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PUBLISHED BY ACTION ALLIANCE FOR CHILDREN
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Big movement for
small schools
den
Child care
turning point
Consejos de
padres y expertos
sobre cómo hacer
que ésta funcione
-
DE LA
Gran movimiento
para las pequeñas
escuelas
F cus on
m
How to make it
work for your child
• Education
• Advocacy
• Bookbasket
Th.e new
housing crisis
ACTION ALLIANCE FOR CHILDREN
•
THE HUNT HOUSE
•
.
Advocating for
school reform
...
Abogando por Ia
reforma escolar
1201 MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. WAY
wwwqchildrerLorq
FSOR
.
•
OAKLAND, CA 94612-1217
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ADVOCATE
Volume 29
The bimonthly Children’s Advocate is published
byAction Alliancefor Children, a nonprofit orga
nization dedicated to informing and empowering
people who work with and on behalfofchildren.
3
Grassroots Snapshots
Iit
Instantaneos de Ia comunidad
:
Gran movimiento para las pequenas escuelas de Oakland
Por Melia Franklin
Administration
LaVora Perry
ccotant
Outreach Associate
Erica Williams
•
On-Line Community Manager
Jessine Foss
Copy Editor
Laura Coon
—
Intern
Candace Diaz
AAC Logo Design
Mitche Manitou
6
0
Printing
Fricke Parks Press
Distribution
Jane Welford
Legal Counsel
Nonprofit Legal Services Network
Board of Directors
Jackqueline Cook Warren, President
Ronda Garcia, Vice-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 Chronicle
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
Effle Lee Morris
California Library Services
Daphne Muse
Multicultural author and editor
Lucy Quacinella
National Center for Youth Law
Wilson Riles, Jr.
American Friends Service Committee
Giovanna Stark
Assembly Select Committee on Adolescents
Principal Consultant
Alan Watahara
California Partnership for Children
Stan Weisner
UC Berkeley Children & the Changing Family Program
Rev. Cecil Williams
Glide Memorial Church
Action Alliance for Children is a tax-exempt organization
supported in part by a California State Department of
Education (SDE) grant. However, the opinions expressed
herein do not necessarily reflect those of SDE and opinions
expressed by contributors or writers do not necessarily
reflect the opinions of this paper. We reserve the right to
refuse advertising for any reason.
Children’s Advocate assumes no liability for products or 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 libraries throughout California. Available by bulk
order or individual subscription.
Subscription Rates (see page 11)
$18 for one year. $34 for two years
First-time subscribers $12 for one year
Sample copies are available for $3 each.
For information about our annual multicultural calendar
and our bimonthly Master Calendar write or call:
Action Alliance for Children
The Hunt House
1201 Martin Luther ICing Jr. Way
Oaldand, CA 94612-1217
(510) 444—7136
Fax (510) 444-7138
e-mail: [email protected]
www.4children.org
@Children’s Advocate NewsMagazineASSN 0739-45X
Next Issue: January-February 2002
Advertising Deadline: December 10,2001
•
7
Momento critico para el cuidado de niños
En enero, los legisladores enfrentarán la insistencia del gobernador en
contener los costos del cuidado de ninos—y la insistencia de quienes
abogan por expandir la calidad y Ia disponibilidad de este servicio
Poriean Tepperman
Su niño en educaciôn especial
Consejos de padres y expertos sobre como hacer que ésta funcione
Por Candace E. Diaz and Jean Tepperman
9
By Lauren John
Stories of Native American children today, along with traditional
tales, give children from all backgrounds a glimpse into American
Indian life
By Ben Peterson
13 Breast-feeding: helping nature along
Support programs in hospitals and workplaces help more mothers
breast-feed
By Lori Selke
14 Children’s Advocates Roundtable: El cuidado de ninos,
Child care turning point
In January legislators will face the governor’s insistence on containing
child care costs—and advocates’ insistence on expanding child care
quality and availability
By Jean Tepperman
8
Early education programs for American Indian children emphasize
culture and connection
12 Continuing traditions
The new housing crisis
5
Volunteer
Patty Overland
•
Ask the Advocate: Advocating for school reform
By Melia Franklin
PregUntele al Defensor: Abogando por la reforma
Por Melia Franklin
Low-wage jobs and soaring rents are pushing more families into
homelessness
By Irene Moore
Publication Design and Production
Judy July and Generic Type
American Indian educators discuss positive ways to teach about their
peoples; Activists tackle negative stereotypes and increase awareness
about issues affecting American Indian children
By Jessine Foss
11 “School feels like family”
4
Outreach Manager
Melia Franklin
Number 6
10 Focus on American Indian children’s needs:
Big movement for small schools in Oakland
By Melia Franklin
Executive Director
Philip Arcs
•
parte integral de la economia de California/Child care is an integral
part of California’s economy; Programas extracurriculares (‘After
school”) en California: nuevos datos/After school in California: new
data; “Children Now” (Los NinosYa): Activismo Online/Children
Now: Online Advocacy;
15 Cuánto cuesta mantener una familia en California?
How much does it cost to raise a family in California?
16 Hablando con los niños sobre terrorismo y prejuicios
Your child in special education
Talking with children about terrorism and prejudice
Tips from parents and experts on how to make it work
By Candace E. Diaz and Jean Tepperman
EDITOR’S NOTE
H
ere at Action Alliance for Children we have some big
news of our own! Part of it you can see: We’re now
printing four more pages—in Spanish. From now on,
we’ll be able to print Spanish and English versions of
Grassroots Snapshots/Instantaneos de Ia Comunidad, Ask the
Advocate! Preguntele al Defensor, articles on the Children’s
Advocates Roundtable pages (now 14, 15, and 16), and one
additional feature each time-this time it’s our report on the
coming legislative struggle over child care funding (pages 6
and 7).
In addition, two new staff members have joined our team.
Erica Williams is our new outreach associate, working with
Outreach Manager Melia Franklin. They’ll work together
continuing to build interactive relationships between the
Children’s Advocate and grassroots organizations working
with and for children and families all over California. Through
this project, an increasing number of organizations are dis
tributing the Children’s Advocate and giving us a wealth of
ideas and information that enable us to make the Children’s
Advocate a more effective tool for their wprk.
LaVora Perry is ournew administrative associate, freeing up
our former administrative a5sociate, Jessine Foss, to fill the new
position of “online community manager.” Jessine will be work
ing to convert our web site (www.4children.org) into a commu
nications hub where California’s diverse advocates for children
can ask questions, post information, enlist support, and discuss
issues. For more information, please check out our web site,
e-mail Jessine at [email protected], or call her at 510444-7136.
Both of these new positions have been made possible by a
generous grant from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.
In January, look
-
September 11, in an economic and political environment that
will make solutions harder to find. In addition to new pressures
on child care funding (pages 6 and 7), low-income families are
facing a new level of housing crisis (p. 5).
On the Roundtable pages, the California Budget Project’s
new report contrasts the high cost of living with persistent low
wages (p. 15), and two more reports present new information
on the importance of child care—to the California economy
and to the safety of children and communities.
In our changed world, however, some families are facing
challenges that haven’t changed—from learning to breast-feed
a new baby (p. 13) to struggling to ensure appropriate educa
tion for children with special needs (pages 8 and 9).
Finally, in this season when it’s traditional for schools to
teach children about American Indians, we offer some ideas
and some resources from the American Indian community: tips
on respectful and inclusive ways of teaching about native peo
ples, with news on current advocacy efforts for American Indian
children (p. 10), descriptions of some school programs that
affirm American Indian children’s heritage (i 11), and a great
bookbasket full of stories that range from traditional tales to
accounts of American Indian children today (p. 12).
As we gather children, friends, and family members for the
beginning of the holiday season, despite the tough challenges
ahead, it seems all the more clear that what we really have to
be thankful for is each other.
—Jean Tepperman
Gran movimiento para las pequeñas escuelas de Oakland
Por Melia Franklin
C
uando Fatima, Ia hija mayor de
Emma Paulino—una mama de
Oakland—asistIa a Hawthorne
Elementary siete años atrás, “tenla que
mudarse cada 25 dIas a un aula nueva’ con
rotaciones que le hacian entrar y salir de la
escuela para poder hacer lugar a otros alum
nos. La superpoblación de escuelas como
Hawthorne—la cual fuera originalmente
construida para 700 estudiantes y hoy alber
ga 1400—forzó al Distrito Escolar Unificado
de Oakland (0USD) a poner en vigor calen
darios de actividad anuales.
Cuando un promotor comunitario
(community organizer, en ingles) de
Oakland Community Organizations
(OCO), una organizaciOn comunitaria de
base religiosa, llego a su iglesia preguntando
a los padres sobre la educación de sus ninos,
Paulino decidiO involucrarse. Cuatro ailos
más tarde, Paulino y otros padres están cele
brando la inauguración de cinco pequenas
escuelas, incluyendo Ascend, donde sus hijos
MacEdward (11) yEdgardo (8) comenzaron
hace poco sexto y cuarto grado respectiva
mente. “Para ml la diferencia es que (ahora)
están en un lugar seguro, el programa es
excelente, y los padres sienten que los mae
stros y el director son parte de Ia familia”,
dice Paulino.
Padres como Paulino ban liderado cada
paso—con el apoyo de los promotores
comunitarios de OCO—habiendo investiga
do los diversos problemas existentes y orga
nizado el apoyo necesario. Son ellos quienes
ayudaron a preparar los reglamentos, dis
eñar las escuelas, y contratar a los maestros.
Ron Snyder, director ejecutivo de OCO,
atribuye el éxito al “liderazgo dave de padres
que se convirtieron con los años en un
1
poderoso grupo que no aceptaba un ‘no’
como respuesta’
CLAVES PARA EL EXITO:
• Investigación: Los padres compartieron
experiencias y compararon los puntajes de
los exámenes estandarizados en escuelas que
sufrIan de superpoblación con los de escue
las de menor tamafio. Con ello descubrieron
que “el tamai’io de la escuela era un factor
importante en el rendimiento escolar’ dice
Snyder. En un viaje subvencionado a Nueva
York para visitar escuelas pequenas, padres y
funcionarios de 0USD con poder de toma
de decisiones observaron “estudiantes
involucrados en el proceso de aprendizaje, y
padres participando a todos los niveles. Las
escuelas se sentlan como escuelas de la
comunidad’ dice una de las madres, Lillian
LOpez, hoy co-presidenta de OCO.
. . .
• Promoción Comunitaria (“Organ
izing”): Los padres lideres salieron a visitar
hogares y escuelas, dice Snyder, “incitando a
Ia gente a que pensara en cosas” con pregun
tas provocativas como: “mo le parece que el
rendimiento de su hijo debiera estar al nivel
de su grado?”, y “que hace falta para cam
biar esto?’ Después de una serie de derrotas,
a los padres se les ocurrió una estrategia al
nivel de distrito. Recuerda Lopez: “De golpe
tuvimos grupos de padres que se plantaron
y sabIan lo que querIan’
• Acción: Los Ilderes elevaron su caso ante
funcionarios con poder de toma de deci
siones, primero en reuniones pequenas,
después en acciones masivas delante del
alcalde y el concejo escolar. En noviembre de
Emma Paulino, lIder de padres en Oakland, con su hija en Ia fiesta inaugural
de una nueva pequeña escuela. / Emma Paulino, a parent leader in Oakland,
with her daughter, at a celebration for the opening of a new small school.
1999, los padres y otros en apoyo de esta
causa ilenaron el gimnasio de una iglesia
local y “preguntaron a las autoridades:
‘Están preparados para comprometerse
pOblicamente frente a estas 2200 personas a
hacer que esto se haga realidad?”, recuerda
Snyder. En mayo del 2000 el concejo escolar
aprobó por unanimidad el Oaldand Small
Schools Initiative.
U Base institucional: Contar con una base
en 30 congregaciones en Oaldand proveyó
“estabilidad institucional” y un “espacio
seguro para que los padres puedan hablar’
reflexiona Snyder. Recordando su primera
reunion en OCO, dice LOpez: “Nunca habla
estado sentada a la mesa hablando de los
problemas con otros padres, sin las autori
dades de Ia escuela. Muchos de los problemas
que dos tenlan eran iguales a los que tenla yo’
U Alianzas: OCO trabajó en proximidad
con otros grupos comunitarios y el 0USD,
y obtuvo apoyo técnico dave del Bay Area
Coalition for Equitable Schools. El 0USD
nombró un Superintendente Asistente para
la Reforma Escolar, José MartInez, quien
describe su cargo como “una victoria de
OCO’ Este afirma que Ia apertura de OCO
para trabajar en conjunto es fundamental.
“Ellos no dicen solo ‘vamos a hacer una
huelga y a ilevarnos todos los niños con
nosotros!” —expresa Martinez. “Quieren
crear una alianza de verdad’ U
LSabe usted de algün esfuerzo
comunitario debase del cual todo
el mundo debiera escuchar? Póngase
en contacto con Melia Franklin, direc
tora de promoción comunitaria, al
510-444-7136, [email protected]
Thanks to the David and Lucile Packard Foundation for its support of this page.
Big movement for small schools in Oakland
By Melia Franklin
W
hen Oakland parent Emma
Paulino’s eldest daughter
Fatima attended Hawthorne
Elementary seven years ago, she “had to
move every 25 days to a new class
room:’ rotating in and out of school to
make room for other students.
Overcrowding at schools like
Hawthorne, which was built for 700
students but enrolls 1,400, forced the
Oakland Unified School District
(0USD) to implement year-round
schedules.
So when an organizer for Oakland
Community Organizations (OCO), a
faith-based community organization,
came to her church asking parents
about their kids’ education, Paulino got
involved. Four years later, she and
thousands of others are celebrating the
opening of five small schools, including
Ascend, where her sons, MacEdward,
11, and Edgardo, 8, recently began sixth
and fourth grades. “The difference for
me is they are in a safe place, the cur
riculum is excellent, and parents feel
like the teachers and the principal are
part of the family:’ Paulino says.
Parents like Paulino have led every
step of the way, nurtured by OCO
organizers. They’ve researched issues
and organized support. They helped
draft policies, design the schools, and
hire teachers. Ron Snyder, OCO’s exec
utive director, credits the success to
“key parent leaders who grew over the
years into a powerful group who
wouldn’t take no for answer:’
homes and schools, says Snyder, “agi
tating people to think about stuff” by
asking provocative questions like
“Don’t you think your child should be
performing at grade level?” and “What
would it take to change this?” After a
series of defeats, the parents came up
with a a district-wide strategy. Lopez
recalls, “All of a sudden you had groups
of parents who stood up and knew
what they wanted:’
KEYS TO SUCCESS WERE:
I Research. Parents shared experi
ences and compared test scores of
crowded schools to those of smaller
schools. They discovered that “the size
of a school was... an important factor
in school performance,” says Snyder.
On a grant-funded trip to New York to
tour small schools, parents and 0USD
decision-makers saw “students engaged
and learning and parents participating
at all levels. The schools felt like com
munity schools,” says parent Lillian
Lopez, now OCO’s co-chair.
• Organizing. Parent leaders visited
U Action. Leaders took their case to
policy makers, first in small meetings,
later in mass actions before the mayor
and the school board. In November
1999, parents and supporters packed
the gym of a local church and “asked
decisiQn-makers, ‘Are you prepared to
commit publicly in front of these 2,200
folks to make this happen?” reèalls
Snyder. In May 2000 the school board
unanimously approved the Oakland
Small Schools Initiative.
• Institutional base. Having a base
in 30 Oakland congregations provided
“institutional stability” and a “safe
place for parents to talk,” Snyder
reflects. Recalling her first OCO meet
ing, Lopez says, “I had never been
around the table talking about the
issues with other parents, without
school officials. Many of the issues they
had were the same issues I had:’
U Partnerships. OCO worked closely
with other community groups and the
0USD and got key technical support
from the Bay Area Coalition for
Equitable Schools (BayCES). The
0USD appointed an Assistant
Superintendent for School Reform,
José Martinez, who describes his posi
tion as “an OCO victory.” He says
OCO’s openness to working together is
key: “They don’t just say, ‘let’s do a
walkout and take all they kids with
us!” he says. “They want to create a
true partnership.” U
Do you know Of.a9rass roots effort
the world should hear abouf’
Contact Meha Franklin, Outreach
Manager AAC, S1:0-444 7136
aacmelia@4chtldren org
CHILDREN’S ADVOCATE 3
re
.LeIe a!
Traducción al castellano:
Lucrecia Miranda
P. Me encuentro frustrado con
muchos de los aspectos de Ia
escuela de mi hijo. Cómo
puedo abogar por el cambio de
modo efectivo?
• “No trate de hacerlo solo”, acon
seja Ron Snyder, director de la organi
zación de base religiosa “Oakland
Community Organizations” (yea artIcu
lo en pagina 3). “Antes no tenia poder
alguno porque estaba sola”, dice Lillian
Lopez, uno de los padres-lIderes de
OCO. ‘Cuando comencé a trabajar con
OCO, me cli cuenta que tenla una voz”
Hable con otros padres, sugiere Claudia
Monterrosa, directora nacional del pro
grama para mejorar la cooperacion
entre padres y escuelas “Parent/School
Partnership” de MALDEF (Mexican
American Legal Defense and Education
Fund). Mi, cuando actüa, “Va en repre
sentación de un grupo de padres” Los
padres pueden demostrar su apoyo fir
mando peticiones, escribiendo cartas, o
asistiendo a las juntas del distrito.
• Identifique el problema. Dan
Rothstein, co-director de la organi
zación “The Right Question Project,
Inc.” (yea “Recursos”), alienta a los
padres a que desarrollen preguntas que
“vayan al centro mismo de lo que está
pasando en su escuela’ Si un niño ha
sido suspendido, por ejemplo, los
padres pueden preguntar: “Que fue lo
que condujo a esto? Cuáles fueron las
bases para tomar esta decisiOn? Existe
un grupo de ninos al que se suspeude
con más frecuencia que al otro?’
Abogando por Ia reforma escolar
Por Melia Franklin
• Investigue los hechos. Asegürese
que las quejas “estén basadas en hechos,
no en rumores”, dice Monterrosa.
Algunos de los grupos de padres de
MALDEF, por ejemplo, han distribuido
cuestionarios en sus escuelas.
•1
Quién es responsable? “Si [el
problema] es el mantenimiento de la
escuela, hable con quien se encuentre a
cargo del mantenimiento. Si se trata del
programa, vaya al superintendente”,
dice Monterrosa. “Determinar cuál es su
problema e identificar a Ia persona
responsable es el primer paso’
• Actáe. Primero su grupo puede
escribir una carta a Ia persona respons
able, esbozando los hechos y requirien
do una acción especIfica para un dia
determinado, dice Monterrosa. Pida
una junta con la persona responsable.
Lieve traductores, si es necesario, y si es
posible, una persona neutral. Si ha ago
tado los canales correspondientes sin
ilegar a resultado alguno, “puede que
necesite una campana más agresiva”,
incorporando los medios de comuni
cación u otros aliados, agrega.
• Mantenga copias de todos los
documentos. “No entregue nada sin
conservar una copia u original”, aconse
ja Monterrosa. “Cuando asista a
reuniones con alguna autoridad, ileve a
alguien que tome notas de modo detal
lado’
• “No se rinda”, recomienda una de
las lideres de OCO, Emma Paulino. “Es
un trabajo duro’
Padres de Oakland celebrando ía inauguraciôn de Ascend, una pequeña
escuela abierta recientementel Oakland parents celebrating the opening of
Ascend, a new small schooL
RECURSOS:
Programa “ParenUSthl Partner
ship” de MALDEF: Este programa para
facilitar el trabajo conjunto de padres y
escuelas ofrece un curso de 16 semanas que
explica cómo funciona el sistema escolar y
ayuda a desarrollar el liderazgo de “padres
que están dispuestos a asumir un compro
misoy tomar responsabilidad por el cam
bio”, dice Claudia Monterrosa, directora
nacional del programa. (213) 629-2512,
www.maldef.org
• Pacific Institute for Community
Organization (PICO), es un red nacional
de organizaciones comunitarias de base
religiosa que realiza promociOn comuni
taria (“community organizing”) en diversas
areas, incluyendo educaciOn. De acuerdo a
Ron Snyder, director de Ia organ izaciOn
OCO—afiliada a PICO—”el propósito de
nuestra organización es desarrollar Iideraz
go. Proveemos entrenadores, profesores y
apoyo técnico para el cambio”. PICO
California Project: (916) 447-7959,
www.PlCOcalifornia.org
• Parent Institute for Quality Education
(PIQE) trabaja con padres y escuelas de
todo el estado para aumentar Ia partici
paciOn de los padres en Ia educación de sus
hijos. Su programa de nueve semanas, ofre
cido en 14 idiomas, contribuye a que los
padres puedan apoyar el aprendizaje en
casa, comprender sus derechos y respons
abilidades en el sistema educativo, y plani
ficar para enviar a sus hijos a Ia universidad.
Los padres “aprenden a hacer frente de
modo exitoso a problemas que han tenido
por años”, dice Ia directora asociada
Patricia Mayer, (619) 483-4499.
The Right Question Project (RQP), Inc.
ha desarrollado un programa simple que
“brinda [a los padres] herramientas para
precisar sus preguntas con anterioridad”,
dice Cathy LeBlanc, miembro de Ia organi
zaciOn Yuba Community Collaborative for
Healthy Children, que ha entreriado padres
con Ia técnica de RQR “Sientes como que...
‘OK, esto es realmente lo que quiero
decir”. Programa básico $30, en espanol o
ingles. (617)492-1900, ww.rightguestion.org
Tiene alguna pregunta para “Pregüntele al Defensor”? Llame a Melia Franklin al 510-4447136 o e-mail [email protected]
Have a question for “Ask the Advocate”? Call Melia Franklin at 510-444-7136 or e-mail [email protected]
A
ocating for school reform
By Melia Franklin
Q.
I’m frustrated with many
aspects of my child’s school.
How can I effectively advocate
for change?
• “Don’t try to do it by yourself,”
advises Ron Snyder, director of the faithbased Oakland Community Organ
izations (OCO) (see p. 3). “I never had
any power before because I was alone:’
says OCO leader Lillian Lopez. “When I
started working with OCO, I realized I
really had a voice.” Talk with other par
ents, suggests Claudia Monterrosa,
national director of the Mexican
American Legal Defense & Education
Fund (MALDEF) Parent/School
Partnership program. Then, when you
act, “you go representing a group of par
ents.” Parents can sho.v support by
signing petitions, writing letters, or
turning out to district meetings.
• Identify the problem. Dan Rothstein, co-director of the Right Question
Project, Inc. (see “Resources”), encour
ages parents to develop questions that
“get to the core of what’s happening in
4 NOVEMBER—DECEMBER 2001
their school.” If a child has been sus
pended, for example, parents might ask,
“What led to it? What was the basis for
the decision? Is one group of kids get
ting suspended more often than oth
ers?”
• Fact-find. Make sure the complaint
‘(is based on fact, not rumors,” says
Monterrosa. Some of MALDEF’s parent
groups, for example, have conducted
surveys at their schools.
• Who’s responsible? “If [the prob
lem] is school maintenance, talk to
maintenance. If it’s a curriculum issue,
go to the superintendent,” says
Monterrosa. “Zeroing in to what your
problem is and then identifying the
responsible person is the first step:’
• Take action. First your group might
write a letter to the person responsible,
outlining the facts and requesting a spe
cific action by a specific date, says
Monterrosa. Ask for a meeting with the
responsible person. Bring translators, if
needed, and, if possible, a neutral per
son. If you’ve gone through the channels
with no results, “you might need a more
aggressive campaign:’ bringing in the
media or other allies, she adds.
• Create a paper trail. “Don’t turn
in anything without keeping a copy or
original,” advises Monterrosa. “When
you go to meet with a decision-maker,
have somebody that takes diligent
notes?’
• “Don’t give up,” urges OCO par
ent leader Emma Paulino. “This is a
hard job.”
RESOURCES:
• MALDEF ParentlSchool Partnership
offers a 16-week course that explains
how school systems work and develops
leadership skills for “parents who are
willing to make the commitment to and
take responsibility for change,” says
Claudia Monterrosa, the program’s
national director. 213-629-2512,
www.maldef.org
• Pacific Institute for Community
Organization (PICO), a nationwide
network of faith-based community
organizations, organizes around many
issues, including education. According
to Ron Snyder, director of PICO-affiliat
ed CCC, “The purpose of our organiza
tion is leadership development. We pro
vide coaches, teachers, and technical
support for change.” PICO California
Project: 916-447-7959,
www.PlCOcalifornia.org
• Parent Institute for Quality
Education (PIQE) works with parents
at schools statewide to increase
parental involvement in education.
Its nine-week curriculum, offered in 14
languages, helps parents support
learning at home, understand their
rights and responsibilities in the edu
cation system, and plan for college.
Parents “learn to effectively confront
issues they have had for years,” says
Associate Director Patricia Mayer.
619-483-4499.
• The Right Question Project (RQP),
Inc. developed a simple, scripted
curriculum that “gives [parents] tools to
focus their questions beforehand,” says
Cathy LeBlanc, a member of the Yuba
Community Collaborative for Healthy
Children, who has trained parents in
RQP’s technique. “You feel like, ‘OK, this
is what I really want to say.” Basic
curriculum $30, in Spanish or English.
617-492-1900, www.rightquestion.org
-
The new housing crisis
Low-wage jobs and soaring rents are pushing more families
into homelessness
By Irene Moore
Advocating
for affordable
housing
T
he phone has been ringing off
the hook lately at the Alexandria
House, a shelter and neighbor
hood center in Los Angeles.
“Something’s going on out there,” says
Nancy Berlin, who works the evening
shift. “The iiumber of people calling
looking for shelter has maybe doubled
since the summer.”
According to housing experts and
advocates, crowded shelters like the
Alexandria House are a symptom of
the worsening affordable housing crisis
in California. Arlene Krause of the
Sacramento Housing Alliance says she
has “nothing to tell people” when they
call with housing needs. “Most home
less shelters are full, transitional houses
are full and the waiting lists for Section
8 [federal housing subsidies] are
closed:’ says Krause.
Tanya Tull, executive director of
Beyond Shelter in Los Angeles, agrees.
“Things have declined in the last eigh
teen months,” says Tull. “Rents have
gone above [what Section 8 pays], so
many landlords are not accepting
Section 8.”
It’s simple math: In the recent eco
nomic boom, rental costs rose much
faster than the average California faini
ly’s income—and the current economic
downturn hasn’t lowered rents much.
• The amount a California worker
would have to earn to afford a
decent two-bedroom apartment
shot up 20 percent from 2000 io
2001, according to the National
Low Income Housing Coalition
(NLIHC). Costs vary around the
state, but on average, a California
worker would have to earn at least
$18.33 an hour, working 40 hours a
week, to afford a “fair market rate”
two-bedroom apartment, says
NLIHC.
• In the past three years, landlords
have given up federal subsidized
housing contracts for more than
15,000 units, converting them to
market-rate housing—and 30,000
more units are at risk.
• Nearly 500,000 families are currently
on waiting lists for public housing
and rental subsidies—almost a
million children are waiting for
housing.
Sources: Housing California, California
Budget Project
T
his is “a great time for folks to get
involved,” says Julie Snyder, legisla
tive advocate for Housing California.
Local, state, and national advocates
are campaigning for measures to
increase the amount of subsidized,
affordable housing,..
FEDERAL: Advocates are focusing on
legislation to create a national housing
trust fund.
Young tenants participating in a demonstration for affordable housing.
LOOKING FOR HOUSING
UMy kids are too old to be in a shelter”
“I felt pressured for time to find a place”
ee Dee Hickman noticed her children,
ages 11, 13, and 14, have been both
“more playful and more irritable” since July
2000 when they became homeless. “Their
energy comes from anxiety)” says Hickman,
who lost her $8.50-an-hour job as a child care
worker in Orange County in March 2000.
After 18 months of moving between shel
ters, hotels and transitional housing,
Hickman received a Section 8 voucher in
early September, then started the discourag
ing search for affordable housing. “I see pages
and pages of three-bedroom places, but when
I call they’ve all been rented)” she says.
She is now living in a temporary studio
apartment near downtown L.A., arranged
through the community organization
Beyond Shelter. “My kids are too old to be in
a shelter,” she says. Though the transitional
apartment is more comfortable, they want
“their own space.”
The Section 8 voucher lasts only 60 days.
Hickman is worried that she may not be able
to find a place soon enough, and she’s wor
ried about paying the security deposit if she
does. In this uncertain time, Hickman has
managed to attend school for training as a
drug and alcohol counselor. Her goals now
are to find a better-paying job, her own place,
and “peace of mind.”
e housing crisis has definitely reached
inland California. David Montano, a
single father with two daughters, ages eight
and nine, found himself homeless in Fresno
this summer. Having nowhere to sleep, he
took his daughters to a family shelter where
they lived in one room with three beds for
two weeks. “There were so many nights
when I couldn’t sleep because the bell kept
ringing,” he remembers. The shelter was
packed; Montano recalls, “I heard they had
to turn a lot of people away.”
For Montano, a substitute worker in the
kitchens of the Fresno School District, this
was a time when he needed to keep his
“head on straight.” After the shelter, the
family lived hi transitional housing for twa
months before they moved into their cur
rent two-bedroom apartment, found with
the help of the Fresno Housing Authority.
Though his daughters adapted well to
the shelter and transitional apartment,
Montano says, “I was the one who was
tressing because I had so much on my
mind. I’m a diabetic and the housing situa
tion didn’t help. I felt pressured for time to
find a place because you can only stay in
shelters and transitional housing for so
long. At times I felt like crying, but church
kept me going.”
Finding his current apartment was a
huge relief. “There are trees all over the
place,” he says excitedly. Montano is now
attending Cesar Chavez Adult School,
training to be a custodian. He hopes to get
a jobm the school district he works in now.
“I want to provide for my girls and set a
good example for them)” he says. •
D
Finding affordable housing
• Call your local Housing Authority and Housing Redevelopment Agency—list
ed in local phone books under city and county government. In addition to
their own housing, some housing authorities provide referrals to affordable
housing built by nonprofit organizations.
• Call your local United Way agency—in many counties they provide referrals
for programs including affordable housing.
• Contact local homeless services or advocacy organizations—check the
National Alliance to-End Homelessness Web site for listings of local home
less services and advoEates,
www.nationalhoiñéless.org/local!california.html
CALIFORNIA: Advocates are pushing
for three current bills.
I SB 910 (Dunn) would put teeth into
the law that requires local govern
ments to create “housing ele
ments”—plans for building more
housing.
a SB 1227 (Burton) would put a bond
measure on the ballot to raise
money for building affordable hous
ing, for helping people buy homes,
and for building more shelters and
transitional housing.
• SB 183 (Burton) would allow local
governments to help low-income
people move into housing without
a security deposit—the local gov
ernment would guarantee payment
for any damages.
LOCAL: In many areas advocates are
pushing for housing elements when
cities and counties revise their general
plans, which is supposed to be done
every five years. Coalitions in some
local areas are promoting other
affordable housing proposals. In Los
Angeles, for example, Housing L.A., a
coalition of business, labor, environ
mental, and housing groups, is cam
paigning for the city to put $1 million
a year into a housing trust fund.
HOUSING ADVOCACY
ORGANIZATIONS:
I National Low Income Housing
Coalition, 202-662-1530,
www.nlihc.org
a Housing California, 916-447-0503,
www.housingca.com
• California Coalition for Rural
Housing, 916-443-4448
• California Housing Law Project,
www.housingadvocates.org
• Southern CA Association of
Nonprofit Housing, 213-480-1249,
www.scanph.org
a Nonprofit Housing of Northern CA,
415-989-8160,
www.nonprofithousing.org
CHILDREN’S ADVOCATE 5
1
Child care turning point
In January legislators will face the governor’s insistence on containing
child care costs—and advocates’ insistence on expanding child care
quality and availability
By Jean Tepperman
S
andra Jacquez is a welfare eligibil
ity worker with a three-year-old
daughter. Dealing with domestic
violence kept her out of work receiving
disability payments for almost a year.
Recently she went back to work—but
only for a week. That week she lined up
various relatives to take care of her
daughter, but the next week shehad no
child care and had to stay home.
Jacquez says she can’t afford to pay
$600 to $800 a month for child care,
but the waiting list for a subsidy is years
long. “I don’t want to end up losing my
job:’ she says.
Michelle Thomson is now receiving
a child care subsidy as part of the wel
fare-to-work program, but in May
she’ll reach the time limit. “There’s no
way I could pay for one summer:’ she
says. She takes home about $1,600 a
month, her house payment is $650, and
summer child care for her four schoolage boys would cost at least $1,200.
Lack of state child care subsidies
could push Jacquez, Thomson, and
thousands of other parents onto welfare.
A study of 500 low-income parents in
Los Angeles found that more than half
had lost a job because they lacked child
care. Because funds are limited, at least
one-third of the children who need sub
sidies don’t receive them.
Now subsidized child care for lowincome families will be at the center of
a major political struggle when the leg
islature meets again in January.
Governor Gray Davis last year
asked for an CCdtti review”
(AR) of the child care subsidy program.
The AR report, issued in May, predicted
that costs could spiral out of control
because parents who have left welfare
for work continue to receive child care
subsidies as long as their incomes are
low enough to qualify.
The AR predicts the number of ex
CaIWORKs families receiving subsidies
will grow from 45,000 to 88,000 in the
next three years, increasing costs, assum
ing no increase in funding, that would
shut out families who were never on wel
fare. The report lists options for contain
ing costs and malçing the system fairer,
including raising the sliding-scale fees
parents pay, lowering the income “ceil
ing,” setting a time limit for families
receiving subsidies, and paying providers
less per child.
In July, Davis held up $24 million in
child care subsidy funds. He will release
the money, he says, if the legislature, by
the end of January, passes measures to
contain child care costs.
The Women’s Caucus of the leg
islature has declared that it will “lead
the legislative response to the gover
nor’s challenge.” The caucus invited
child care advocates to contribute ideas
for reforming the system while ensur
ing that “harm to families and
providers [is] mitigated.”
Women’s Caucus mernbei and long
time child care advocate Dion Aroner,
Child care math:
it doesn’t add up
Parents and child care providers meet in Oakland to push for quality child care for alL
The cost of quality child care is beyond reach for many
families. The average cost of center-based care for a child
under two is about $550 a month, more than half of the
income of a parent working full time at a minimUm wage job.
(D, Berkeley), told a parent group in
Oakland, “We’re not going to do any
thing without parents at the table.” In
late October the caucus held public hear
ings in Los Angeles and Sacramento.
Child care advocates have been
organizing.
• In Los Angeles, family child care
providers organized by ACORN are ral
lying the support of unions, churches,
and the City Council. Organizer John
Jackson,ays the group will “challenge
the governor to expand resources
instead of diminishing them and come
up with the money to fund the increas
ing need for child care.”
• In Oakland on September 29, more
than 200 parents and providers partici
pated in Parent Action for Child Care
Today, a one-day “summit” organized
by Parent Voices to push for “quality
child care affordable for all families.”
• A statewide postcard campaign, initi
ated by the San Francisco Family Child
Care Association and Coleman
Advocates for Children and Youth, aims
to show widespread support for increas
ing, not decreasing, child care funding.
Child care providers’ organiza
tions have countered the AR’s alterna
tives with suggestions for other
changes, such as creating a “tiered sys
tem” that pays more for higher-quality
care and/or less for unlicensed care.
Some provider groups also go along
with some AR options, such as lower
ing the maximum age from 13 to 12.
Think tanks including the Child
Care Law Center (CCLC) and the
California Budget Project (CBP) have
written detailed comments on the
options outhned in the Administrative
Review and suggested principles to
guide reform.
Noting current school-readiness
efforts, CCLC Director Nancy Strohl
says, “We can’t reduce opportunities for
quality child care, then pretend that
we are providing equitable opportun
ities for all children to be ready for
school.” •
OVERVIEWS OF CALIFORNIA’S CHILD CARE SYSTEM
• Broadening the Context: Background for Discussion of California Child Care
Policy Options, Child Care Law Center, 415-495-5498, www.childcarelaw.org
• Lasting Returns: Strengthening California’s Child Care and Development System,
California Budget Project, 916-444-0500, www.cbp.org
• Since the start of welfare reform,
California has increased spending
on subsidized child care by $2.1 bil
lion. Still, almost 300,000 eligible
children, can’t get subsidies because
funds are limited.
• The California Budget Project esti
mates that with another $1.7 bil
lion, California could fund subsidies
for all who need them.
• The per-child reimbursement the
state pays child care providers has
failed to keep up with inflation.
Some school districts have been
unable to continue operating child
care centers, turning them over to
nonprofit organizations with lower
pay scales.
• Low salaries (averaging $16,000 to
$20,000 a year) contribute to a
worsening child care staffing crisis
and increase turnover, undermining
the quality of care.
• The cost of quality child care is
beyond reach for many families.
The average cost of center-based
care for a child under two is about
$550 a month, more than half of the
income of a parent working full
time at a minimum wage job.
Sources: Child Care Law Center,
California Budget Project
What YOU can do
I Send postcards to your legislators
and Governor Davis, expressing
your views on subsidized child care
• Invite political leaders to spend
a day at a child care center and
meet with providers and parents
I Discuss child care issues with
your union, community group, or
religious organization
I Write letters to your local news
papers
• Call your local child care resource
and referral agency (for the num
ber, call 800-543-7793)
I Contact a child care advocacy
group: ACORN, 213-747-4211;
SF Family Child Care Assoc., 41558751 11; Coleman Advocates for
Children and Youth, 415-239-0161;
Parent Voices, 415-882-0234
CHILDREN’S ADVOCATE 7
__
-
Tips from parents and experts on how to make it work
By Candace E. Diaz and Jean Tepperman
hen Beverly (not her real
name) was concerned that
her o-year-old daughter
still wasn’t speaking, she took her to
Children’s Hospital in Oakland. There
Beverly was told that her daughter
had a developmental disability. She
left the hospital feeling “completely
lost”—but then she heard about
Parents Helping Parents (PHP).
“The day I went to PHP, it changed
my life forever,” Beverly says. At PHP,
Beverly found information on special
education laws and got training on
how to participate in school meetings
to prepare an “individualized educa
tional program” (IEP) for her daughter.
Parents and experts agree: to get
the best education for a child with
special needs, the most important
thing a parent can do is to get support.
Spt
y
receive a “free and appropriate”
public education, based on
an assessment without cultural
bias
an “individualized educational
program” (IEP).
-
9r
-
When you find other parents whose
children have special needs, “you feel
more confident, that you’re not alone,”
says Lourdes Ocampo, who belongs to
a parent support group in Los Angeles.
Parent groups, adds Vicki Benson of
Exceptional Parents Unlimited in
Fresno, offer “unbiased advice,” School
districts, she says, “have a vested inter
estin keeping costs down,” She adds, “If
parents know what their rights are, they
usually get a lot more services.”
Exceptional Parents Unlimited is
one of a statewide network of organiza
tions run by and for parents whose
children have special needs (see
Resources), with financial support
from the California Department of
Education. Parent centers provide
libraries, support groups, coaching, and
advocacy
EW
I
Sometimes children are falsely
labeled with learning disabilities just
because they don’t speak English, says
Blanca Brown of Fiesta Educativa, a
Southern California group formed to
educate Latino parents about special
education.
Other parents, Brown says, have to
struggle to get schools to recognize
their children’s disabilities. “There was
one parent here today,” says Brown,
“whose second-grader was on suspen
sion for the third time this year.” The
school was refusing to test her son for
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity
Disorder, saying he just had a behavior
problem. If parents feel their child may
have a disability, they should insist on a
professional assessment. “Our experi
ence is that if parents keep pushing,
they do it,” says Brown.
“If something doesn’t feel appropri
ate, speak up!” says Marti (not her real
name), mother of a 14-year-old boy
with autism. She recalls one c1assrooin
where her son, overwhelmed by too
much stimulation, just sat under a
desk. Marti pushed for a tr-ansfer to a
small, specialized school, where her son
blossomed.
OUR CHIW HAS THE RIGHT TO
Benson, whose son has cerebral
palsy, says the most important point is
to “stay on top of things—going to the
school, talking with the teacher on a
regular basis,”
Ocampo had little opportunity to
visit school until an illness kept her out
of work. “I went to visit my child’s class
and found out there were many things
that should have been done,” such as
providing physical education adapted
to his needs.
When a principal claimed, at an IEP
meeting, that Marti had never
expressed concerns about her son’s
placement, Marti was able to show a
series of notebooks with correspon
dence between her and her son’s
teacher. The notebooks clearly showed
she had expressed many concerns.
“Make detailed notes and get copies
of everything you sign,” Marti advises.
2) Speak to the supervisor. If that
doesn’t work,
3) “Take formal steps.”
Recently the mother of a child with
Tourette’s syndrome contacted Joan
Tellefsen at Team of Advocates for
Special Kids (TASK) in Anaheim. The
mom disagreed with the school’s
assessment of her child. Tellefsen went
with the mother to meet informally
with the school psychologist. They real
ized that they really disagreed about
only two paragraphs. The next day at
the IEP meeting, the psychologist said,
“I slept on this and you’re righC’
-
If you and your child’s school still
disagree, you can file a formal com
plaint. “If families take it beyond the
local level,” says Benson, “they almost
always prevail.”
-
Dawn Walsh, regional administrator
of Greater Anaheim SELPA, a regional
special education organization, advises
families to use the “three-strikes rule”:
1) Always try to work things out infor
mally with the person working with
your child. If that doesn’t work,
q!
-
• “We tell parents never to go to an IEP meeting by themselves,” says Joan
Tellefsen of TASK. Bring another parent, a relati,’e, or a professional advocate.
• “It’s important for parents to have a copy of their child’s assessment before the
meeting. “If the summary doesn’t feel accurate to you, something’s wrong,”
Tellefsen adds.
• Before the meeting, jot down points you want to raise, says lawyer Stephen
Rosenbauin of Protection and Advocacy.
• “Never leave a meeting without a follow-up list: 1) What will be done, 2) Who
will be responsible, and 3) By when,” advises Dawn Walsh, regional adminis
trator of Greater Anaheim SELPA.
I
AS A PARENT, YOU HAVE THE
RIGHT TO:
i Participate in the development
of the IEP
Receive written notice in your
native language if the school
plans a change in your child’s
program
Get an independent assessment,
paid for by the school district, if
you disagree with the school’s
assessment
Give informed, written consent
before your child receives any
assessment or services—or
refuse to consent
Keep your child in his/her
current program if there’s a
disagreement about placement
To take your complaint to a
“due process hearing”—but
you’re encouraged to try
mediation first.
-
From Special Education Parents’
Rights, available from the California
Department of Education in English,
Chinese, Spanish, and Vietnamese.
RESOURCES
Parent framing, Information,
and Resource Centers:
• Disability Rights Education and
Defense Fund (Oakland),
800-446-4232
• Exceptional Parents Unlimited
(Fresno), 559-229-2000
• Loving Your Disabled Child
(Los Angeles), 323-299-2925
• Matrix Parent Network and
Resource Center (Mann Co.),
41 5-884-3535
• Parents Helping Parents
(Santa Clara), 408-727-5775
• Parents Helping Parents San
Francisco, 415-841-8820
• Parents of Watts (Los Angeles),
323-566-7556
• SEA Center (Paradise),
530-876-8321
Support for Families of Children
with Disabilities (San Francisco),
415-282-7494
• Team of Advocates for Special Kids
(Anaheim), 714-533-8275
• Team of Advocates for Special Kids
(San Diego), 858-874-2386
• Vietnamese Parents of Disabled
Children (Carson), 310-370-6704
Nonprofit advocacy
organizations:
• Fiesta Educativa, 800-281-8252
• Protection and Advocacy,
800-776-5746
CHILDREN’S ADVOCATE 9
Focus on American Indian Children
By Jessine Foss
American Indian educators discuss positive ways to teach
about their peoples
VI
e need to educate respectful
ly about other peoples, not
to perpetuate stereotypes,”
Starr (Cheyenne—Arapaho),
Paula
says
executive director of the Southern
California Indian Center. “During
Thanksgiving children make war bon
nets without realizing the religious sig
nificance. We hold eagle feathers in high
[it] seems almost sacrilegious
regard
to us.”
American Indian educators offer
recommendations for talking with stu
dents about American Indians:
American Indians (see page 12).
Bring in speakers: For guest speakers or
advice, contact local tribes, particularly
storytellers and historians to talk about
local customs. American Indian centers
or education programs, libraries, or uni
versities with American Indian studies
departments might also be helpful.
...
7
Emphasize present tense: “We are not
extinct and we are not in the past tense,”
says Start
Viola Martinez (Paiute), now retired
from the Los Angeles Unified School
District, would begin her third-grade
class by placing baskets around the room
that her students could see and touch.
She asked the children to think about
why, and one child would guess, “You’re
part Indian.” She would then explain
how the baskets were used and what they
were made from.
John Orendorif (Cherokee), college
counselor at Belmont High School, rec
ommends looking at current American
Indians, such as Wilma Mankiller, former
chief of the Cherokee nation, Senator
Ben Nighthorse Campbell (Cheyenne),
and Cory Witherill (Navajo), a race car
driver. For younger children, invit
speakers or read children’s books about
-
Drawings on p. 10 and 11 were
made by American Indian children
participating in the annual art
contest held by the Kiamath-Trinity
Indian Education program.
II
went to a school with an [American]
Indian mascot for two years,” says
Paula Starr (Cheyenne-Arapaho),
executive director of the Southern
California Indian Center. “I would walk
through the school and have negative
imagery thrown at me. [At sports
events] opposing teams would say
‘scalp the Indians’ and ‘kill the
Apaches:”
It’s harmful for children to “see peo
ple desecrate religious objects such as
feathers anface paint and misappro
priate their culture,” says Eugene
Herrod (Muscogee-Creek), a spokes
person for Advocates for American
Indian Children. American Indian stu
dents “feel the disrespect and are
intimidated,” says John Orendorff,
(Cherokee), a college counselor at
Belmont High School and chair of the
Alliance Against Racial Mascots. He
connects that disrespect to “the disen
gagement of our people from the
[school] system—kids are dropping
out:’
Starr, Herrod, ad Orendorff are
members of a network of American
Indian activists in the Los Angeles area.
They’ve been working on a range of
issues affecting American Indian chil
dren, from banning American Indian
mascots to creating a special American
Indian Children’s Council within the
Study specific tribes: “Tribes in Cali
fornia are totally different than on the
Plains: they each have a distinct culture,
language, and history Make connections
for students to where they are living, rec
ognizing that the Native way of life was
tied to the land,” says Andre Cramblit
(Karuk), former president of the
California Indian Education Association.
Address negative stereotypes: “If stu
dents have derogatory comments, ask
them, ‘why do you say this? Why do you
feel this way?” says Martinez. Then dis
cuss stereotyping—its causes and effects.
Celebrate the heritage of all children:
Martinez created opportunities for stu
dents to share their own cultural back
grounds. On Fridays, when students
learned about cooking, they would bring
in their favorite recipes as well as recipes
Teach American Indian history: It’s
important to look at historical events
from an American Indian viewpoint, says
Cramblit, adding “there was a genocide
here of proportions unequaled anywhere
else.”
In fourth grade, for example, children
in California study the mission system
and build models of a particular mission.
“I would not have a Jewish child build a
model of Auschwitz,” Cramblit com
ments. “We worked out with our school
district [to allow American Indian chil
dren] to build models of traditional
housing:’ He suggests that teachers ask
students what they know about the mis
sions, then read stories from a Native per
spective on the impact and long-term
effects of missions on the daily life of
California Native peoples.
Working with younger children, “I
would talk about different ways of sub
sisting and getting along,” says Martinez.
“I would tell this story: My uncle lived in
three places during the year. In the sum
mer he lived by the water and planted
crops, in the fall he lived elsewhere and
hunted, to store food for the winter. I’m
sure the white man did not know this.
And when he saw where my uncle lived,
and how beautiful it was, he stayed. And
when my uncle came back, there was a
struggle over who would leave:’
“California history standards leave so
,much out, not just about American
Indians, but about other ethnic groups
too:’ says Starr. “We need the oppoftunity
to rewrite our history from our per
spective, then we would show the true
diversity of this country:’ u
American Indian activists tackle negative stereotypes
and increase awareness about children’s needs
Los Angeles Children’s Planning
Council.
Activists and community members
educated teachers, students, and the
Board of Supervisors about the mascot
issue. Activists showed a video about a
football game where “a young white kid
was dressed like an Indian and acting
like a buffoon and a fool,” says
Orendorf. Los Angeles Unified School
District (LAUSD)—like San Francisco
and Dallas schools—did decide to ban
American Indian mascots, but many
schools still caricature Indians. This
month American Indian activists are
planning to protest Burbank High
School’s use of an Indian mascot at a
football game, and advocates around
California are working on legislation to
remove American Indian mascots from
public schools statewide.
American Indian Child Welfare
Activists also campaigned to
strengthen enforcement of the federal
Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA),
which requires that American Indian
children removed from their homes be
placed with extended family, tribal
members, or other Indian families
where possible. But some judges were
applying this law only for families who
maintained close ties to a tribal com
munity. That undermined “the tribes
right to determine whether a child is an
Indian child,” says Joanne Willis
Newton (Cree), staff attorney for
California Indian Legal Services.
A campaign led by the Southern
Indian Health Council, including let
ters of support from 103 tribes, won
passage of a California law strengthen
ing the rights of American Indian chil
dren to be placed with Indian families,
but the law is currently tied up by a
court challenge.
•
American Indian Children’s Council
Another activist campaign, this one
led by Advocates for American Indian
Children, persuaded the Los Angeles
Board of Supervisors to create a special
planning group for American Indian
children. The Los Angeles Children’s
Planning Council had divided the
county into eight geographic areas, cre
ating a regional planning council for
each. But American Indian activists
convinced the Board of Supervisors
that American Indian children, scat
tered through many parts of the coun
ty, needed a special council to plan ser
vices for them.
AICC’s regular meetings bring advo
cates for American Indian children
together with representatives from
county departments, improving aware
ness in county departments about
American Indian issues and concerns.
One of AICC’s first efforts is to find out
more about American Indian children
in the county. “We need a check-box on
all [forms from] county services, so we
know who accesses those services and if
there are issues around access,” says
Peggy Barnett, AICC researcher. A sim
ilar effort statewide is seeking legisla
tion requiring all state and county gov
ernment and social services agencies to
provide an “American Indian/Native
Alaskan” check-box with a line for trib
al affiliation. •
RESOURCES
• Advocates for American Indian
Children, 714-962-6673,
www.geocities.com/CapitolHilIJLobby/
4828/aaic.htm
• Alliance Against Racial Mascots,
(213) 250-8787 x 223, [email protected]
• Southern California Indian
Center, (714) 962-6673,
www.indiancenter.org
• Southern Indian Health Council,
800-400-1189
“School feels like family”
Early education programs for American Indian children emphasize culture and connection
By Lauren John
eraldine Martinez expected her
three-year-old son John Dean to
cling to her on his first day at the
Hintil Kuu Ca preschool in Oakland.
Instead, John Dean immediately started
playing with the other kids. When
Martinez went. to kiss him goodbye, he
shrugged and casually said, “Mom, I
thought you left already.”
“I think one reason he adjusted so
quickly is that, a lot of the kids at the
school are related to my son and the
school feels like an extension of our fam
ily,” says Martinez. Hintil Kuu Ca has
been running preschool, summer school,
and after-school programs for American
Indian children for over 25 years.
Martinez and her son are American
Indians of Sioux and Blackfeet descent,
and Martinez, now 21, attended the
school when she was a child.
“Hintil Kuu Ca” means “house of
children” in the language of California’s
Porno Indians. Currently there are 125
children, ages three through 12, who are
enrolled in the school’s preschool and
after-school programs. Eighty percent of
the kids are of American Indian descent,
representing 64 different tribes, says
Marlene Beltran, a teacher in the school’s
prekindergarten class.
“The kids take great comfort in seeing
faces like their own,” Beltran says.
“Originally, the state developed pro
grams for American Indian children
because the kids were dropping out as
early aithird grade, with few kids mak
ing it through high school.” Today, she
adds, far more American Indian kids are
graduating from high school and some
are attending college.
Martinez, now a student at the United
Indian Nations business school in down
town Oakland, says, “I know I have con
tinued my education because of the sup
port I received when I was young’ She
adds that she is still close to her child
hood friends from Hintil Kuu Ca and
that some of the teachers she had when
she was there are now teaching her son.
Teacher Beltran, descended from the
Paiute tribe in Nevada, serves as a role
model for the students. She says that she
wishes that there had been programs like
Hintil Kuu Ca’s when she was a kid.
“When I attended Everett High
School in Washington state, I was the
only Native American in a school of
2,000 kids:’ she says. “The reason I grad
uated and went on to college was
because I had a lot of strong family sup
port. But it would have been great to also
have programs that recognized my histo
ry and culture at school:’
Hintil Kuu Ca preschool programs
are designed to build self-awareness and
self-esteem and better prepare children
for elementary school, Beltran says. For
example, she points out that Native
American culture teaches young children
to listen to their elders rather than speak
up. “Many of these kids may know the
answer to a question raised in class, but
they will be the last ones to raise their
hands and give the answer:’ Behran says.
“The culture teaches them not to show
off.” At Hintil Kuu Ca, they Jearn to
speak up.
Hintil Kuu Ca also offers students
G
classes in crafts such as clay work and
beading. Martinez says that to this day
she continues to do beadwork on a
loom—a skill she first learned as a child
attending the school. In addition she
remembers field trips out of the inner
city to Tomales Bay and Half Moon
Bay—trips that taught her about Native
American values such as respect for the
environment.
INDIAN EDUCATION STATEWIDE
While Hintil Kuu Ca is run and fund
ed by the Oakland Unified School
District, a statewide American Indian
Early Childhood Education program
sponsors education for American Indian
children in prekindergarten through
grade four. Andrew Andreoli, Californi&s
Indian Education director, says the pro
grams aim to help students master
school standards without compromising
their cultural background.
The early childhood program empha
sizes literacy Kids and teachers tell tradi
tional stories that have been passed down
orally through the years. Older students
write down and publish the stories.
Twelve schools around the state are
currently conducting American Indian
Early Childhood Education programs.
At some schools, local elders teach
Native languages, others encourage older
children to mentor and tutor younger
ones. In Fresno County, Sierra
Elementary has a home-school liaison
who works to involve parents and com
munity in cultural activities. Toyon
Elementary in Shasta County provides
after-school and preschool programs,
home-visiting, and other services for
parents and the community
Elementary school students also learn
about history from a Native American
point of view. “We let the students know
how the American government treated
the Indian people:’ says Andreoli. Many
American history books, he adds, pre
sent American Indians as people that
“once were here and now are gone”—
confusing for Indian children.
INDIAN CHARTER SCHOOL
In Chico, American Indian parents
and community leaders have taken
Indian education a step further and cre
ated their own charter school, jointly
sponsored by the Butte County Office of
Education and the local Indian Educa
tion Center. Of the 120 children at Four
Winds School, more than three-quarters
claim Native American heritage. The
school includes grades one through eight.
At Four Winds, as at Hintil Ku Caa,
education is a family affair. Teacher
Janice Delgado and school secretary
Marty Gore are sisters—both from the
Maidu Indian tribe based in Susanville,
and they often see their nieces and
nephews who are enrolled at the school.
The upper-grade kids and pre
schoolers both participate in morning
drumming circles that start the school
day, says Delgado. It is at these drum cir
cles that the school prinicpal makes
announcements and birthdays are
acknowledged. Students also pass a sage
smudge stick, following a Native tradi
tion in which a smoking bundle of wood
David Sepulveda and D.J. Edwards join a morning drum circle at Four Winds
School in Chico.
and dried herbs is passed to cleanse the
group of negative spirits.
“The preschoolers aren’t at the circle
every day,” says Delgado, “but they
are brought over for special occasions,
and we have a set of smaller drums that
the older kids teach the younger ones to
play:’
Recently, a local salmon hatchery
sponsored a program in which kids of all
ages learned about the life cycle of the
salmon—and about how Native
Americans cleaned, cooked, and pre
pared salmon, says Judy Strang, associate
director for student support
services. That fit well into early grades’
curriculum, described by Strang as “a
Montessori educational model with an
American Indian cultural focus:’
Another cultural activity of great
appeal to younger kids and their parents
are quarterly pow-wows-where the kids
sing and dance for friends and family.
Often parents work for days to help pre
pare the traditional regalia and the local
Native American community turns out
to watch.
The school strives to give children
“an education that honors American
Indian traditional teachings and learn
ing:’ Strang says. “For example, when
teachers introduce the A-B-C’s, they
use pictures of objects that are familiar
to the students—baskets, feathers,
crafts, and places in their neighbor
hood,” she explains. She adds, you
would never see a flashcard like those
used in some elementary schools that
say, “I is for Indian:”
“Our culture:’ she adds, “is always
there:’ •
The school strives to give
children an “education
that honors American
Indian traditional
teachings and learning.”
—JUDY STRANG,
FOUR WINDS SCHOOL
“INDIAN’S WAY OF EATING”
FRANKIE TRIPP, FIRST GRADE
California Department ofEducation
American Indian Education
Programs, 916-657-3700,
www.cde.gov/iasa/indian.html
CHILDREN’S ADVOCATE 11
f
BOOK BASKET
Continuing traditions
Stories of Native American children today, along with traditional tales,
give children from all backgrounds a glimpse into American Indian life
By Ben Peterson
hildren’s literature provides
important lessons to children
about the world, its history, and
its people. Unfortunately, in the past,
most children’s books ignored the rich
cultural and historical significance
of Native Americans, often relegating
them to simplified stories of
Thanksgiving. In recent decades, a
rich collection of children’s books has
emerged, dealing with Native
American cultures, both historical and
contemporary. In the following sto
ries, authors present traditional
Native American stories and describe
the lives of American Indian children
today. Teachers, parents and children
will value these books for their cul
tural worth and enjoyable tales.
LAST.9RSTTI•M
JhAnd
Jingle Dancer, story by Cynthia
Leitich Smith, illustrated by Cornelius
Van Wright and Ying-Hwa Hu. This
children’s book tells the story of young
Jenna, a present-day Native American
girl, who wants to jingle dance at the
Powwow like her Grandma Wolfe, but
doesn’t have enough jingles for her
dress. She borrows a row of jingles each
from her Grçat-Aunt Sis, who entertains
her with old, Muscogee Creek tales; her
neighbor, Mrs. Scott, who makes fry
bread and Indian tacos; her Cousin
Elizabeth, who is busy working on a case
for her law firm; and her Grandma
Wolfe, who practices dancing by watch
ing a video tape of herself. Children will
enjoy Smith’s story of sharing and inge
nuity while getting an appreciation of
how Native Americans living in the
modern world celebrate their traditional
culture through food, dance, and family.
Ages four to eight. (Morrow Junior
Books, 2000)
In a Cirde Long Ago: A Treasuiy of
Native Lore from North America,
stories retold by Nancy Van Laan, illus
trations by Lisa Desimini. Van Laan
offers a proud collection of twenty-five
songs, stories, and poems from 20 dif
ferent tribal traditions and includes a
pronunciation guide, a map, and brief
descriptions of the regions where each
tribe is located. The tales give a broad
look at Native American culture and the
distinctions between tribes. Parents and
teachers who read this with their chil
dren can use this book to discuss why
the Navajo would have a “Corn Song”
and why certain animals are included in
certain regions. It is important for chil
dren to understand that Native
Americans represent a complex group
of many diverse tribes. Ages four to 10.
(Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young
Readers, 1995)
11
Dancer
•aø.,fl.lW
12 NOVEMBER—DECEMBER 2001
Raven: A Trickster Tale from the
Pacific Northwest, story and illustra
tions by Gerald McDermott. Having
won the Caldecott Medal for Arrow to
the Sun and the Caldecott Honor for
Anansi the Spider, McDermott chooses
in this book to tell the traditional tale
from the Pacific Northwest of the brave
raven who brought light to his people.
Transforming himself into a pine needle
and then into the grandson of the Sky
Chief, the raven in this tale is able to
find the sun and offer it to the people of
the land. The search for fire and light is
a common theme for many Native
American stories. McDermott’s depic
tion of the raven as a totem-pole image
and the story’s simple, often humorous,
language make this book an enjoyable
read for children. Ages four to eight.
(Harcourt Brace, 1993)
A Man Called Raven, story by
Richard Van Camp, illustrations by
George Littlechild. In this modern story,
also based on the raven, a strange man
confronts two boys who are chasing and
hitting a raven with hockey sticks in
their garage. He tells them the story of a
wicked old man who, after mistreating
an innocent raven, is driven mad and
turned into a raven himself Returning
to his village where he had always been
mean to everyone, the raven is surprised.
and touched to see that the villagers sing
for him at his funeral. He decides then
to watch over and protect his people
and even saves some of their lives in a
snowdrift. The mysterious man telling
the story explains that this is why the
boys must always respect ravens. He
then walks outside and flies away. Van
Camp’s story-within-a-story modern
izes another traditional myth about a
raven and helps children understand
why it important not to torment ani
mals. Ages four to eight. (Children’s
Book Press, 1997)
Very Last First Time, story by Jan
Andrews, illustrations by Ian Wallace.
Eva Padlyat lives in an Inuit village on
the Ungava Bay in Northern Canada.
When the tide pulls the sea away, the
people of her village cut holes in the ice
and descend into the space between the
frozen ice and the bottom of the sea to
collect mussels. For as long as she can
remember, Eva has gone to the bottom
of the sea with her mother. This story
follows her emotional adventure as she
goes under the ice alone for the first
time. Andrews’ story offers readers an
intriguing glimpse at a modern lnuit
family performing a traditional and
essential practice. Wallace’s warm, realis
tic pictures illustrate the fusion of the
old and new lifestyles of the village,
showing Eva’s neighbors putting out
their animal furs with telephone wires
in the background and Eva and her
mother cutting into the ice while an air
plane flies overhead. Ages four to eight.
(Margaret K. McElderry Books, 1985)
The Rainbow Bridge: Inspired by a
Chumash Tale, story retold by Audrey
Wood, illustrations by Robert Florczak.
In this California Chumash traditional
tale, Hutash, the earth goddess, plants
seeds that grow into her beloved people,
while her husband, the wise sky snake,
sticks out his tongue and creates lightfling for their fire. When the land
becomes too crowded, Hutash makes a
rainbow bridge for half the people to get
to the empty land on the other side of
the water. When a few children fall off,
she saves them by turning them into dol
phins. This is the reason the Chumash
believe dolphins are their brothers and
sisters. Florczak’s passionate and scenic
paintings illustrate the beauty of the
California Coast where the Chumash
lived.. Ages four to eight. (Harcourt
Brace, 1995)
Iktomi and the Boulder: A Plains
Indian Story, story and illustrations by
Paul Goble. Iktomi is a common hero in
many Native American tales. Sometimes
called by other names, Iktomi is clever,
vain, greedy, and often deceitful. In this
tale, Iktomi is a modern Plains Indian
walking in his best traditional feathers
to a neighboring festival. He gets himself
into trouble when he offends a boulder
by giving and then taking away a blan
ket. Angered, the boulder pins him to
the ground. To get free, Iktomi tricks a
colony of bats to break the boulder to
pieces by ramming into it. The story
explains that this is why bats have flat
tened noses and why scattered rocks are
strewn all over the Great Plains.
Throughout his tales, Goble also offers
Iktomi’s thoughts and the narrator’s
asides. This storytelling convention adds
humor and makes it an especially enter
taining read-aloud book. If children
enjoy reading this modern adaptation of
the ancient trickster tale, they should
also check out Goble’s other Iktomi
books including Iktomi and Buzzard,
Iktomi and the Ducks, and Iktomi and
the Coyote. Ages five to 10. (Orchard
Books, 1988)
We Are Still Here—Native Ameri
cans Today. Series includes: Children of
Clay—A Family of Pueblo Potters;
Clambake—A Wampanoag Tradition;
Ininatig’s Gift of Sugar—Traditional
Native Sugarmaking, Kinaalda—A Navajo
Girl Grows Up; The Sacred Harvest—
Ojibway Wild Rice Gathering; and
Shannon—An Ojibway Dancer. These
books introduce young readers to the
customs and events of contemporary
Native Americans in the cities and rural
areas of North America. Using pho
tographs to illustrate the real-life stories
of specific Native Americans practicing
and performing traditional customs,
they offer honest, realistic, insiders’
views of how traditions are still prac
ticed in the modern world. Ages
five to 10. (Lerner Publications
Company)
Breast-feeding: helping nature along
Support programs in hospitals and workplaces help more
mothers breast-feed
by Ion Selke
D
espite the important health
benefits of breast-feeding, many
new mothers are intimidated.
“The number one concern among new
mothers is, ‘do I have enough milk?”
reports Christine Bedgood, a lactation
consultant at Washington Hospital in
Fremont.
That worry is usually based on mis
understanding, says Kathy Hesser, head
of the hospital’s Maternal and Child
Health Education Program. “People
think that after babies eat, they shouldn’t
be hungry for three or four hours
because that’s how it works with us.”
Hesser tells new moms that frequent
nursing—babies wanting more after an
hour or even after five minutes—is not
only normal, but it’s the way nature
ensures milk production. The baby’s
sucking stimulates the hormones that
tell a mother’s body to make milk.
That kind of information can make
a big difference in the number of
women who breast-feed their infants.
And for the babies, the stakes are high
—breast milk protects infants from a
range of health problems (see sidebar).
But U.S. women have a low rate of
breast-feeding compared to other
countries, according to the federal
Department of Health and Human
Services. That’s why, in 2000, the
department released a Blueprint for
Action on breast-feeding, calling for
more programs like the one at
Washington Hospital.
FROM THE START
After a woman gives birth in
Washington Hospital, she gets a visit
from one of the hospital’s three lacata
lion consultants every day she’s there.
The consultants advise the moms on
the signs of successful breast-feeding—
is the baby alert during feeding? Does
the baby swallow every one to three
seconds? And they urge the mothers to
feed their babies frequently. “The more
she feeds, the quicker the milk comes
in:’ Bedgood says.
For those few moms who start off
without much milk, says consultant
Rita Meekma, they provide extra
coaching and herbal supplements.
Consultants also help in “getting a
mom and baby together in the right
position.”
All the attention pays off: More than
90 percent of Washington Hospital’s
new mothers are breast-feeding their
children when they are discharged, and
Hesser is confident that many continue
to breast-feed.
That’s partly because “we advertise to
our patients, when they leave, not to hes
itate to call if they have a question:’ says
Hesser. Three days a week, a lactation
consultant is on hand to take phone calls
and meet with outpatients. Instead of
loading down moms with free formula
samples, Washington Hospital sends
them home with literature on breastfeeding—and on breast pumps.
MILK AT WORK
Since many women must return to
work shortly after the birth of their
babies, breast pumps have become
Breast-feeding
benefits
• Increased resistance of infants to
infectious diseases including diar
rhea and pneumonia. Ear infections
are three times more common in
formula-fed infants.
• Reduced risk of chronic diseases.
Breast-feeding may reduce the risk
of a child developing diabetes,
allergies, and astbma.
• A stronger immune system.
Children who were breast-fed have
fewer illnesses on average than
those who were bottle-fed.
• Better nutrition. Human milk is
more digestible, less stressful on
the kidneys, and has the ideal
balance of proteins and vitamins
to promote infant growth.
• Better maternal health. There is
evidence that breast-feeding
reduces the risk of breast and
ovarian cancer in the mother. It
might also reduce the likelihood of
osteoporosis later in life.
.Frequent nursing—babies wanting more after an hour or
even after five minutes—is not only normal, but it’s the way
nature ensures milk production. The baby’s sucking stimulates
the hormones that tell a mother’s body to make milk.
• .
increasingly important. Women can
pump breast milk at work, then leave it
for caregivers to feed their babies the
next day. That’s a real benefit, says
Hesser—babies who drink only breast
milk get fewer infections and allergies.
Washington Hospital runs a popular
breast-pump rental station. “We’re now
up to 100 pumps:’ Hesser notes, “and
we may need to go up again!” But iron
ically, at Washington Hospital, “We
really don’t have a spot yet for our own
employees to pump.” She adds, “I think
that’s our next step’
MODEL PROGRAM
Washington Hospital might look for
inspiration to the Los Angeles
Department of Water and Power
(DWP), whose breast-feeding program
was recently recognized as a model by
the National Healthy Mothers, Healthy
Babies Coalition.
Rona Cohen, who administers the
program, is a certified lactation consul
tant; she teaches classes about breastfeeding “as part of a whole series of
pregnancy classes. This is an equal ben
efit for both male and female employ
ees, so men can come to class,” says
Cohen. “Sometimes if I have a lot of
men, I’ll have what we call a ‘coaching
class’ for successful breast-feeding:’ She
also works one-on-one with parents
who might have breast-feeding issues
or concerns, “mainly on the phone, but
occasionally on-site.”
The DWP provides lactation rooms
for its employees; women schedule a
time to come in, express their milk, and
save it. Each gets a cooler case and a
free breast pump. Every male employee
whose partner works somewhere else
can also take a breast pump home at no
cost. “It’s probably the only company in
the country that goes to this extent,”
Cohen notes.
Benefits for the DWP, Cohen says,
include “35 percent lower health care
daims and 27 percent lower female em
ployee absenteeism, for those who were
providing breast milk to their babies.”
SUPPORTIVE DADS
For a company that’s 80 percent
male, “It’s unusual to have this kind of
program,”- Cohen says. “We have
extremely high usage by our male
employees:’ Cohen coaches new fathers
in their role of supporting their breastfeeding partners. “They can support
eating healthy by helping with meals.
Or maybe they can comfort the baby if
it’s fussing. And, Cohen adds, “of
course, he would be the one picking up
the breast pump. It’s now very com
mon here to watch these big, macho
men walk out with their little breast
pump:’ Cohen says. “We’ve started a lit
tle society of new dads. These men play
a major role in the success of the
breast-feeding experience.”
Washington Hospital and the DWP
have etensive programs to support
breast-feeding, but even small steps
make a difference. Washington Hos
pital’s program, Hesser points out,
began with informal individual consul
tations between nurses and moms.
Many workplace programs begin with a
room and a comfortable chair set aside
for lactation. •
“
Breast-feeding is also cost-effective:
Formula is expensive; breast milk is
free. Formula-fed infants also average
$200 more in medical expenses per
year than breast-fed infants.
RESOURCES ON BREASF.FEEDING
• La Leche League International,
800-LA-LECHE, www.lalecheleague.org
LLLI is an independent organization,
with local chapters across the country,
devoted to supporting breast-feeding
mothers.
• California Women, Infants, and
Children (WIC) Supplemental
Nutrition Program, 888-WIC-WORKS
www.wicworks.ca.gov
WIC provides support and information
for low-income pregnant, breast-feed
ing, and post-partum women.
• The African-American Breastfeeding Alliance, 877-532-8535
AABA’s mission is to create a breastfeeding-friendly culture within the
African-American community; they
provide a hotline, plus publications
and videos.
• San Diego County Breast-feeding
Coalition, do Children’s Hospital and
Health Center, 3020 Children’s Way
MC5073, San Diego, CA 92123-4282
www.breast-feeding.org
SDCBC is a private nonprofit associa
tion of health professionals providing
community outreach and education.
• The Breast-feeding Task Force for
Greater Los Angeles, 626-856-6650.
www.breastfeedingtaskforla.org
The BFTLA provides resources and
information including an annual direc
tory of area resources.
CHILDREN’S ADVOCATE 13
Children’s Advocates
ROUNDTABLE
Traducción al castellano:
Lucrecia Miranda
California Children’s Advocates Roundtable is a coalition of more than 150 organizations
advocating for children. This page is dedicated to information from the Rótindtable’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.)
The
El cuidado de ninos, parte integral de Ia economla de California
U
Programas extra-curriculares
(“After-school”) en
California: nuevos datos
uchas personas saben que los
niños que asisten a programas
extra-curriculares después de clase
obtienen mejores resultados en la
escuela, y tienen menos posibifidades de
convertirse en vIctimas o perpetradores
de un crimen. Hoy, la agencia de
California “Fight Crime: Invest in Kids”
ha publicado un nuevo informe
mostrando de modo especffico Ia eficacia
de los programas extra-curriculares en
California, asI como también Ia gran
cantidad de ninos que ann quedan “solos
en casa” debido a las liinitaciones de fon
dos disponibles para este tipo de progra
mas.
El informe California’s After-School
Choice: Juvenile Crime or Safe Learning
Time? (“La elección extra-curricular de
California: Crimen juvenil o tiempo de
estudios seguro?”) cita varios estudios
sobre este tipo de programas en
California, entre los cuales pueden men
cionarse:
• Un estudio de Ia Universidad de
California en Irvine sobre ci programa
estatal After-School Learning and Safe
Neighborhoods Program (“Programa de
Aprendizaje Escolar y Barrios Seguros”)
demostró que las suspensiones de estudi
antes disminuIan en las escuelas que
contaban con este programa. En dichas
escuelas, y en el caso de estudiantes que
hablan estado ausentes más de 26 dias el
ano anterior, la asistencia habia mejora
do en más de tres semanas.
• Después de un año de programas
extra-curriculares en 12 comunidades de
“alto riesgo’ el nümero de estudiantes
que habIa recibido notas insuficientes en
sus boletines habla decrecido en un ter
cio.
• Estudiantes que hablan participado
en ci programa extra-curricular L.A.
BEST pasaron de la categorla “con mane
jo limitado del ingles” a “uso fluido” con
más rapidez que otros estudiantes.
M
A pesar de estos estudios—entre otros
que demuestran-los beneficios de los
programas extra-curriculares antes y
después de clase—el informe encontró
que solo una de cada siete escuelas dc
mentales y de grado medio (y una de
cada cuatro en las areas de bajos recursos
consideradas) obtienen fondos estatales
para subvencionar este tipo de progra
mas. Del total de niflos de cinco a
catorce años en las familias de bajos
recursos, apenas airededor de un tercio
se beneficia de los programas extra-cur
riculares actualmente subvencionados
por fondos estatales o federales.
Si desea una copia del informe citado
más arriba, puede bajarlo del
Internet accediendo al sitio web
http://www.fightcrime.org/ o pedirlo por
teléfono ilamando al (510) 836-2050. S
n nuevo informe del National
Economic Development and Law
Center (NEDLC), titulado “El cuidado
de ninos y su impacto en Ia economIa de
California”, demuestra que Ia industria
del cuidado de niños genera miles de
millones de dOlares en beneficios, crea
decenas de miles de puestos de trabajo, y
genera aumentos en Ia productividad
que representan miles de millones de
dólares para las famiias, empresas y ci
gobierno de California. Entre los hall.z
gos del informe se encuentran:
• La industria certificada de cuidado de
niiios genera entre 4700 y5400 millones
de dOlares en beneficios brutos—com
parables al tamaño de las industrias de
cultivos agrIcolas o la ganaderla.
• Esta industria emplea más de 123.000
personas en California.
• El cuidado de ninos hace posible que
los padres que trabajan alcancen una
ganancia de al menos 13.000 millones
por año. Cuando los padres gastan ese
dinero, crean mayor demanda, lo cual
estimula la economia. Los aumentos de
productividad derivados directa o mdi
rectamente de la industria del cuidado
de nifios contribuyen 65.000 mifiones al
producto bruto del estado.
El informe apunta que la importan
cia de esta industria continuará crecien
do: “Se espera que la población californi
ana de entre cero y cuatro años de edad
crezca en más de 325.000 en los próxi
mos diez años. Se espera que el námero
de padres [indicando padres y madres]
que trabajan también crezca: es proba
ble que para ci año 2010 ci 85 por ciento
de la fuerza de trabajo consistirá en
padres de familia’
La oferta de guarderlas certificadas en
California, sin embargo, apenas cubre
airededor de un quinto de la demanda.
El informe también inciuye recomen
daciones:
• El planeamiento de desarrollo
econOmico a niveles del estado, conda
do, y local, debe incluir el cuidado de
nifios.
• La capacidad actual de centros certi
ficados de cuidados de niños debe ser
preservada y expandida, de modo tal de
proteger el impacto económico de esta
industria y su apoyo a otros sectores.
Si desea bajar del Internet ci
resumen ejecutivo y las recomenda
ciones propuestas por este informe,
puede hacerlo accediendo al sitio web
http://www.nedlc.org/. Asimismo,
puede solicitar el informe entero desde
el mismo sitio web, o por teléfono,
liamando al (510)251-2600. 5
a
Children Now:
Activismo Online
n nuevo centro llamado
“Children Now Action Center”
se encuentra disponible online,
permitiéndole recibir alertas sobre
politicas de infancia, compartirlas
con sus amigos, y enviar cartas
personalizadas sobre diversos temas
de interés a través de e-mail o fax a
los legisladores de su distrito. El
Action Center también ayuda a sus
miembros a que puedan identificar
fácilmente a los legisladores que los
representan en el ámbito estatal y
federal, asI como las responsabili
dades respectivas que les atañen
como integrantes de los diversos
comités. Si desea hacerse miembro
de Children Now Action Center. visite
el sitio web del centro en
http://gal.org/childrennow/join
U
Child care is an integral part of California’s economy
new report from the National
Economic Development and Law
Center (NEDLC), Child Care and Its
Impact on California’s Economy, shows
that the child care industry generates
bfflions of dollars in revenues, creates
tens of thousands of jobs, and gener
ates productivity gains that represent
billions of dollars for California fami
lies, businesses, and government. The
report found:
• The licensed child care industry
generates between $4.7 billion and
$5.4 billion in gross revenues—about
the size of the livestock or vegetable
crop industries.
• Child care employs more than
123,000 people in California.
• Child care enables working parents
to earn at least $13 billion a year.
When parents spend that money, they
create more demand, which stimulates
the economy. Productivity gains
directly and indirectly due to child
care contribute $65 billion to the gross
state product.
The report points out that the
importance of child care will keep
growing: “The population of Cal
ifornians aged zero to four is expected
to increase by more than 325,000 over
the next ten years. The number of
working parents is also expected to
grow: by the year 2010 it is likely that
85 percent of the labor force will con
sist of parents.”
California’s supply of licensed child
care, however, meets only about onefifth of the need.
The report also includes recom
mendations:
• Economic development planning at
the state, county, and local level must
A
include child care.
• Current licensed child care capacity
must be preserved, maintained, and
expanded to protect both the indus
try’s economic impact and its support
of other sectors.
You can download the executive
summary and policy recom
mendations of this report from
www.nedlc.org. You can order the full
report from the web site, or call 510251-2600. 5
Children Now:
Online Advocacy
new online Children Now Action
Center allows you to receive
policy alerts, share them with friends,
and send customized letters on the
issues, via e-mail or fax, to legislators
in your district. The Action Center
also helps members easily identify
their state and federal
legislators and their committee
assignments. To join the Children
Now Action Center, visit
http:/!gal .org/childrennowljoin
A
After school in California: new data
any people know that children who attend quality after-school programs do bet
ter in school and are less likely to become either the victims or the perpretrators
of crime. Now the California branch of Fight Crime: Invest in Kids has published a
new report specifically showing the effectiveness of after-school programs in
California—and also showing how many children are still left “home alone” because of
limited after-school-program funding.
California’s After-School Choice: Juvenile Crime or Safe Learning Time? cites many
studies of California programs including these:
• A UC frvine study of the state’s After School Learning and Safe Neighborhoods
M
Children & the
Changing Family
Cuánto cuesta mantener una
familia en California?
U
n nuevo informe de California
Budget Project (“Proyecto para el
Presupuesto de California’ CBP) mues
tra que, en promedio, se necesitan más de
50.000 dólares por año para que una
familia con dos padres trabajadores
pueda hacer frente a los gastos famiiares.
De acuerdo a la definición federal ofi
cial, una famiia de cuatro no es “pobre”
si SU ingreso supera los 17.650 dólares
por año. Pero el Budget Project dice que
esta definiciOn es “obso1eta’ Para obtener
una cifra más realista, CBP “comenzO de
abajo hacia arriba, construyendo un pre
supuesto básico familiar que tuvo en
cuenta el costo de la vivienda, au
mentaciOn, cuidado de niiIos, y otros fac
tores esenciales”, tales como impuestos,
transporte y servicios medicos.
Habida cuenta que los costos de vida
son tan diferentes en diversas partes de
California, CBP muestra los gastos para
diferentes tipos de familias en diferentes
areas del estado.
Una familia con dos padres traba
jadores, en promedio, necesitarla un
ingreso de $52.034, variando entre
$42.588 en los condados rurales con
costo de vida más bajo, hasta $6 1.593 en
el Area de Ia BahIa. Esto implica que cada
padre deberla ganar un mInimo de entre
$10,24 la hora y $14,81 la hora, dependi
endo de su sitio de residencia.
Una familia de dos padres en Ia que
uno de ambos miembros permanece en
casa debiera aportar como promedio un
ingreso de $36.245—variando entre
$29.806 en las areas de menor costo y
$42.304 en las areas de costo más eleva
do. Esto implica que cuando la respons
abiidad del ingreso familiar recae sobre
un solo individuo, éste deberIa ganar un
mInimo de entre $14,33 y $20,34 por
hora.
Un padre/madre solterola que tra
baja necesitarla, de acuerdo a este estu
dio, el ingreso por hora más alto entre
todos los grupos considerados, en un
rango de $16,30 a $25,99 por hora,
dependiendo del area de residencia. Esto
se traduce en un ingreso anual de entre
$33.897 y $54.069.
El salario mInimo del estado se
encuentra entre 1/3 y casi 1/2 por debajo
del salario por hora necesario para man
tener a una familia, de acuerdo a
California Budget Project.
El salario promedlo por hora de una
persona que ha pasado de la asistencia
püblica al trabajo en activo, apunta
California Budget Project, es de $7/hora.
El informe, Making Ends Meet: How
Much Does it Cost to Raise a Family in
California? (“Haciendo equilibrio para
vivir: Cuánto cuesta mantener una
familia en California?”) proporciona un
desglose detallado de gastos minimos en
cada region del estado.
Si desea bajar del Internet una
copia del informe mencionado, puede
hacerlo dirigiendose al sitio web
http://www.cbp.org/ o solicitar una
versiOn impresa llamando al teléfono
(916)444-0500. S
A One-Year Study Program
for Professionals in the
Children and Families Field
This interdisciplinary professional sequence
includes courses on the changing family in
California, strategies for gaining access to
services for children and families, and
culturally competent family interventions.
To request a brochure about the program
or find out about the next free information
session, call (510) 643-3883.
For a free catalog, call 1 888 UC SMART
Online: www.unex.berkeley.edu
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
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
—
6536 Telegraph • Oakland, CA 94609
(between Ashby & Alcatraz)
Phone: (510) 428-9684
Fax (510) 654-2774
...FOR THE
COMPREHENSIVE
COVERAGE AND
ANALYSIS IN
How much does it cost to raise a
family in California?
A family with two working
parents, on average, woul& need an
income of $52,034, ranging from
$42,588 in the lowest-cost rural coun
ties to $61,593 in the high-cost Bay
Area. That means each parent would
have to earn from $10.24 an hour to
$14.8lan hour, depending on where
they live.
A two-parent family with one stay
mg at home on average would have to
bring in $36,245—from $29,806 in
lowest-cost areas to $42,304 in highestcost areas. The single earner would
have to make anywhere from $14.33 to
$20.34 an hour.
A single working parent would
need the highest hourly pay of all—
from $16.30 to $25.99, depending on
the area. That translates to between
$33,897 and $54,069 a year.
The state minimum wage is less
than 1/3 to about 1/2 the hourly rates
needed to raise a family, according to
the Budget Project.
The average hourly pay for a per
son who has left welfare for work, the
Budget Project points out, is $7 an
hour.
The report, Making Ends Meet How
Much Does it Cost to Raise a Family in
California? provides a detailed break
down of expenses in each region of the
state.
You can download a copy of the
report at www.cbp.org or order a print
version by calling 916-444-0500. 5
—
SUBSCRIBE...
Cuánto cuesta?
ow much does it c3?
new report by the California
udget Project (CBP) shows that
on average in California it takes more
than $50,000 a year for a family with
two working parents to make ends
meet.
According to the official federal defi
nition, a family of four is not “poor” if
its income is over $17,650 a year. But
the Budget Project says that definition
is “obsolete.” To get a more realistic fig
ure, the CBP “started from the ground
up, building a basic family budget
based on the cost of housing, food,
child care, and other essentials:’ such as
taxes, transportation, and health care.
Since living expenses are so different
in different parts of California, the CBP
shows expenses for different types of
families in different parts of the state.
Open every day
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CHILDREN’S ADVOCATE 15
.t..
-:
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-
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ciones, dibujos, escritura, y juegos.
• Valide sus sentimientos diciendo
cosas como: “Mucha gente siente lo
mismo que tü” En vez de descartar
sus miedos, explore con ellos los
temas que les preocupan y déjeles
saber que hay un montón de gente
trabajando para protegerlos.
• Provea respuestas simples y realistas
a las preguntas de los niños, con
información apropiada para sus
edades respectivas. No los abrume
con demasiadas cosas a la vez.
• Ponga énfasis en los peligros ql,ie
traen los prejuicios y los estereoti
pos. Remarque que no está bien juz
gar a un grupo entero por las
accjones de unos pocos, y que los
ataques verbales o fjsicos contra
amigos o vecinos árabes o musul
manes lo ünico que consiguen es
diseminar odio. Construya un mod
elo de tolerancia y compasión con
sus propias palabras y acciones.
• Sea honesto sobre sus propios
timientos, pero exprese sus opin
iones de forma tal que deje espacio
para el desacuerdo; asI, será un
modelo de tolerancia y permitirá
que los ninos exresen sus puntos de
vista.
• Coloque los ataques terroristas
como ejemplo de las consecuencias
JJJ..!)
J]]W
j
oy han pasado dos meses desde
los devastadores ataques del 11
de septiembre; aun asI, general
mente lieva tiempo que los niños—
e incluso nosotros mismos—reconoz
camos y expresemos nuestras reac
ciones frente a tales eventos. En los dIas
que siguieron a los ataques, muchas
organizaciones proveyeron listas de
consejos para hablar con los niños
sobre este hecho, y muchos de ellos ailn
son ütiles. Presentamos aquI una breve
lista, junto a algunos recursos de
Internet para informarse mejor:
• Reafirme ante sus ninos que están
seguros y que usted está haciendo
todo lo que está a su alcance para
protegerlos. Haga uso del contacto
fIsico para tranquilizarlos cuando
tengan miedo: abrácelos, siéntese
con ellos, cójalos de la mano.
• Esté disponible para los niños y
ayádeles a expresar sus sentimientos
y a hacer preguntas.
• Si los niños no mencionan
tales como el terrorismo o las ame
nazas de guerra, puede utilizar even
tos de actualidad para traerlos a
colacion; sin embargo, si expresan
que no quieren hablar de ello,
respete sus sentimientos.
• Anime a los niños a expresar
sentimientos a través de conversa
-
terribles de la violencia. Ensene
maneras no violentas de resolver
disputas.
• Ayude a crear condiciones para que
grupos diferentes de Ia comunidad
se unan, y puedan aprender más los
unos de los otros.
• Encuentre maneras de que los niños
puedan ayudar a otros niños, como
por ejemplo juntando dinero para
UNICEF.
Fuentes: National Association of School
Psychologists, PTA, Brazelton Touchpoints Center, Children’s Defense Fund,
womancentral.msn.com, Southern
Poverty Law Center, Early Childhood
Equity Alliance.
Recursos en el Internet para hablar con los niños sobre terrorismo y prejuicios
• The National Association of School Psychologists, con consejos en inglés, espanol, árabe,
persa, coreano, urdu, vietnamita y chino, www.nasponline.org/NEAT/crisis 0911.html.
www.nasponline.org/NEAT/tolerance.html
• The Parent Teacher Association, con recursos en inglés y español,
www.pta.org/parentinvolvementltragedy
• Sesame Street, ejemplos especIficos sobre qué decir cuando su niño expresa miedo
(en ingles y espaflol), www.sesameworkshop.org/parents/advice/arti
cle/0.4125.49560.00.html#1
• Ohio Commission on Dispute Resolution, consejos basados en el desarrollo
psicológico del niño (material disponible sOlo en ingles),
www.state.oh.us/cdr/schools/trauma/tentips
• National Education Association, consejos para escuelas (solo en ingles),
www.nea.org/crisis
• National Association for the Education of Young Children, para niños de tres a siete años
(solo en inglés), www.naeyc.org/resources/eyly/l 998122htm
• Southern Poverty Law Center, www.tolerance.org
• U.S. Department of Education, consejos y enlaces varios de Internet (sOlo en inglés),
www.ed.gov/ints/septemberl 1/index.html
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t’s now been two months since the
devastating attacks on September 11,
I but it often takes time for children—
and all of us—to recognize and express
all our reactions to the event. In the
days after the attacks, many organiza
tions provided lists of tips for talking
with children about the events. Many
of their points are still helpful. Here’s a
brief list, together with Internet
resources for learning more:
• Reassure children that they are safe
and that you are doing everything
you can to protect them. Use physi
cal contact—hugs, sitting together,
holding hands—to comfort fright
ened children.
• Be available—help children express
their feelings and ask questions.
• If children don’t bring up the issues
of terrorism or the threat of war, you
can use current events to bring the
subjects up—but if they say they
don’t want to talk about it, respect
their feelings.
• Encourage children to express feel
ings through tailcing, drawing, writ
ing, and playing.
their feelings—you might
Validate
•
say something like, “A lot of people
feel that way.” Don’t simply dismiss
fears, but explore the issues and let
children know that a lot of people
are working to protect them.
• Give simple, factual answers to chil
dren’s questions with information
that’s appropriate for their ages—
16 NOVEMBER—DECEMBER 2001
Internet resources for talking with
children about terrorism and prejudice
nv_I
171L
‘-k.,’
I
AKELA FRANKLIN-BAKER, GRADE 3, OAKLAND. CA
don’t overwhelm them with too
much.
• Emphasize the dangers of prejudice
and stereotyping. Point out that it’s
wrong to judge a whole group by the
actions of a few, and that verbal or
physical attacks on Arab or Muslim
friends and neighbors only spread
hate. Model tolerance and compas
sion in your own words and behavior.
• Be honest about your own feelings,
but express your opinions in a way
that leaves room for disagreement,
so you model tolerance and allow
children to express their views.
• Use the terrorist attacks as an exam
ple of the terrible consequences of
violence. Teach nonviolent ways for
resolving disputes.
• Help create ways for different groups
in the community to come together
and learn more about each other.
• Find ways that children can help
other kids, such as collecting money
for UNICEF.
Sources: PTA, National Association of
School Psychologists, Brazelton Touch
points Center, Children’s Defense Fund,
womancentral.msn.com, Southern
Poverty Law Center, Early Childhood
Equity Alliance
• The National Association of School
Psychologists ,tips in English, Spanish,
Arabic, Farsi, Korean, Urdu,
Vietnamese, and Chinese,
wwwnasponline.orglNEATlcrisis 0911.htmL’
www.nasponhine.orglNEATltolerance.html
-
The Parent Teacher Association,
resources in English and Spanish,
www.pta.org/parentinvolvementltragedy
Sesame Street, specific examples of things
to say when your child expresses fear,
English and Spanish,
www.sesameworkshop.org/parentsladvicel
artide/O.4125.49560,00.html#1
I Ohio Commission on Dispute Resolution
and Conflict Management, tips based on
children’s psychological development,
English only,
www.state.oh.uskdr/schoolsttraumaltentips
The National Education Association,
advice for schools, English only,
-www.nea.org/crisis
• National Association for the Education
of Young Children, for children three
to seven, English only,
www.naevc.ora/resources/evlv/1998!22h1m
• Southern Poverty Law Center, English
only, www.tolerance.org
U.S. Department of Education, tips
and links, English only,
www.ed.ciov/ints/seøtem -
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