Adam Ray
Randy Reiter
Ernest Ting
Maria Luz Torre
Advisory Council
Jill Duerr Berrick
University of California
Child Welfare Research Center
Margaret Brodkin
Coleman Advocatds for Children and Youth
Maria Campbell Casey
Partnership for the Public’s Health
Hedy N. Chang
Evelyn and Walter Haas Jr. Fund
Jonah Edelman
Stand for Children
Louis Freedberg
San Francisco Chronicle
Dana Hughes
Institute for Health Policy Studies
Herb Kohl
Author & Educator
Milton Koteichuck
Professor, Dept. of Maternal and Child Health
University of North Carolina
Arabella Martinez
Spanish Speaking Unity Council
Effie Lee Morris
California Library Services
Daphne Muse
Multicultural author and editor
Lucy Quacinella
National Center for Youth Law
Wilson Riles, Jr.
American Friends Service Committee
Giovanna Stark
Assembly Select Committee on Adolescents
Principal Consultant
Alan Watahara
Attorney and children’s policy advocate
Stan Weisner
UC Berkeley Children & the Changing Family Program
Rev. Cecil Williams
Glide Memorial Church
Action Alliance for Children is a tax-exempt organization
supported in part by a California State Department of
Education (SDE) grant. However, the opinions expressed
herein do not necessarily reflect those of SDE and opinions
expressed by contributors or writers do not necessarily
reflect the opinions of this paper. We reserve the right to
refuse advertising for any reason.
Children’s Advocate assumes no liability for products or
services in its features or ads. As this is a copyrighted pub
lication, permission to reprint material appearing on these
pages must be requested.
Circulation: Children’s Advocate is available at select
child care centers, retail outlets, social service organiza
tions and public libraries throughout California. Available
by bulk order or individual subscription.
Subscription Rates (see page 11)
$18 for one year • $34 for two years
First-time subscribers $12 for one year
Sample copies are available for $3 each.
For information about our annual multicultural calendar
write or call:
Action Alliance for Children
The Hunt House
•
1201 Martin Luther King Jr. Way
Oakland, CA 94612-1217
•
-
•
Ix
e-mail. [email protected]
www.4cbildren.org
Family Economic Success
Individual Development Accounts help low-income
people save for education, home-buying, and other
big investments—and double or triple their savings!
By Eve Pearlrnan
Administrative Associate
Copy Editor
Laura Coon
Volunteers
Patty Overland
NEW SERIES!
iSERIE NUEVA!
Number 4
1 1 iEl apoyo familiar funcióna!
L.A. campaign wins healthier school food
By Suzette Anderson
Executive DirectorlEditor
Jean Teppennan
•
Suceso económico familiar
Las Cuentas para el Desarrollo Individual ayudan
a las personas de bajos ingresos a ahorrar para
educación, compra de vivienda y otras grandes
inversiones, imientras que duplican o triplican
sus ahorros!
Por Eve Peariman
6. In My Opinion:
Preschool programs are putting more emphasis on
preparing kids for reading and math—is that a
good thing?
By Heather World
7 “Zero tolerance for lead”
California communities explore new strategies
for reducing childhood lead poisoning
By Meg Hamill
8 On the road—safely!
Parents and health experts discuss the importance
of car seats—cind how to use them properly
By Laura Bernell
8 En ruta, icon seguridad!
Padres y expertos en salud discuten Ia importancia
de los asientos para ninos y cOmo usarlos correc
tamente
Por Laura Bernell
10 Family Support Works!
Solano County family resource center links kids to
health care
By Melia Franklin
This issue includes the story of Angela Rodriquez, a
Solano County mom who found health insurance for her
three children through the family resource center at her
child’s elementary school (pp. 10 & 11). That’s the good
news.
But even after Rodriguez had found low-cost health insur
ance, she had to seek additional support to pay the $40
enrollment fee. That’s the bad news. That a mother who
works iwo lobs to support her children has so little income
that every expense is an obstacle. And that it’s not just this
mother.
In the wealthiest and most powerful nation in the world,
one-third of all children live in families that can’t afford to
meet their basic needs, according to the National Center for
Children in Poverly (NCCP).
A generation ago, parents without much education could
provide a decent life for their children by working hard.
Hard-working parents might have been able to buy a
house, build some equil send their kids to college.
But since then
• The richest families have gotten a lot richer, the poorest
have gotten poorer, and people in the middle are barely
holding their own.
• A parent working full-time at the minimum wage doe not
make enough to keep a family of four out of poverly.
• The percentage of families who can afford to buy a house
keeps getting smaller.
And poveriy hurts kids. “The intellectual, social-emotion
al, and physical development of children in low-income
families have been shown to lag behind that of their more
affluent peers,” says the NCCP
Real economic justice would require big changes in gov
ernment and corporate policies. But there are some things
Thanks to the Moms $tulsaft Foundation and the
Peninsula Community Foundation for providing support
for our Spanish-language artides
Los centros de recursos familiares del condado de
Solano conectan a los niños con los servicios de
salud
Por Melia Franklin
12 Measuring success
Evaluation strategies help family support
programs prove they make a difference
By Melia Franklin
13 Bookbasket: Summer!
Books reflect children’s varied experiences
By Ben Peterson
14 Children’s Advocates Roundtable
Paid family leave starts; Se implementa Ia baja
laboral paga por razones familiares; Family
Support Corner: Prevent Child Abuse policy
agenda; Esquina de apoyo familiar: “Prevenga el
Maltrato Infantil” agenda de politicos póblicas
Raise revenues? ãAumentar los ingresos? Preschool
California Advocacy Day August 4; Bay Area
Parent Leadership Action Network; County
programs for kids “stretched thin”
Roundtable picks bills to push; Roundtable apoya
propuestas de ley; “Redesigning” Medi-Cal:
Update; “Redisenando” Medi-Cal: Ultimas notIcias;
Jornada de Promocion de “Preescolar California,”
el 4 de agosta; Bay Area Parent Leadership Action
Network; Programcss para niños del condado “esti
rados al máximo”
CORRECTIONS
In our May issue we gave an incorrect spelling and incorrect union offili
ation for Margaret Mooney, who is a member of the American Federation of
State, County, and Municipo[Employees.
The Redwood City Family Centers, also described in our May issue, are a
collaborative of the Redwood City School District, Redwood Citç San Mateo
County, and nonprofits such as the Peninsula Conflict Resolution (enter,
Children’s Place, and Youth and Family Enrichment Services.
community-based organizations can do now to help fami
lies improve their economic situation—and to work toward
larger policy changes.
That’s why we are so pleased to be able to bring you a
new bilingual series (pp. 4 & 5), on Family Economic
Success, thanks to the generosity of the Walter and Elise
Haas Fund, the Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation, and
the Friedman Family Foundation.
Families in poverty often have to put up with rundown
housing—housing that can actually make kids sick, with dis
eases like asthma and lead poisoning. On page 7 we
describe efforts in three California cities to mobilize com
munities to get rid of the sources of lead poisoning.
To keep kids really safe, we also need to buckle ‘em up
in the car. For young children, that means sitting in an
appropriate kind of car seat for their age, correctly installed
in the car. Our story on pages 8 and 9 provides important
information on car seat safety and tells you how to learn
more.
Everyone who cares about kids can agree on the impor
tance of preventing lead poisoning and keeping kids safe in
car seats. On other subjects we have a wide range of opin
ion! In this issue, In My Opinion (p. 6) looks at a current hot
topic—the trend toward puffing more emphasis on reading
and math in preschool programs.
Our opinions about such child development issues are
usually based on our hunches about what methods work
best to help children succeed. Increasingly, though, child
care, education, and family support programs are being
called on to give hard evidence that their work is yielding
results. Funding may depend on it! On page 12, we
describe methods that community-based organizations can
use to measure and show the positive effects of their work.
But it’s summer—and you can’t be serious all the time. So
our bookbasket (p. 13) is just a celebration of the season, in
the hope that you can take some time this summer to relax
and enloy the company of the children in your lives.
—Jean Tepperman
L.A. campaign winshealthier
school food
By Suzette Anderson
os Angeles parent Arely Her
rera joined a campaign for
healthier school food, she
she realized that schools
when
says,
“were selling (out) our kids’ health”
by providing easy access to junk
food. So she joined the Healthy
School Food Coalition (HSFC),
whose three-year campaign mark
ed a victory July 1. Starting this
month, Los Angeles Unified School
District (LAUSD) students will see
healthier snacks, salad bars, and
other changes outlined in the dis
trict’s Obesity Prevention Motion.
School board member Marlene
Canter says high rates of childhood
obesity make this measure espe
cially important. “This is the first
generation of children who [might]
die younger than their parents from
preventable health problems.”
Creative campaigning
L
Push to action
HSFC, a grassroots group of parents,
teachers, administrators, and students,
formed with the help of Occidental
College’s- Center for Food and Justice.
The center had created successful nutri
tion projects at selected schools, says
Campaign Director Francesca De La
Rosa, but realized they couldn’t,,improve
nutrition district-wide without a grass
roots campaign “to really push LAUSD
to act.”
I
‘
Healthy School Food Coalition members celebrate their first victory—a soda ban.
Groups of parents and students met
privately with administrators and school
board members. They also spoke at
school board meetings, presented peti
tions, and sent board members gifts—
jars of sugar, vitamin bottles, and organ
ic fruit baskets—before key votes.
When administrators argued that
school food was already fine, says
Garcia, HSFC gave the school board
samples of cafeteria food.
When school_officials doubted that
kids would eat fruits, HSFC brought a
tempting variety of cut-up fruits to
school cafeterias. “The kids ran to the
fruits,” Herrera reports.
Financial fears
De La Rosa credits the campaign’s
success to “parents—prepared, and ag
gressive—from low-income neighbor
hoods, primarily Spanish speaking.”
ing dishes like blended vegetables over
rice. Now her kids eat vegetables “with
out complaining, because they don’t
notice they’re eating cauliflower.”
Educating advocates
Community outreach
Participants’ first step was receiving
training on nutrition. Youth organizer
Marli Garcia says she learned things not
covered, in her school health class—”I
never thought I was putting that much
sugar [and] salt in my body!”
For Herrera, the nutrition training
“helped me help my husband take care
of his cholesterol.” And she started serv
HSFC parents started campaigning
for healthier food at their children’s
schools by surveying “other parents who
were waiting to pick their kids up,”
Herrera says. Then HSFC made presen
tations at school parentlteacher events.
Their first goal, says De La Rosa, was to
create a “strong power base of parents,
students, and administrators.”
“At the center of the [school district’s]
concern was really health vs. economics,”
Canter explains. Schools get commis
sions of up to 36 percent on soda sales,
she says, compared with 15 percent on
healthier drinks. But schools can still get
some money from food sales, says school
board member Julie Korenstein, if they
“create a market for healthier foods.”
Kids will buy healthier food, she says,
because “there will be no other options.”
When Venice High substituted healthier
food for junk food, she reports, food sales
did drop, but then they went back up.
• Center for Food and Justice
323-34 1 -5097; hftp://depar
tments.oxy.edu/uepi/cfj
Do you know a grassroots group that won a victory for kids,?
Contact: Jean Tepperman, 510-444-7136, aacjean@4children. org
Traduccion at casfeltano:
éConoce algun grupo de base que haya con quistado una victoria en nombre, de los niños?
Confacto: Jean Tepperman, 510-444-7136, aacieanCa4children.org
Lucrecia Miranda
Campaña en L.A. consigiJe comida
más sana para las escuelas
Por Suzette Anderson
rely 1-lerrera, una mama de
Los Angeles, dice que se
unió a Ia campana por una
comida más sano en las escuelas
cuando se dio cuenta de que éstas
“estaban vendiendo Ia salud de
nuestros hijos” al proveerles fãcil
accesso a “comida basura”. AsI,
Herrera se unió a Ia CoaliciOn por
una Comida Escolar Sana (HSFC,
segón sus iniciales en ingles), cuya
campana de tres años se apuntara
una victoria el 10 de julio.
A partir de este mes, estudiantes
del Distrito Escolar Unificado de Los
Angeles (LAUSD, en ingles) podran
contar con aperitivos mós salud
ables, asI como con una selección
de ensaladas y otros cambios dis
puestos por Ia Moción para Ia
Prevención de Ia Obesidad del dis
trito.
La miembro del Consejo Escolar
Marlene Canter dice que los altos
porcentajes actuales de obesidod
infantil hacen que esta medida sea
especialmente importante, “ya que
ésta es Ia primera generación de
niños que [podrIa Ilegar] a morir
más Ióven que sus padres por prob
lemas de salud que .pueden pre
venirse”.
A
Empuje para Ia acción
HSFC, un grupo de base formado por
padres, maestros, funcionarios escolares
y maestros, surgió con la ayuda del
Centro para la Alimentación y la Justicia
deOccidental College. El Centro habia
creado una sene de exitosos proyectos
de nutrición en algunas escuelas, dice la
directora de campaiia Francesca De La
Rosa, pero sabia que no podia mejorar Ia
nutriciOn a nivel de todo el distrito sin
una campaia de base “para empujar
realmente al LAUSD a actuar”.
Dc La Rosa otorga crédito por el éxito
de la campafia a los “padres—prepara
dos y agresivos—de barrios de bajos
ingresos, primordialmente hispano-par
lantes”.
Educando a los lIderes para
Ia acción
El primer paso para los participantes
fue recibir educación sobre nutricidn. La
promotora de jóvenes Marli Garcia dice
que aprendid cosas que no habia visto en
su clase de salud en la escuela. “Nunca
pensé que estaba metiendo tanta azticar
[y] sal en mi cuerpo!”, exciama.
Para Herrera, el entrenamiento en
nutrición “me ayudó a asistir a mi mando para que cuidara su colesterol”. En
cuanto a ella, comenzó a servir platos
tales como una mezcla de vegetales
sobre arroz. Ahora sus nifios comen veg
etales “sin quejarse, porque no se dan
cuenta de que lo están comiendo”.
Promoción comunitaria
Los padres de HSFC comenzaron a
hacer campaila por una comida más sana
en las escuelas de sus nliios encuestando
a “otros padres que estaban esperando
recoger a sus nifios [en Ia escuela]”, dice
Herrera. Luego HSFC hizo presenta
ciones en eventos ante padres y maestros
de Ia escuela. Su primer objetivo, dice
Dc La Rosa, era crear una “fuerte base
de poder constituida por padres, estudi
antes y funcionanios”.
Campaña creativa
Los grupos de padres y estudiantes se
reumeron privadamente con funcionarios
y miembros del consejo escolar. También
hablaron en reumones der consejo, pre
sentaron peticiones y enviaron regalos a
‘1os miembros del consejo tales como
potes de azticar, botellas de vitaminas y
canastas de fruta orgánica antes de. que
éstos participaran en votaciones dave.
Cuando los funcionarios argumen
taron que la comida de la escuela ya
estaba bien, dice Garcia, HSFC dio a
probar comida de la cafeteria a los
miembros del consejo escolar.
Cuando los funcionarios de las escue
las dudaban que los nifios fueran a corner
frutas, HSFC llevó una tentadora var
iedad de frutas cortadas a las cafeterias
de Ia escuela. “Los nifios se lanzaron
sobre las frutas”, reporta Herrera.
Temor financiero
“Al centro de las preocupaciones [del
distrito escolar] se encontraba en reali
dad la salud versus Ia economI&’, expli
ca Canter. Las escuelas obtienen comi
siones de hasta un 36 por ciento sobre la
yenta de sodas, dice, comparado a un 15
por ciento provemente de la yenta de
bebidas mis saludables. Pero las escue
las atm pueden obtener algo de dinero
por la yenta de comidas, dice la miembro
del consejo escolar Julie Korenstein,
“creando un mercado para comidas mis
saludables”. Los nifios cornprarán comi
das mis sanas, dice, porque “no habrt
otras opciones”. Cuando la escuela
Venice High sustituyó comidas mis
sanas por comida basura, reporta
Korenstein, la yenta de comidas bajó, si
bien luego volvió a subir.
• Center for Food and Justice
(Cen.tro parc Ia Alimentación y Ia
Justicia), 323-34 1 -5097;
http://departments.oxy.
edu/uepi/cfj
CHILDREN’S ADVOCATE S
.
S avi n g for th e fu t U re
family
ECONOMIC
Individual Development Accounts help low-income people save
for education, home-buying, and other big investments—
and double or triple their savings!
:
By Eve Pearlman
rica Ballinger, a single mother
working as an administrative
assistant, was thinking about
going back to school when she saw
a flyer that looked too good to be
true. “It said ‘save money for edu
cation and we’ll match every dollar
with two,” recalls Ballinger. Hope
ful, she called the number on the
flyer and reached ‘LIFETIME (Low
Income Families’ Empowerment
Through Education), a Bay Area
organization of low-income par
ents—many attending school while
on welfare—supporting each other
to reach their educational goals.
It was not a hoax: Through LIFE
TIME, Ballinger created an Individ
ual Development Account (IDA),
designed to help low-income peo
ple save for specific goals such as
ob training, buying a
education, 1
home, or starting a business. Every
dollar Balliriger put into her IDA at
Citibank was matched by two dol
lars of federal and private funding.
Ballinger had to commit to
puffing at least one dollar into sav
ings every month and to attending
a series of financial management
trainings. “If it was a tight month, I
only saved $40 or $50,” says
Ballinger, “but other months, like
when I got my tax refund, I saved
the full amount, $200.”
Two-and-a-half years later, BaI
linger has, saved the maximum
amount for her account, $2,000
(which means $6,000 in the bank)
to help pay expenses as she heads
off to UC Davis Low School.
income. That’s why it’s so important, she
concludes, for IDA programs to partner
with programs that provide other kinds
of supports, like helping parents find
jobs and housing.
E
Resources
Federal programs
[rice Ballinger’s IDA will help her prepare for a career so she can provide for her
daughter, Aleta.
Creating assets,
changing lives
LIFETIME has been offering mem
bers IDAs for about five years, says
Program Director Anita Rees. Her orga
nization recruits participants, gives them
training on financial management, and
helps them stay on track. “If an account
holder hasn’t made a deposit three weeks
into the month, we give them a friendly
call,” Rees says.
To offer IDAs, community-based
organizations partner with financial
organizations which work with banks
and federal and private funders to create
the accounts and find matching funds.
For example, LIFETIME, which works
with participants, partners with San
Francisco Earned Asset Resource Net
work (SFEARN), which handles the
banking and financing for IDAs for a
f community groups.
number 9
IDAs “change parents’ lives to bene
fit children,” says Pam Salcedo, director
of an IDA project for Oakland’s Com
munity Housing Development Corpora-
tion. Many studies show that lowincome children do better academically
and socially when families have more
income and stable housing.
Little things add up
Anna Marie Rivero, a 32-year-old,
single mother of two, was finishing up
her BA when she and two friends signed
up for the LIFETIME IDA program.
Eight months later, “I’ve already saved
almost $1,000,” says Rivero, who’s liv
ing with her parents, working part-time
as an occupational therapist, and saving
to go back to school.
“Something that’s really helped me to
keep up with my savings is the financial
counseling and training,” she adds. The
best part was the week when “we had to
write down everything we spent. You
realize how much little things add up!
I’d been buying coffee every day, but I
saw that maybe I need to make it at
home and lug it around....Their whole
point was that that money could go into
your savings.”
Not for everyone
Policy goal: “Change on a bigger scale”
“IDAs work,” says Ben Mangan, director of San Francisco Earned
Asset Resource Network (SFEARN).”But if we’re going to make them a
larger, sustainable solution available to much larger numbers of poor
people, we’re going to have to have policy changes on a bigger scale.”
That’s why SF EARN, which has helped around 400 people set up IDAs
since it began in 2002, also advocates for. public support for IDAs.
On the federal level, the Department of Health and Human Services
provides matching funds for IDA accounts through the Assets for
Independence program and the Office of Refugee Resettlement. To quali
fy, a family must have an income under 200 percent of the poverty level,
or about $37,000 a year for a family of four. Advocates are pushing for a
higher income ceiling. “There are so many people [in the Bay Area] who
are poor, who make more than double the federal poverty level,” says
Mangan.
In the state, SFEARN and other IDA organzations have formed the
Asset Policy Initiative for California (APIC). They’re working to get the state
government to provide matching funds for IDAs and also focusing on
broader issues like health insurance. The connection? “People without
health insurance find themselves stripped of their assets every day when
they have a health crisis,” Mangan explains.
In 2005 APIC plans to convene a statewide symposium to develop pol
icy goals and bring attention to the issues.
-
4 JULY-AUGUST 2004
-
-
DAs can be “a significant step for
families,” says Salcedo, but “many of
the families we serve aren’t quite ready
for IDAs.” To build a successful IDA,
she says, a family needs to be in a stable
living situation and have a stable
Whatisan IDA?
An Individual Development
Account (IDA) is a savings
account for low-income people.
• The money con be used only
for purposes like
• Developing a business
• Investing in higher educa
tion or
• Purchasing a first home.
• Your savings are matched by
public or private funders: For
example, you save $10 and
funders put in $20 or $30.
a
The program included firion
cial education.
• Assets for Independence, of the
Department of Health and
Human Services (HHS), gives
grants to nonprofits and state
and local government agencies
to set up IDA programs.
www.acf. hhs.gov/assetbuilding/
assets. html
• Office of Refugee Resettlement,
also at HHS, provides IDAs
www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/orr/
techasst/ised htm
.
National information and
advocacy organizations
a Corporation for Enterprise
Development IDA Network,
415-495-2333,
www.idanelwork.org (lists 43
California IDA programs)
• AssetBuilding.org, at the
New America Foundation,
202-408-9788
www.assetbuilding.org
California organizations
• California Community Economic
Development Association,
510-251-8065 or
213-353-1676, www.ccedci.com
• Assets for All Alliance, at Lenders
for Community Development,
650-854-5566, www.pcf.org/
venture_philanthropy/afaa. html
In San Francisco and Alameda
counties
• Bay Area IDA Collaborative,
at the East Bay Asian Local
Development Corporation,
(pioneered IDAs but not creating
new ones), 510-287-5353,
www.ebaldc.com
• CC-MATCH (Moving Assets
Toward Community Hands), at
the Community Housing
Development Corporation,
510-483-4131
• LIFETIME (Low-Income Families’
Empowerment through
Education), 510-452-5192,
www.geds-to-phds.org
• SFEARN, (San Francisco Earned
Asset Resource Network),
415-21 7-3661, www.sfearn.org
Family Economic Success is a
six-part series supported by
Friedman Family Foundation,
Walter and Elise Haas Fund
and Charles and Helen
Schwab Foundation.
____________
N
PINION
by Heather World
ittle kids aren’t “just playing!”
What they’re learning is
important for their future suc
cess in school and in life. As more
people have come to understand
the importance of the preschool
years, more attention has focused
on school readiness. And more
preschool programs are devoting
more time and attention to prepar
ing kids for reading and math. The
national Head Start program has
even started testing children in
math and literacy skills.
Intentionally preparing kids for
reading and math can be important
for children whose parents don’t
have, a lot of education. They are
often behind other children in these
skills, starting school with an
achievement gap. But some parents
and early childhood professionals
worry about the effects of academ
ic pressure on young children—and
about cutting into the time kids
need to socialize and play.
We asked early care and educa
tion professionals around the state:
Do you agree with the increased
attention to academic skills for
preschoolers?
•
L
.
“No” to testing
preschoolers
The people we interviewed
voiced oppositon to testing pre
schoolers on math and literacy:
Pat Phipps, executive director,
California Association for the
Education of Young Children
We are opposed to high -stakes
testng or testing that’s totally not
connected to what [children ore]
dong on a daily basis Teacher
observations will tell if the children
are getting it or not. through art,
story didatons, dalogue with
each other And that should be
documented and shared.
Deanna Manganiello, child
development coordinator,
Community Action Agency of
Butte County Head Start
I have mixed feelings about
[the Head Start assessments of
children’s academic skills]. How
appropriate is it to take 20 min
utes per chUd to see what they
know from this list of 20 items?
You might get one answer today,
but tomorrow you might get a dif
ferent answer. We’re not totally
convinced that ths is coming out
with anything that’s useful
Dianne Alvarado, parent and child
care teacher
In my classroom there’s a fouryear-old, girl who was tested in
March for a pri’ate schooL they
asked her to write her name, to
tell her address, and to do simple
addition problems like two plus
two equais four She got scared
and ddn’t answer. I’m not saying
they shouldn’t know their name
and address, but testing iike this
stresses their brains; they pro
duce cort’soi [stress hormone that
interferes with learning]. It hn
ders development.
6 JULY-AUGUST 2004
Preschool programs are putting more
emphasis on preparing kids for
reading and math is that a good thing?
YES!
Pat Phipps, executive director,
California Association for the
Education of Young Children
Research [shows] that many kids
entering school don’t have the prior ex
periences that enrich their opportunities
for learning. if they haven’t had parents or
other adults reading to them or the oppor
tunity to write, it will make [school] more
difficult. [Preschool] provides the oppor
turnty to level the playing field.
There should be an emphasis on
vocabulary development, [but] not flash
cards. There’s no fun in drill and kill!
Why not choose the more effective way
in which they will enjoy learning?
Sometimes teachers oversimplify
their language. There’s nothing wrong
with introducing words children have
never heard of, as long as they are in con
text of something they are involved in.
z
names. Even though it is important for
children to develop social skills, kinder
garten teachers expect those children to
sit still. Kindergarten teachers expect
kids to know their colors, the alphabet,
and how to write their names.
Isabel Quintana-Cline, program
director, Bayshore Childcare Services
[Pre-acaclemic skills] are the skills
they will be needing for school. We label
most of our items—we write the word
“crayon” in different languages. We do a
lot of open-ended questions during story
time: “Why do you think this girl was
sad? How do you think the child would
feel?” A lot of “hows” and “whys.”
We continuously train our teachers,
too—[for example, to ask children]
“What is this picture about?” Children
need to know there are words attached to
everything they do. The earlier they
understand that, the better.
Sheridan DeWoIf, child development
center coordinator and professor,
Grossmont College
A good curnculum should involve
pre-math and pre-literacy. In “BINGO,”
you’re breaking out the letters, children
are playing with words and sounds and
rhymes. You should have art supplies
because you’ve got to get the muscles
ready. Playing with playdough, holding
crayons—it’s the scribbling and painting
that leads up to writing.
Pre-math doesn’t require numbers. A
lot of things kids do naturally—discov
ery, sorting, and classifying—is pre
algebra. By putting [different size] cups
in the sandbox and doing comparisons,
they’re doing math. When a child is hid
ing in a tent made from a card table with
a sheet, he’s exploring geometry and
space.
I get worried when people think
doing number worksheets is math or let
ter tracings is literacy. They miss that lit
eracy is an awareness of a what a word
is and how its used.
Elda Fontenot, family child care
provider, president of Oakland
Licensed Day Care Operators
It’s good to have an academic piece,
but you never want to leave out the fun.
When you put them in the kitchen for
dress-up and playing house, they’re emu
lating how to prepare food, and that helps
with social development: How to take
turns, how to share without the assistance
of an adult. Then when they’re distribut
ing the food—”Here’s two pancakes for
you, two for me, one for the baby”—
that’s math. When we do music and
movement, we’re doing the ABCs, col
ors, and numbers. I tell them, “Shake
your hip four times!” They love that.
Then it is time to sit down and be seri
ous because they ‘have to learn to sit at
the table, fold their hands and listen. It
might be arts and’crafts or writing their
SOCIAL/EMOTIONAL
DEVELOPMENT
FIRST!
Deanna Manganiello, child develop
ment coordinator, Community Action
Agency of Butte County Head Start
For more information:
• California Association for the
Education of Young Children,
916-486-7750, www.caeyc.org
• Educational Resources
Informgtion Center on
Elementary and Early ChiIdhood
Education (ERIC/EECE, now’
hosted by the University of Illinois)
http://ericeece.org
..,
,
Children develop in a holistic way;
reading and math skills are just part of
that. Sometimes when we emphasize
[academics], skills that have to do with
sociaj and emotional development get
lost. Take the letters of the alphabet: if
children can’t see the social and emo
tional part of identifying the, letters, it’s
not important to them. if [pre-academics
are] done, appropiiately, then most cli
dren are, very excited about going to
don’t look like them. They should be
learning about nutrition: how to eat
healthy and why it’s important to have
lunches and nap times. How successful
will a child be if they know their letters
but they’re not well socialized or [don’t
know] that’s it’s OK to sit next to some
one who doesn’t look like you or’doesn’t
eat the same food?
Dianne Alvarado, parent and child
care teacher
We’re pushing our children too early
too young. What is kindergarten for? It’s
to prepare them for school. If they’re
ready and asking ‘What letter is that?”
that’s totally [fine]. But if you’re telling
me that, leaving preschool, the child
needs to write their address, recognize
all the colors, all the numbers, all the
shapes, recognizing words, write their
names, that’s too much. I understand that
we should be raising children to be able
to do [academic] work—but are we real
ly paying attention to them as children?
They all progress in different ways.
Catherine Camp, former director,
California Mental Health Directors
Association
Some kids don’t learn to read until
they’re eight, and schools convince them
they’re stupid. Now wifi that happen
when they’re five?
What is the main job of a four-yearold? It’s not learning to read! It’s learn
ing how to concentrate on tasks, relate to
a group of other children, manipulate
their environment, and express them
selves in a wide variety of ways.
—
r
-
.
-
‘
Sydney Kamlager-Santne., manager
of public affairs, Crystal Stairs
I don’t think the focus should be on
pre-math or pre-literacy. Little ones
should be taught how to interact with
other young people or with people who
“Zero tolerance for lead”
California communities explore
new strategies for reducing childhood lead poisoning
By Meg Hamill
abriela Gonzalez, a moth
er in South Central Los An
geles, never suspected that
she had lead poisoning as a child
until she started a training program
for promotoras de salud (health
outreach workers) at the Esperanza
Community Housing Corporation
(ECHC). When she found out that
lead in children’s blood could
cause learning disabilities, some
thing clicked.
G
Los Angeles:
Healthy Homes!
Hogares Saludables
In L.A.’s Healthy Homes/Hogares
Saludables program, Gonzalez and other
promotoras go door to door, checking
for housing conditions that cause lead
poisoning, asthma, and other illnesses.
They give families coupons for free lead
tests at the St. John’s Weilness Center,
and “explain to the families just what
those tests mean,” says Nancy Ibrahim,
So EHC community organizers start
ed knocking on doors, explaining the
problem. “People are interested in this
issue because it affects their children’s
health,” says organizer Luz Palomino.
“They had been receiving information in
the mail about the new school, but no
one had told them that the site wasn’t
clean.”
Residents crowded into school board
meetings last fall, says Leticia Ayala,
EHC campaign director, “and said:
‘Hey, there’s a huge potential of putting
children at risk from these contami
nants.”
The school board has since made a
plan that calls for better testing of the
site, but it would still allow lead to
remain in the soil. So residents are con
tinuing their campaign for a cleanup that
would leave no lead in the soil.
San Francisco:
Landlords on board
__w.
Promotoras de salud from Esperanza Community Housing Corporation take samples of
house dust to be tested for lead.
“Even when I was a kid,” says
Gonzalez, “I had difficulty learning
things. Things didn’t stick inside my
head.” She traces the problem to
the year she was seven, when her
whole family renovated a home to
gether—construction work in older
homes often fills the air with dust
from lead-based paint, then chil
dren breathe it in.
Now Gonzalez’s job is to help
prevent lead poisoning in other
kids. As a promotora, she says, “I go
door to door doing health surveys
and taking dust samples searching
for traces of lead. We are looking
for other ways of finding lead in a
home instead of using children as
lead detectors.”
Danger:
Lead in blood
The program Gonzalez works in,
Healthy Homes/Hogares Saludables, is
one of the community-based programs
around California experimenting with
new strategies for preventing childhood
lead poisoning.
These efforts tobk on more urgency
after last year’s reports of new research
showing that even very low levels of
lead in the blood can affect children’s
intelligence. Previously experts thought
a child was safe with a score of 10 or
lower on the scale used for measuring
blood lead level.
But researchers found that lead levels
lower than 10 can harm children’s ability
to learn. Lead poisoning can also cause
behavior problems. Researchers now say
there’s no safe level of lead in blood.
Most childhood lead poisoning is caused
by lead-based paint, outlawed in 1978
but still present in most older homes.
associate director’of ECHC. “We take a
zero tolerance stance on lead. We are
outraged that families are told that a
level of nine or ten is safe.”
if lead is found in the house dust or
the children’s blood,. promotoras teach
the families how to reduce the lead haz
ard, says Ibrahim, by damp-mopping
instead of sweeping, and using ECHC’s
special anti-pollution vacuum cleaners.
Meanwhile, ECHC refers the family
to a partner organization, Strategic
Action for a Just Economy, where they
can learn about tenant rights and about
how to get their landlord to make need
ed repairs.
San Diego:
Safer school site
In San Diego, residents of the Logan
Heights neighborhood have been orga
nizing to prevent their new school from
being built on land contaminated with
lead and other hazards. Last fall, in a vic
tory for the community campaign, the
board of the San Diego Unified School
District stopped work on its new Laura
G Rodriguez Elementary School until it
could develop a better clean-up plan.
The school district had a plan for
cleaning up the school site, which had
once held a waste incinerator, with a for
mer landfill nearby. But the Environ
mental Health Coalition, a nonprofit en
vironmental justice organization, says
that plan didn’t call for enough soil test
ing and would allow too much lead to
remain after the cleanup.
It’s important to educate families,
says Neil Gendel, project director of the
Healthy Children’s Organizing Project
(HCOP) in San Francisco, but removing
lead hazards is “a question of changing
the behavior of those who are causing
the risk.” In San Francisco, he says,
that’s mainly owners of rental housing.
So at the insistence of HCOP and
other community groups, as part of a
“comprehensive ordinance to prevent
childhood lead poisoning,” the San Fran
cisco Board of Supervisors 12 years,ago
created a Lead Hazard Reduction Cit
izens Advisory Committee (LFIRCAC),
where building owners sit down with ten
ant representatives, contractors, and
advocates to figure out solutions.
“At first it was difficult,” says
Gendel, but slowly the groups got used
to working together. The Apartment
Owners Association started holding
classes for its members on reducing lead
hazards, and in 1997 the first LHRCAC
sponsored legislation passed, requiring
lead-safe repair methods on building
exteriors.
Even before she joined the
LHRCAC, painting contractor Frances
Doherty was already working to reduce
lead contamination. After she gave birth
to her son Owen in 1991, she took a
course on lead hazards in painting and
construction. As a contractor exposed
daily to lead based paint, she realized the
risk to her children and took them to get
tested. Her newborn son had a blood
lead level of 10.
“After that,” says Doherty, “we
changed how we did business. [For
example,] we used to burn lead paint off,
grind it, sand it, and leave behind dust
and paint chips.” After she adopted safer
methods, she says, “I nearly went out of
business. Our clients didn’t want to pay
extra for all the precautions.”
But Doherty persisted, and now she
won’t be alone. This year the San
Francisco supervisors passed another
LFIRCAC ordinance, this one reuirmg
lead-safe work practices in building inte
riors too.
Gubriela Gonzalez explains blood test
results to a parent.
New state law:..
tool for local action
A few years ago, the Esper..
anza Community Housing Cor
poration (ECHC) in Los Angeles
got an urgent call from a mom
named Norberici. She had
learned about the dangers •of
lead paint from an ECHC pro
moforci, iand now •her threeyear-old son was out riding his
tricycle in clouds of dust, as
workers sanded point from a
house.
At that time L.A. authorities
weren’t telling landlords to re
move lead hazards unless a
child living in the building had a
blood-lead level of 15 or 20..
(Recent research shows that
even a level lower than 10 can
cause learning disbilities.)
So ECHC began a “long bat
tle,” says associate director
Nancy Ibrahim, for a state law
that would allow cities to order
cleanup of lead hazards before
any kids got poisoned. A state
wide coalition of health, hous
ing, and environmental organi
zations last year won passage of
a bill, SB490, that makes it ci
crime to create lead hazards,
says Ibrahim, “and gives every
local agency the authority—and
the responsibility—for stopping
it.”
The law doesn’t force local
governments to take action,
points out Neil Gendel, project
director of San Francisco’s Heal-.
thy Children Organizing Project.
“It needs the vigilance of all of
us,” Ibrahim acknowledges,
“being activists and yammering
for enforcement.”
Resources:
• Esperanza Community Housing
Coalition, 213-748-7285
• Environmental Health Coalition,
619-235-0281
• Healthy Children Organizing
Project, 415-777-9648
CHILDREN’S ADVOCATE 7
On the road
-
safely!
Parents and health experts discuss the importance of car seats-: nd how to u
Laura Bernell
ampbell mom Shelly Worn
ble was taking her kids to
child care when she sweried
to avoid aj large piece of metal on
thehighwày and “spun around. I
flipped once completely, then start
ed flipping again, and the car ended
up on its side. I was terrified,” she
recalls.
But Sara, age one, and Brennon,
age three, were snug in their car
seats in the back seat. “Brermon
had a little scratch on one hand,
and that was it,” Womble says.
C
SAFE KIDS Campaign is a
coalition of health professionals,
educators, police officers, fire
fighters, and parents. Chapters
throughout California sponsor
events, advocate. for improved
safety, and educate families about
injury prevention. Your local
chapter has information aboUt
car seat training events. Contact
Cecile Murphy, 916-864-5598 or
visit www.safekids.org
IN DANGER
ON YOUR LAP
Car crashes are the leading cause of
accident-related death among children,
reports the National SAFE KIDS Cam
paign. Every year they kill around 1,800
children under 14 and injure 280,000.
“You cannot hold on to a baby in a
crash,” says Cheri Fidler, director of the
Center for Healthier Communities at San
Diego Children’s Hospital. “Even at
very low speed, your child is going to be
thrown from your arms.” Young chil
dren are too small to be protected by a
seat belt, adds Gina Manion, coordinator
for the Santa Clara and San Mateo SAFE
KIDS Coalition.
California law requires car seats for
children under six years old or 60
pounds—SAFE KIDS recommends them
for kids under eight and 80 pounds.
Infant safety seats reduce the risk of
•an infant dying in an accident by 70 per
cent, reports the SAFE KIDS Campaign.
Booster seats reduce the risk of injury
for older kids by 59 percent, adds
Stephanie Tombrello, executive director
of SafetyBeitSafe USA.
GET A CAR SEAT THAT
FITS YOUR CHILD’S
WEIGHT AND AGE
GET A CAR SEAT THAT
FITS YOUR CAR
A pregnant woman should get a car
seat “before you deliver your baby, so
Children under 12 should always ride
you have the infant seat safely installed
in the back seat. Use
for the ride home,” says• Barbara
• rear-facing infant safety seats for
Cheatham, coordinator of. SAFE KIDS,
children under a year and 20 pounds
Alameda County.
• forward-facing child safety seats
New car seats cost between $40 and
for children between 20 and 40
$320, but counties offer financial assis
pounds
tance for low-income families, through
• booster seats for children between
the county health department, children’s
4Oand8Opounds.Achildthissizeis
hospital, First 5 Commission, police
not high enough to use the seat belt
departments, or prenatal classes.
properly and could be injured or
killed by an adult seat belt.
continued on p. 9
Children are not safe
witiwut a car seat until
they are at least 4’9”
and weigh 80 pounds,
Infants should sit in special infant seats, facing backwards, little
and their feet can touch
the floor, say experts.
As your children get
older,.you can explain to
them that it’s stifi impor
tant to use their car seat
because it makes them
safer.
-
En ruta, icon seguridad!
Padres y expertos en salud discuten
Ia irnportancia de los asientos
para niños y cómo usarlos correctamente
S
sentarse en pequeños asientos especi
para
seguirdad miranda hacia frente, y los ninos más grandes, en ask
por Laura Bernell
helly Womble, una mama de
Campbell, estaba Ilevando a
sus niños a Ia guarderIa
cuando maniobrô pora evitar una
gran pieza de metal en medio de Ia
autopista y volcó. “El coche dio una
vuelta entera y luego comenzó a
girarde nuevo hasta que terminó
parando sobre uno de sus lados. Yo
estaba aterrada”, recuerda.
Pero Sara, de un ano, y Brennon,
de tres, estaban seguramente
àmarrados en sus asientos sobre el
asiento trasero del coche. “Brennon
tenIa un pequeno arañazo en una
mano, y eso foe todo”, dice
Worn ble.
S
•
•
SOBRE SU FALDA: EN
PELIGRO
Los accidentes de coche son la causa
más importante de muerte infantil
debido a accidentes, reporta Ia campafia
nacional SAFE KIDS (Ninos Seguros).
Cads afio estos accidentes ocasionan la
muerte de unos .1.800 nifios de menos de
14 afios y lesionan a 280.000.
“No puedes sujetar a un bebé en un
accidente”, dice Cheri Fidler, directora
del Centro para Comunidades Más
Saludables del Hospital de Nifios de San
Diego. “Incluso a velocidades muy
bajas, el nifio se saldrá de sus brazos”.
Los niiios de corta edad son deinasiado
pequefios para ser protegidos par us cin
turón de seguridad, agrega Gina Manion,
coordinadora de la Coalición SAFE
KIDS para Santa Clara y San Mateo.
La ley de California requiere asientos
infantiles para todos los nifios de menos
de seis afios o 60 libras, si bien SAFE
La Campaiia SAFE KIDS es una coalición de profesionalesde Ia salud,
educadores, oficiales de policIa, bomberos y padres. Las oficinas de Ia
campana en todo California auspician eventos, abogan por una mejora en
Ia seguridad y educan a las familias sobre prevención de lesiones.
Consulte a su oficina local sobre información para entrenamiento sobre el
uso de los cisientos para niños. Contade a Cecile Murphy en el 916-8645598, o visite el sitio web www.safekids.org
8 JULY-AUGUST 2004
—
KIDS recomienth su uso para nifios de
hasta 8 afios y 80 libras.
Los asientos de seguridad infantiles
reducen el riesgo de mortalidad en un 70
par ciento entre los nifios más pequefli
tos, reporta la Campaila SAFE KIl)S.
Los asientos elevados suplementarios
reducen hasta en un 59 par ciento el tiesgo de lesiones para los nifios mayores,
agrega Stephanie Tombrello, directora
ejecutiva de la organización Safety
BeltSafr USA.
CONSIGAUN ASIENTO
PARA SU COCHE QUE
VAYA BIEN CON LA
•EDAD Y EL PESO DE
SU NINO
Los nifios de menos de 12 anos
deberlan ir siempre en el asiento trasero,
• Asientos de seguridad para in
fantes (mirando hacia atrás) para
nifios de hasta un aflo y 20 libras de
peso
• Asientos de seguridad para nifios
(mirando hacia el frente) paranifios
de entre 20 y 40 libras de peso
• Asientos elevados suplementarios
para nifios pesando entre 40 y 80
libras. Un nub de este tamaflo no es
lo suficientemente alto para usar el
cinturón de seguridad de forma
apropiada y podria salir lesionado o
• incluso con heridas fatales par los
cinturones de seguridad de adultos.
.
Los nifios no están seguros sin un
asiento infantil hasta que tengan una
altura de por lo menos 4’9” y tin peso
de 80 libras, y hasta que sus pies
puedan tocar el piso del coche, dicen
los expertos. A medida que sus ninos se
hagan mayores puede explicarles la
importancia de que contintien usando su
asiento para el coche porque eso los hace
viajar mis seguros.
CONSIGA UN ASIENTO
QUE VAYA BIEN CON
SU COCHE
Una mujer embarazada habrIa de
conseguir un asiento para su coche
“untes de dar a luz, de modo tal de tener
al bebé seguramente instalado en el
asiento para el camino de vuelta acasa”,
dice Barbara Cheathn, coordinadora de
SAFE KIDS en el condado de Alameda.
Los asientos nuevos para nifios cuestan entre $40 y $320, pero los condados
ofrecen ayuda financiera para familias
de. bajos ingresos a través del departa
mento de salud del condado, el hospital
de nifios, la Comisidn de los Primeros
Cinco, los departamentos de policIa o las
clases prenatales.
Los asientos usados también pueden
emplearse, pero “recomendamos no
[usar aquellosj que tengan mis de cinco
años de antiguedad”, dice Manion.
continuada en p. 9
Resources
them properly
• American Academy of Pediatrics has information on car seat
manufacturers, features, prices, and recalls,
www.aap.org/family/carseatguide.htm
• Auto Safely Hot Line has information about car seat recalls,
888-327-4236, www.nhtsa.dot.gov
continued from p. 8
Used car seats may be fine, but “we
recommend not [using] car seats more
than five yrs old,” says Manion.
Check for a label with the model name
or number and the year it was made, says
the American Academy of Pediatrics, so
you can find out if it’s been recalled.
Bring the car seat out to the car before
you buy it, to see how it fits.
. Diamon Chrysler SeatCheck has contact information for car seat
inspection sites by zip code, 866-SEATCHECK, www.seatcheck.org
• National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has information on
car seat safeiy installation, recalls, and inspection stations
Coil 888-327-4236 or visit www nhgsa dot gov
INSTALL THE CAR SEAT
PROPERLY
Even a good car seat doesn’t work
unless properly installed. Studies show
that more than three-quarters of all car
seats are put in wrong. “The correctly
installed safety seat is one that is held
firmly in place,” says
Fidler.
Follow the instruc
tions
in the car seat’s
ldren in car seals, and larger children in booster seats.
manual or at free car
seat-afety
events—
often held in both
English and Spanish at
police stations, shopping
centers, or car dealer
ships (see resources).
You can also get a free
inspection of how well
you have installed the
ntes, m rando hacia alrás,
s elvados suplementarios.
continucido de p. 8
FIjese en la etiqueta con el nombre del
modelo o el nümero, asI como en el aflo
en que fue hecho—aconseja la Aca
demia Americana de Pediatria—de
modo tal de averiguar si el producto en
cuestón ha sido retirado del mercado.
Lieve el asiento hasta su carro antes
de comprarlo, para asegurarse de glue
quepa bien.
INSTALE EL ASIENTO
CORRECTAMENTE
Incluso los mejores asientos no sirven
para nada si flO están bien colocados.
Diversos estudios demuestran que más
de tres cuartos de los asientos de nifios
están mal colocados. “El asiento de
seguridad colocado correctamente es
aquel que se mantiene firme y seguro en
su sitio”, dice Fidler.
Siga las instrucciones del manual que
viene con el asiento 0 las que se
imparten en eventos gratuitos sobre
asientos de seguridad, a menudos con
ducidos en inglés y en espaliol en las
estaciones de policIa, centros corner
ciales o agencias de vents de
automóviles (ver recursos). También
puede conseguir que se le haga usa
inspeccion pam ver si su asiento ha sido
instalado correctamente en varios cen
tros de inspección (ver reciirsos).
Siempre instale el
asiento infantil en el
asiento trasero. Si el
se
asiento del nub
encuentra en el frente,
dice Fidler, “la presión
de la bolsa de aire
abriéndose [duranth ins
accidente] danará seri
amente o incluso matará
al nino”.
Los coches más nue
vos vienen con “anclajes
de seguridad” para amar
rar la parte superior del asiento del niflo al
coche de modo ml de evitar que el asien
to y la cabeza del nino sean forzados
hacia adelante en un accidente. El coche
de Womble no tenla estos anclajes, peru la
agencia de automóviles “los instaló de
forma gratuita. Apenas llevó 45 minutos”.
Los niños no están seguros
sin un asiento infantil
hasta que tengan una
altura de por lo menos
4’9” y un peso de 80
libras, y hasta que sus
pies puedan tocar el piso
del coche,
dicen los expertos.
car seat at inspection sites (see
resources).
Always install the car seat in the back
seat of the car. If an infant seat is in the
front, says Fidiler, “the force of the air
bag opening [during a crash] will seri
ously injure or kill the infant.”
Newer cars come with “tether
anchors” for strapping the top of the car
seat to the car, to keep the car seat and
the child’s head from being thrown for-
Children are not safe
without a car seat until
they are at least 4’9” and
weigh 80 pounds, and
their feet can touch
the floor, say experts.
AMARRE A SUS NINOS
TODAS LAS VECES
Cuando ponga al nub en su asiento,
asegiirese de tener en cuenta los sigu
ientes puntos:
1. Hacer pasar las correas del ames y los
cinturones de seguridad a través de
los oriflcios correctos.
2. Asegtirese de que el cinturón de
seguiidad y las correas del hombro
estén “lo suficientemente apretadas
de modo ml que no pueda pellizcar el
material”, dice Tombrello. Fidler
agrega “Si las correas están flojas, el
niflo puede salirse de posición o ser
lanzado [fuera del asiento]”
3. Asegure las correas del hombro en su
sitio- con una hebilla de cierre a 1a
altura de la axila. “Si la hebilla baja
demasiado esto podrIa crear heridas
abdominales”, dice Fidler.
El papa de Morgan Hill Adam Soils
admite que algunas veces es us incordio
asegurar a los nifios en sus asientos cads
vez que va a algün sitio. Pero recuerda
un accidente cuando su hija Bnttney ada
era bebé. El conductor del coche que iba
delante frenó de repente y el carro de
Soils se estrelló contra él. “El policIa
nos dijo que Bnttney estaba en perfects
posición, en el medio del asiento Irasero.
[La nifia] salió del accidente sin un ram
guno
“La práctica hace la perfección”,
agrega Soils. “Lo haces corno rutina y
comienzas a hacerlo cada vez más rápi
do y mejor”.
ward in a crash. Woinbie’s car didn’t
have tether anchors, but the dealership
“installed [them] for free. It only took 45
minutes.”
STRAP YOUR CHILD
IN—EVERY TIME
When putting your child in the car
seat, be sure to:
1. Put the harness straps and seat belts
through the right slots.
2. Make sure the seat belt and shoulder
straps are “snug enough so you can’t
pinch any of the fabric,” says
Tombrello. Fidler adds: “if the straps
are loose, the child can wiggle out or
be thrown out.”
3. Lock shoulder straps in place with a
locking clip at armpit level. “if the
clip goes too low, that could create an
abdominal injury,” says Fidler.
Morgan Hilf father Adam Solis
admits it’s sometimes a hassle to strap
the kids into their car seats every time he
goes anywhere. But he recalls an acci
dent when his daughter Brittney was an
infant The driver in front of him stopped
suddenly and Solis’s car crashed into it.
“The cop told us Brittney was in a per
fect position, in the middle seat in the
back. She came out of that accident com
pletely without a scratch.”
“Practice makes perfect,” Solis adds.
“You do it like a routine and you start
getting faster and better at it.”
Recursos
• Academia Americana de
Pediatria tiene informaciOn
sobre los distintos fabricantes
de asientos pcira ninos,
propiedades, precios y pro
ductos retirados del mercado,
• en www.aap..org/family/
carseatguide.htm
• Auto Safely Hot Line (LInea
• permonente sobre seguridad
en el coche) tiene informaciOn
sobre asientos infantites que
han sido retirados del merca
do. Liarrie at 888-327-4236,
o vaya at sitio web
www.nhtsa.dot.gov
• Diamon Chrysler
SeotCheck (Chequeo de
Asientos de Diamon Chrysler)
tiene información de contacto
sobre sitios de inspección de
asientos infantiles organizada
por codigo postal en el teté
fono 866-SEATCHECK, o en
www.seatcheck.org
• National Highway Traffic
Safely Administration
(Administración Nacional de
Seguridad en el TrOflco de
Carreteras) tiene informadón
sobre seguridad en los asien
tos para niños, instolaciOn,
produdos retirados del mer
cado y estaciones de inspec
don. Ltame at 888-327-4236
o visite www.nhasa.dot.pov
Troducción at castellano por
Lucrecia Miranda
Solano County family resource centers
link kids to health care
By Melia Franklin
rigela Rodriguez, a recent
immigrant from Mexico,
works two part-time jobs
cleaning offices, but she can’t afford
health care for her Iwo children.
When her 10-year-old daughter,
Ibeth, complained of ear pain, and
her teacher said she might need
glasses, Rodriguez turned to the
Fairfield-Suisun Family Resource
Center (FRC).
Going to the FRC was natural—
it’s located at her child’s school,
Anna Kyle Elementary in Fairfield,
and staff there had helped Rodri
guez in the past. When Rodriguez
got behind on her rent, FRC Corn
munily Liaison Ana Maria Parras
got help from a local church. And
Parras set up a counseling appoint
ment for her 13-year-old son when
he was having problems with anger
and aggressiveness. Rodriguez says
visiting the FRC is comfortable
because “everyone speaks my lan
guage. Otherwise, I couldn’t com
municate.”
First, Parras got Ibeth an appoint
ment for her ear pain through
Solano County’s Children’s Health
Access Program (CHAP), which pro
vides free one-time medical visits.
Then she contacted the Lion’s Club
vision program to get lbeth a free
eye exam and glasses.
Meanwhile Rodriguez and Parras
worked to get the family enrolled in•
California Kids, a low-cost, founda
tion-funded health insurance pro
gram. Rodriguez couldn’t afford the
enrollment fee—Iwo months’ ad
vance payment—so Parras called a
local church, which cut a check to
California Kids.
With health insurance for her
kids, “I feel much more secure,”
says Rodriguez. Paying her first
monthly premium of $20 “was hard
because I don’t work a lot,” she
adds. “But I realize how important it
is.. ..The bills are higher when your
kids get sick and you don’t have
health insurance.”
A
•
FRCs CONNECT FAMILIES
TO HEALTH PROGRAMS
V
Because of their strong relationships
with families and community resources,
Solano County’s eight FRCs—coordi
nated and supported by the Solano
County’s Children’s Network—are at
the center of a countywide push for
access to health care for all kids. They
work in partnership with local schools
and the Solano Kids Insurance Program
(SKIP), started in 1998 by the Solano
County Coalition for Better Health.
Through the coalition, formed 15
years ago when the county hospital
closed, “all of the hospitals share in the
cost of covering the uninsured,” says
Jacque McLaughlin, SKIP’s director.
About two-thirds of the county’s unin
sured children are eligible for MediCal
or Healthy Families, but income caps
and immigration status lock many fami
lies out of these programs.
To bridge this gap, the coalition sub
sidizes health insurance premiums for
kids whose families earn up to 300 per
cent of the federal poverty level (or
10 JULY-AUGUST 2004
SHARING RESOURCES,
SHARING SUCCESS
The partnerships are key, says
Dineen: “Community partners help each
other...achieve the outcomes. People get
hung up on ownership over outcomes. I
say, if your kids are healthier, then you
look good. It doesn’t matter who gets the
credit.”
The schools recognize that they also
benefit from helping to get kids covered.
“Healthier kids do better in school. They
have fewer social and emotional prob
lems,” says Sharon Tucker, superinten
dent of the Fairfield-Suisun Unified
School District. “Schools receive money
only for children who actually attend.
The fewer days kids miss, the more sta
ble our income is.”
But it’s not about the money, Tucker
adds. “As educators, we have a responsi
bility to be advocates for children. You
must feel physically and emotionally
safe and secure before you can really
learn. It’s a no-brainer.”
V
about $45,800 for a family of three),
regardless of immigration status. SKIP
links families to all available insurance
options. As a result, less than five per
cent of Solano County children lack
health insurance.
Last year, SKIP tried a new strate
gy—working with schools, FRCs, and
other partners to enroll 100 percent of
children at targeted schools. So far, 13
schools in the Fairfield-Suisun Unified
School District have reached that goat,
including Anna Kyle, which started with
about 70 percent of kids insured.
TRUST MAKES THE
CONNECTION
“This is the best strategy we have
ever had,” says McLaughlin. “The FRC
can play such a key role [because it’s]
known and trusted by the surrounding
neighborhood.” Here’s how the partners
work together in the Fairfield-Suisun
school district:
• Schools include a bilingual flyer in
their enrollment packets, encouraging
families to contact the FRCs to find
health insurance. The flyer also
advertises a district-wide language
line, which links parents with transla
tors in many languages for three-way
conversations, says Ariceli Cantu
Tong, director of instructional support
for the Fairfield-Suisun Unified
School District. Linking kids to
health care “has become part of the
system,” she says, “part of a systemic
approach to effective schools.”
• SKIP sends a worker to the FRC oneand-a-half days per week. As a part of
the FRC team, SKIP works with
schools to identify families without
insurance and helps families com
plete application forms.
• FRCs connect the dots: “The FRC is
the place to identify the kids who
need health insurance,” says Ana
Dineen, director of the Fairfield
Suisun FRC and a public health
nurse. “The FRC really knows each
family and their situation. Programs
know they won’t get fraudulent refer
rals.” As a result, “almost every kid
who comes through our FRC has
health insurance,” says Dineen.
Because often “families don’t come
in for insurance until their child is sick,”
it’s essential to be able to link them to
health care, says McLaughlin. When a
child is ifi, the school nurse calls the
FRC. Dineen can make the child an
appointment through the Children’s
Health Access Program (CHAP), a part
nership with North Bay Health Program,
which covers Solano County children
for a one-time medical visit.
The research shows
• Studies show that kids who have health insurance are healthier than
kids who don’t. And kids with Healthy Families insurance are beffer
able to pay attention in school than children without insurance.
(Research review by the 100% Campaign).
• A Florida study showed that uninsured children are 25 percent more
likely to miss school than insured children. (Florida Healthy Kids
Corporation, 1997).
• One study showed that access to health care dramatically improves
after enrollment in health insurance. (J.R. Lave et al, Journal of the
American Medical Association, 1998).
• SKIP surveys show that kids with insurance receive more preventive
care; most have been in to see primary care dodor every six months.
‘.
Resources:
• Children’s Network,
707-421 -7229, www.childnet.org
• Solano Kids Insurance Program,
1 -800-978-7547,
hftp://skip.solanocoalition .ora/
WHAT IS AN
FRC?
The family resource center
(FRC), part of an innovative strat
egy to promote healthy families
and communities, is a warm and
welcoming community hub that
engages families in a variety of
programs and activities that
build on their strengths and meet
basic needs. FRCs respond to
what the community says it needs
and often work in partnership
with other community agencies.
Family Support Works!
is a six-part series supported
by the
Evelyn and Walter Hans Jr.
Fund and the
S.H. CowelI Foundation.
For more information contact
Melia Franklin,
510-444-7136,
aacmeIia(4children.org
Measuring success
Evaluation strategies help family support programs
make a difference
prove
they
V
V
ByMelia Franklin
n the 1999-2000 school year,
Verde Elementary School in
North Richmond had the lowest
attendance rates in the West Contra
Costa Unified School District. In
2001, Verde Involving Parents, a
collaborative project of the North
Richmond Family Resource Center
and Verde Elementary School,
began training community resi
dents to reach out to parents whose
children didn’t show up at school
(see Children’s Advocate, 9/03). In
just iwo years, VIP could show that
it contributed to ci 38 percent
decrease in absences, and reduced
tardiness by nearly 75 percent.
While this is clearly a win for the
kids and families at Verde, it also
was a win for the family resource
center (FRC). Since school funding is
based on the number of students
who attend, the FRC could show
that its program brought more
money into the school. This year,
the district invested some of its own
resources in the FRC’s effort, which,
in turn, leveraged additional grant
funding for the VIP program.
sample, it can make a big difference,
says Don Cohon of the Institute for the
Study of Community-Based Services,
which has evaluated the San Franciscobased Edgewood Center’s Kinship
Support Network. Edgewood’s first
evaluation was based on 24 caregivers,
but it helped leverage two major founda
tion grants. “We were able to demon
strate to funders that this was a need
because we had data to support it.”
I
Show an impact
When funds are tight, being able to
use data to prove that your program
makes a difference is “everything,” says
Sid Gardner, president of Children and
Family Futures, an frvine-based non
profit that provides technical assistance
to FRCs. As state and county budgets
shrink and private foundations suffer
stock market losses, family support pro
grams “need to show...that they can
reach families more effectively or save
money,” says Gardner.
Since its start in 1994, the Mutual
Assistance Network of Del Paso Heights
(MAN) in Sacramento has used data to
make its case to funders. Now it’s grown
from a community gardening project to a
$2.6 million agency. “It’s hard to argue
with success,” says Executive Director
Richard Dana. “I can’t tell you how
valuable it is to walk into a room and
say: ‘Five years ago, the infant lowbirth-weight rate of Del Paso Heights
was five times higher than the whole
county. Now it’s even with the county’s.’
We can really show an impact.”
Doing the numbers
To survive in tough times, FRCs need
to get more sophisticated about what
information they gather and how to use
the results to improve programs and
raise funds, says Gardner. “The first
question FRCs should ask themselves is,
‘What are we best at improving?’ Most
wifi realize that their own information
systems are not sufficient to answer the
question.” For many FRCs, developing
evaluation strategies on top of meeting
community needs is daunting. Here are
some tips from the field:
z
—
•V:
--
Verde Elementary fourth grader Jazmin Madrigal gets an award for aftendance and
academic achievement.
Tracking community
information
Early on, MAN got support from’
foundations to hire a consultant to gath
er “baseline” data on the community, “to
determine whether our programs were
truly meeting the needs of the communi
ty,” says Dana. For example, high school
records showed that most behavior prob
lems were occurnng among girls, while
MAN’s programs were mostly targeting
boys. “We adjusted our program to serve
more girls,” says Dana.
Most of the information is collected
by government agencies:
• School districts keep track of stu
dents’ behavior trends, attendance,
academic achievement, special edu
cation needs, and eligibility for free
and reduced-price lunch.
• U.S. Census tracks race and ethnici
ty, employment, income level, and
more.
• Local police departments usually
keep crime rates by zip code.
• County human services agen
cies track how many families access
social services.
• Hospitals track birth rates, lowbirth-weight babies, and teen preg
nancy.
Some data can be accessed via the
Internet, but often FRCs have to negoti
ate to get the information they need.
‘We were running our youth programs
for three years before the school began
to work with us,” recalls Dana. “It took a
long-term approach to get our program
allowed inside the [school data] system.”
The key was trust: “We told them:
‘We’re here to support you, not compete
with you.”
Family Support Works! is a six-part series supported by the
Evelyn and Walter Haas Jr. Fund and the S.H. Cowell Foundation.
For more information contact Melia Franklin, 510-444-7136,
aacmelia(ä4children.org
12 JULY-AUGUST 2004
i:
Tracking program
information
Intake questions are critical, says
Gardner. He challenges FRCs to think of
three questions they could add “that
would help explain how you serve the
community.” Age of children can be
important—”if you know how many
families have kids in preschool, you are
in a better position to talk to First 5,”
says Gardner.
Universities can help: “If you have
computers, ask the local university for
help,” says Iris Alfaro, research associate
at Children and Family Futures.
Graduate students hungry for evaluation
experience might volunteer to create a
database and input information.
Evaluation specialists are often
more efficient than FRC staff, who have
to learn as they go, says Dana. Often, the
costs can be built into a contract or grant
agreement.
Follow up with families three to
six months after they leave the program.
Even if you can only interview a small
Resources
Children’s Network,
707-42 1 -7229,, www.childnet.org
• Contra Costa County Service
Integration Program,
925-313-1793
• Children and Family Futures,
714-505-3525,
www.cffutures.com
• Family Development Matrix,
California State Universify
Monterey Bay Institute for
Community Collaborative
Studies, includes many sample
family development matrix forms
used by FRC networks, including
Solano Children’s Network.
http://iccs.csumb.edu/html
community/matrix
• Publication: Issues in Family
Support Evaluation, Family
Support America,
hftp://www.familysupport
america.org/Icenter/showtopic.ph
p?action =viewcot&categoryid=9.
V
V,
•
V
V
VV•
V
V
V
V
Solano County: Database gets results
The Solano County Children’s Network has found that a little data col
lection can go a long way toward making FRCs more effective.
Reporting to funders: Each of Solano County’s FRCs receives funds
from many different sources, says Jenny Ocón, community programs coor
dinator. “All of the funders were asking for something different,” and the
existing database wasn’t up to the task. With the help of a computer spe
cialist, the network developed a new database that keeps track of the infor
mation that each funder needs and generates the appropriate reports.
Tracking families’ progress: Solanb County FRC staff also developed
a “Family Development Matrix” (see resources), which measures how the
family is progressing in key areas, such as housing, employment, and
knowledge of resources. FRC staff merñbers received training in updating
families’ progress and entering results into the database. This helps staff
evaluate how families are doing. They can also print out a simple chart and
use it as a tool to talk with families about their progress and their goals,
SayS Ocón.
Generating income: The Solano County FRCs’ database also allows
them to get reimbursed for services they provide. The database is pro
grammed to give county officials everything they need to bill the state for
some Medi-Cal costs—so far this strategy has brought in about $20,000 in
income.
It wasn’t easy, says Ocón. The network had to raise funds to support a
computer specialist. Making sure each FRC is properly equipped and
“enters data in a consistent manner” is still a challenge. But it’s been worth
it “People have come to the point that they wouldn’t want to do without it.
They’re able to say, ‘Yeah, we are making a difference.”
V
Summer!
BOOK BASKET
Books reflect children’s varied experiences
Ben Peterson
ummer is a season of adven
tures and memories with
family and friends, sometimes
traveling someplace new, some
times never leaving the neighbor
hood, but always ending quicker
than we’d like. In the following sto
ries, children’s authors and illustra
tors celebrate summer; its heat
waves and cool rains, the enthusi
astic ways in which children enjoy
its days, the cherished moments it
provides with family, and the regret
we feel when its over.
S
>.
S
0
July, story and illustrations by James
Stevenson. Fifty years ago, Stevenson
remembers, “each month was a glacier
slowly melting until JULY!” In this book
Stevenson humorously describes the
excitement that filled each moment of
his July vacations in the beach town
where his grandparents lived. He
recounts the things he did (such as ride
bikes.. and roast marshmallows), thee
things he didn’t do (slouch, or at least he
was constantly reminded not to), the
things he wanted to do (climb the tower
and ride in a speed boat), as well as the
people of whom he steered clear (towns
people who didn’t like children). Young
readers will enjoy Stevenson’s. comical
portrayals of familiar summer activities
and characters, and adults will appreci
ate his memories, which perfectly captare the hectic enthusiasm of summer.
Ages four to eight. (Greenwifiow, 1990)
The Village Tree, story and ifius
trations by Taro Yashima. Caldecott win
ning author and illustrator, Taro Yashi
ma, wrote this, his first children’s book,
to his daughter, to tell her about the
happy summers he spent as a child in
Japan, centered on the huge tree that
stood on the banks of a river that flowed
through his village. Yashima chronicles
beautifully the fun-filled days he and his
friends would spend climbing the tree,
checking out its insects, playing games
in the river, and practicing amusing
dives from the bank. Like Yashima’s
other stunning children’s books, The
Village Tree offers flowing, poetic text
and vibrant illustrations. Modern readers
will fmd Yashima’s activities from so
long ago and so far away remarkably
and refreshingly familiar. Ages four to
eight. (Viking, 1953)
nant mother, who tell her stories about
her tribe and its customs. As the summer
ends, Anna looks forward to the next
summer when she can begin passing
these stories down to her future sibling,
keeping the Athabaskan traditions alive.
Ages four to eight. (Caroline House,
1995)
Cool Au, story and illustrations by
Nancy Poydar. Ali loves to draw. One
sweltering day, when her mother tells
her it’s too hot to be indoors, she takes
the chalk and heads outside, where she
sees her neighbors complaining about
the heat and desperately trying to stay
cool. She decides to cool each of them
down with her drawings. She cools
down Mrs. Frye with a lake around her
feet, draws a shady umbrella for Ira, and
gives Mr. Boyle the North Wind. She
even decides to draw snow, lots of snow.
As everyone imagines All’s cold snow, it
begins to rain, which has everyone danc
ing and splashing—except for All, who
sees her drawings being washed away.
The crowd, though, makes her feel better
by cheering her drawings that beat the
heat. Poydar’s summer-in-the-city story
introduces a creative way for children to
imagine staying cool during the hottest
days of summer. Ages Jour to eight.
(Margaret K. McElderry Books, 1996)
Come On, Rain, story by Karen
Hesse, illustrations by Jon J. Muth. It
hasn’t rained in over three weeks and
young Tessie is hot. She desperately
wants to play outside in her bathing suit,
but her mother won’t let her because,
without the rain, she’ll burn. After walk
ing through the intensely hot neighbor
hood full of withering plants and panting
cats, Tessie spots some clouds and
hatches a plan. She tells her best friend
Jackie Joyce to come over wearing her
bathing suit and then, with the help of a
cold glass of iced tea, convinces her
mother to allow her to wear hers. As the
two girls step outside, the first drops of
rain fall from the sky. The girls play and
squeal in the rain, attracting the neigh
bothood adults including Tessie’s moth
er, and soon everyone is dancing out in
the cool summer rain. Hesse and Muth
do a superb job portraying the over
whelming heat of summer and showing
how a young girl manages to will the
cool rain to fall and make everything
new again. Age four to eight. (Scholastic
Press, 1999)
Grandma Summer, story and
illustrations by Harley Jessup. Ben and
his lively grandmother spend their sum
mer at her summerhouse by the beach.
At first, not convinced that the vacation
will be fun, Ben groans and worries
while his grandmother gets the old house
back into shape and takes him to the
beach. He starts to enjoy himself once he
gets his feet wet in the ocean. Then, in
the garage, he fmds a green glass fishing
float that his grandmother explains float
ed all the way from Japan. The next
morning, after a storm, Ben’s grand
mother wakes him up to search the
beach for a float of his own. Jessup’s
charming, simple story about a summer
alone with a grandparent reveals the
emotional process of initial anxiety, then
curiosity, and finally enjoyment that
many children experience when spend
ing the summer with their extended fam
ilies. Age four to eight. (Viking, 1999)
,,fr
4
cOOL.A
,.,n,,,
The Itch Book, story by Crescent
Dragonwagon, illustrations by Joseph
Mahler. The itch began on the “out-of
school-92-degree-and-not-even-teno’clock-yet” first day of summer. Every
boy, girl, man, woman, and beast felt the
itch. Jeff felt it when he woke, as did his
hound, his mom, his dad, the Jerseycow, Betty, and Blaze, the horse. Upon
feeling the itch, the one thing that came
to everyone’s mind was the creek. Sure
enough, by the end of the day, each and
every man, woman, boy, girl, and beast
solved their itch by jumping in cold King
Creek. Dragonwagon’s itch will be
familiar to any reader who, on a hot
summer day, spends the whole time
thinking of the perfect way to cool
down. Ages four to eight. (Macmillan
Publishing Company, 1990)
Sand in My Shoes, story by
l,.
aiid)flt72
summer
[
James stevenson
.1
Wendy Kesselman, illustrations by
Ronald Himler. It’s the last day of sum
mer and a young girl races. around the
beach trying to enjoy the last moments
of her. vacation. Soon, though, she’s
heading back to the city saying goodbye
to her summer memories, the beach, the
flowers, the animals, and the ocean.
Back at school, she sits with a shell in
her pocket and sand in her shoes, reflect
ing on the past summer while dreaming
of the next one. Kesselman’s story cap
tures the common end-of-summer
melancholy, hopefully encouraging
readers, young and old, to enjoy summer
while it lasts. Ages four to eight.
(Hyperion Books for Children, 1995)
Anna’s Athaboskan Summer,
story by Arnold Griese, illustrations by
Charles Ragins. Anna, a young Athabas
kan girl, returns with her family each
summer to the traditional fish camp in
Northern Canada to fish for salmon. At
the camp, Anna cleans fish and picks
berries with her grandmother and preg
CHILDREN’S ADVDCATES RDUNDTABLE
FAMILY SUPPORT CORNER
Prevent Child
Abuse-’..poiicy
.agenda’.
A newly energixed. Prevent. Child
Abuse California (PCA-CA), lmked
to the local and regional child abuse.
prevention councils around the
state, is beginning to take a more
active role in advocating, for bills
relating to child abuse prevention.
Director. Scott Moak says PCA
CA is supporting thc •Roundtable’s
two foster care priority bills (see p.
16) and working on four other issues:
Gambling initiative—A cam
paign is underway to put an initiative
on the November ballot that advo
cates say would increase revenue
Jm gambling operations and pro
vide money to help disadvantaged
children. Moak says PCA-CA is
opposed to this bill, which he calls
“deceptive,” claiming it wàuld ex
pand the number of slot machines in
California without really helping ldds.
Child abuse reporting—SB1313
(Kuehi) would change the require
ments for reporting child abuse to
omit consensual sexual activity when
both partners are under 18. PCA-CA
is watching this bill.
Megan’s Law—AB488 (Parrs)
would make information on serious
sexual predators in a community
more easily available at libraries,
schools, and home computers.
PCA-CA is supporting thjs bill.
Regulations for nonprofits—
SB1262’ (Sher) wbuld create
“dozens” of new regulations on
nonprofit flmdraising activities and
boards. PCA-CA is opposing this
bill—Moak says it would be better..
for community-based organizations
to use their limited: resources to
serve families.
For more information, contact’
Scott Monk at 916-244-19.45,
[email protected]..:
e
a
baj
Ia
nta
Se impleme
laboral paga por razones farniliares
Acción: Comenzando este mes de
Julio, usted puede ser elegible para recibir
hasta seis semanas de’ baja familiar tern
poraria con paga para estar junto a mm
nuevo hijo (ya sea por naciniiento, adop
ción o cuidado de crianza) o para cuidar
de tin miembro de su familia que esté
gravemente enfermo.
Antecedentes: La baja laboral tempo
raria por razones familiares cubre a todo
Irabajador de California que contribuya al
Fondo Estatal de Seguro por Discapacidad
(fIjese en su recibo de salario o pregtintele
a su empleador).
Los trabajadores con baja familiar paga
reciben alrededor de un 55 por ciento de
su salario (hasta $728 por semana en
2004) por un nuiximo de hasta seis sem
anas por aflo. Los fondos provienen de un
aumento en su contribución de SDI (mi
ciales en inglés del seguro estatal de dis
capacidad), el cual promedia $27/mes.
Las empresas con menos de 50 empleados
no tienen obligación de mantener su
puesto si usted decide coger baja tempo
raria.
• Més informacitin en inglds a través de
Labor Project for Working Families
(Proyecto de Empleo para Familias Tra
bajadoras) en el sitio web www.paid
family leave.org
Cómo solicitarla:
Troducdón ol ccistellanopor
• Póngase en contacto con la Division de
Promoción de Empleo, tel. 800-4803287 para inglés; 800-658-8846 para
espailol; 800-547-3506 para cantons.
También puede acceder a información
a travds de www.edd.ca.gov/direp/
pflind.asp
Lucrecia Miranda
.
ESQUINA DE APOYO FAMILIAR
.
“Prevenga el Maltrato lnfantil”—agenda
de polIticas póblicas
.
.
.
.
.
el estado de CallLa recientemente renovada organización Prevent Child Abuse Caflfornia (Prevenga el Maltrato Infantil para
regionales de prevención del
fornia, o PCA-CA, segtin las iniciales en inglés)—la cual está vinculada con los consejos locales y
de ley vinculadas a
propuestas
por
abogar
maltrato infantil en todo el estado—está comenzando a tomar tin papel més activo para
la prevencidn del inaltrato de nibs.
cuidado de crianza (yea Ia
‘ El director de PCA-CA, Scott Monk, estti apoyando dos propuestas prioritarias de Roundtable sobre
página 16), a Ia vez que se encuentra trabajando sobre cuatro temas adicionales:
una medidaque, de acuer
Iniciativa sobre apuestos—Existe una campaña en marcha para someter a votaciôn en ‘noviembre
y destinarfa’fondos
apuestas
las
de
do a ciertos promotores de la propuesta, incrementaria la recaudación del estado proveq,iente
, ya qUe’
deenganosa*
califica
cüal
la
propuesta,
para ayudar a los niños con neceaidades. Monk dice que PCA-CA se opone a esta
expandirla el nthnero de máquinas para apostar en California sin ayudar a los niilos realmente.
infantiles
Dénuncia de maltratos ‘infantiles—S13 1313 (Kuehl) cambiarIa los requerirnientos para denünciar los malos tratos
el
siguiendo
está
PCA-CA
ailos.
18
de
menos
tienen
partes
de modo tal de omitir la actividad sexual consensuada cuando ambás
desarrollo de esta medida.
más disponible a nivel
La lay de Megan—AB488 (Parrs) harla que la información sobre ciertos predadores sexuales estuviera
medida.
esta
o
está’apoyand
PCA-CA
de la comunidad a travds de bibliotecas, esëuelas y ordenadores domésticos.
de nuevàs reglamentaciones’
Reglamentaciones paw .organizaciones sin fines de lucro—SB1262 (Slier) crearia “docenas”
comitds de adininistracidn..”..:
respectivos
SUS
y
lucro
fines
de
sin
sobreVactividades para la recaudacidn de fondos de organizaciones
utilicen sus escasos
PCA-CA se.opoue a esta propuesta de ley—Moak dice que serla mejor que las organizaciones:comunitarias
recursos para atender a las familias.
916-244-1945, o” a travs:del’ email
Para obtener ‘mtis infonnación póngase en contacto con Scott Monk en el teldfono’
snioak@capcsac org
“
‘‘
‘
.
V
.
,
‘
‘
,
,:
,
“
.
‘
V
‘
‘
‘
‘:.“
,
.‘
‘
-.
‘.
.‘
,,‘
.
.‘
e$poñoI
‘
V
‘
.
‘‘‘
‘,
“
“
.‘‘
.
Gellhiig out the vote
for kids
Paid family
leave, starts
The September issue of the Chil
dren’s Advocate will provide re
sources for parents, advocates, and
service providers to help increase
voter participation and educate peo
ple on children’s issues.
Pre-order extra copies: $5 for 25
copies, $8 for 45 copies, $15 for
100 copies, 510-444-7136
,
ction: Starting this July, you may be
eligible for up to six weeks of paid
family leave each year to bond with a new
child (birth, adoption, or foster care) or
care for a seriously ill family member.
Background: Paid family leave covers
any working Californian who contributes to
the State Disability Insurance Fund (check
your pay. stub or ask your employer).
Workers on paid family leave receive
around 55 percent of their wages (up to
$728 per week in 2004) for up to six
weeks in any year. Funds come from an
increase in your SDI contribution (averag
ing $27/month). Businesses with fewer
than 50 employees do not have to hold
your job if you go on paid family leave.
A
Consiguiendo el voto
para los niños
To apply
I Contact the Employment Development
Division, 800-480-3287 for English;
800-658-8846 for Spanish; 800-5473506 for Cantonese; information at
www.edd.ca.gov/direp/pflind.asp
• For more information, visit Labor
Project for Working Families at
www,uaidfamilvleave.orn
14 JULY-AUGUST 2004
The California Partnership, a coalition of 60 organizations advocating for low-income
people, was among dozens of groups protesting budget cuts in Sacramento in Ma
El nümero de septiembre de
Children’s Advocate sera una her
ramienta ütil para padres, activistas y
proveedores de servicios, pora ayu
darles a incrementar Ia participación
de los votantes y educar a Ia genfe
sobre temas infantiles.
iPida con anhicipación copias extra
para su personal, padres y miembros
de Ia comarnidad! $5 por 25 copias,
$8 por 45 copias, $15 por 100
copias, 510-444-7136.
____
CHILDREN’S ADVOCATES RDUNDTABLE
,Aumentar los
ingresos?
Acción: Los promotores de Ia causa
infantil están pidiendo a la gente que con
tacte a sus legisladores para expresar su
vision sobre la necesidad de aumentar los
ingresos del estado.
Antecedentes: Varios grupos abogan
do por los nifios están aunando esfuerzos
para solicitar una estrategia de pre
supuesto más balanceada que incluya
aumentos en los ingresos del estado asI
como en los recortes del gasto. Dos prop
uestas de ley actuales podrIan aumentar
los ingresos en miles de millones:
AB 1815 (Chan) restauraria los mveles
mis altos de impuesto alas ganancias para
los contribuyentes mis ricos de California
(cuyo promedio de ingresos es
$1.318.000). Las contribuciones de estos
grupos aumentarlan de un 9,3 por ciento a:
• 10 por ciento para contribuyentes indi
viduales con ingresos de más de
$138.566 o parejas con ingresos de
mis de $277.132
I 11 por ciento para individuos con
ingresos de mis de $277.132 o parejas
con ingresos de mis de $554.265.
Estas modilicaciones implicarlan re
caudar 2.900 millones de ddlares en el
perIodo 2004-05.
AB2203 (Chu) aumentarna el total
recaudado ofreciendo una amnistla (sin
intereses m sanciones) a todos los con
tribuyentes que pagaran los impuestos
atrasados antes del mes de junio de 2005.
En los primeros meses de este aflo, una
amnistia dispuesta especfficamente para
personas que evadieron impuestos medi
ante el uso indebido de protecciones fis
cales supuso para el estado una recau
daciOn de 1.000 millones de dOlares.
Para obtener más información:
• Western Center on Law and Poverty
(Centro del Oeste sobre Legislación y
Pobreza), 916-442-0753, www.wclp.org
• California Budget Project (Proyecto
para el Presupuesto de California), 916444-0500, www.cbp.org/2004/040427
nnpactoreinstatingtaxrates.pdf
Traducción al castellano por
Lucrecia Miranda
Preschool California Advocacy
Day—August 4
Action: Preschool California is urging supporters to rally in Sacramento August 4 to
support efforts to make voluntary, quality preschool available to every child in California.
Background: Preschool California, a nonprofit advocacy organization, and California
First Five have launched statewide campaigns for preschool for all. AB56 (Steinberg), a
bill currently in the legislature, would create a universal preschool system. On August 4
supporters will visit legislators and participate in a hearing.
For more infoimation, contact Stacy LWiesbrock at 510-271-0075, ext. 303, or email
[email protected].
Raise revenues?
Action: Advocates are asking people to
contact their legislators and express their
views about the need to increase state rev
enues.
Background: Many child advocacy
groups are pushing far a budget-balancing
strategy that includes revenue increases as
well as spending cuts. Two current bills
would raise billions:
AB1 815 (Chan) would restore the top
income-tax brackets on California’s weal
thiest earners (whose average income is
$1,318,000). Top tax rates would increase
from 9.3 percent to:
• 10 percent for single taxpayers with
incomes over 138,566 or couples over
$277,132
• 11 percent for individuals with
incomes over $277,132 or couples over
$554,265.
County programs for kids
“stretched thin”
Action: California Budget Project announces a new advocacy resource, a report show
ing how continued cuts to children’s services have jeopardized children’s well-being.
Background: Stretched Thin: State Budget Cuts Threaten Health and Human Services
Programs surveys Alameda, Butte, Contra Costa, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside,
Sacramento, San Bernardino, Santa Cruz, Sonoma, and Tehama counties. It finds, for
example, that
• County programs are not hiring new staff despite population growth.
• Butte County has cut early intervention services for children at risk of abuse or neglect.
• Contra Costa County does not have enough Ca1WORKs staffers to help recipients find
jobs, so families spend more time on aid.
• Orange County cuts mean that children stay in foster care longer than necessary.
• Counties are providing fewer preventive services (potentially creating higher longterm costs)—and have lost federal matching funds.
For more information, contact the California Budget Project, 916-444-0500 or visit
www.cbp.orn/2004/O4O5stretcbedthjn.ydf
For more information
• Western Center on Law and Poverty,
9 16-442-0753,-www.wclp.org
• California Budget Project, 916-4440500,
www.cbp.org/2004/040427
impactoreinstatingtaxrates.pdf
• Children’s Advocacy Institute, 916806-0159
Action Alliance for (hildren
Publications
Children’s Advocate,
a bimonthly newsmagazine,
provides in-depth coverage of issues
affecting children and families,
including child care, health, educa
tion, child welfare, poverty, violence-
prevention, and more.
Bay Area Parent Leadership Action
Network
A new network is bringing together organizations and parent leaders from around the
Bay Area to build a stronger parent voice in the decisions that affect the well-being of chil
then and families.
The Bay Area Parent Leadership Action Network (PLAN) grows out of the collabora
tive efforts of a group of organizations, including Action Alliance for Children, publisher
of the Children’s Advocate. PLAN is now a project of the San Francisco Foundation
Community Initiative Funds.
Future activities include:
• Bay Area Leadershp Council
• Network forums
• • Action trainings
• Web resources.
You can sign up for announcements at http:llgroups.vahoo.comlgroun/parentleader
al!ip. email [email protected] or call Melia Franklin, project director, 5 10-3363544.
This would raise $2.9 billion in 20042005.
AB2203 (Chu) would raise the amount
of tax money collected• by offering
amnesty (no interest or penalties) to any
one who pays the back taxes they owe
before June 2005. In the first four months
of this year, an amnesty specifically for
people who evaded taxes by misusing tax
shelters brought the state $1 billion.
Communities
Committed to Children,
a 16-page special report, shows how
five distinct California communities built
collaboration and mobilized people
power to improve conditions for
children and families.
Pathways to Parent Leadership,
a 48-page special report in Spanish
and English, highlights nine successful
programs that help parents become
leaders in their children’s lives,
schools, and communities.
You may order any of our publ:ations online at www4children.org/subscribc.ht
CA residents add 8% sales tax.
Children’s Advocate:
U $12 first-time,
one year rate
U $18 one year renewal
U $34 for two years
NAME
ORGANIZATION
-
ADDRESS
Bulk Orders (6 issues/year):
lU $29/yr for 25 copies
U $47/yr for 45 copies
U $90/yr for 100 copies
Special Reports:
U Communites Committed
To Children
$3 + $1.95 s/h
U Pathways to Parent
Leadership
$5 + $2.40 s/h
CITY
STATE
ZIP
PHONE
EMAIL
Enclosed is my check for
Make check payable (do not send cash) to Action Alliance for Children
$_________________
Please mail this form to:
1201 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Oakland, CA 94612
CHILDREN’S ADVDCATES RDUNDTABLE
Roundtable picks
bills to push
Roundtable apoya
propuestas de ley
In its May and June meetings, the Children’s Advocates Roundtable decided to focus
support on six proposed laws:
En sus reuniones de mayo y junio, Children’s Advocates Roundtable (grupo de traba
jo de organizaciones abogando per el bienestar infantil) decidió coñcentrar su apoyo en
seis propuestas de ley. A saber:
Foster care
AB1 29 (Cohn) would allow kids in foster care who entefthe juvenile justice system to
españoi
Cuidado decrianza
AB129 (Cohn) pennitirla a los jóvenes bajo el programa de cuidado de crianza que
officially stay in foster care too, so they have a foster home to go back to when they are
released.
AB1858 (Steinberg) would set
standards for the education of fos
ter children in nonpublic schools
and require planning to integrate
them into public schools.
ingresan en el sistema juvenil de justicia permanecer oficialmente en el programa de
cuidado de crianza, de modo tal de contar con un hogar a! cual regresar cuando sean
puestos en libertad.
AB 1858 (Steinberg) establecerIa estándares para la educación de niiios en cuidado de
crianza en escuelas no piiblicas y requerirla planificación para integrarlos en las escuelas
piIblicas.
Health
Salud
SB 1566 (Escutia) establecerIa estándares de nutricidn para comidas y bebidas servi
SB1566 (Escutia) would set
das en cualquier escuela K12.
nutritional standards for foods and
beverages served in any K-12
public school.
Cuidado de Niños
SB 1343 (Esculia) crearla un plan maestro para el cuidado y la educaciOn de infantes y
bebds para complementar la planificación actual de preescolar.
Child Care
SB1343 (Escutia) would cre
ate a master plan for the care and
education of infants and toddlers,
to go along with current planning
for preschoolers.
Pobreza
AB2832 (Lieber) subirla el salano mInimo
de California de $6,75 a $7,25 en el aflo 2005 y
a $7,75 en 2006.
SB1 639 (Alarcón) proveerla más apoyo y recursos a los padres en CaIWORKs y los
jóvenes en programas de cuidado de crianza obtendrnan más educación y formación laboral.
Poverty
AB2832 (Lieber) would raise
• Children’s Advocates Roundtable, 916-806-0159
California’s minimum wage from
$6.75 to $7.25 in 2005 and $7.75
in 2006.
SB1639 (Alarcon) would pro
vide more support and resources
so parents on Cal-WORKs and
foster youth could get more educa
tion and job training.
• Children’s Advocates
Roundtable, 916-8060159
españof
Jornada de Promoción de
“Preescolar California”, el 4 de agosto
At Parent Voices Stand for Children day, May 5.
Bay Area Parent Leadership
Action Network
espQñoI
Esta nueva red del area de Ia BahIa de San Francisco está concertando el esfuerzo de
varias organizaciones y padres IIderës de toda la region para consolidar una voz más fuerte
de los padres en las decisiones que afectan el bienestar de los nifios y sus familias. La
organización Bay Area Parent Leadership Action Network (Red de Acción para el
Liderazgo de Padres del Area de la BahIa oPLAN, acrOnimo de la organización en ingids)
surge de la colaboración de un grupo de organizaciones—incluyendo Action Alliance for
Children, editora de Children’s Advocate.
Algunas de las futuras actividades incluyen:
I Fórumsdelared
• Formación para activistas
• Recursos en Ia web
Puede suscribirse para recibir anuncios de actividades a haves de http:llgroups.vahoo.
com/group/parentleadership, email: BAYPLAN@ sbcglobal.net. También puede ilamar a
Melia Franklin, directora del proyecto, al tel. 510-336-3544.
españoi
Programas para niños del
’estirados a! máximo”
condado 1
Acción: California Budget Project (Proyecto para el Presupuesto de California) anun
cia un nuevo recurso para activistas: un informe en inglés que demuestra cómo los
recortes continuos en los servicios infantiles ban puesto en peligro la salud de los niiios.
Antecedentes: El informe “Estirado a! Méximo: Los Recortes en el Presupuesto
Estatal Amenazan los Programas de Salud y Servicios Humanos” estudia los conlados de
Alameda, Butte, Contra Costa, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, Sacramento, San Ber
nardino, Santa Cruz, Sonoma y Tehama y encuenira, por ejemplo, que:
• Los programas del condado no están contratando nuevo personal a pesar del incre
mento en la población.
• El condado de Butte ha recortado los servicios de intervención temprana para niños
con riesgo de maltratos o de falta de atención.
• El condado de Contra Costa no tiene personal de CaIWORKs suficiente para ayudar a
los cientes del programa buscar empleo, de modo tal que las farnilias han de pasarmas
tiempo recibiendo asistencia social.
• Los recortes en el condado de Orange implican que los nifios han de perthanecer en los
programas de cuidado de crianza más de lo necesario.
• Los condados están brindando menos servicios preventivos (creando, potencialmente,
más costos a largo plazo) y han perdido fondos complementarios provenientes del gob
ierno federal.
Pura obtener mds informución pdngase en contacto con California Budget Project en
el tel 916-444-0500 6 visite el sitio web wwwcbp.orgt2004/0405stretchedthin.pdf
16 JULY-AUGUST 2004
Traducción al castellano por
Lucrecia Miranda
Acción: Preschool Calfomia (Preescolar California) estti instando al ptiblico a panic
ipar en el rally que tendrá lugar en Sacramento el dIa 4 de agosto en apoyo de los preesco
lares voluntarios y de calidad para todos los nifios de California.
Antecedentes: Preschool Calfomia, organización activista sin fines de lucro, y Los
Primeros Cinco, California, han lanzado campafias en todo el estado pidiendo acceso al
preescolar para todos. La propuesta de ley AB 56 (Steinberg), actualmente en Ia legis
latura, crearla un sistema preescolar universal. Quienes apoyan esta propuesta visitarán a
los legisladores el 4 de agosto y participarán en una audiencia ptiblica..
Para obtener más información dirIjase a Stacy Wiesbrock, tel. 510-271-0075 ext. 303,
o a través de correo electrómco, en [email protected].
“Rediseñançlo”
Medi-Cal: Ultimas noticias
e3pQñoI
Acdón: Los prómotores de Ia causa hifantil están pidiendo ala gente quecontact
a sun legisladores y expresen su opinion sobre los posibles cambios en Medi-Cal.
Antecedentes: El gobernador Schwarsenegger estã haciendo presiOn para poner en
vigor una serie de cambios importantes en Medi-Cal; entre ellos: quiénes puede bene
ficiarse de Medi-Cal, cuánto han de pagar, qué servicios recibirian y cómo funciona el
programa. La publicación de este plan ha sido postergadahasta el 2 de agosto.
La Campafia pot el 100% yotros grupos están presionando per una refonha de
Medi-Caique:
• preserve in red de seguridad del sistema de salud
• facilite los requerimientos de elegibilidad para el programa
• expands el acceso ala atenciOn de salud
•. incorpore más fondos federales.
-
Para obtener mas informacion
Catherine Teare, Campafia por dl 100%, 510-763-2444, ext. 130,
www loopercentcampaign org
=
• Health Access, 510-873-8787
.
“Redesigning” Medi-Cal: Update
Action Advocates are asking people to contact their legislators and express their
views about possible changes in Médi-Cal.
Background: Governor &hwarzenegger is making a push for big changes -inMedi
Cal—changes m who s eligible how much they have to pay, what services they receive
and how the program works Release of hisplan has been postponed to August 2
The 100% Campaign and other groups are pushing for Medi-Cal reform that
• preserves the health care safety net
• streamlines eligibility requirements
• expands access to care
• brings in more federal funds.
-
.
For more information
• Catherine Teare, 100% Campaign, 510-763-2444, ext. 130,
www.100pircentcampaign.org
• Health Access, 510-873-8787

Co ectando - Action Alliance for Children

Transcripción

Documentos relacionados

After the rally

January 17, 2016 - St. Pius V Catholic Community