supporting - Action Alliance for Children

Transcripción

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Non-Profit Organization
U.S. Postage
PAID
Oakland, CA
Permit #1846
CAEYC 1998
Commitment to
Children Award
California Association for the
Education of Young Children
Communities
supporting
children
Cornunidades
apoyando a
los niños
2002
MULTI CULTURAL
CALENDAR
Special supplement
Suplemento especial
Communities
committed to
children
Pathways to parent
Part I: Kern County
leadership
Senderos a un
Reports on:
Iiderazgo de padres
Informes sobre:
•Promotoras as health
•Family resource centers leaders
• Promotores como
•Dental health
Ilderes de salud
•Atención dental
iParents active in
•Quality preschools
kids’ education
•Preescolres de calidad I Padres activos en Ia
educación de sus ninos
ACTION ALLIANCE FOR CHILDREN
•
THE HUNT HOUSE
•
REGULAR FEATURES
ARTICULOS REGULARES
ASK ThE ADVOCATE
Advocating for kids in
tough times
PREGUNTELE AL
Abogando para los niños
en tiempos dificiles
TS SNAPSHOT
• GRASSROO
Child care job “shadows”
DE LA
COMUNIDAD
“Sombras” de maestras
de cuidado de niños
1201 MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. WAY
n.orq
childrew.
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•
OAKLAND, CA 94612-1217
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ADVOCATE
The bimonthly Children’s Advocate is published by
Action Alliance for Children, a nonprofit osgan
ization dedicated to informing and empowering
people who work with and on behalfofchildren.
Volume 30
•
Number 1
3
Grassroots Snapshots:
Accountant
Pam Elliott
12 Instituto para padres: Enseñando a los padres a ser
Ilderes en Ia educaciôn de sus ninos
Decision-makers “shadowing” child care providers in Nevada County
“ Trabajando con el personal para acoger a los padres
Instantaneos de comunidad: Tomadores de decisiones
Por Irene Moore
siguen, como “sombras’ a los proveedores de cuidado de ninos
Williams
Erica
By
13 children’s Advocate 2002 Multicultural Calendar
4 Ask the Advocate: Advocating for kids in tough times
(continued)
• Pregunta el Defensor Abogando para los ninos en tiempos dificiles
By Jessine Foss
14 Let children be children
Outreach Manager
Melia Franklin
5
Communities Committed to children
Kern County: “We’re a force to be reckoned with”
By Melia Franklin
6
“A neglected epidemic”
Executive Dsrector
Philip Arca
Editor
Jean Tepperman
Administration
LaVora Perry
Outreach Associate
Erica Williams
On-line Community Manager
Jessine Foss
Copy Editor
Laura Coon
Tooth decay is a serious health threat for young children, but innova
tive programs are working on prevention
By Lauren John
Volunteer
Patty Overland
Intern
Scott Bruiser
Publication Design and Production
‘Judy July and Generic Type
7
AAC Logo Design
,Mitche Manitou
Printing
Fricke Parks Press
Distribution
Jane Welford
Legal Counsel
Nonprofit Legal Services Network
Board of Directors
Ronda Garcia, President
Ernest Ting, Treasurer
Catalina Alvarado, Secretary
Barbara Cannon
Carlos Castellanos
Charles Drucker
Randy Reiter
Victor Rubin
Marguerite Stricklin
Advisory Council
Jill Duerr Berrick
University of California
Child Welfare Research Center
Margaret Brodkin
Coleman Advocates 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 Chronide
Dana Hughes
Institute for Health Policy Studies
Herb Kohl
Author & Educator
Milton KoteLchuck
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 Quacinelia
National Center for Youth Law
Wilson Riles, Jr.
American Friends Service Committee
Giovanna Stark
Assembly Select Committee on Adolescents
Princia1 Consultant
Alan Watahara
California Partnership for Children
Stan Weisner
UC Berkeley Qilldren &the Changing Family Pmgram
Rev. Cecil Williams
Glide Memorial Church
Act on 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 writFrs 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 ser
vices in its features or ads, As this is a copyrighted publica
tion, 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 organizations and
public
“Una epidemia ignorada”
Las caries constituyen una seria amenaza para la salud de los ninos,
pero programas innovadores están concentrándose en su prevenciOn
Por Lauren John
8
children’s Advocate 2002 Multicultural Calendar
SPECIAL SUPPLEMEN1 Pathways to Parent Leadership!
Senderos al Liderazgo de Padres
9 Promotoras: Community health leaders
In-depth training helps Latina women in L.A. neighborhoods share
health information and develop leadership skills
By Eve Peariman
10 Promotoras: lIderes de Ia salud comunitaria
Entrenamiento en profimdidad ayuda a mujeres latinas en barrios de
Los Angeles a compartir información de salud y desarrollar su liderazgo
Por Eve Peariman
11 Parent Institute: Teaching parents to be leaders in
their children’s education
Working with staff to welcome parents
Preschool programs do the best job of preparing children for school
when they create enviromnents geared to young children
By Claudia Miller
15 Permitamos que los niños sean niños
Los programas preescolares cumplen mejor con su tarea de preparar a
los ninos para la escuela cuando crean ambientes orientados a los
niños pequenos
Por Claudia Miller
16 “Everybody needs a support system”
The family support movement works to build communities that
nurture families.
The Mosaic Project
By Kathleen Barrows
17 Mountain Community Resources
By Kathleen Barrows
18 children’s Advocates Roundtable:
Child care subsidies restoredlse restauran subsidios para el
cuidado de niños; March ballot Prop. 40Notaciôn de marzo:
Prop. 40; Environmentally safe school sites
19 Sitios escolares seguros para el ambiente; California Budget
ProjectlProyecto del Presupuesto de California; Grades for
legislators!Marcas para legisladores
20 Cuts to this year’s state.budgetlRecortes en el presupuesto
estatal de este año; Health insurance for parents/Seguro
medico para padres
By Irene Moore
is year when we were planning for children’s art to
illustrate our beloved annual Multicultural Calendar,
the theme seemed clear: We would ask children to cre
ate art about their hopes for the world. The Museum
of Children’s Art in Oakland passed on our request—the chil
dren chose and illuminated the words that represented their
hopes. When you look through the issue, you will find that
the first half of the calendar is separated from the second half
by a few pages. That’s because the center of the paper, where
we usually put the calendar, is part of a special pullout supple
ment. But don’t fear! If you take the calendar page out of the
issue, you will see that it’s all on one sheet of paper, suitable
for hanging on the wall.
We are beginning this year with two new and special
series’ of articles. A bilingual four-page pullout section in the
center (pages 9-12), Pathways to Parent Leadership, is the first
of four special sections describing various strategies for build
ing parent leadership in the organizations and institutions
working for children and families. This issue we’re highlight
ing a health educator program, the promotoras, in Los
Angeles, the statewide Parent Institute for Quality Education,
and the Francisco Connection in San Francisco.
When the series on parent leadership is finished, we’ll com
pile the stories into a report that we hope will become a valu
able resource for children’s advocates in California. We are
grateful to the Zellerbach Family Fund for making this series
possible.
The story on Kern County (page 5) begins another new
series, Communities Committed to Children, that will take an
in-depth look at counties where meeting children’s needs has
become a central priority. Our articles will examine the vari
ous strategies children’s advocates in these counties have used
to build that commitment to children. This series, too, will
lead to a special report; the Communities Committed to
Children project is made possible by the David and Lucile
Packard Foundation.
Building communities that foster the healthy development
of children is the goal of the family support movement, an
increasingly widespread perspective on working with families
(pages 16 and 17). Instead of seeing service providers as pro
fessionals who know how to ufix defective families, family
resource centers offer support services, build on families’
strengths, and engage families in acting together to create a
community that supports all of them.
Our ongoing series on health outreach strategies specifical
ways to build health promotion into the commu
highlights
ly
nities and institutions that are part of families’ daily lives. A
bilingual story in this issue (pages 6 and 7) describes strategies
for preventing dental problems in young children—and
explains why it’s never too early to begin good oral health
practices.
Early childhood is also the focus of a bilingual story (pages
12 and 13) that aims to help parents sort out what kind of
educational programs work best for preschoolers. With
increasing emphasis on preparing young children for school
comes the increasing danger that preschool programs will feel
pressured into teaching school subjects to young children. But
preschoolers’ minds and bodies are different from those of
older children—it’s important to help them learn in ageappropriate ways.
We hope our expanded Children’s Advocate will help you
in all your efforts for children and families.
Happy New Year!
—Jean Tepperman
Kn5?I
—
Tomadores de decisiones siguen, como “sombras”,
a los proveedores de cuidado de niños
Por Erica Williams
U
na vez por afio, en el condado de Nevada,
Job Shadow Day hace posible que los
lideres comunitarios puedan observar ci traba
jo de los proveedores de guarderlas infantiles.
El 8 de noviembre pasado, Barbara Kosher,
funcionaria de desarrollo comercial en ci
Citizen’s Bank, sigió durante parte del dIa
como “sombra” de Sharon Davidson, propi
etaria y operadora de Stepping Stones
Preschool. “Me senté en esas silhitas frente a la
mesa de arte’ dice Kosher, mientras los nifios
trabajaban con materiales que “daban rienda a
su aeatividad y a su fàscinación’
Esa experiencia, dice Kosher, le permitió
“ver la necesidad de familias que quieren saber
que sus ninos reciben cuidado y afecto” y
lograr “más conciencia sobre qué es lo que
involucra ci cuidado infantil de calidad’
Kosher agrega: “realmente, Ia maestra me
impresionó”; cómo ensenaba a los niflos a
“tener en cuenta ci respeto mutuo, mientras
destilaba en ellos confianza y autoestima’
Ese es exactamente el tipo de resultado que
los proveedores de cuidados infantiles desea
ban obtener cuando comenzaron con Job
Shadow Day en ci condado de Nevada hace seis
ailos con ci objetivo de conseguir salarios jus
tos para los proveedores de cuidados infantiles.
Cada una de cstas jornadas especlaics alberga a
un grupo diferente. Entre dos, por ejemplo, se
encuentran comisionados de la Proposición
10, supervisores del condado y, este aflo, lidcrcs
del sector empresarial. 0 sea, “gente que con
tribuye a la creación dc politicas en nuestro
condado’ dice Cindy Santa Cruz, directora de
Ready Springs Community Preschool.
Job Shadow Day ha “creado lazos impor
tantes entre los lIderes comunitarios y los
proveedores de cuidados infanti1es’ dice Santa
Cruz. Karen Wallek-Eisen, propietaria y direc
tora de Tiny Pines Learning Center, piensa que
esta jomada contribuyó a persuadir a ios comi
sionados de la Proposición 10 de la creación de
un programa de estipendios que premia a
aquellos educadores de nifios en infancia que
contintien trabajando en ci desarroiio de su
educación personai. Nevada, agrega Wallek
Eisen, es el inico condado que provee benefi
cios de saiud para los participantes.
Varios elementos claves contribuyen ai
éxito de esta jornad,a en ci condado de Nevada:
• Un programa planificado: Antes de que
los participantes lleguen a los programas
infantiles, reciben una hoja informativa sobre
cuidado de nifios en ci condado de Nevada.
Durante ese dia, los maestros hablan con los
participantes sobre actividades tales como
jugar con maclila para moldear, explicándoies
cómo ayuda a los ninos aprender a medir. Más
tarde, en una recepcion, las “sombras” corn
parten sus experiencias y firman una peticion
de compromiso para convertirse en activistas
de la causa de los ninos.
• Tema del año: Cada año tiene un tema
especiflco. El afio pasado ci objetivo de los par
ticipantes era crear conciencia sobre la canti
dad de gente que depende dcl cuidado de
niños para poder salir a trabajar, y sobre cómo
los proveedores de guarderlas son “con
tribuyentes. viables para la salud cconómica’
dice Wallek-Eisen.
• Conciencia pUblica: En noviembre pasa
do, Job Shadow Day recibió una subvención
para publicidad de la Proposición 10 y dis
tribuyo más de cuatro mu botones con la
inscripción: “el condado de Nevada funciona
gracias a... (colocar ci nombre de la guarderia
Barbara Kosher, from Citizen’s Bank, at the art table at Stepping Stones Preschool.
Barbara Kosher de Citizen’s Bank, en Ia mesa del arte de preescolar Stepping
Stones.
en este espacio)” Ronda Fraser, propietaria y
operadora de ia guarderla Seven Hills Child
Care, recuerda haber entrado en una tienda y
haber visto a cinco personas lievando los
botones. “Y eso era en una tienda pequena!
(Los botones) estaban por todos lados”!
• Participación de los padres: Los padres
participan en Job Shadow Day sirviendo de
voluntarios en las clases. La voiuntaria Carol
Finau, cuyo nifio asiste a Ready Springs, dice:
“muchIsirnos padres no se dan cuenta de lo
que el maestro de su hijo hace cada dia’ Santa
Cruz expresa que el participar en esta jomada
ha unido a ios padres como promotores del
cuidado de sus nifios. Como resultado, “los
padres se movilizan e involucran más’ dice,
participando en las juntas de Ia escucla y
haciéndose oIr en ias reuniones del distrito
escolar y de los supervisores del condado. II
Thanks to the David and Lucile Packard Foundation for its support of this page.
“Job shadowing” es una
por Ia
campaña por un salario digno
(“Worthy Wage Campaign”),
Ia cual busca obtener una corn
pensación justa para los provee
dores de cuidados infantiles.
Para mayor información Ilamar al
nümero 1-800-U-R-WORTHY,
estrategia recomendada
www.ccw.ora/worthv-waae
Lsabe usted de algün esfuerzo
comunitario debase del cual todo
el mundo debiera escuchar? Póngase
en contacto con Erica Williams, asocia
da de promoción comunitaria, al
510-444-7136, [email protected]
Traducción al castellano:
Lucrecia Miranda
Decision-makers “shadowing” child care providers
By Erica Williams
O
nce a year in Nevada County, Job
Shadow Day gives community
leaders an up-close look at the work of
child care providers. Last November 8,
Barbara Kosher, business development
officer for the Citizen’s Bank, “shad
owed” Sharon Davidson, owner/opera
tor of Stepping Stones Preschool, for
part of the day. “I sat in those little
chairs at the art table,” says Kosher,
while the children worked with materi
als that “perked their creativity and fas
cination’
The experience, Kosher says, allowed
her to “see the need of families who
want to know that their children are
cared for and nurtured” and to gain
“more awareness of what goes into
quality child care:’ Kosher adds, “I was
really impressed with the teacher’ how
she taught the children to “keep in
mind respect for one another, while
instilling confidence and self-esteem’
That’s exactly the kind of result
child care providers hoped for when
they started Job Shadçw Day in Nevada
County six years agu, with the aim of
gaining fair wagcs for child care
providers. Every Job Shadow day they
host a different group, such as Prop. 10
commissioners, county supervisors,
and, this year, business leaders—”peo
plc helping to make policy in our coun
ty” says Cindy Santa Cruz, director of
Ready Springs Community Preschool.
Job Shadow Day has “built impor-.
tant links between community leaders
and child care providers,” says Santa
Cruz. Karen Wallek-Eisen, owner!
director of Tiny Pines Learning Center,
credits Job Shadow Day with helping
persuade Prop. 10 commissioners to
create a stipend program rewarding
early childhood educators who further
their education. Nevada, she adds, is
the only county that provides health
benefits for those providers.
Several key elements contribute to
the success of Job Shadow Day.
• A planned program: Before par
ticipants arrive at the child care pro
grams, they receive a fact sheet about
child care in Nevada County. During
the day, teachers talk with participants
about activities like playdough-making,
explaining how they help children
learn skills like measuring. Later, at a
reception, “shadows” share their expe
riences and sign a pledge of commit
ment to become advocates for children.
• Theme-of-the-year: Every year
there’s a specific theme—last year par
ticipants aimed to raise awareness
about how many people depend on
child care to be able to go work and
about child care providers as “viable
contributors to economic health:’ says
Wallek-Eisen.
• Public awareness: Last November,
Job Shadow Day received a Prop. 10
grant for publicity and distributed
more than 4,000 buttons reading:
Nevada County works thanks to... [fill
in their child care center’s name].”
Ronda Fraser, owner!operator of Seven
Hills Child Care, recalls entering a store
and seeing five people wearing the but
tons—”And that was in a small store!
They were everywhere!”
• Parent involvement: Parents par-
ticipate in Job Shadow Day by volur
teering in the classroom. Parent volun
teer Carol Finau, whose son attends
Ready Springs, says, “a lot of parents
don’t realize what their child’s teacher
does each day:’ Santa Cruz says partici:
pating in Job Shadow Day has united
parents as child care advocates. As a
result, “parents stand up and become
more involved:’ participating in schodi
meetings and speaking up about child
care at school district and county
supervisors meetings. •
Job shadowing is one strategy
recommended by the Worthy
Wage Campaign, which works
for fair compensation for child
care providers. For more infor
mation call 800-U-R-WORTHY,
www.ccw.org/worthy wage
Do you know of a grassroots effort
the world should hear about?
Contact: Erica Williams, Outreach
Associate, AAC, 510-444-7136,
[email protected]
CHILDREN’SADVOCATE 3
N
Prea2nteIe a I
Lucrecia Miranda
Pregunta: En estos tiempos difIdles—
con Ia recesión econômica, el deficit del
presupuesto de estado, y Ia situaciôn
general tras los eventos del 11 de sep
tiembre—cómo pueden activistas prote
ger los programas infantiles?
Respuesta: “No tenemos que aceptar que
sea necesario realizar cortes en los programas
infantiles porque haya un bajón en la
economIa’ dice Alan Watahara, director ejec
utivo de California Partnership for Children
(Asociación por los Ninos de California).
“Tenemos que repensar la estrategia, pero no
creo que haya que cambiar todo’
Watahara y otros lideres recomiendan que
quienes abogan por los derechos infantiles
tengan en cuenta los siguientes consejos:
Trabajar en conjunto. Quienes estén traba
jando en temas infantiles “tienen que unirse y
decir: ‘no podemos dividir a los niños en
pequenas piezas”, subvencionando algunos
prograrnas infantiles a expensas de otros’ dice
Kathy Dresslar, directora legislativa para la
asambleIsta Darrell Steinberg.
“Nuestras voces tienen que realmente hac
erse oIr, y todos tenemos que estar al corriente
de lo mismo’ dice Bob Erlenbusch, director
ejecutivo de L.A. Coalition to End Hunger
and Homelessness (Coalición de Los Angeles
para Terminar con el Hambre y la Falta de
Hogar). “Y buscar ayuda, particularmente en
los sindicatos. La mayorIa de los compafieros
tienen nifios; convertir esa conexión humana
en acción’
“Miembros de coaliciones trabajando en
temas especfficos debieran [conectarsel acti
vamente e identificar qué podemos hacer
como colectivo’ agrega el consultor de politi
0’
Abogando por los niños en tiempos dificiles
Jessine Foss
cas infantiles Steve Barrow, quien goza de gran
experiencia en el sector. “[Hay que] movi
lizarse en tomb de un mensaje comtin, tal
como la calidad del cuidado infantil, o progra
mas extracurriculares (“after-school”) para
cada nino’
Educar a los legisladores y Ilderes de
empresa. “Es importante que los legisladores
comprendan que su distrito sufre el impacto
de las decisiones presupuestarias’ dice
Barrow. “Educar a los lIderes comunitarios y
de negocios y ilevarlos a que se reünan con su
legislador’
“Lievar a los legisladores a que vean difer
entes prograrnas”, sugiere Pat Dorman, presi
denta de politicas püblicas en la organización
California Association for the Education of
Young Children (Asociacióñ para la
Educación de Infantes de California, CAEYC).
“Los padres deberlan escribirle cartas al
gobemador, a la legislatura, al presidente—de
inmediato!”, agrega Dorman. “La carta no
tiene que ser larga, uno o dos renglones sobre
Jo importante que son estos servicios para la
familia de bajos ingresos”.
Usar los medios de comunicaciôn.
“EscrIbale cartas al editor, haga este asunto tan
publico y real como le sea posible. fleve a las
familias para que vayan a hablar con el conse
jo de editores. Si los meclios de comunicación
prestan atención, el gobemador prestará aten
ción”, dice Lupe Alonzo, experta en politicas
infantiles del Children’s Advocacy Institute
(Instituto para la Defensa de los Derechos del
Nino).
“Necesitamos mensajes coherentes que
resuenen con el ptiblico y con la prensa”, con
cuerda Watahara. “Y una campana en los
j Speaker Robert Hertzberg on the
steps at the California
Association for the Education of Young Children Public Policy Symposium 2001.
El vocero de Ia asamblea Robert Hertzberg en las escaleras del Capitoilo durante el
Simposlo de Politicas Póblicas de Ia Asociación de Educaciôn Infantil de California 2001.
.
medios de comunicación para colocar los
mensajes de modo estratégico esa serla una
buena manera de colaborar con las empresas”.
...
Pedir “estimulos económicos” para las
familias. “Si echamos un vistazo a los
recortes impositivos para empresas en
relación a los consumidores de bajos ingresos,
existe un desequilibrio enorme”, dice Alonzo.
“Los hoteles obtienen una exención del
impuesto a las ventas para mantelerla y ropa
blanca que le cuesta al estado 44 millones de
dólares anuales’ Si quienes abogan por temas
de infancia hacen presión para revocar estos
cortes “podrIamos subvencionar un crédito
impositivo devengado de los ingresos a nivel
del estado para mejorar Ia situación de las
familias de bajos recursos”, dice.
Mostrar efectividad en el costo.
“Tenemos que encontrar maneras de mostrar
beneficios inmediatos derivados de lo que
hacemos”, dice Dresslar. El dinero que se gasta
en cuidado de ninos y programas extracurric
ulares después de clase ahorrará a los con
tribuyentes dinero más adelante, “debido al
menor gasto en servicios sociales y prisiones”,
agrega Alonzo.
Encontrar alternativas de financiación.
“No aprovecharnos bien todos los fondos fed
erales y de fundaciones que hay a disposición”,
dice Barrow. “Hay que concentrarse en dónde
deberla procurar el estado fondos adicionales
que le pernhitan mantener e incrementar los
programas”. •
RECURSOS
• California Association for the Education of
Young Children, (916) 486-7750
• California Partnership for Oiildren and
Families, (916) 443-1149
• Children’s Advocacy Institute, (916) 4443875
L.A. Coalition to End Hunger and
Homelessness (213) 439-1070
,.
Tiene alguna pregunta para “PregUntele al Defensor”? Llame a Erica Williams al 510-444-7136 o e-mail [email protected]
Have a question for “Ask the Advocate”? Call Erica Williams at 510-444-7136 or e-mail [email protected]
By Jessine Foss
Q.
In these tough times—with
the economic downturn, the
state budget deficit, and the
aftermath of September 11—
how can advocates protect
children’s programs?
A. “We shouldn’t accept that children’s
programs need to be cut because of an
economic downturn,” says Alan Wata
hara, executive director of the California
Partnership for Children. “We need to
rethink strategy, but don’t think every
thing needs to be changed’
Watahara and other leaders recom
mend that children’s advocates:
Work together. Advocates “need to
hold hands and say, ‘We can’t carve kids
up into little pieces:” by funding some
children’s programs at the expense of
others, says Kathy Dresslar, legislative
director for Assemblymember Darrell
Steinberg.
“Our voices need to be really, really
loud and we all need to be on the same
page,” says Bob Erlenbusch, executive
4 JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2002
director of the L.A. Coalition to End
Hunger and Homelessness. “And reach
out, particularly to unions. Most folks
have children—translate that human
connection to action:’
“Rally [advocates] around a common
message, such as quality child care or
after-school programs for every child,”
says longtime children’s policy consul
tant Steve Barrow. “Then break it down
into roles for everyone to work on:’
Educate legislators and business
leaders. “It’s important that legislators
understand how their district is impact
ed by budget decisions,” says Barrow.
“Educate business and community lead
ers and bring them to meet with the leg
islator and their staff:’
“Take legislators on tours of different
programs:’ suggests Pat Dorman, public
policy chair of the California Association
for the Education of Young Children
(CAEYC).
“Parents should write letters to the
governor, the legislature, the president—
immediately!” Dorman adds. “The letter
doesn’t have to be long, one or two lines
about how important services are for
low-income families.”
Use the media. “Write letters to the
editor, make this as public and real as
possible. [Take] families to talk with edi
torial boards. If the media is paying
attention, the governor will pay atten
tion,” says Lupe Alonzo, senior policy
advocate with the Children’s Advocacy
Institute.
“We need consistent, coherent mes
sages that resonate with the public and
the press,” agrees Watahara. “And a
media campaign to strategically place
messages; this might be a good way to
collaborate with business.”
Call for “economic stimulus” for
families. “When you look at tax breaks
for business versus low-income con
sumers, there’s a huge imbalance:’ says
Alonzo. “Hotels get a sales tax exemption
for linen that costs the state $44 million a
year.” If advocates push for tax breaks
like these to be revoked, “we could fuid
a state Earned Income Tax Credit to
uplift low-income families:’ she says.
Show cost-effectiveness. “We have
to find ways to show immediate savings
from the things we do,” says Dresslar.
Money spent on child care and afterschool programs saves taxpayers more
money later on, “due to less spending on
social services and prisons:’ Alonzo adds.
Find other funding possibilities.
“We do not successfully leverage all the
foundation and federal funds available:’
says Barrow. “Focus on where the state
should be looking for other funds to
keep and grow programs:’
RESOURCES
• California Association for the Education
of Young Children, 916-486-7750
• California Partnership for Children and
Families, 916-443-1149
• Children’s Advocacy Institute,
916-444-3875
• L.A. Coalition to End Hunger and
Homelessness, 213-439-1070
KERN COUNTY:
I)
“We’re a force to be reckoned with”
A sprawling, agricultural county where unemployment
exceeds 30 percent in some areas, Kern has become a
nationally recognized model of commitment to children
By Melia Franklin
• Strong communities. “We’re not a
I
t’s the third Kids Club night at the
East Bakersfield Community
Coalition (EBCC). More than 80 kids
have showed up for arts and crafts.
“We had three kids the first night and
50 the second,” says Community
Coordinator Brandi De La Garza, a
longtime activist with EBCC. “We knew
there was a real need.”
Until last year, EBCC couldn’t meet
that need “because we didn’t have the
staff,” says De La Garza. Once a group
of volunteers fed up with “gangs and
drive-bys,” EBCC now employs six fam
ily advocates who connect kids and
families to services and community
events. The money to pay them, lever
aged by the Kern County Network for
Children (KCNC), comes from the
Children and Families Commission and
the California Endowment, but the
community decides how it’s used. As
one of 21 local collaboratives created
by KCNC, EBCC brings residents, ser
vice providers, businesses, and policymakers together monthly to identify
children’s and families’ needs and
come up with solutions.
“We’re still grassroots, but we’re
huge now,” says De L.a Garza. “Just
about every nonprofit and public
agency is a partner with us.”
“TEARING DOWN WALLS”
In Kern County:
• 21 local collaboratives bring commu
nities together to identify and meet
families’ needs. Each has also devel
oped a family resource center.
• County agencies and policy-makers
are committed to “tearing down
walls” between agencies and funding
sources “to see that families get
served,” says Karen Cooley, director
of the Kern Child Abuse Prevention
Council.
• Child care advocates—the resource
and referral agency, the local plan
ning council, and the family child
care associations—are strong and
active.
The “engine” for change is the Kern
County Network for Children. KCNC
brings key decision-makers together,
helps local collaboratives find resources,
and provides support and leadership.
“THE TIME WAS RIGHT”
When Children Now’s Children’s
Report Card came out in 1992, “We were
at the top of the list for all the worst sta
tistics:’ from child deaths to low-birth
weight infants to high school drop-outs,
recalls Steve Sanders, KCNC’s executive
director. Alarming statistics, pressure
from “line staff desperate to do things
better:’ and looming budget cuts “really
got the attention” of ky leaders, says
Kids Club night at the East Bakersfield Community coalition.
Judy Newman, assistant to Supervisor
Barbara Patrick. Simultaneously the
state offered funding for Healthy Start
school-based services and for inter
agency children’s councils. “The time
was right to bring together the commu
nity on behalf of children,” says
Newman. The superintendent of
schools, the county administrator, and
the head of the Department of Human
Services persuaded the Board of
Supervisors to create KCNC.
KCNC’s 45-member executive com
mittee—agency heads, service providers,
policy-makers, business and community
leaders—provides a monthly forum
where “everyone can come together to
share ideas and find solutions:’ says Bill
Reifel, facilitator of the Richardson
Special Needs Collaborative in
Bakersfield. “It’s awesome:’ agrees Sandy
Koenig of the West Side Community
Resource Center in Taft. “It’s such a
force [for] influencing policy?’
PROGRESS FOR CHILDREN
Collaboration has made a difference
for Kern’s children and families.
• Outcomes have improved. Lowbirth weights, infant death rates, and
high school drop-out rates have
declined, while school attendance
and child immunization have
increased. Collaboration is key: In
Lamont, school attendance increased
40 percent after health and school
officials worked together to help par
ents stamp out head lice.
• Funding has increased. The
Board of Supervisors agreed to allow
some state social service funds to
flow through KCNC, which can steer
them to the collaboratives. KCNC
also helped collaboratives apply
jointly for $3 million from Prop. 10,
says Sanders. Separately, “the strong
communities would have gotten
funding and smaller communities
would have lost out?’
• Communities have more clout.
Nancy Puckett, chair of the rural
Kern River Valley Collaborative, has
seen a rise in “door-to-door” activism
and a “sense of community—we’re a
force to be reckoned with?’ The col
laborative recently mobilized the
community to defeat a redistricting
plan they felt was unfait
• Policy-makers are more en
gaged in children’s issues.
Supervisors use the collaboratives as
their “direct grassroots line” and have
staff at every collaborative meeting,
says Newman. And they’re beginning
to see issues like child care “as a
necessity to the health of the commu
nity and the economy,” says Pam
Sanders, director of Community
Connections for Child Care. For
example, the supervisors added
incentives for businesses coming into
the county if they offered child care.
• Business leaders contribute to
children’s advocacy. “Business has
a responsibility to make sure its voice
is involved in the condition of chil
dren and families,” says Morgan
Clayton, a business owner and mem
ber of KCNC’s board. By participat
ing in collaborative meetings, busi
ness leaders learn about issues like
child care, which “they didn’t think
affected them in any way:’ says Susan
Buckingham, member of the Child
Care Planning Council.
LESSONS LEARNED
Keys to Kern’s success are:
• Inclusion. “We really make a strong
effort to make sure that as many folks
are at the table as possible,” says
Tammy Burns, Child Care Planning
Council staff. In some communities,
like Lamont, town hall meetings
attract more than 150 residents.
Equally important was getting poli
cy-makers’ “buy-in”, says Steve
Sanders.
S Leadership. Kern was “blessed with
powerful and charismatic leaders”
who could “get people stirred up and
put ideas into action:’ says Cooley.
commuter, big-city area. We are at
home. People belong and can make a
difference,” says Pam Sanders. In
rural Kern County, where she grew
up, “nobody could ever be out in
their front yard with a project with
out four or five people stopping by to
see if they could help. That’s a lot
what this community is like?’
• Leadership development. Brand
De La Garza is one of 150 graduates
of KCNC’s six-month leadership
course. “I was kind of winging it
before:’ she says. “The passion was
there but I didn’t know what to do
with it. Now I’m effective.” Maria
Rios, an activist with Latino Family
Child Care Association of Kern
County, credits local and state child
care resource and referral agencies
with providing the training that
“empowered us to do things for the
children?’
• Support. When Supervisor Jon
McQuiston learned about KCNC’s
“cookbook”—a step-by-step guide to
successful collaboration—he gave it
to his constituents in the Kern River
Valley. “We had to get organized,”
Puckett recalls. “This cookbook
showed us how?’ She still refers to the
KCNC staff as “Mom and Dad. If we
don’t know what to do, we call....
They either have an answer or help us
find it?’
• Listening. “Find out what your
community needs:’ advises Cooley.
“If they say they need a washer and
dryer, find a way to put one in the
community center. Then they can
wash their clothes while their kids go
to school?’
“We’ve got a great thing going here
with the collaborative.... We need to be
able to prove that this is the way to do
business:’ to institutionalize sources of
funding, says Wendy Wayne, head of
Child Development and Family
Services. And, says Cooley, Kern needs
to “not chase the priority of the month.
If you could pick four things and stand
behind it, we might get there?’ S
RESOURCES:
• Kern County Network for Children,
661-631-5566, www.kcnc.org
• Recipes for Community Success: A
Guide for Improving the Condition of
Children and Families in your
Community, available from KCNC
• Community Connections for Child
Care, 661-861-5267, www.kern.org/cccc
• East Bay Bakersfield Community
Coalition, 661 -323-61 55,
www.ebcoalition.org
Thanks to the David and Lucile
Packard Foundation for its
support of this series.
CHILDREN’S ADVOCATE 5
r
“A neglected epidemic”
r
Tooth decay is a serious health threat for young children, but
innovative programs are working on prevention
By Lauren John
PREVENTING
TOOTH DECAY:
Tips for parents
of young children
• Make sure that your children get a
dental exam twice a year starting at
age one or when their first teeth
come in.
U Help your child to brush their teeth
for two minutes twice a day—mak
ing sure that one of those times is
at bedtime. Use a soft toothbrush.
• Steer your children away from can
dies and sweet snacks that stick to
their teeth, such as caramels. Keep
plenty of raw fruits and vegetables
on hand for snacking.
• Consult your dentist if your local
water supply does not contain cavi
ty-fighting fluoride. A fluoride sup
plement might be advisable for
your family.
T
wo-and-a-half-year-old Santiago
would scream in terror every
time his parents tried to brush
his teeth. Santiago’s autism makes him
fearful of many everyday activities.
“His mother and grandmother had
to encircle the boy and hold him tightly
each time they tried to brush his teeth,
and he would pinch and bite and kick,”
says Lisa Haney, manager of the
Anderson Center for Dental Care at the
Children’s Hospital and Health Center
in San Diego. Needless to say, Santiago’s
teeth were in bad shape.
So the Anderson Center sent a den
tal.hygienist and a dental educator,
both of whom spoke Spanish, to
Santiago’s home in Chula Vista. During
their two-hour home visit, the dental
team learned that Santiago loved to
blow bubbles. They were able to get
Santiago to open his mouth and associ
ate tooth-brushing with bubble-blow
ing.
-
.With the right treatment, tooth decay
is entirely preventable.
DENTAL HEALTH OUTREACH
RESOURCES
• San Diego Children’s Hospital,
858-576-1700
• Dental Health Foundation,
510-663-3732
• UCSI- Dental School, 415-476-2557
Preveon policies
being considered
U Requiringchildren-entering
caIifomIeIementatyschools to
have a dntäl éxambfore
admission. DeitàI1ealth
Foundation is idying whether
and how to get that to ha)pen,
says Executive Director Larry
• Platt.
• Fluoridating more communities’
water supplies. There’s progress
on this one—Los Angeles and
Sacramento began fluoridating
last year, Platt says. Still,
California has only 30 percent
fluoridation—the national aver•
age is 60 percent.
U Requiring tooth sealants for third
graders and seventh graders.
•
Sealants are a kind of plastic
coating that prevents cavities
from forming on molars (chew
ing teeth in the back of the
mouth).
6 JANUARY—FEBRUARY 2002
The nonprofit Anderson Center was
set up five years ago at Children’s
Hospital to promote dental health
practices for children from infancy to
age five. “Dental cavities are the single
most common chronic childhood dis
ease—five times more common than
asthma,” says Haney.
Many parents make the mistake of
thinking that baby teeth don’t need to
be cared for, since the kids will lose
them anyway, she adds. “But kids with
bad teeth can develop infections,
speech problems, and problems eating:’
she says—dental health should be an
important priority for young children.
Besides home visits, the Center for
Dental Care
B sends dental health teams to
preschools and child care centers to
screen children for signs of dental
disease and teach parents how to
prevent it
• refers parents to pediatric dentists
who accept their type of insurance
• teaches dentists how to care for chil
dren with disabilities.
NEGLECTED EPIDEMIC”
Dental disease is a “neglected epi
demic” among California children, says
Dr. Larry Platt, executive director of the
Oakland-based Dental Health Foun
dation. The foundation’s 1993 survey
reports that cavities affect seven out of
10 school-age children. Between 12 and
14 percent of all preschool children had
severe cavities in their front teeth.
Nine years later, these statistics still
apply, says Platt. “It doesn’t have to be
this way,” he adds, “because with the
right treatment, tooth decay is entirely
preventable’ Meanwhile there are “a lot
of little kids who are ashamed to smile
and are in pain’
California elementary school chil
dren and preschoolers have twice as
much tooth decay as children nation
wide, Platt says. In part this is because
less of the state’s water has been treated
—DR. LARRY PLATT, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, DENTAL HEALTH FOUNDATION
with fluoride—a chemical that can pre
vent tooth decay.
In addition, “the prevalence of early
childhood [cavitiesi is particularly high
among some racial and ethnic minori
ties and low socioeconomic groups,”
says Dr. Jane Weintraub of the School
of Dentistry at the University of
California, San Francisco (UCSF). For
example, a 1999 UCSF study found that
33 of every 100 children in Head Start
programs had cavities, with even higher
rates among Asian American children
(44 of every 100) and Latino children
(39 of every 100).
DEVELOPING NEW PROGRAMS
UCSF recently received an $11 mil
lion grant from the National Institute
of Dental and Craniofacial Research
(NIDCR) to study how to improve the
dental health of very young children.
Now UCSF is creating new kinds of
outreach programs aimed at children
in communities with a high incidence
of dental problems. Weintraub says the
lessons learned will point the way to
helping all young people maintain
healthy teeth.
In one of these efforts, in the San
Ysidro Community Center near the
Mexican border, UCSF has developed a
program for 500 pregnant women.
“The idea is to counsel pregnant
women before they have kids about
oral health and hygiene,” says UCSF’s
Dr. Francisco Ramos-Gomez, a pedi
atric public dental health specialist.
The San Ysidro program will also
I identify children at risk of cavities
B offer dental health counseling to
parents and guardians
• provide fluoride treatment for
infants
• offer oral antibacterial treatments
for new mothers. I
UA
Baby bottle tooth decay
aby bottle tooth decay is one of the main threats to the oral health of
young children. Here’s how it happens:
B Sugars in the milk or juice in the baby’s bottle cause bacteria in the mouth
to produce acids.
• The acids break down the enamel on the tooth.
I This breakdown of the enamel allows cavities to form.
B
To prevent baby bottle tooth decay, dentists recommendi
• Always hold your baby when bottle-feeding and remove the bottle when
the baby falls asleep. After regular feedings and snack times, wipe the
child’s teeth and gums with a damp washcloth or gauze pad to remove
plaque.
I Wean your baby from the bottle by about one year of age. Begin by offer
ing a cup at six months; gradually reduce drinking from the bottle and
increase drinking from a cup.
HQRS
2
I
2
fl%VIkRAL CALENDAR
4>
JAN VARY
1 New Year’s Day: first day of
the Gregorian calendar year.
Emancipation Proclamation
takes effect 1863.
2 Ancestor’s Day (Haiti).
6 Armenian Christmas.
Epiphany, Dia de los Reyes,
Twelfth Day: Christians celebrate the visits of the Magi.
Birthday Kahlil Gibran:
Lebanese/American poet.
7 Old Calendar Orthodox
Christmas: observed in
Ethiopia, Greece, Russia, and
other countries following the
old Julian calendar.
8 Midwife’s or Women’s Day
(Greece): Men do all the
housework and women spend
time in cafes.
9 Birthday of Rigoberta Menchá
(1959-): Quiche Maya activist
for the rights of Indigenous
peoples in Guatemala.
13 Makar Sankrant, Pongal
(India): Hindu holiday to mark
the sun’s changing position.
Sweet things and foods with
sesame seeds are eaten.
15 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day
(1 929-68): celebrates birthday
of African American civil rights
leader • Humanitarian Day:
celebrates those who changed
racial segregation laws in
America.
16 DIa de San Antonio (Mexico):
blessing of animals.
18 Birthday of Alan Alexander
Milne (1882-1956): author and
creator of Winnie the Pooh.
20 Ati-Atihan (Philippines): cele
brates an ancient peace pact
between the Ati of Panay and
the Malays, early migrants to
the islands.
23 Babin Den (Bulgaria): Grand
mother and Midwives Day.
24 Tet begins: week-long
Vietnamese celebration.
Children pay respect to their
elders and receive gifts of
money.
Truth (1797-1883)
Sojourner
25
addressed the first African
American women’s rights
convention in Akron, Ohio, in
1851.
27 Day of Remembrance for
Victims of Nazism (Jewish).
Tu B’Shevat: Jewish holiday to
show respect and appreciation
for trees and plants.
-
V
>(
I’L
FEI3RVARY
African American
History Month
1 African American students
staged a nonviolent protest of
segregation in 1960 at a lunch
counter in North Carolina,
launching widespread civil
rights activities • National
Freedom Day: commemorates
the 1865 abolition of slavery
in the U.S. • Birthday of
Langston Hughes (1902-67):
African American writer.
2 Groundhog Day. Diade
Ia candalaria (Mexico):
celebration with dances and
processions.
3 Setsubun (Japan): Beanthrowing Festival celebrates
the end of winter.
4 Birthday of Rosa Parks (1913-):
civil rights activist.
6 Birthday of Bob Marley (194581): influential political reggae
musician intheRastafarian
movement.
7 Boy Scouts of America
founded in 1910.
9 Birthday of Alice Walker
(1944-): African American
author and activist • Carnaval
(Brazil, French West Indies,
Italy), one of the world’s
largest folk festivals.
1Z National Association for the
Advancement of Colored
People (NAACP) established in
1909 • Yuan Tan (Chinese New
Year), Year of the Horse (4700)
Carnival, Fat Tuesday, Mardi
Gras: celebration of the cycles
of life with music costume
balls, and parades, the last day
before Christian Lent.
14 Valentine’s Day.
15 Birthday of Susan B. Anthony
(1820-1906): early women’s
rights advocate • Birthday of
John Trudell (1946-): Lakota
actMst, poet, spoken-word
artist.
17 International Friendship
Week.
18 Birthday of Toni Morrison
(1931-): African American
author • Presidents Day.
19 Japanese Internment National
Day of Remembrance: com
memorates the incarceration
of Japanese Americans during
World War II • Birthday of
Amy Tan (1952-): Chinese
American author.
21 Birthday Ansel Adams (1902-):
American photographer.
23 Birthday of WE.B. Du Bois
(1868-1 963): African American
leader and sociologist who
helped found the NAACP.
24 Elizabeth Gurley Flynn (18901964) led 20,000 women in
the 1912 “Bread & Roses” tex
tile strike in Massachusetts.
DIa de Ia Bandera (Mexico):
Mexican flag day.
25 Teng Chieh (Lantern Festival)
marks the end of the Chinese
New Year holiday period.
Elimination of Racial
Discrimination (U.N.).
Birthday of Benito Juarez
(1806- 72): Zapotec leader of
resistance to foreign invasion
in Mexico • Day of the Indian
Child (Mexico).
23 India New Year on the Saka
calendar.
24 Birthday of Harry Houdini
(1 874-1 926): magician and
escape artist.
25 Purim (Jewish): celebrates the
ancient rescue of the Jews
from religious persecution
with plays and pastries.
27 Passover begins at sundown:
Jewish celebration of libera
tion from slavery • HoIi (India):
Colorful spring festival.
Children celebrate by squirt
ing each other with brightly
colored water.
29 Youth Day (Taiwan).
31 Birthday of Cesar Chavez
(1927-93): Mexican American
labor leader who organized
migrant farmworkers in the
U.S.
Ieaderand social activist.
13 Thingyan (Burma), Songkram
(Thailand): water is splashed
on others and on Buddha
images to bring in new year.
Varsha, Pratipada begin the
Hindu New Year (2058).
15 Easter Sunday.
16 Birthday of Selena (1971- 95),
legendary Chicana singer.
21 Birthday of Friedrich Froebel
(1 782-1852): the father of
kindergarten and originator
of the progressive education
movement • Birthday of John
Muir (1838-1914): naturalist
and conservationist.
22 Earth Day: first celebrated in
1970 to honorthe earth and
promote environment-friendly
living.
26 Take Our Daughters to Work
Day • Arbor Day.
27 National Child Care
Professionals Day • Deaf
Moms & Dads Day (CODA).
30 Spank Out Day, promoting
alternative methods of disci
pline • Dia de los Niños
(Mexico, U.S.).
l1
c\
Women’s History Month
?Ub41?
2 Birthday of Dr. Seuss
(Theodore Geisel, 1904-91):
children’s book author.
3 Hina Matsuri (Doll Festival,
LIIPII!...J_.J
Japan): a special festival for
girls • First law regulating
hours of employment for
children passed in 1824.
4 PeaceCorpfounded 1961.
6 Birthday of Gabriel Garcia
Márquez (1928- ): Colombian
MAY
APRIL
author.
Child Abuse Prevention Asian Pacific American
8 International Women’s Day:
Heritage Month
Month & Month of the
widely observed holiday start
1 Worthy Wage Day, established
Young Child
ed by U.S. women garment
to increase awareness of the
Day
Fool’s
April
1
workers demonstrating for
need for adequate wages for
Angelou
4 Birthday of Maya
the right to vote.
child care workers to ensure
(1928 );Afrigan Amrican
9 Barbie debuts 1959.
quality care for children.
author.
10 Death of Harriet Tubman
International Workers’ Day,
T.
Booker
of
Birthday
5
(1821-1913): leader of the
May Day, celebrated around
86-191
5):
Washington (1
Underground Railroad and
the world to honor workers.
African American leader and
self-liberated slave.
Lei Day (Hawai’i): leis are
educator • Ch’ing Ming
11 Girl Scouts USA founded in
made and worn to celebrate
(Korea):
Sik’iI
Han
(China),
1912, Savannah, Georgia.
May Day • Mother Goose Day:
of
coming
celebrates the
15 Awwal Muharram begins the
reappreciate old nurs&y
spring and honors ancestors.
Islamic New Year (1423).
rhymes.
5 Gayanashagowa (Great
17 St. Patrick’s Day (Irish) • South
Asthma Day.
World
3
Iroquois
Nations):
Binding
of
African referendum to end
Mayo (Mexico).
Cinco
De
5
established
was
confederacy
Apartheid, 1992.
occupation of Wounded Knee,
uniting six Native American
20 Vernal equinox (Northern
South Dakota, by the
nations, became the model
Hemisphere): first day of
American Indian Movement
constitution.
the
U.S.
for
spring • Ibo Afo Festival
ended in 1973 • Children’s Day
Child
Young
7 Week of the
(Nigeria): celebrated with
(Japan and Korea).
begins.
shout driving out the old year
7 National Teachers’ Day.
8 Day of Vesak: birthday of the
and applause greeting the
12 Mother’s Day (U.S.).
B.C).
483
(563(India)
Buddha
new year • Noruz (Persian
17 Desegregation in public
Robeson
Paul
9 Birthday of
New Year): rebirth of nature
schools mandated by the U.S.
(1 898-1 976): African American
celebrated with 3,000-year-old
Supreme Court in 1954
actor, singer, activist.
rituals, which include germi
(Brown v. Board of Education).
Huerta
of
Dolores
Birthday
10
nating seeds.
continued on page 13
rights
labor
(1930-): Chicana
22 International Day for the
c
3.
1ZT’
Pathways to Parent leadership
Sendero a wi tideraz4 de Padres
Promotoras: Community health leaders
In-depth training helps Latina women in L.A. neighborhoods
share health information and develop leadership skills
By Eve Peariman
‘romotoras make
presentations on
reproductive health,
communication,
parenting, and other
issues related to the
well-being of the family.
They give talks at
schools, churches,
private homes, and
community centers and
serve as resources for
their neighbors—if they
don’t know an answer
to a question, they
know how to find out.
RI’’’
TkE TRAtNiNG PROGRAM
Program
facts
-
S Course length: 160 hours,
jtVo times a week, over about
five months
STeachers ProfessionaIhea.
educators
S Cost $50,000tótraiñ and
supportagroupoflO
tomotoras for a year.
Funding comes from county
and federal family suppott and
public health funds and from
pvate. foundations.
• Languagesi Spanish
• Contac: Melinda Cordero,
Planned Parenthood Los
An9elès, 323-223-4462;
Silvia Esqueda, Hathaway
Family Resource Center,
323-257-9600
-
-
her este articulo en espaoI
en paginaG.
-
-
-
B
efore Rosela Juarez, a 29-year-old
Los Angeles mother of two, discov
ered the promotora (health advo
cate) program in 1998, she says, “I
thought I was only a housewife—that
that was my whole life and my only
future.”
But since finishing her promotora
training, iuarez has spoken to audiences
of her peers more than 400 times about
such topics as self-esteem, values and
sexuality, domestic violence, and child
abuse.
A major challenge for iuarez was
gathering the confidence she needed to
talk in front of a group. “I’d prepare and
prepare and prepare, and that helped
me know I could do it,” she says. Now,
three and a half years later, Juarez
speaks passionately about her role as
promotora: “The program has totally
changed my life,” she says, “it gave me
the opportunity to have a profession
and go into the community and be
someone important.”
-
Thanks to the
Zellerbach Family Fund
for its support of this series.
-
Begun in 1991 by Planned Parent
hood Los Angeles (PPLA), the aim of
the Promotoras Comunitarias Training
Program was to find a way to reach the
Latino community with information
about reproductive health and increase
access to health care. Then in 1995,
PPLA teamed up with the Hathaway
Family Resource Center and promotoras
began educating neighbors about a
wider range of health issues.
Today promotora training indudes 14
units totaling 160 hours. The first half of
the training covers health issues; the sec
ond half builds communication, leader
ship, and listening skills, and cultural
sensitivity
THE PROMO TORAS
Promotoras make presentations on
reproductive health, communication;
parenting, and other issues related to the
well-being of the family. They give talks
at schools, churches, private homes, and
community centers and serve as
resources for their neighbors—if they
don’t know an answer to a question,
they know how to find out.
After their training, promotoras com
mit to leading two sessions a month,
though most do many more, says
Melinda Cordero, director of the
Promotora Program at PPLA.
Promo toras are paid $25 for each class
they teach. Together they reach about
families a year.
Most promotoras are stay-at-home
moms, with financial support coming
from the men of the family, but some
hold other jobs and give promotora pre
sentations as a community service. The
1<
I-i
Gloria Cruz (standing) and Dr. Rob McConell teaching other promotoras about
allergens in the home.
promotora experience has launched
some into full-time employment. For
example, when the USC Medical School
needed outreach workers for its asthma
project, they hired promotoras, women
with the skills, confidence, and commu
nity connections to do the job.
ONGO’NG ScP°CQ’
Carolina Ramirez is one of the five
lead promotoras who support the 32 in
the field. She moved from El Salvador
when she was 15, married young, and
had four children, never finishing high
school. She thrives on her new leader
ship role.
Her job, she says, is to do whatever is
necessary to make sure promotoras have
classes to teach and are prepared to
teach them. Some promotoras, for exam
ple, don’t speak any English, so she
might go with them to help set up class
es. She observes their dasses and gives
them feedback on their work. She’s there
to help them with challenging questions
or difficult referrals. She’s there to listen.
“We try to support promo toras not
only as workers but as women,” says
Cordero. “That’s been very effective for
us and often life-changing for them.”
Promotoras can attend weekly sup
port sessions and monthly trainings.
There’s a holiday party in the winter and
a park visit in the summer. Promotoras
become part of each others’ lives. If a
promotora needs to talk about a problem
with her husband, there’s someone
there, says Cordero. If she needs help
with the rent, the others just might hold
a raffle or take up a collection.
KEYS TO SUCCESS
• Lots of support: Cordero says
PPLA learned early on that the key to
success was to provide lots of sup
port—professional and personal—
during the training and after. CCJf what
it took was to bring the materials a
woman needed for a presentation to
her house so she didn’t have to take
the bus, I’d do it,” says Cordero.
“Most of the women are getting out
of their houses for the first time and
stepping into a professional role. It’s a
big step and they need support.”
• Focus on women: “Our model:’
says Silvia Esqueda, who manages the
program at Hathaway, “is that if you
train Latina women and help them in
their personal and professional
process then you’re helping the whole
family because the woman has cru
cial role in her children’s education.”
• Peer education: Promotoras are
effective because they come from the
same class and culture as the families
they are trying to reach.
An evaluation of the Promotoras
Project showed that participants in their
classes increased their knowledge of
health issues and the promotoras them
selves used more preventive health mea
sures for their families.
“The mother is the base of the fami
ly:’ says Esqueda, “and if she’s exposed to
new approaches or attitudes, she’s going
to share them with her family. And that
is a great instrument for change.”
“We provide a lot of encouragement
in talking with children:’ says Esqueda,
“and you see women start thinking
about being different kinds of parents.
You see them getting more involved in
their children’s schools and spending
quality, focused time with their chil
dren.”
For Ramirez, who says her training
has given her new skills and new oppor
tunities, being a promotora has also
improved how she parents her children:
“It’s a different confidence I have with
them now’ she says. “I can talk to them
openly about so many things. And
because they’ve been along to trainings
with me, they’re different too.
Sometimes I’ll lose my temper and yell
and they’ll say ‘Mommy you’re not sup
posed to yell And we can laugh about
it.”•
Pathways to Parent Leadership Senderos a un Iiderazgo de Padres
Parent Institute: Teaching parents to be leaders
in their children’s education
By Irene Moore
W
hen Francisco Vargas takes
his child out for ice cream,
he drives by the University
of the Pacific in El Monte. “This is your
next school:’ he says. “Even though he’s
only five, he understands:’ says Vargas.
“He says, ‘Wow, it looks good!”
Vargas’s driving route was a “home
work” assignment from Esther Romo,
his instructor at a class conducted by
the Parent Institute for Quality
Education (PIQE) for parents of chil
dren at Longfellow Elementary School
in El Monte. PIQE is a communitybased organization that works with
school districts throughout California,
helping parents get more involved in
their children’s education.
PIQE instructors emphasize they are
not teaching parents how to raise their
children, but rather how to access the
keys to success. “It’s also about inform
ing them of their rights as parents:’ says
Romo. Instructors give parents exam
ples of when and how to approach
teachers and principals and how to get
phone numbers, request translators,
and advocate for their children.
THE TRAIN ING
The curriculum: Topics include:
Home-school collaboration; The home,
motivation, and self-esteem; Commun
ication and discipline; Drugs, gangs,
school, and community; How the school
system functions; and College and
career choices. In the eighth week, par
ents hold an open forum with the prin.
cipal.
The philosophy: “My motto is: Show
your child respect and your child will
respect you,” says Romo. PIQE classes
emphasize small-group discussion.
“Working in groups motivates them;
they get excited. We like to validate what
they say’ says Romo.
Self-esteem: Romo shows parents
how simple acts like sitting with a child
during homework time or listening with
direct eye contact can enhance selfesteem. In one class she places chairs
back to back and asks parents to try
talking to each other. When they turn
their chairs around and talk, they realize
the importance of face-to-face commu
nication.
She also asks parents to brainstorm a
list of their good qualities. “When they
focus on the negative with their chil
dren, it’s because that’s how they have
lived:’ she says. By role-playing different
types of students, “They realize that
teachers give lower grades to kids with
low self-esteem, those who don’t partici
pate and don’t do homework.”
Academic focus: Parents learn star
thng statistics showing the importance
of academic improvement: 80 percent of
Latino students are behind grade-level
by fifth grade; only eight in 100 Latino
and African American smdents graduate
from college. And trainers work to show
parents that they and their children can
succeed. They give practical tips—for
example, Romo tells parents to place a
book in every room, including bath
rooms.
-.
Instructors give parents
examples of when and
how to approach
teachers and principals
and how to get phone
numbers, request
translators, and advocate
for their children.
Real-life homework: Instructors
often give parents “homework” assign
ments like meeting with teachers to
find out about their child’s reading
level, finding tutoring, and figuring out
how to obtain and understand a child’s
school records.
ONGOING SUPPORT
Some schools offer a “follow-up
coaches program”—Parents from for
mer PIQE classes call recent graduates
to answer questions and to support
their new ways of working for their
children. Sometimes parents in a class
form an ongoing group for support
and advocacy.
KEYSTO SUCCESS
Personal contact: According to
Carmen Russian, PIQE executive direc
tor, personal contact before, during, and
after the course is key. Before a course
starts, PIQE graduates call parents and
tell them in their native language of the
impact the course had on them. Then
every week the instructors call their stu
dents the night before class.
“Climate of comfort”: Classes are
always informal and interactive; instruc
tors avoid lecturing and even pass out
candy during the breaks. A “climate of
comfort” is important, says Russian: “If
parents sense the course is another con
ference from the school, they won’t
attend.”
Administration buy-in: PIQE won’t
come to a school unless invited by the
school administration, so parents’ efforts
to become more active will be welcomed.
THE RE SU ITS
by the eighth week, parents tell Romo
that their kids are asking for more books.
Parents also report that they are sitting
with their children during homework
time and communicating more with
their children’s teachers.
A study by the Rand Corporation
found that “fewer children of PIQE
graduates than of non-graduates have
been involved in disciplinary action and
have been absent from school without
permission. More PIQE graduates...
have been in recent contact with their
children’s teachers and spent a fixed
amount of time on homework.”
“I’ve learned how to help my kids
with their homework, how to listen and
pay attention,” says Olga Lainfiesda,
another of Romo’s students. Vargas con
cludes, “I feel better about my relation
ship with my child and the schooL”
A parents’ meeting at Francisco Middle SchooL
Working with staff to
welcome parents
arents are my number-one partners,” says Marian Seiki, principal of Francisco
Middle School in San Francisco. In the last three years that partnership has
been strengthened by the Francisco Connection, a collaborative project started by
a group of parents, teachers, and administrators and funded by Healthy Start, the
school, and the Zellerbach Family Fund. To increase parent participation, the
Francisco Connection emphasizes the importance of working with the school staff
to improve communication with parents.
Staff training. The Francisco Connection held two workshops for the whole
staff. One raised awareness about the importance of parent participation to stu
dent success; the other taught skills for communicating with parents.
Positive post cards. The Francisco Connection gives teachers stamped and
addressed post cards for jotting down positive comments to send to parents.
Teachers are also encouraged to call parents regularly.
Parent-teacher conferences. The Francisco Connection has made confer
ences more effective by providing translators, food, and someone to sit in and
facilitate communication. As a result, attendance at parent-teacher conferences
has increased.
Student Assistance Program. The project encourages teachers to make
referrals for students they feel need extra attention. Then case managers work
with parents to plan ways to help the student. A family support program works
with families who need counseling or referrals to resources.
Parent classes. The Francisco Connection conducts classes for parents in ESL
computer skills, and “empowerment,” including information on parents’ rights,
workshops in how to read report cards, and more.
Parent surveys show that since the Francisco Connection began, parents feel
more comfortable expressing themselves and finding resources.
—Irene Moore
RESOURCES
• Parent Institute, 858-483-4730
• Francisco Connection, 415-291-7900
The Parent Institute:
Course length: Nine weeks.
• Teachers: Parents who have taken the course and have lived in poverty at
•
•
•
•
some time. They attend weekly training and preparation meetings.
Languages: Classes are given in 14 languages.
Funding: 50 percent from school districts—many use state funds for parent
involvement—and 50 percent from private donations.
Program cost Between $100 and $250 per parent
Contact. Parent Institute for Quality Education 858-4834730
19 Birthday of Malcolm X (192565): African American nation
alist and civil rights activist.
22 Birthday of Harvey Milk (193078): gay rights leader.
25 African Freedom Day com
memorates the independence
of Chad, Zambia, and other
African countries with sports
contests, political rallies, and
tribal dances • Mawlid al Nabi
celebrates the birthday of
Muhammad (570-), the Islamic
prophet.
27 Memorial Day (U.S.).
31 World No Tobacco Day (U.N.).
JUNE
Gay and Lesbian Pride
Month
1 Children’s Day (China) • Stand
for Children Day (U.S.).
6 Birthday of the Dalai Lama
(1935-): Tibet’s spiritual leader.
7 Mufticuftural American Chil
dren’s Awareness Day: share
the talents of all children.
8 children’s Sabbath observed in
many Christian churches (U.S.).
14 Flag Day (U.S.).
15 Dragon Boat Festival (China):
boat races honoring third-cen
tury poet and statesman Ch’u
Yuan, who protested injustice
and corruption.
16 Father’s Day (U.S.) • Cherokees
were forced to begin the
1,200 mile Trail of Tears to
Oklahoma in 1838.
19 Juneteenth: African American
celebration of the day in 1865
when Union General Granger
proclaimed the slaves of Texas
free • Birthday of Aung San
Suu Kyi (1945-): Burmese
leader for democracy and
nonviolence.
20 World Juggling Day.
21 Summer solstice (Northern
Hemisphere).
24 Inti Raymi (Incan): festival of
the sun god celebrated with
bonfires, dances, processions.
26 Release of Smoke Signals, the
first major U.S. movie to be
entirely written, directed, and
produced by Native Amer
icans, in 1998.
28 Stonewall Riot in New York
City (1969), considered the
beginning of the gay liber
ation movement.
29 Birthday of Julia Lathrop
(1856-1932): pioneer in the
struggle to establish child
labor laws.
JULY
1 Canada Day.
2 Birthday of Thurgood
Marshall (1 908-93): first
African American Supreme
Court justice.
3 Child laborers struckfor an 11hour work day and a six-day
work week in Patterson, New
Jersey, in 1835.
4 Independence Day (U.S);
7 Star Festival (Japan): children
tie poems to bamboosticks
5
10
SEPTEMB ER
Hispanic Heritage
dead.
18 Birthday of Nelson Mandela
(1918-), South African black
leader against apartheid.
Imprisoned for 27 years, he
was elected president of
South Africa in 1994.
Children’s Defense Fund (then
the Washington Research
Project), founded by Marian
Wright Edelman in 1967.
19 Seneca Falls convention
(1848): where women drafted
the Declaration of Sentiments
asserting women’s right to
equality.
20 First Special Olympics held in
Chicago in 1968.
24 Birthday of Amelia Earhart
(1898-1937?): record-setting
aviator.
29 Parent’s Day (U.S.).
AUQUST
International Clown Week
begins.
6 Hiroshima Day commemorates
the 1945 atomic bombing and
promotes peace • Youth Day
‘(Zambia).
9 Birthday of Jean Piaget (1896‘‘ 1980), Swiss philosopher and
psychologist who studied chil
dren’s mental development.
International Day of the
World’s Indigenous People
(U.N.).
12 American Indian Religious
Freedom Act, giving Native
Americans the right to prac
tice their traditional religions,
passed in 1978.
15 Birthday of Oscar Romero
(1917-80): archbishop who
worked for justice and peace
in El Salvador.
18 Nineteenth Amendment to
the U.S. Constitution ratified
in 1920, giving women the
right to vote.
22 Raksha Bandhan (Brother and
Sister Day, India): brothers and
sisters promise to be good to
each other.
27 Birthday of Mother Teresa
(1910- 97): devoted her life to
caring for the destitute of
Calcutta, India.
28 March on Washington in
1963, where Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr. gave the “I Have a
Dream” speech.
1
-
Month (Sept. 15—Oct. 15)
1 Childhood Injury Prevention
Week begins • Car Free Day.
3 Labor Day (U.S., Canada).
Frederick Douglass (1817-95)
escaped from slavery in 1838
and became a leader in the
struggle.
6 Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New
Year) begins at sundown (Year
5763).
9 National Grandparents Day
(U.S.).
11 Ethiopian New Year (1995).
Coptic New Year (1718).
15 Yom Kippur: Jewish Day of
Atonement begins at
sundown • Mexican
Independence Day.
17 U.S. Constitution signed in
1787.
22 Autumnal equinox (Northern
Hemisphere): first day of
autumn • Banned Books
Week begins • Birthday of the
ice cream cone in 1913, origi
nated by Italo Marchiony, who
sold lemon ice from a pushcart
in New York.
20 Chusok (Korea): harvest
thanksgiving festival.
28 Teachers’ Day and Confucius’s
birthday (551-479 B.C.E.),
Taiwan, China.
OCTOBER
Child Health Month
1 Universal children’s Day (U.N.)
2 Birthday of Mahatma Gandhi
(18691948): leader of the non
violent struggle for Indian
independence • Birthday of
Charlie Brown and Snoopy
(1950).
5 National Day of Action to End
Gun Violence • Death of
Tecumseh (1768?-1 81 3):
Shawnee leader who spoke
out against unfairness of
treaties with white settlers.
7 Birthday of Desmond Tutu
(1931-): South African arch
bishop and leader in the
struggle against apartheid.
8 Indigenous People’s Day (U.S.).
10 Birthday of Ken Saro Wiwa
(1941- 95): Ogoni environmen
tal and human rights activist
in Nigeria.
12 DIa de Ia Raza (Mexico).
Lights On Afterschool! cele
brates after-school programs
and publicizes the need for
additional programs (U.S.).
14 White Sunday (Samoa): A
feast is prepared by parents
and served to children.
21 Boys Day (India): Families
NOVEMBER
Native American Indian
Heritage Month
1 DIa de los Muertos (Day of the
Dead, Mexico): Cemeteries are
visited and shrines decorated
to honor departed loved ones.
4 Child Protection Act banning
hazardous toys and articles
passed in 1966 • Wuwuchim
(Hopi New Year): celebrated
with songs, prayers, and
dances.
6 Election Day. (U.S.)
9 Berlin Wall opened in 1989,
symbolizing the end of the
-ColdWar
10 Sesame Street, the children’s
educational television pro
gram, premiered in 1969.
11 Veterans Day. (U.S.)
12 National Children’s Book
Week begins. (U.S.)
13 Parent Involvement Day:
encourages parent participa
tion in children’s development
and education. (U.S.)
15 Divali (Festival of Lights,
India): lights and fireworks cel
ebrate weafth in many forms
(family, wisdom, values).
Children’s Day (India): com
memorates the birthday of
Jawaharlal Nehru (1889-1964),
India’s first prime minister.
15 Shichi Go Sun (Japan): festival
to honor children ages three,
five, and seven
16 Ramadhan (Middle East,
North Africa, Indonesia)
begins: Muslim holy month of
fasting and prayer.
18 Birthday of Wilma Mankiller
(1945-): Chief of the Cherokee
nation from 1985-1995.
Children’s Advocate newspa
per began publication in 1973.
22 Thanksgiving (U.S.).
23 Buy Nothing Day: activists
urge no shopping on this day
to draw attention to over-con
sumption. (U.S.)
29 Education for All
Handicapped Children Act
passed in 1975 • Chanukah
(Jewish Festival of Lights)
begins at sundown.
DECEMBER
1 World AIDS Day • Arrest of
civil rights leader Rosa Parks
for refusing to give up her
seat in a bus in Montgomery,
Alabama, in 1955. This set off
a bus boycott which ended
segregation on buses
throughout the southern U.S.
3 International Day of Disabled
Persons (U.N.) • Birthday of
Anna Freud (1895-1982):
11
12
16
20
21
24
25
26
31
authority on mental disorders
in children. She warned
against the effects of neglect
and harsh disdpline.
Eid al Fitr: Muslim feast at the
end of Ramadan.
U.N. Human Rights Day.
Birthday of Thomas H.
Gallaudet (1 787-1851), pio
neer in the education of deaf
people.
United Nations International
Children’s Emergency Fund
(UNICEF) established in 1946.
Feast ofihe Virgen de
Guadalupe: patroness of
Mexico.
Las Posadas (U.S., Mexico),
Simbang Gabi (Philippines):
candlelight parades commem
orate Joseph and Mary’s
search for shelter in Beth
lehem, lasts until January 6.
Birthday of Sandra Cisneros
(1954-): Mexican American
author.
Winter solstice (Northern
Hemisphere).
Birthday of Ricky Martin
(1971-): Puerto Rican singer
and actor.
Christmasr.Kwanzaab
African American family festi
val in recognition of tradition
al African harvest festivals.
New Year’s Eve • World Peace
Meditation.
This calendar contains a sampling
of multicultural celebrations and
significant dates. For more
information, consult
• Chase’s 2002 Calendar of Events.
Chicago: Contemporary Books,
2001. Includes over 12,000 day
byday holidays, historic anniver
saries, birthdays of significant
persons.
• The Folklore of World Holidays,
edited by Margaret MacDonald.
Detroit Gale Research, Inc., 1992.
Describes customs and history of
over 340 holidays and festivals
from 150 countries.
-
Calendar originally compiled by
Daphne Muse. Revised and
updated this year by LaVora
Let children be children
Preschool programs do the best job of preparing children for school
when they create environments geared to young children
By Claudia Miller
T
he four-year-old daughter of Bay
Area parents had enjoyed attend
ing preschool. But soon after
“graduating” to her preschool’s class
room for older children (four- to five
year-olds), she began coming home
unusually tired and was unhappy about
going to preschool in the mornings.
“One day she came home crying
because her teacher made her sit at the
table to finish a worksheet of addition
and subtraction problems,” says her
mother. “She couldn’t finish it in time
like the rest of the kids and the teacher
embarrassed her in front of everyone
else:’
The teacher, who told the parents she
was feeling pressure to prepare the chil
dren academically for kindergarten,
“kept erasing mistakes on her work
sheets and making her do them again;
there was so much focus on getting the
correct answer:’
As a result, says the mom, her daugh
ter “became very worried about kinder
garten. We would pass her [future] ele
mentary school and she would say,
‘kindergarten is going to be too hard for
me, mommy:” The child’s interactions
with her classmates suffered. “She was
mortified that she was the only one who
had to sit at the table while everyone else
could play:’
LONG-TERM HARM
Increasing pressure to raise school
test scores has broughta push for
preschoolers to do more “academic”
“work. “‘Vhat scares me is that some
young children are experiencing high
levels of performance anxiety:’ says Jane
Rosenberg, director of the children’s
school at Pacific Oaks College in
Pasadena. “Parents need to learn to
allow their children to be children.
“Learning to read at an early age
doesn’t increase your proficiency as an
adult reader:’ she adds. “Learning needs
to be a joyous experience. While you can
teach reading to a three-year-old, I have
seen it kill the joy in children.”
Too much academic instruction can
convince children that school is boring
or make them “docile learners,” says
Pacific Oaks professor Betty Jones. “Lots
of academic preschools use work
books—that’s just rote learning. You can
drill children on their numbers or the
alphabet. But just because they’ve mem
orized it, doesn’t mean they know what
it means. In order for children to under
stand things, they have to do them:’
While children from academic
preschools will often do well for the first
several years in an elementary school,
Jones warns that by third or fourth
grade, they often struggle. “When teach
ers ask them to think about what they’ve
read, they don’t know how:’
WARNING SIGNS OF TOO
MUCH PRESSURE
• Artwork done by the teachers.
“Anytime you walk into a preschool
and see artwork that’s all the same, it
was usually done by the teacher:’ with
children following a-:form or coloring
a pre-drawn pictüd,. says Jones. In
addition tO child.e.n’s unique art
work, Jones likes to see photographs
of the children, their families and the
teachers. “If you can’t tell who is
enrolled in the program, I worry a
bit:’
rn’
• Children sitting at desks or
tables while the teacher talks.
Rather than sitting down at a table to
learn the alphabet with flash cards,
children could be on the floor mak
ing letters with their bodies, says
Nathan Sarnoff, early childhood edu
cation instructor and lab school
teacher at Merced City College.
“Preschool teachers need to respect
that children’s brains are different
and they process information differ
ently,” he says: rather than being told
that applesauce is made from apples,
children need to make the apple
sauce.
• Circle times where attendance
is mandatory. Sydney Gurewitz
Clemens, a Bay Area early childhood
consultant, likes to see circle times
where teachers are flexible and can
react to the children’s interests. “For
two-year-olds, the teacher should
simply announce, ‘I’m going to read a
book: and whoever wants, will listen
to the story.” That means another
teacher (and additional space) should
be available to play with the others.
Older children can be expected to sit
in the circle but allowed to leave if
they need to. “And rather than the
teacher asking children what their
favorite color is, I like to see children
asking each other questions,”
Clemens says.
• Preschools that are too clean
and quiet. Preschools and the chil
H
dren in them should be a little bit
messy by the end of the day, says
Jones. It shouldn’t be unhygienic, but
the school’s environment should be
designed so that spilled paint or juice
can be easily wiped from the floor.
GOOD SIGNS OF AGEAPPROPRIATE LEARNING
• Lots of different activities
occurring simultaneously. Sar
teacher gets down on the floor to play
with the blocks, talking to the chil
dren about blocks and letting the
children get involved at their own
level. Kids learn best when they’re
social with their peers:’
• A “print-rich” environment. That
“sets the stage for reading,” says
Rosenberg. It’s most important for
adults to spend time every day read
ing aloud to children,but words in
posters and labels on shlves help too.
• Children dictating stories to
teachers. “After taking a walk
around the block, teachers should
ask children what they saw—or ask
them about their paintings,” says
Rosenberg. “Then the teacher can
hang up their words on the wall and
read them back later in the day:’ This
helps children get the connection
between spoken and written words.
“Preschool teachers need
to respect that children’s
brains are different and
they process information
differently.... Rather than
being told that applesauce
is made frornappIes,
children need to make
the applesauce.
—NATHAN SARNOFF,
Early Childhood
Education Instructor,
Merced City College
• Time to play outdoors. Physical
movement is necessary to young
children’s learning. “There should be
plenty of places to climb, run, dig, all
the things they do with their mus
cles:’ says Jones. R
noff likes schools that have an open
activity or free play time for approxi
mately two hours each day, giving
children plenty of time to get
involved in activities they choose.
There should be several choices each
day, ranging from a science center
(which could be simply a bowl with
bubble water and straws), to blocks,
outdoor play, dress-up, art, and a
reading center, he says.
• Sensory materials. Jones says there
should be a sandbox (or table), water
play, playdough, and finger paints
readily available: “Children need to
have all those things that go squish in
their hands.”
U.’
L)
• Teachers acting as facilitators,
not instructors. “Facilitators come
in to school a half-hour early, think
creatively, and bring out materials for
the children to explore:’ says Sarnoff.
“Rather than teaching a lesson, the
U
U
z
0
I.
U.’
z
By Kathleen Barrows
“Everybody needs a support system”
The family support movement works to build communities
that nurture families
he family is the parent to the
child, and the community is the
parent to the family.” That’s how
family support is described by Bernice
Weissbourd, sometimes called the
mother of the family support movement.
Back in the late ‘70s, Weissbourd was
a Head Start teacher in a Chicago hous
ing project. She began to realize that
“to have a real impact, we need to get
to children earlier:’ before they entered
Head Start at three.
So she helped found the Family
Resource Coalition, now called Family
Support America, to nurture the devel
opment of “family resource centers:’ In
the belief that all families need support
for raising their children, family
rescurce centers provide a range of ser
vices to families—and join with those
families to strengthen communities.
Today there are hundreds of family
resource centers across California,
many based in schools, churches, coun
seling centers, or child care centers.
Two state networks, Healthy Start and
the Office of Child Abuse Prevention,
provide training, technical assistance,
and funds, but family resource centers
also draw on foundations, local govern
ment, Prop. 10 money, and federal
grants to keep them going and grow
ing. Family resource centers work by:
LINKING PARENTS TO
RESOURCES AND SERVICES
Family resource centers serve as
“one-stop” service and referral centers,
offering the basics, like food and cloth
ing, and helping participants connect
to jobs, classes, housing, medical care,
and more. “First we address the imme
diate needs of food, shelter, support,
and as time goes on, involvement in the
community is integrated into the plan:’
says Linda Crouse, Healthy Start coor
dinator at Mountain Community
Resources in rural Santa Cruz County
Rose Shiner, for example, first went
to Mountain Community Resources to
get blankets and diapers after the 1989
Loma Prieta earthquake. Over the
years, people at the center have helped
her escape an abusive husband, over
come a drug and alcohol problem, find
help for her troubled son, and find
housing during periods of homelessness. Now in recovery, she’s graduated
with honors from the local community
college and recently spoke in the state
legislature, urging lawmakers to con
tinue Healthy Start funding.
WORKING WITH THE STRENGTHS
OF ThEIR PAR11CIPANTS
“Too often we ask, ‘What’s your
problem?’ Instead, we need to ask,
‘What does a family have going for
them?’ says Weissbourd. “Participants
don’t come to a family resource center
because they’re sick, but because everybody needs a support system.”
Fabiola Avila is a program assistant
at the Watsonville Family Resource
Center/Adelante. Her five-year-old
daughter, Celeste, frequently begs her
to read stories in the story-telling area
of the newly opened literacy center.
Avila also regularly attends the center’s
bimonthly parent meetings, complete
with babysitters and food, just to talk
with other parents about child rearing.
“Parents need time to learn to teach
their children:’ she says.
“
REFLECTING THE UNIQUENESS
OF THEIR COMMUNITiES
Rather than a one-size-fits-all
model, “We want richer, communitydriven programs that fit the needs of
the community:’ says Judy Darnell, staff
coordinator for the Family Resource
Center Network of Santa Cruz County.
In Central California counties with
large Hmong communities, for examsee page 17
THE MOSAIC PROJECT:
“A project in the neighborhood that we did together.”
p
ATTI McINTIRE, a longtime resident of the
Highland Park area of Los Angeles, had strug
gled for years to improve the blighted neighbor
hood walkway known as the San Pascual stair
well. Children had to pass through the stairwell’s trash, broken glass, abandoned shop
ping carts, weeds, and walls of graffiti to get
to local elementary and middle schools,
and parents worried about their safety.
So when Nancy Blame, community
advocate at Hathaway Family
Resource Center, contacted Mclntire
to see how the center could best
help address the needs of the com
munity, Mclntire knew exactly
what to tell her. Thus was born
the San Pascüal PedestrianSafe Learning Corridor, or
San Pascual Stairway Mosaic
Project
ThE
THE ACTIVITIES
Through school activities, aided by the Audubon
Society and Wildlife on Wheels and a series of com
munity events, everyone from preschoolers to
grandparents cleaned up the area, learned about
local wildlife, and made the tiles, which were
fired and stored for free at Eagle Rock Cultural
Association. A local landscape architect is
volunteering time to plan the next phase,
which will include middle schoolers planting trees.
Sandra Chavez was one of the
mothers who accompanied the
groups of third, fourth, and fifth
graders to the park for Audubon
Society lessons in local plants
and animals. “It was really good
to see the kids using their
imagination,” she says, but
she had to tell a few, “you
can’t put tigers and
conuts?’
PARTNERSHIP
.4
k
Hathaway partnered
with the Garvanza Improvement Association, which had grown
from a neighborhood watch group. Neighbors knew they could
count on Hathaway, says Rosa Rivas, one of the association’s
founders. As the mother of four foster children, she had depend
ed on Hathaway’s counseling and after-school programs.
“Having Hathaway on my side motivated me to keep going:’ she
says.
They received financial support from the L.A. Dept. of Public
Works’ Neighborhood Matching Fund to help local school chil
dren and community volunteers transform the stairwell into a
work of art. Together they made 1,000 colorful tiles depicting
local plants and animals, to adorn the 125 steps. The theme, says
Blame, would discourage local kids from branding the area by
tagging and skateboarding.
NANCY BLAINE
THE COMMUNITY
It wasn’t just for kids, says Chavez. For the tile-painting par
ties, she brought along her 59-year-old mother, who painted four
tiles of her own, and her 25-year-old brother. Her husband got
in on the final phase, helping to place and grout the tiles at a
recent weekend Glue N’ Grout Extravaganza.
But it was much more than a fun art project for her family,
Chavez emphasizes. “It’s a project in the neighborhood that we
did together. Kids will defend their tiles and say, ‘No, my family
did this, don’t mess it up? Our neighbors will know who our
children are, and the children will say, ‘that’s the lady down the
block; she was there helping to paint tiles?”
As Nancy Blame puts it, “This is marking territory in a differ
ent way. It’s about investing in the community?’ I
k
from page 16
pie, family resource centers sponsor
activities like a sewing group of elders,
who teach the art of quilt-making to
tell the history of the Hmong. One
center is helping a Hmong youth group
create a web page dedicated to their
culture.
At the Watsonville Family Resource
Center/Adelante, volunteers from the
community teach Spanish literacy
classes to recent immigrants.
WELCOMING FAMILIES
“If families don’t feel that this is
where they belong and are cared about,
the center doesn’t work,” says
Weissbourd. She sadly recalls seeing
this sign in a center: “If you miss three
classes, you’re out.” That’s not the way
to run a family resource center, she
says.
Centers like the Watsonville Family
Resource Center, on the other hand,
not only help translate and fill out doc
uments for Spanish-speaking families,
but even write letters to faraway rela
tives for them. Sofas, play spaces for
kids, even available fax machines—all
these help make family resource centers
a home base for families.
SUPPOR11NG THE WHOLE FAMILY
“We can’t work with a child alone,”
says Weissbourd. “To affect a child, we
need to affect the family.”
Instead of just tutoring kids who
read below grade level, for example, the
Hathaway Family Resource Center in
Los Angeles transformed a recent
Halloween party into a family literacy
night. Eight hundred participants of all
ages attended the festival, prepared by
60 volunteers. Young children wrote
their own scary storybooks while the
older kids designed the haunted house.
“Activities like this, for language sup
port, are phenomenal;’ says the center’s
director, Pat Bowie.
CONNECTING PEOPLE TO PEOPLE
“The key to family resource centers
is connecting people to how they
become their own problem solvers,”
says Bowie. A few years back, for exam
ple, a young Los Angeles muralist,
Danny Ruiz, was involved in
Hathaway’s survey asking close to 900
households about neighborhood needs.
He noticed an empty lot at the end of
one street and came up with the idea of
transforming it into a place of art. The
resource center introduced him to key
people in the city and to an Occidental
College volunteer center; now a team of
neighborhood residents and volunteers
from the college has emerged to make
the vision happen. [Take a look at
Ruiz’s art at www.hathawavfrc.org]
HELPING BUILD COMMUNITIES
“We try to support families to help
themselves, so they can do it in their
own communities;’ says Darnell. The
Santa Cruz Family Resource Center
Network sponsors a parent leadership
training series and a Family Leadership
Committee, with three agency staff
members and ten parent participants.
Jose Moreno originally came to the
family resource center in Watsonville
for help with citizenship and for
employment information. Referred to
a local job-training program, he was
later hired by the family resource cen
ter. He used his newly acquired skills as
an electrician to help link up lowincome Spanish-speaking residents to
an energy discount program and teach
them about energy conservation. “He’s
been inspirational for us,” says co
worker Amy Lombardy. She helped
organize the presentations, but Moreno
knew both the technical part and the
neighborhoods. N
FAMILY RESOURCE CENTER
RESOURCES
• Family Support America, the national
pioneer in the family support move
ment, connects family resource centers
with technical assistance, training,
conferences, and publications.
312-338-0900,
www.familysupportamerica.org
• The Office of Child Abuse Prevention
provides technical assistance, training,
and a newsletter to family resource
centers throughout California.
916-445-2771,
www.familyresourcecenters.net
• Family Resource Network of
Santa Cruz County is a countywide
network of family resource centers,
831-465-2210
• Hathaway Family Resource Center,
323-257-9600,
www.hathawayfrc.org
• Mountain Community Resources,
831-336-2553,
www.mountaincommunityresources.org
• Watsonville Family Resource
Center/Adelante, 831-763-3106 and
831-724-2997
:MOUIIITAIIU COMMUNITY RESOURCES:
“It’s been great to give back.”
“
T MOUNTAIN COMMUNITY
esources we don’t ‘graduate people’
once they’re self-sufficient. Instead, we ask
them to play a different role:’ says Healthy
Start Coordinator Linda Crouse. That’s
the philosophy in Healthy Start, one of
many programs offered through Moun
tain Community Resources, Santa Cruz
County’s oldest family resource center.
This Healthy Start program has eight
advocates working through the local
schools in the San Lorenzo Valley in Santa
Cruz County, helping parents connect to
the resources and services they need.
An evaluation of the Healthy Start pro
grams shows the benefits of family sup
port. Among children between second and
third grade, it found:
I Days absent reduced by 35 percent
I Disciplinary actions down 20 percent
• Grades up by 20 percent.
But the stories of participants best
illustrate how Mountain Community
Resources builds community;
MONEY FOR CAMP
In the rural Santa Cruz Mountains,
social isolation is a big issue for parents
and kids. A few years ago, Crouse planned
a one-hour get-together for single moms.
When they stayed for three hours, she
knew she was on to something.
She launched a series of parent meet
ings. “I wanted to flip things upside
down:’ she says. She told the group, “I
want you to tell me what you want done,
and I’ll help make it happëit”
Parents agreed that .a top priority was
raising funds for kids to go to summer
camp. Julia Glasser was one of those
parents. A second-grade teacher, con
cerned about her son’s bad grades and
classroom outbursts, had referred her to
Healthy Start. Afraid of losing her chil
dren to CPS, at first Glasser didn’t tell the
staff about her problems with money and
with drinking.
But she did pitch in to work on the
Human Race, an annual 10K walk that
raises funds for local nonprofits. Together
with other parents, she spoke at local
organizations to get sponsors. The kids
went to science camp that year and ever
since.
“CONNECTED TO PEOPLE”
Meanwhile Glasser’s kids were getting
help from the Healthy Start “homework
club.” Mountain Community Resources
also connected her to the Healthy Families
health insurance, helped her get help pay
ing her energy bills, and got her into a
rehabilitation program. She began to real
ize, she says, “I didn’t have to be as impov
erished as I was because I was connected
to people?’
Inspired by the success of the Human
Race, she and other parents approached
the owner of a local Tae Kwan Do studio,
offering to raise $600 if he would sponsor
six children with scholarships for lessons.
Impressed by the parents’ offer, he gave
them scholarships unlimited in time and
recyclable to other children. “We set the
groundwork for all future kids;’ Glasser
says proudly.
Karen Bruni, a Healthy Start parent advocate, with her son, in the Healthy
Start office.
Glasser now does volunteer phoneanswering and filing at Healthy Start. If
someone who calls needs work, sometimes
she can offer a part-time job in the house
keeping business that she’s developed.
Other times, she just offers support. “I’ve
learned to respect people rather than save
them;’ she says. “I’m learning that you can
change things?’
ments, she lost everything: her home, her
job, her car.
But the family resource center was
there, not only to offer “lots of hugs and
support;’ but to find her temporary hous
ing, anger and grief counseling, trans
portation to school for her kids, and even
a basketball scholarship for her son.
“Without the support of the center, I
would never had made it,” she attests.
MANY KINDS OF SUPPORT
The last thing breast cancer victim
Karen Bruni wanted to hear from school
was that her kids had lice. After five surg
eries-and still undergoing chemo treat
ments, the single parent of three children
admits, “I was crawling on the floor just to
get the kids out to school?’
But along with the call from the school
came a referral to the Healthy Start pro
gram. The family advocate there helped
her solve the lice problem, but eventually,
weakened by the illness and the treat-
FULL CIRCLE
Now she’s a Healthy Start family advo
cate herself, helping families and kids link
up to resources—counseling, food, hous
ing, health insurance, and more.
“I’ve come full circle;’ she says. “It’s
been great to give back. I feel so vital
again.” With a job, a car, and an apart
ment, she sees a real change in her kids
too. “They have a lot of compassion for
the children I work with. I think it’s been a
life lesson for them?’ N
4
Children’s Advocates
ROUNDTABLE
EN LA VOTACION EN MARZO 2002::
PROPOSICIÔN 40:
Ado de Agua Limplo,
Aire Limpio, Parques
do Ia Vedndad
Segutos, y Protección
do Ia Costa
na medida en Ia votación de
2002 proveeria $460 mu
lones para crear y mejorar parques de
las ciudades en California, con un
“énfasis en comimidádes.con pocos
recursos’ Proposiciôn 40 dejarla que
el estado venda un total tie $2,6 bil
lones de fianzas para pagar un rango
amplio de projectos del ambiente y
espacio abierto.
En adición del dinero reservado
espedflcamente para los parques
urbanos, Ia medida proveerla otro
$372,5 miflones para parques
regionales ylocales.Otros proyectos
fundados por lamedida induyen
mejorar los parque estatales
restoracion tie espacios abiertos
histoncos como Ia montañas de Santa
Monica, Lago Tahoe, y Ia costa; y
medidas para reducir contarninación
delarie y ci agua.
Redentamente California aprobO
dos fianzas de parques, Proposiciones
12yl3 en marzo 2000, que provee
$25 y $90 millones P 1Up
de agua. Antes, California no habla
aprobado una fiamza pra parques
:de 1988.
Los que apoyan: incluye
League of Women Voters (Legua de
Votantes Mujeres),y.California
League of Consen atión Voters (Legua
de California tie Votantes
Consevadores.) Dicen que una flauza
tan grande es necesanti porque los
recursos del estado tienen bajos fon
dos y ci dinero tie lasProposiciones 12
yl3 ya se han gastado o designado. En
Ia votación en el medio de octubre del
estado, tornado por California
Conservation Campaign (Campaña
de Conservación .de California), 60
por ciento de los que votäron apollo
Proposidon 40.
Los que öponen: No hay
oposición hasta ahora, pero anylistas
predicen que el voto serla cerca por Ia
presión econOmica.
U marzo
T
he California Children’s Advocates Roundtable is a coalition of more than 1.0 organizations
advocating for children. These pages are dedicated to information from the Roundtable’s
monthly meetings in Sacramento and information from member organizations. (For information
about the Roundtable, call the Children’s Advocacy Institute at (916) 444-3875.)
Child care subsidies restored
hild care advocates claimed vic
tory December 5 when the Davis
administration agree to release
$24 million it had been holding back
from the program of child care subsidies
to families that recently left welfare for
work (“Stage 3”). Many of these families
had already received notices that their
child care subsidies would end in
January
The day before the funds were
released, Parent Voices held a vigil at the
state building in Oaldand, asking for full
funding for the child care subsidy pro
gram. On December 5 they met with the
governor’s representatives and held a
press conference at the state Capitol.
Later that day, the governor’s office
announced the funds would be released.
The legislative Women’s Caucus, the
California Child Care Resource and
Referral Network, and other child care
advocates had also been pushing for a
release of the funds. Many child care
supporters testified at the Women’s
Caucus’s hearings in Oakland and Los
Angeles.
The San Francisco Family Day Care
Association (SFFDCA) and Coleman
Advocates for Children and Youth had
initiated a postcard campaign support
ing child care subsidies—”parents, child
care providers, teachers, students, faithbased groups, businesses, communitybased organizations, and unions from up
and down the state” send postcards to
the governor, reports Rosie Kennedy,
president of the SFFDCA.
In November many California news
papers ran articles reporting on the let
ters sent to parents warning that their
child care would end.
Child care advocates will continue to
press for child care subsidies for all fami
lies that qualif)c Meanwhile Gov. Davis
will continue to push for limits on the
child care subsidy system, along lines
recommended in last spring’s “adminis
trative review’ (See Children’s Advocate,
Nov.-Dec. 2001)
bogados por la causa del cuida
do de ninos prodamaron victo
ia el 5 de diciembre pasado,
cuando la administración Davis consin
tió la liberaciOn de 24 millones de
dólares destinados al programa de sub
sidios para la atención infantil en
guarderlas, para ninos cuyas familias han
pasado recientemente del programa de
asistencia pOblica al trabajo (“Etapa 3”).
Muchas de estas familias ya habIan
recibido comunicaciones estipulando
que los subsidios para la guarderIa de sus
ninos expirarlan en el mes de enero.
El dia anterior a Ia liberación de fon
dos, la organización Parent Voices man
tuvo una vigilia frente al ediflcio del esta
do en Oakland, demandando subven
ciones completas para el programa de
cuidado de nifios. El 5 de diciembre se
reunieron con los representantes del
gobernador y mantuvieron una confer
encia de prensa en ci Capitolio. Más
tarde ese mismo dIa, la oficina del gober
nador anunció la inmediata liberaciOn
de los fondos.
Asimismo, el Comité Legislativo de
Mujeres, la organización California
Child Care Resource and Referral
Network, y otros defensores del cuidado
de ninos, también hablan estado ponien
do presión para la liberación de los
recursos en cuestión. Varias personas y
organizaciones en apoyo de esta causa
brindaron su testimonio en las audien
cias del Comité de Mujeres, lievadas a
cabo en Oakland y Los Angeles.
Las organizaciones San Francisco
Family Day Care Association (SFFDCA)
y Coleman Advocates for Children and
Youth habIan iniciado previamente una
campana de postales en apoyo a los sub
sidios para ci cuidado de ninos—
“padres, proveedores de cuidado infantil,
maestros, estudiantes, grupos religiosos,
cornerciantes, organizaciones comuni
tarias y sindicatos de todo el estado”
enviaron postales al gobernador, repol-ta
Rosie Kennedy, presidenta de SFFDCA.
En noviembre, varios periódicos de
California publicaron artIculos que
daban cuenta de las cartas enviadas a los
C
Environmentally
safe school sites
e Childproofing Our Communities
campaign of the Center for Health, the
Environment, and Justice (see Children’s
Advocate Sept.-Oct. ‘01) will release a new
January 22. focusing on decisions
about where to build new schools.
For six states, including California, the
report will indude:
• A map of the state wIth locations of
public schools and superfund sites
• A description of how and why children
are more vulnerable than adults to
envjronmental health hazards..*
• Model recommendations, school board
resolutions, and clean siting. policies.
California groups co-sponsoring the
release of the report are: Physicians for
Social ResponsIbiIit Los Angeles;
California Public Interest Research
For more information, contact
Parent Voices, 415-882-0234,
www parentvoices.org.
‘
Para inás infonnacion California
League ofConservation Voters,
510-271-0900
padres, en las que se les comunicaba que
las subvenciones para Ia atención de sus
nifios serlan suspendidas en breve.
Activistas de la causa del cuidado de
ninos continuarán presionando para que
famiias calificadas sigan percibiendo el
subsidio en cuestión. Mientras tanto, el
gobernador Davis continuará colocando
presión sobre los topes del sistema de
subsidios para ci cuidado infantil, dentro
de los parámetros recomendados en la
“revision administrativa” de la primavera
pasada (ver Children’s Advocate, Nov.
Dic. 2001) •
Para obtener más informacion, contacte a
Parent Voices, (415) 882-0234, www par
entvoices.org.
0
Lucrecia Miranda
ON THE MARCH 2002 BALLOT
measure on the March 2002 ballot would pro
vide $460 million to create and improve city
parks in California, with an “emphasis on underserved communities.” Proposition 40 would allow the
state to sell a total of $2.6 billion worth of bonds to
pay for a wide range of environmental and open space
projects.
In addition to money specifically earmarked for
urban parks, the measure would provide another
$372.5 for regional and local parks. Other projects
funded by the measure indude improvements to state
parks restoration of landmark open spaces including
the Santa Monica Mountains, Lake Tahoe and the
coast; and measures to reduce air and water pollution.
California recently approved two park bonds,
Propositions 12 and 13 in March 2000, which provid
ed $25 and $90 million to clean up California water
ways. Before that, California had not approved a park
bond issue since 1988.
Supporters: include the League of Women
Voters and the California League of Conservation
Voters. They say such a large bond measure is neces
sary because the state’s resources are drastically
tinderfundëd and the money from Prop. 12 and 13
has afready been spent or appropriated ma midOctober statewide poll taken by the California
Conservation Campaign, 60 percent of those polled
supported Prop. 40.
Opponents: No opposition has surfaced so far,
but analysts predict that the vote may be dose
because of economic pressures.
For more information: California League of
Conservation Voters, 510-271-0900
Traducción al castellano: Lucrecia Miranda
Sitios escolares seguros para el
ambiente
e Childproofing Our Communities
campaign (La Campaña de Hacerle a Ia
Comunidad Seguro para los Niños) del
Center for Health, the Environment, and
justice (Centre de Salud, Ambiente, y
Justicia), (ver Children’s Advocate sep/oct
2001), publicará un informe nuevo el 22 de
enero, enfocando en las decisiones sobre
dônde construir escuelas nuevas.
Para seis estados, induyendo
California, el informe incluyera:
• Un mapa del estado con localidades de
escuelas publicas y sitios con fondos de
“superfund”
• Una descripción de cómo y par qUe los
niflos son más vulnerables que los adultos a riesgos de salud del ambiente
Ejemplos de recomendaciones, resolu
ciones del distrito escolar, y politicas
sobre situar escuelas en sitios limpios.
Grupos Californianos Ilevando Ia publi
cación del informe son: Physicians for
Social Responsibility (Medicos para
Responsabilidad Social, Los Angeles);
California Public Interest Research Group
(Grupo de Ia lnvestigación del lnterés
PUblico en California); Center for
Environmental Health (Centre para Salud
del Ambiente); Committee for Safe School
Sites (Comité para Sitios Seguros
Escolares); Los Angeles Safe Schools
(Escuelas Seguras de LA.)
Para mas informaciôn, contacte CHEJ aI
703-237-2249, wwwchejoi.
•
California Budget Project
“Making Ends Meet” Conference
The California Budget Project will host a one-day conference, “Making Ends Meet:
Balancing Budgets in Difficult Times,” as a follow-up to its recent Making Ends
Meet report. The report (see Children’s Advocate Nov.-Dec. 2001) estimates the true
cost of living for California working families in different parts of the state. As a
statewide average, it concludes that a working family raising two children would
need an annual household income of $52,034. The conference wifi bring policymakers and advocates together to explore the issues and consider policy options.
February 12,2002 at the Sacramento Convention Center.
California legislators
graded on children’s
issues
Legisladores de
California reciben
marcas sobre
asuntos de niños
C
T
he Children’s Advocacy Institute
has released its 2001 Legislative
Report Card, giving California
legislators numerical grades (0 to 100)
based on 23 key votes in 2001.
The 21-page report also includes
CAl’s summary of developments on
children’s issues in the 2001 legislative
session. •
hildren’s Advocacy Institute
(lnstituto de Activismo de Niños,
CAl), ha publicado su 2001 Legislative
Report Card (Tarjeta Legislativa de
Marcas), dándoles a legisladores de
California marcas numéricas (0 a 100)
basadas en 23 votos importantes in
2001.
El informe de 21 páginas también
incluye el sumario de CAl del desarrollo
de asuntos de niños en Ia sesión 2001
del cuerpo legislativo.
For more information or copies of
the report, call 619-260-4806 or go
to www.acusd.edulchildrensissues
Para más informaciôn o copias del
informe, liame al 619-260-4806 o va a
www.acusd.edu/childrensissues
Videos on violence and young children
by Action Alliance for Children
Violence and Young Children: Successful
Violence Prevention Strategies, 1997,
1 hour; Violence and Young Children:
Reducing the Risks, 1993, 17 minutes.
Mama Bears
WOMEN’S BOOKSTORE
& COFFEEBAR
V
The full-spectrum
women’s bookstore
serving the Greater Bay Area
“Th since 1983
$25 each or $45 for both. For volume
discounts, call (510) 444-7136.
Order from Action Alliance for Children,
1201 Martin Luther King Jr Way,
Oakland, CA 94612
The San Francisco Court Appointed
Special Advocate Program (SFCASA)
seeks community volunteers to advocate
for abused and neglected children.
Represent a child’s best interest in
Juvenile Dependency Court and develop
ing a supportive mentoring relationship.
Men and People of Color are especially
needed. Call for information:
(415) 398-8001 ext. 104.
large selection of
children’s books
—
Open every day
—
6536 Telegraph • Oakland, CA 94609
(between Ashby & Alcatraz)
Phone: (510) 428-9684
Fax (510) 654-2774
Losing Ground
Declining Medi-Cal Enrollment After Welfare Reform: This new CBP report shows
that families leaving welfare for work are losing Medi-Cal benefits even though
their incomes are still low enough to qualify. The report’s recommendations
include:
• Encouraging counties to make maintaining health coverage for those leaving
welfare a high priority
• Increasing outreach efforts into bilingual communities, especially through
schools and community clinics
• Simplify Medi-Cal application procedures
• Improving training of welfare caseworkers.
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U P-TO-DATE
EVENTS AND
RESOURCES
IN THE
MASTER
CALENDAR
Conferencia “Making Ends Meet”
The California Budget Project, CBP (El Proyecto del Presupuesto de California)
hará una conferencia de tin dIa, “Haciendo que los fines se encuentren: Balancear
un Presupuesto en Tiempos Dificiles’ para seguir su recién informe, Making Ends
Meet. El informe (ver Children’s Advocate, edición de nov/dic 2001) estima que el
verdadero costo de vivir para famiias trabajadoras en California en diferentes
partes del estado. Como promedio del estado, concluye que una famiia trabajadora
creciendo a dos hijos necesitarla un ingreso total de $52.034. La conferencia jun
tarla a escritores de polItica y activistas para discutir maneras para explorar los
asuntos y considerar opciones en la polItica. 12 defebrero de 2002 en el
Sacramento Convention Center.
•“f,.
jb
Advocate:
Cl $12 first-time,
California Budjet Project, 916-444-0500, www.cbp.org
Is.
...FOR THE
Proyecto del Presupuesto de California
Perdiendo tierra
Baja de Participantes en Medi-Cal despues de la Reforma de Asistencia Püblica:
Este informe de CBP muestra que las famiias saliendo asistencia páblica para tra
bajar están perdiendo seguro medico a pesar de que sus ingresos están bastantes
bajos para calificar. El informe recomienda:
• Animar condados pará hacer que mantengan ci seguro medico para los que
salen asistencia publica como prioridad alta
I Aumentar intentos de comunicar con las comunidades bilingues, especialmente
a través de las escuelas y clinicas comunitarias
I Simplifica procedimientos para aplicar a Medi-Cal
I Mejorar el entrenamiento de los trabajadores de casos de asistencia piblica. I
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•
Cuts tr
e State of California could be $4.5
billion in the red at the end of the
current fiscal year (June 30, 2002),
according to the Legislative Analyst’s Office.
Tax revenue is far less than experts predict
ed when the state made up the budget last
summer, because of recession, unemploy
ment, and drops in stock prices.
So Governor Gray Davis announced in
Novemb.er that the state government would
cut spending in the current year and plan a
2002-03 budget that calls for 15 percent less
spending next year.
Governor Davis needs the legislature’s
consent to make most of these cuts. He has
called a special session of the legislature for
January to discuss the proposed cuts.
Here’s a sample of the governor’s pro
posed cuts in the current year’s budget,
excerpted from the Children’s Advocacy
Institute report, November Reality Check.
EDUCATION
Healthy Start—cuts $38 million of the $39
million for new sites
K-12 equalization—suspends $40 million
for equalizing spending between districts
Before/after school expansion—delays
spending $29.7 million for program expan
sion
Low-performing schools—delays imple
mentation of the $197 million for new pro
grams to improve low-performing schools
Beginning teacher support—reduces
from $104.6 million to $84.6 million a pro
gram for mentoring and support for new
teachers
year’! state budg:t in theworks
Peer assistance and review—reduces from
$134.2 million to $84.2 a program for men
toning veteran teachers.
HEALTH
Expanded access to primary care—
reduces from $31.2 milion to $21.2 million
for public clinics for care for the uninsured
Healthy Families—delays until 2003 the
expansion of Healthy Families to parents.
CHILD SUPPORT
Local administration incentives—elimi
nates $40.5 million to local child support
agencies.
CHILD WELFARE
Transitional emancipation—reduces from
$6.5 million to $1.5 million a program of
ongoing support to emancipated foster
youth in education or training programs
Child Welfare Services training—reduces
from $3.3 million to $2 million a program
for training child welfare social workers.
HOUSING
Multifamily housing loans—reduces
from $89 million to $45.1 million a pro
gram of loans that encourage the construc
tion and rehabilitation of affordable multi
family housing units. S
For a copy of the Children’s Advocacy
Institute report on the budget cuts, call Lupe
Alonzo at 916-444-3875.
For the complete report of the governor’s pro
posed cuts, go to www.dofca.gov
HE 100% CAMPAIGN, the Pacific Institute for Community Organization (PICO), and
other advocates for children and families are pushing for California to expand its
Healthy Families program to include parents in families with incomes up to 250 per
cent of the poverty line, or $42,625 a year. Healthy Families now provides low-cost
health insurance to children in families with incomes up to 200 percent of the poverty
line.
In December 2000, California asked the federal Health and Human Services (HHS)
Department for a waiver to allow it to extend the program to parents. In the July
2001 budget, the state earmarked some of California’s tobacco settlement money to
pay the state’s share of the cost The federal government pays $2 for every $1 the
state puts in.
HHS has not yet acted on the request Now Governor Gray Davis says he wants to
put off extending the program to parents until July 2003 because of current pressures
on the state budget.
Throughout December, PICO campaigned to send 100 hand-written letters a day to
HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson, urging him to approve the waiver in time for the
holidays. Assembly Speaker Robert Hertzberg (D, Van Nuys) joined PICO in a Dec. 3
press conference to kick off the campaign.
Meanwhile the 100% Campaign, a coalition of the Children’s Defense Fund,
Children Now, and the Children’s Partnership, is asking supporters to contact state
representatives “to urge them to support health coverage for low-income working
parents as a priority program.”
“Every week that California does not implement parental coverage in Healthy
Families, the state is missing out on approximately $1 million in federal matching
funds,” according to PICO.
T
• PICO, 916-447-7958; 100% Campaign, 510-663-3224
More on children’s health insurance: Last year the state adopted an
“express-lane eligibility” program that provides easy access to health insurance for
children who participate in the school lunch or food stamp programs. For information
on implementation of express-lane eligibility, go to www.childrenspartnership.org/
express_Jn or call the Children’s Partnership at 310-260-1220.
En marcha recortes en el presupuesto estatal de este año
E
l estado de California podrIa estar $4500
millones en rojo a finales del corriente
aflo fiscal (30 de junio del 2002), de
acuerdo a la Oficina del Analista Legislativo.
Los ingresos impositivos han estado muy por
debajo de lo estimado por los expertos cuando
el estado trabajó en el presupuesto el verano
pasado, debido a la recesión, desempleo, y
calda en el precio de las acciones en el merca
do accionario.
Asi, Gobernador Grey Davis anunciO en
noviembre que el gobiemo estatal cortarla los
gastos de este ano y plariear el presupuesto de
2002-03 que demande bajar los gastos por 15
por ciento en el afio que viene. Gobernador
Grey Davis necesita que el cuerpo legislativo
consienta para hacer la mayorIa de estos
cortes. Ha planeado una junta especial del
cuerpo legislativo para enero para discutir los
cortes propuestos.
Lo que sigue es un ejemplo de los recortes
propuestos por el gobernador para el pre
supuesto de este año, extraldo del informe del
Children’s Advocacy Institute (Instituto de
PromociOn Infantil), titulado November
Reality Check
EDucAaóN
Healthy Start—reduce $38 miflones de $39
millones para nuevos sitios.
Compensaciónligualación en K-12—suspende $40 millones para gastos de compen
sación e igualación entre distritos.
Expansion de programas extracurriculares
—retrasa el gasto de $29,7 millones para
expansion del programa.
Escuelas de bajo rendimiento—retrasa Ia
puesta en vigor de los nuevas programas, por
un valor de $197 millones, destinados a mejo
ran las escuelas con problemas de bajo
rendimiento escolar.
Apoyo para nuevos maestros—reduce de
$104,6 millones a $84,6 millones un programa
de apoyo y ayuda a nuevos maestros.
Asistencia y evaluación de pares—reduce de
$134,2 millones a $84,2 un programa de
apoyo a antiguos maestros.
SALUD
Expansion del acceso a atención primaria—
reduce de $3 1,2 millones a $2 1,2 millones el
presupuesto destinado a clmnicas publicas para
atención a pacientes sin seguro medico.
Healthy Families—retrasa hasta 2003 la
expansion de Healthy Families para padres.
APOYO INFAN11L
Incentivos de Ia administración local—
elimina $40,5 millones destinados a las agen
cias locales de apoyo infantiL
CUIDADO CRIANZA
Emancipación transitoria—reduce de $6,5
millones a $1,5 millones an programa destina
do a education y programas de entrenamiento
y apoyo continuo para jOvenes emancipados
de cuidado cnianza.
Capacitación para servicios de asistencia
infantil—reduce de $3,3 millones a $2 mu
lones an programa de capacitación de traba
jadores sociales de asistencia infantil.
VIVIENDA
Préstamos multifamiliares de vivienda—
reduce de $89 millones a $45.1 mifiones an
programa de prestamos que promueve Ia con
strucción y rehabffitación de unidades multi
familiares de vivienda para personas de bajos
ingresos.S
Seguro medico para padres
00% CAMPAIGN (Cam paña de cien por ciento), Pacific Institute for Community
Organization (Instituto PacIfico para Ia Organización Comunitaria, PICO), u otras
activistas para los niños y las familias están empujando a California para expander sus
programas de Healthy Families (Familias Saludables) e incluir los padres en familias con
ingresos hasta 250 por ciento de Ia Ilnea de pobreza, a $42.625 cada año. Healthy
Families ahora les da seguro medico barato a los ninos en familias que ganan hasta 200
por ciento de Ia linea de pobreza.
En diciembre 2000, California pidió at Health and Human Services (Servicios
Saludables y Humanos, HHS) al nivel federal, que le pemiitiera extender el programa a
los padres. En el presupuesto de julio 2001, el estado reservô dinero del ajuste de tobaco
en California para pagar el coste para el estado. El gobierno federal paga $2 para cada
$1 del estado.
HHS todavIa no ha actuado segün Ia demanda. Ahora Gobernador Grey Davis dice
que quiere prolongar Ia extención del programa a los padres hasta julio de 2003 a causa
de Ia presión sobre el presupuesto estatal.
Durante diciembre, PICO hizo una campaña para enviar 100 cartas escritas a mano
cada dIa al Secretario de HHS,
I

supporting - Action Alliance for Children

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