Parent-to-parent approach turns sch

________
_____
Non-Profit Organization
U.S. Postage
PAID
Oakland, CA
Permit #1 846
ADV
PUBLISHED BY ACTION ALLIANCE FOR CHILDREN
i-.-.__
-
....
-
IN THIS ISSUE / EN ESTE NUMERO
REGULAR FEATURES/ARTECULOS REGULARES
Fighting mothers’ depression
GRASSROOTS SNAPSHOT:
Parent-to-parent approach turns
school around
Corn batiendo Ia depresión
en las madres
INSTANTANEA DE LA COMUNIDAD:
de padre a padre”
1
Estrategia ‘
transforma una escuela
County push for health insUrance
Grassroots groups against asthma
Home alone after school
ASK THE ADVOCATE:
Understanding parent groups
at school
PREGÜNTELE AL DEFENSOR:
Entiendo los grupos para padres
a Ia escuela
IN MY OPINION:
Has Prop. 227 (“English-only”
education) benefited “English
language learners”?
Cover photos by Mauricio Pulmä (left & center) and Zeva Longley, Canal Child Care Center (right)
ACTION ALLIANCE FOR CHILDREN
•
THE HUNT HOUSE
•
1201 MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. WAY
www. ‘tchUdren.org
•
OAKLAND, CA 94612-1217
I
—
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ADVOCATE
The bimonthly Children’s Advocate is published
by Action Alliance for Children, a nonprofit org
anization dedicated to informing and empowering
people who work with and on behalf of children.
Interim Executive Director/Editor
Jean Tepperman
Accountant
Pam Elliott
Outreach Manager
Melia Franklin
On-line Community Manager
Jessine Foss
Administrative Associate
Eric Foss
Copy Editor
Laura Coon
Volunteers
Volume 3Q• Number 4
3 •Grassroots snapshot:
Parent-to-parent approach turns school around
Instantánea de Ia Comunidad:
Estrategia “de padre a padre”
transforma una escuela
Por Leslie Albrecht
4 Ask the Advocate:
Understanding parent groups at school
Pregüntele al Defensor:
Entiendo los grupos para padres a Ia escuela
Por Claudia Miller
Patty Overland
Interns
lesLie Albrecht
Joan Flores
Julieta Santana
Publication Design and Production
lockwood design
AAC Logo Design
Mitche Manitou
Printing
Fricke Parks Press
Distribution
Jane Welford
Legal Counsel
Nonprofit Legal Services Network
Board of Directors
Charles Drucker, President
Catalina Alvarado, Vice President
Victor Rubin, Interim Treasurer
Carlos Castellanos, Secretary
Kathy Flores
Adam Ray
Randy Reiter
Ernest Ting
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 Hans Jr. Fund
Jonah Edelman
Stand for Children
Louis Freedberg
San Francisco Chronicle
Dana Hughes
Institute for Health Policy Studies
Herb Kohl
Author & Educator
Milton Koteichuck
Professor, Dept. of Maternal and Child Health
University of North Carolina
Arabella Martinez
Spanish Spealcing Unity Council
Effie Lee Morris
California Library Services
Daphne Muse
Multicultural author and editor
Lucy Quacinella
National Center for Youth Law
Wilson Riles, Jr.
American Friends Service Committee
Giovanna Stark
Assembly Select Committee on Adolescents
Principal Consultant
Alan Watahara
The Watahara Group
Stan Weisner
UC Berkeley Children & the Changing Family Program
Rev. Cecil Williams
Glide Memorial Church
Action Alliance for Children is a tax-exempt organization
supported in part by a California State Department of
Education (SDE) grant. However, the opinions expressed
herein do not necessarily reflect those of SDE and opinions
expressed by contributors or-writers do not necessarily
reflect the opinions of this paper. We reserve the right to
refuse advertising for any reason.
Children’s Advocate assumes no liability for products or
services in its features or ads. As this is a copyrighted pub
lication, permission to reprint material appearing on these
pages must be requested.
Circulation: Children’s Advocate is available at select
child care centers, retail outlets, social service organiza
tions and public libraries throughout California. Available
by bulk order or individual subscription.
Subscription Rates (see page 11)
$18 for one year • $34 for two years
First-time subscribers $12 for one year
Sample copies are available for $3
each.
For information about our annual
multicultural calendar write or call:
•
•
Action Alliance for Children
The Hunt House
1201 Martin Luther King Jr. Way
Oaldand,
A
F
5 Health care county by county
Advocates are pushing counties to provide
universal health insurance for kids—but is
there enough money?
By Leslie Albrecht
6 On the move against asthma
Grassroots groups of parents and professionals
push environmental change and education
By Joan Flores
7 Building school-family relationships
Parent Services Prolect brings parents into the
school community
By Claudia Miller
8 Fathers “fully involved as parents”
What are the obsacIes and how can men
overcome them?
By Irene Moore
10 Not “just baby blues”
Helping mothers overcome depression is
important for their children’s development
By Marissa Brownell
11 Más que “baby blues”
Ayudar a las madres a superar Ia depresión es
importonte para el desarrollo de sus hijos
Por Marissa Brownell
12 In My Opinion:
Has Prop. 227 (“English-only” education)
benefited “English language learners”?
By Jennifer Re
13 Before you give your child a latch-key...
By Julieta Santana
14 Children’s Advocates Roundtable:
Proposición 54: Iniciativa de Privacidad Racial;
Proposition 54: Racial Privacy Initiative; Children’s
Roundtable Foster Care Reform Committee;
Comité de Reforma de Ia Ado pción Temporal de
Children ‘s Advocates Roundtable; Tired of
California’s budget gridlocks?
16 Children’s Advocates Roundtable:
Child care teachers/providers as leaders;
Maestros y proveedores de cuidado infantil como
lIderes; àCansado de los estancamientos en
el presupuesto de California?; El costa de criar
niños en California; The cost of raising kids in
California
9 Papas “involucrados al máximo
como padres”
áCuólesson los obstáculos para los hombres
y cómo pueden superarlos?
Por Irene Moore
s we are finishing this issue of the Children’s Advocate,
we at Action Alliance for Children are busy preparing
to hold a groundbreaking conference October 17 and
Parents Leading the Way Toward Stronger
Oakland.
18 in
will be a chance for parents who are
Children
s
for
Communitie
together with staff people in
leaders,
becoming
are
or
leaders
sharing their strategies
days
two
spend
to
,
their organizations
leadership in orga
parent
strong
building
in
and experiences
families.
and
children
for
or
with
working
nizations
and authentic
powerful
most
Because parents are the
advocates for children, their leadership is crucial if we are to
change our country’s priorities, to put children first. At a time
when we are devoting ever more resources to the military and
tax cuts for the wealthy, while cutting funds for schools, health
care, and other needed services, developing parent leader
ship is especially crucial.
In this issue we highlight ways that parents, foster par
ents, grandparents, and others raising children are leading
efforts to improve children’s lives. Two of these stories describe
programs of organizations that are partnering with us to cre
ate the Parents Leading the Way conference. Parent Services
Project is working to “bring families closer to the decisionmaking process” in schools (p. 7), and San Francisco Parent
Voices is one of the groups fighting to make schools and com
munities safer for children with asthma (p. 6).
Parents are also working with grassroots groups and
county First Five (Prop. 10) commissions to make sure that all
children have health insurance (p. 5). Parents around the state
are working through parent organizations to improve educa
tion (p. 4), and parents at one school, Verde Elementary in
Richmond, are dramatically reducing truancy by offering fam
ilies support (p. 3):
Because parents are so important in children’s lives, sup
porting parents is an essential part of supporting children.
Our story on maternal depression (pages 10 and 11) expliins
the effects that a parent’s emotional problems can have on
A
kids and the strategies that can help. Our story on fathers
(pages 8 and 9) describes the barriers that sometimes keep
fathers from fully participating in their kids’ lives and offers
some ideas for overcoming them.
Meanwhile it’s back-to-school time (unless you’re among
the many families whose kids are in year-round schools).
Many families are struggling with the question of whether
their kids are old enough to take care of themselves after
school while their parents are still at work. We wish there were
enough affordable, high-quality after-school programs and
activities so that all kids had fun, educational places to go
after school. But in Ease you’re considering the “home alone”
option, we offer some tips on how to make it work (p. 13).
For many kids, starting school is especially difficult
because classes are not taught in the language they under
stand. Five years after Prop. 227 outlawed bilingual education
in California schools (unless at least 20 parents at one grade
level request it), we asked a sampling of educatorsand par
ents whether they thought the measure had helped or
harmed “English Language Learners” (p. 12).
This fall is also bringing us the special election on whether
to recall California’s governor. We didn’t feel we could con
tribute to that discussion, but we do want to point out that the
October 7 ballot will also include two initiatives. One of them,
Prop. 54, the “racial privacy initiative,” would forbid the state
from collecting data on the race or ethnicity of the students,
employees, or clients of any public school or state agency For
more information, see page 14.
Sometimes politics does seem crazy, but behind the head
lines, there’s a lot at stake. Political leaders are making deci
sions that have huge impacts on children and families. That’s
why it’s so important to build a strong movement that can
advocate for children, with parents leading the way.
—Jean Tepperman
Parent-to-parent approa’ch turns
school around
By Leslie Albrecht
A
t Verde Elementary School in North Rich
mond, a certain first-grader started getting
into fights and disrupting the classroom. One
day he didn’t show up at school. So a neighbor,
Annie King-Meredith, working in a program called
Verde Involving Parents (VIP), called his home. She
found out that the child was refusing to go to school
because other kids had been making fun of how his
toes poked through his old shoes.
“Instead of me hurting their pride and buying new
shoes for the child, I talked to (the parents) and said, ‘Is
now a good time for us to go shopping together?’ They
didn’t mind hearing it from me. They know me.” KingMeredith was born and raised in North Richmond. She
and her Iwo children all graduated from Verde.
Using VIP funds, King-Meredith and the parent went
together to buy new shoes for the student. He went
back to school and his behavior improved.
Grassroots strategy
Cecia Ornelas, who has four children
attending Verde. “I heard some of the
same parents who had been complain
ing about the school talking about how
great the school is now.”
Keys to success
Organizational partnership: The
VIP parents sponsor events that brinq families to the school.
to health and other resources at the
North Richmond Family Service
Center, half a mile from the school.
Verde’s VIP program is a “top-down,
bottom-up” effort run by and for par
ents, says Nina Goldman, manager of
the Contra Costa County Service
Integration Program, which helped cre
ate VIP.
if a child is absent, a parent (Family
Partner) on the VIP staff calls or visits
the family and provides help. if more is
needed, the VIP staff sit down with the
family to figure out a solution. Often
they can help by connecting the family
Hitting bottom
Three years ago, Verde had the worst
attendance in the West Contra Costa
Unified School District and some of the
lowest test scores in California. It was
“a symbol of the dashed hopes of the
community,” says Goldman.
The school was known as a training
ground for inexperienced teachers. Over
a period of six years, Verde had five dif
ferent principals. Parents were fed up.
Striking success
In its first year, the VIP program pro
duced dramatic change: absences
dropped by one-third. By the end of the
second year they had been cut in half.
Scores on the statewide testing program
also rose—by 50 points the first year,
101 points the second.
And parents “are more trusting now
of the school,” says Family Partner
Thanks to the David and Lucile Packard Foundation for its support of this page.
VIP program is a unique partnership
between the school, the parents, and
public and private agencies, coordinated
by the Family Service Center. Funds
come from the sbool district and pri
vate foundations.
Parent-to-parent approach: When
parents first began getting calls from the
VIP staff about their absent kids, “peo
ple were very surprised that we were
taking an interest in them,” says
Ornelas. But, she says, because all VIP
staffers live in the community and have
a relative attending the school, families
feel comfortable talking to them.
Welcoming parents at school: About
twice a semester, VIP holds a Family
Celebration Night to honor parents and
build community. VIP also has an office
at the school where parents can drop in
for the VIP Parent Coffee Club, any
morning at 8:30.
Traducción ol castellano:
Lucrecia Miranda
Estrategia “de padre a padre”
transformà una escuela
Por Leslie Albrecht
n Ia escuela Verde Elementary
de North Richmond, uno de
los niños en primer grado
comenzó a meterse en peleas y a
causar disturbios en el salon de
close. Un dIa no apareciO por Ia
escuela, por Ia que Annie King
Meredith, una vecino trabajàndo en
un programa Ilamado Verde
Involving Parents (VIP, Verde
Involucrondo a los Padres), lIamO a
su casa. AsI, supo que el niño se
rehusaba a ir a Ia escuela porque
componeros suyos habIan burlodo
de éI porque sus dedos asomaban
por Ia punta de sus zapatos viejos.
“En vez de herir el orgullo de los
papas y comprar zapatos nuevos
paro el niño, hablé con ellos y les
dije: ‘Les parece buen momento
ahora para irjuntos a comprar zap
atos?’ No les importó oIr eso de mi
parte, porque me conocen”. KingMeredith nació y creció en North
Estrategia de base
E
Richmond. Ella misma, asI como sus
dos hijos, se graduaron en Ia
escuela Verde.
Usando fondos de VIP KingMeredith y los padres del niño
fueron juntos a comprar zapatos
Ia escuela
nuevos. El nino
comportamiento
mejoró..
su
y
regreo
a
El programa VIP de la escuela Verde
Elementary es un esfuerzo “de arriba
para abajo y de abajo hacia arriba” fle
vado a cabo por y para los padres, dice
Nina Goldman, administradora del
Programa de Integracidn de Servicios
del Condado de Contra Costa, el cual
asistiera en la creación de VIP
Si un niflo falta ala escuela, un padre
(“compafiero de Ia familia”) del person
al de VIP llama o visita a la familia y
provee ayuda. Si hace falta más, el per
sonal de VIP se sienta con la familia
para procurar una solución. A menudo
pueden ayudar conectando a la familia
con recursos de salud u otros recursos
disponibles en el Centro de Servicios
Familiares de North Richmond, a media
milla de la escuela.
• Tocando fondo
•
Hace tres afios, Verde tenia el peor
Indice de asistencia en el Distrito
Escolar Unificado del Oeste de Contra
Costa y uno de los puntajes más bajos
en evaluación académica de todo
California. Era “un sImbolo de las
esperanzas truncadas de la comunidad”,
dice Goldman.
La escuela era conocida como una
plataforma de entrenamiento para mae
stros sin experiencia. Además, en un
perfodo de seis años, Verde habla visto
pasar seis directores diferentes. Los
padres estaban hartos.
Exito rotundo
En su primer año, el programa VIP
produjo un cambio dramático: las
ausencias de clase bajaron en un tercio.
A fines del segundo ailo, las ausencias
se hablan reducido a la mitad. Las cali
ficaciones en el programa estatal de
evaluación también subieron en 50 pun
tos durante el primer afio y en 101 el
segundo.
Asimismo, los padres “ahora tienen
más confianza en la escuela”, dice
Cecelia Ornelas, una de las “corn
pafieras de Ia familia” con cuatro hijos
en Verde. “He escuchado a algunos de
los padres que antes se quejaban de la
escuela hablando de lo bien que la
escuela está ahora”.
zaron a recibir Ilamadas del personal de
VIP en relación a Ia ausencia de sus
hijos, “la gente estaba muy sorprendida
de que mostráramos interés en ellos”,
dice Ornelas. Pero como todo el person
al de VlP agrega, vive en la comunidad
y tiene algtin miembro de la familia
yendo a la escuela, las familias se sien
ten cómodas hablando con ellos.
Haciendo que los padres se sientan
bienvenidos en Ia escuela: Un par de
veces cada semestre, VIP organiza una
Noche de Celebración Familiar para
homenajear a los padres y crear lazos
comunitarios. VIP también tiene una
sede en la escuela que los padres pueden
visitar para el “Coffee Club” de los
Padres de VIP, el cual tiene lugar todas
las mafianas alas 8:30.
Cloves para el éxito
Asociación de organizaciones: El
programa VIP es una asociación iIriica
entre la escuela, los padres y agencias
piiblicas y privadas, coordinada por el
Centro de Servicios Familiares. Los
fondos provienen del distrito escolar y
de fundaciones privadas.
Enfoque “de padre a padre”:
Cuando al principio los padres comen
CHILDREN’S ADVOCATE 3
Understanding parent organizations
at school
ASK THE.
Lc’
@1
By Claudia Miller
QUESTION: How can parents create
change through a school’s “parent
participation” organizations?
English Language Acquisition
Commiffee (ELAC)
Purpose: to evaluate the school’s
ANSWER: Parents in elementary schools
are faced with a dizzying array of
school-wide “parent participation”
organizations—here’s a rundown of
some key groups.
learning resources for “English lan
guage learners.” Required: at schools
with more than 20 “English learners.”
Includes: parents of English learners.
ELACS advocate for English learn
ers: some focus on cultural issues, oth
ers on improving academic perfor
mance. Many assist families with every
thing from homework clubs for kids to
ESL classes for parents.
S
School Site Council (SSC)
Purpose: to create the school’s
school improvement plan and choose
special programs to fund. Required: at
most California schools. Includes: par
ents, teachers, administrators, and, in
middle and high schools, students.
Oakland resident Alice Spearman
became active in her daughter’s middle
school SSC because the school had low
test scores and poor attendance. “As
part of the S SC,” Spearman says, “I was
able to help oversee the hiring of a new
principal—that helped finally bring the
school to a place where learning was
possible.” Spearman says the SSC also
organized a Parent Patrol to keep an eye
on the school’s front doors.
“But the SSC is only as good as the
training that parents get,” says Spearman. “They have to learn how to read
budgets, evaluate programs, and assist
other parents and children.”
-
Title I Parents Advisory Council
Purpose: to advise districts on using
the money properly. Required: at every
school district that receives federal Title
I funds, for improving student achieve
ment in schools with many students
from low-income families. Includes:
parents at schools with Title I programs.
Through the statewide organization
of these councils, the California Asso
ciation of Compensatory Education
(CACE), parents learn how to under
stand school budgets, says Presidentelect Judy Goddess.
Lin Jamison, director of state and
federal programs for Modesto schools,
adds that when parents attend CACE
conferences, they bring back ideas and
help organize parent-education events
on a variety of topics. Parents at several
schools in Modesto have also
used Title I parent-education
funds to organize computer and
ESL classes for parents.
California Association
for Special Education
Purpose: to advocate for
children with special needs and
to train parents on advocacy,
children’s rights, and budget
issues. Not required, but has
groups in many school districts.
Includes: parents of children
with special needs.
Parent Teacher Association
or Parent Teacher
Organization
Purpose: to help members
work for good education. Not
required, but have more than
one million members in the
state. Includes; parents, teach
ers, and sometimes students.
Cupertino resident Dinah
Showman says her elementary school
PTA successfully lobbied the city to hire
a crossing guard at a busy intersection in
front of the school. “The city didn’t
want to pay for it,” she says, “so the
PTA did a study, counted the number of
people on the streets, the number of cars
passing by and how many drop-offs and
Thanks to the David and Lucile Packard Foundation for its support of this page.
0
U
pick-ups there were. PTA members took
pictures of traffic and road conditions
and after presentations to the city coun
cil we were successful. We also got
them to install some stop signs at anoth
er busy intersection.”
You can contact all these groups
through your school or school district
office.
Traducción al castellano:
L.ucrecia Miranda
Entiendo los grupos para padres
LOLP a Ia escuela
,i
Por Cloud
PREGIJNTA: iXómo efectuar cambios a
través de las organizaciones para
“participación de padres” en Ia
escuela?
RESPUESTA: Padres con nifios en la
escuela primaria se encuentran frente a
un sinndmero de organizaciones esco
lares para “participacidn de padres”. Le
presentamos una lists de algunos de los
grupos mis importantes.
School Site Council (SSC, Consejo
del Establecimiento Escolar)
Propóslto: crear el plan de mejoras
de la escuela y escog& programas espe
ciales a los cuales destinar fondos.
Obligatorlo: en la mayoria de las escue
las de California. Incluye: padres, mae
stros y funcionarios; en escuelas pre
secundarias y secundarias también
incluye estudiantes.
La residente de Oakland Alice
Spearman se involucró en el SSC de la
escuela pre-secundaria de su hija porque
Ia escuela contaba con califlcaciones y
asistencia muy bajas. “Como integrante
de SSC”, dice Spearman, “tuve la posi
biiidad de ayudar a supervisar la con
tratación de un nuevo director, el cual
finalmente puso a la escuela en una
posición en la que el aprendizaje fuera
posible”. Spearman dice que SSC tam
bién organizó una Patrulla de Padres
para vigilar las puertas de entrada de la
escuela.
4 SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2003
“Pero el SSC es bueno solo en fun
ción del entrenamiento que reciban los
padres”, agrega Spearman. “(Los
padres) tienen que aprender a leer pre
supuestos, evaluar programas y asistir a
otros padres y nifios”.
English Language Acquisition
Committee (ELAC, Comité para el
Aprendizale del ldioma lnglés)
Propósito: evaluar los recursos de
aprendizaje de la escuela destinados a
estudiantes que se encuentran aprendi
endo inglés. Obligatorio: en escuelas
con mis de 20 estudiantes “aprendiendo
inglés”. Incluye: padres de estudiantes
aprendiendo inglés.
ELAC aboga por todos los estudi
antes que se encuentran aprendiendo
inglés. Algunos comités se centran en
temas culturales o en la mejora del rendi
miento académico de los estudiantes,
mientras que otros asisten a las familias
en diferentes areas que abarcan desde
clubes para que los ninos puedan hacer
su tarea hasta clases de ESL (Inglés
como Segunda Lengua) para padres.
Title I Parents Advisory Council
(Consejo Asesor de Padres del
TItulo I)
Propósito: aconsejar a los distritos
sobre el uso apropiado de dichos fon
dos. Obligatorlo: en todos los distritos
escolares que reciben fondos federales
“TItulo 1” para la mejora del rendi
miento académico en escuelas con gran
cantidad de estudiantes de familias de
bajos ingresos. lncluye: Padres en
escuelas con programas del TItulo I.
A iravés de la organización de estos
consejos en todo el estado—AsociaciOn
de EducaciOn Compensatoria de Cali
fornia (CACE, segtin sus iniciales en
ingles)—los padres aprenden a com
prender los presupuestos escolares, dice
la presidents electa de la asociación
Judy Goddess.
Lin Jamison, directora de programas
estatales y federales para las escuelas de
Modesto, agrega que cuando los padres
asisten a las conferencias de CACE,
Ostos vuelven ala escuela con ideas para
ayudar a organizar eventos para la edu
cación de padres en una gran variedad
de temas. Los padres de varias escuelas
de Modesto también han empleado fon
dos del Titulo I para organizar clases de
computación y de ESL para padres.
California Association for Special
Education (Asociación de
California para Ia Educación
Especial)
Propósito: abogar por nifios con
necesidades especiales, enirenar a los
padres en la promociOn y defensa de los
derechos de los ninos con necesidades
especiales y en temas presupuestarios.
No obllgatorla, pero cuenta con grupos
en varios distritos escolares. Incluye:
padres de estudiantes con necesidades
especiales.
Parent Teacher Association (PTA,
Asociación de Padres y Maestros)
Propósito: asistir a los miembros en
sus esfuerzos por lograr una buena edu
cacidn. No obligatoria, si bien cuenta
con mis de un millon de miembros en
todo el estado. Incluye: padres, maestros
y, en algunos casos, estudiantes.
La residente de Cupertino Dinah
Showman dice que la PTA de la escuela
primaria con la que se encuentra involu
crada consiguiO con éxito, Iras esfuerzos
de cabildeo en la ciudad, contratar a un
guardia para el cruce de calles en una
esquina de mucho tráflco frente a la
escuela. “La ciudad no queria pagar (por
el guardia)”, cuenta, “por lo que la PTA
hizo un estudio, contd el ntimero de per
sonas en la calle, el nOmero de coches
pasando por esa calle y cuántos (nifios)
eran recogidos o ilevados hasta la
escuela. Los miembros de PTA tomaron
fotos del tnifico y de las condiciones de
la calle, y tras nuestra presentacidn en el
Consejo Deliberante de la ciudad lo
conseguimos. También logramos insta
lar algunas señales de ‘Pare’ en otra
interseccidnes de mucho tráfico”.
Puede ponerse en contacto con
cualquiera de estos grupos a través
de escuela o de Ia oficina del distri
to escolar.
Health care county by county
••
Advocates are pushing counties to provide universal health insurance for
kids—but is there enough money?
By Leslie Albrecht
r. John Shearer, a Petaluma
family practitioner, decorates
his lapel with a tiny clothes
pin doll with yarn hair and tissue
paper clothes. When his patients
ask ‘What’s that?’ Dr. Shearer
explains that the doll stands for the
estimated 8,000 children in
Sonoma County who don’t have
health insurance. The dolls are part
of a public awareness campaign by
the Children’s Healthcare Access
Coalition (CHAC), a group of doc
tors and family advocates whose
goal is health. insurance for all
Sonoma County’s children.
Dr. Shearer and CHAC are not
alone in their efforts. Insuring all
children has become a top priority
for grassroots organizations, First
Five (Prop. 10) commissions, and
county agencies from El Dorado to
Kern. These county-based organi
zations are stepping in where state
and federal health care programs
have let children slip through the
cracks.
D
• County First Five (Prop. 10)
Commissions, created by the special
50-cents-a-pack tax on cigarettes,
provide structure and resources for
programs for children under five.
“This is.one of the greatest things we
can do. To get these babies well and
nutritionally sound and orally
healthy. That will let them walk
through the door of their school in a
much better position to learn,” says
Debbie Wise, executive director of
1irst Five Tulare County.
• The 100% Campaign, a coalition of
children’s organizations, has been
working for years for health insur
ance for all California’s children. By
collecting data and pushing for legis
lation, they have focused attention on
the issue.
Kids need care
The need for new solutions is urgent.
About one in seven California children
lacks health insurance. Of these, about
two-thirds are eligible for Medi-Cal or
Healthy Families, but not enrolled.
Most of the others aren’t eligible
because they are undocumented immi
grants. Uninsured children have poorer
health and more school absences.
Chronic conditions like asthma and dia
betes go untreated until a crisis sends
families to the emergency room. Tooth
decay causes many children chronic
pain.
Now, as more counties follow Santa
Clara’s example, says Suzie Shupe of
Sonoma Family Action, “the whole
point is to create enough momentum in
the counties to put pressure on the state
level.”
First Five steps up
Sonomu County’s Children’s. Healthcare
Access Coalition makes clothespin dolls
to represent kids who need health
insurance.
Why now?
• Two years ago, Santa Clara County
created a pioneering Children’s
Health Initiative to provide compre
hensive health insurance to all chil
dren. “Everyone had been waiting for
the federal or state government to do
something, but they weren’t doing
it,” says Dr. Shearer. “So when Santa
Clara did it, it was very inspira
tional.” Now other counties includ
ing Los Angeles, San Francisco, San
Mateo, and San Joaquin have created
programs based on Santa Clara’s
model.
Contact:
I
Santa Clara Children’s Health
Initiative, 800-260-2055,
www.sclhp.com
• Sonoma Children’s Healthcare
Access Coalition, 707-5863032 First Five, Tulare County,
559-622-8650, w.cfdc.org
In many counties, First Five
Commissions are taking the lead, creat
ing new insurance programs for lowincome kids who don’t qualify for
Medi-Cal or Healthy Families.
“Our Commission believes that
health access is a right, not a privilege.
And we’ve learned that early interven
tions end up saving the county a lot of
money in the future,” says Alexis
Esparza, chief program officer of First
Five Kern. In Kern, Tulare, and other
rural counties, First Five commissions
are planning universal health insurance
programs for children under five.
Kern and Thlare will model parts of
their programs after Santa Clara’s. But,
Wise notes, “We don’t have a Packard
Foundation, we don’t have large corpo
rations. There’s not a great donor base
here.” That’s why First Five Tulare
recently voted to use half its annual rev
enues for its health initiative.
First Five funds only cover children
under five, but the need for health insur
ance is so acute that “we are going to
move forward even if we can’t find a
local health plan to partner with us and
even if we can’t find a funding partner
for six- to 19-year-olds. We’re going to
try to find creative funding to keep kids
covered after they’re over five,” says
Esparza.
The Children’s Healthcare Access Coalition was well-represented at the Butter & Eggs
Day parade in Petaluma.
Grassroots groups push
Santa Clara Children’s
Health Initiative
In other counties, grassroots groups
are leading the way, as they did in Santa
Clara, where labor, community, and
faith-based organizations pushed for the
Children’s Health Initiative. The
Sonoma Children’s Healthcare Access
Coalition focuses on building public
support. “In the environment that we
have now, finding the money is really
challenging,” says Shupe. “The broader
the coalition we can bring to the table,
the more powerful it will be.”
In addition to making 1,200 clothes
pin dolls, CHAC’s doctors and nurses
marched in Petaluma’s Butter & Eggs
Day Parade last year, and a pick-up
tnick towed a rowboat full of children
with a banner that said, “Keep our kids
afloat! All children need health care!”
State level funds needed
In October the state First Five
Commission will vote on committing
$46.5 million over the next five years to
promote universal health access for chil
dren under five. But even with this
boost, county funds won’t really cover
the costs of insuring all kids.
Even wealthy Santa Clara County
had to temporarily stop enrolling chil
dren over six because there isn’t enough
money to cover them. First Five money,
foundation grants, and donations from
individuals and corporations can cover
.some of the costs, but these funds are
not reliable and are not enough. Prop.
10 money decreases as cigarette sales
decline—and many other needs com
pete for the funds.
The state could afford to insure all
children, says health policy consultant
Steve Barrow. “California is one of the
largest economies in the world. There is
enough money to do this, it’s a matter of
political pressure being brought to
bear.”
“It’s a hard project to oppose,” says
Dr. Shearer. “That’s one great thing
about it. The kids are innocent. They’re
depending on us. We have to come
through for them. If they’re victimized
by the health care system, it’s no fault of
their own.”
•
-
When the Children’s Health
Initiative began in January 2001,
on estimated 71,000 children in
the county were uninsured. By
now, almost 60,000 of them
have been signed, up for health
insurance.
The program:
• aggressively reaches out to
enroll eligible kids in Medi
Cal and Healthy Families,
going to children and families
where they are—at family
resource centers, clinics, and
schools; and
• offers a third insurance option
called Healthy Kids. “Basically,
Healthy Kids covers undocu
mented kids. It also covers
kids whose parents make too
much money to get Medi-Cal
or Healthy Families, but that’s
the minorit” says .Janie Tyre
of the Healthy Kids program.
j Healthy Kids is funded with
First Five money, the county’s
share of money from a national
suit of cigarette manufacturers,
city and county funds, and the
Packard Foundation, along with
• individual and corporate contri
butions.
Less well-to-do counties have
fewer resources, but they can’ still
learn from Santa Clara’sexperi
ence. For example, outreach to
immigrants must be handled
carefully. One of the first out
reach events for the ChiIdén’s
Health Initiative was at Our Lady
of Guadalupe Church in San
Jose. “We found out later that a
lot of families came to the event
and then left because all of the
(outreach workers) were wearing
khaki shirts, and a lot of families
thought they were INS agents.
They got scared and left,” says
Janie Tyre of Santa Clara Family
Health Plan.
• First Five, Kern County,
800-798-1 994, .kcdc.org
CHILDREN’S ADVOCATE 5
______
On
the
move
against
asthma
Grassroots groups of parents and professionals push environmental
change and education
By Joan Flores
• In San Francisco last June, chil
dren and parents overcame their
nervousness to share asthma
stories and push for policy
changes at the board of educa
tion.
• In Tulare, community members
this summer met at a local school
to pull up allergy-producing
plants and replace them with
“low-trigger” plants.
• Merced and Mariposa County
parents are taking an active role
in their children’s health thanks
to children’s classes on asthma.
In areas of the state with the
highest rates of asthma, grassroots
coalitions of parents and health
professionals are stepping up to the
plate to educate and advocate on
behalf of California’s young people
who hove asthma. In the last
decade, the rate of childhood asth
ma has soared—in the Central Val
ley it has nearly doubled. More than
500,000 California kids now live
with asthma.
What parents and
schools can do
• Get informed.
The American Lung Associa
tion and other asthma
coalitions offer lots of asth
ma information for schools,
parents, and children.
• Take actioAto control
asthma.
‘:,The resources below give
practical ideas for school
and home
Get involved.
To find an asthma coalition
near you, contact the’
Community Action to Fight
Asthma, 510-622-4444.
(In ‘the SF Bay Area, call
the Regional Asthma
Management and Prevention.
Initiative, 510-622-5091.)
,
•
.
,
2
San Francisco Parent Voices’ “child watch” tour highlighted needs of kids with asthma.
San Francisco:
Parent Voices
Lode Jones knows that her son
should not lie down during an asthma
attack. When she learned that this is
what workers at his child development
center thought kids should do, she was
alarmed. Jones and other mothers and
fathers in the advocacy group Parent
Voices armed themselves with statistics
and stories, then went to the board of
education to demand that educators
receive training in asthma emergencies.
Says Jones, “I le&ve him at the center
eight to 10 hours a day. For my peace of
mind, I need to know that the people
watching little Tony know how to han
dle his severe asthma.”
Last spring Parent Voices publicized
the need for asthma training with a
“child watch” tour. A school bus
brought parents, public officials, and the
media to elementary schools and child
care centers in neighborhoods with high
rates of asthma..
After hearing parents’ and kids’ testi
mony, the board of education voted to
provide asthma training to workers in
the district’s child development centers
and to post emergency asthma plans in
every center.
This is an important victory in a city
where one in 10 children are reported to
have asthma (in some areas it’s one in
six). In winning needed changes, “par
ent groups are so important,” says Marie
Hoemke, a former school nurse who
works with Parent Voices. “When par
ents speak, there’s a whole different
kind of listening that goes on. In my
experience, parents will be heard long
before we (health professionals) are
heard.”
The Merced/Mariposa
County Asthma
Coalition
Like Parent Voices, the Merced/
Mariposa County Asthma Coalition
(MMCAC) has taken its grassroots
efforts to the classroom. The group,
made up of health professionals, teach
ers, and parents, goes to elementary
schools to lead a bilingual Open
Airways class, where young students
learn basic steps to managing asthma.
“They love it. The children leave
knowing how to use their medication
r
6 SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2003
and how to avoid triggers,” says Alisha
Bohilcy, program manager of MMCAC.
“One of the unexpected benefits of the
class, however, has been the involve
ment of parents,” she says.
From their Open Airways classes,
children have brought their “expertise”
home and educated their parents on bet
ter asthma management. With the help
of coalition members, parents have the
opportunity to sit down with their child
and a school nurse to create their own
action plan.
Using the Environmental Protection
Agency’s Tools for Schools Program,
MMCAC members are also investigat
ing schools in Merced and Mariposa
counties and developing action plans to
make each school more environmental
ly safe for asthmatic children.
Managing asthma is important in the
Central Valley; more than 4,000 chil
dren live with asthma in Merced County
alone, and the city of Merced is ranked
the seventh worst metropolitan area in
the United States for air pollution. In
Valley schools, more than half of all
school absences are linked to asthma.
But the MMCAC isn’t confining
itself to Merced and Mariposa counties.
Last February, coalition members joined
other groups at the “Why California’s
Children Can’t Breathe” hearing in
Sacramento. Says Bohiky, “We needed
a voice from the Merced/Ivlariposa
counties speaking out about asthma!”
The Tulare County
Asthma Coalition
“A child’s quality of life doesn’t have
to be compromised by asthma,” says
Kathleen Bolduck, chair of the Tulare
County Asthma Coalition (TCAC) and
mother of asthmatic children. Bolduck
learned this lesson the hard way, but it’s
also a lesson that she’s passing on to
other parents.
As a young child, Bolduck’s son
spent a lot of time in emergency rooms
because of his severe asthma. He would
receive remedies that temporarily
relieved his asthma, but he still couldn’t
play sports or other games with his
classmates. As a result, he developed
weight and self-esteem problems.
Bolduck learned that “controller”
medication, such as “peak flow” meters
(which measure lung capacity) and
inhalers, can allow asthmatic children
like her son to lead normal lives. “Once
asthma is controlled, you see a different
kid—you don’t hear them breathing
across the room,” says Bolduck.
Recently, Tulare County ranked
number one with the worst air quality in
the nation, beating out Los Angeles.
With the amount of agribusiness, pesti
cide use, and truck traffic from Route 5
in the area, breathing the air is equiva
lent to smoking a half a pack of
cigarettes a day.
The TCAC’s projects focus on edu
cation and air quality control. In addi
tion to meeting with state legislators on
air quality issues, the coalition started a
major project—uprooting high-allergy
plants at local schools and replacing
them with trees, grass, and shrubs that’
don’t trigger asthma. The Heritage
School in Tulare is the first site to bene
fit from this project. In June, coalition
members, parents, teenagers, and young,
children planted 1,000 low-allergy
plants at the school. Says Bolduck, “It
was great! We’re planning on bringing
this to other schools in the future.”
*
“I tell parents not to
despair, which is easy to do
when you’re constantly
bringing your child to the
emergency room.”
—Kathleen Bolduck, choir,
Tulare Co. Asthma Coalition
Besides changing the environment,
says Boldock, education is important to
controlling a child’s asthma. “I tell par
ents not to despair, which is easy to do
when you’re constantly bringing your
child to the emergency room. Medica
tion is available, and common sense
goes a long way,” says Bolduck. Many
parents don’t know that Medi-Cal cov
ers controller medication and that some
thing as simple as throwing blankets and
sheets into the dryer once a week can
control mites—a major household trig
ger of asthma.
Resources
• The Indoor Air Quality Tools for
Schools Kit is available through
the Environmental Protection
Agency. It contains a plan of
adion that schools can use to
improve indoor air quality.
800-438431 8, www.epa.gov/
iaq/schools/tools4s2.html
• “Strategies for Addressing
• Asthma Within a Coordinated
School Health Program” is a
• report published by the Centers
for Disease Control and
PreventiOn. It• lists strategies to
manage asthma in schools.
www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/
dash/Oopdf/asthma.pdf
• The Healthy Homes Partnership
web site describes how to
control childhood asthma in
the home.
www.uwex.edu/healthvhome
•
I-
S
Building school-family relationships
Parent Services Project brings parents into the school community
4
By Claudia Miller
Support systems
hen Denise Shaheen
became PTA president at
Elementary
Lynwood
School in Novato, she was con
cerned. Only a small group of par
ents were actively involved in the
school, and they were split—Anglo
parents in the PTA, Latino parents in
the English Language Acquisition
Commiltee (ELAC, see p. 4).
Then she heard that the Parent
Services Project (PSP), which works
to develop strong parent communi
ties around preschools, planned to
start working at elementary schools.
From her involvement with PSP at
her children’s preschool, Shaneen
says, “1 believed in their concept of
involving parents in helping to drive
the center or the school, not the
curriculum, but in doing what fami
lies may need. It all becomes more
communily-oriented.”
“We know so much more today
about how greater family presence
and participation in the schools
helps children’s academic achieve
ment,” says Mauricio Palma, direc
tor of PSP’s Family Engagement
and Leadership Project. “So we’re
trying to create an infrastructure of
support, to strengthen the role of
the parents on the school campus.”
Student services coordinators
W
PSP’s work in schools gets a
big boost from the Mann Com
munity Foundation’s School
Linked Services project, which
funds “student services coordi
nators” in 22 schools to provide
support for “at risk” students
and families, says coordinator
Dani Tarry. These coordinators
help connect parents with PSP’s
activities.
Funding
0
U
schools.
encourage them to participate in the PSP
project. “To establish a relationship, you
have to get to know more people,” she
says. “It was really a matter of each of
us calling five people we knew and ask
ing them to come to the earliest meet
ings, to get involved.” From there, the
parents and school staff held social
events and brainstormed about what
changes they wanted to see at the
school.
PSP encourages schools to hold social events for families as a way of building a strong
community.
Mentoring leaders
PSP doesn’t create yet another parent
organization, Palma explains, but acts as
“a consultant” to parent leaders and
school staff, to help them figure out
“how do we bring families closer to the
decision-making process at the school?”
“We provide mentoring, technical
support, and training for everyone in the
school community. We help the school
develop strategies for holding meetings,.
how to work on conflict resolution, and
how to celebrate achievements.”
Gelting started
Shaheen “was the person who made
it happen,” at Lynwood, recalls Palma.
She and the principal invited leaders of
the PTA, the ELAC, and the Leadership
Team (or School Site Council, see p. 4)
to get together to “cre$e a vision for
what should happen at Lynwood,”
Palnia says.
Shaheen began calling families to
Developing specific plans “took a lot
of school surveys, in different lan
guages, and lots of meetings to make
sure everyone agreed” says Alma
Martinez, who became the PSP coordi
nator at Lynwood when Shaheen’s chil
dren graduated.
Meanwhile PSP encouraged the PTA
to hire translators for meetings. “That
helped draw more people,” says
Martinez. “Then, by providingfood at
the meetings, parents had an opportuni
ty to socialize and not just sit at the
meetings. Parents started to chat about
their work or their weekends. In order
for our school to be a community, we
had, to establish a relationship.”
Making changes
Through all these discussions and
surveys, says Martinez, the parents
working with PSP came up with three
schoolwide goals. “First, we took on a
safety concern because some families
were dropping children off an hour
before school started and had them wait
on the street corner for the school doors
to open,” she said. “Another issue was
that parents who didn’t speak English
well were not able to help their children
with homework. And finally, another
issue was the lack of nutritious snacks at
school.”
With coaching from PSP, parents cre
ated a before-school Homework Club so
students would have a safe place to wait
for the school day to begin. Volunteers
provided a healthy snack in case stu
dents hadn’t eaten breakfast. A new
after-school Homework Club provided
nutritious snacks in the afternoon. In the
evenings, along with another Home
work Club, the group organized ESL
classes for parents.
Mary McCarthy teaches in another
PSP School, Laurel Dell, in San Rafael.
She says PSP staff encourage her and
other teachers to extend the communitybuilding approach to their classrooms.
“I had special nights, like an authors’
night, when the parents came and all the
kids read stuff. My class and one other
had a garden night, when parents came
and planted, and I did a Saturday bagel
brunch. No reason, just for families to
get to know each other.”
In other Mann County schools, PSP
has:
• provided leadership retreats for par
ents active in the PTA, ELAC and
School Site Council
I helped parents develop an ELAC
where none existed
• created quarterly parent-teacher din
ners so parents could establish a rela
tionship with their child’s teacher—
not just communicate when there
was a problem.
Results
At Lynwood, says Martinez, chil
dren soon noticed their parents becom
ing more involved in the school. “When
the children see their parents trying to
leain English, when they can ask them
for help with their homework, the par
ents become positive role models,” she
says. “The children become more selfconfident and they enjoy seeing their
parents on campus and having .a rela
tionship with their teachers.” The
Homework Club also helped improve
the students’ grades and study skills
The PTA and ELAC began to hold
-
With foundation funding, PSP
provides $3,000 to each school’s
parent group to pay for things
like child care and food at parent
meetings or a “family room” at
the school. But part of PSP’s work
is coaching parent leaders on
finding funds to sustain their
activities when the PSP project
ends.
Focus on relationships
Extra resources are helpful,
says Palma, but the PSP model
has some key messages for any
school:
• Investing in the development
of relationships—with the
principal, with teachers, with
other parents—is key
• Barriers fall when people
hear each other’s stories—
when parents, principal, and
teachers talk with each other
about their visions, interests,
and concerns.
joint meetings four times a year, and
families from different ethnic groups
got to know each other. “It’s improved a
lot and they’re still working on it,”
Martinez says.
And more parents are participating in
many ways. “Attending meetings is just
one of them,” Martinez emphasizes.
“We are happy to see more parents vol
unteer in the classroom, feel confident
approaching a teacher, or even just writ
ing a note to a teacher. There are differ
ent ways that parents can be part of the
decision-making process for their child
and their school.”
“In the beginning,” says Dani Terry,
coordinator for Mann School Linked
Services, PSP holds “events like a mul
ticultural dinner or soccer event, some
thing social. But the ultimate goal is to
move the parents into feeling more
comfortable on campus, to get them to
interact with their child’s teacher, to
understand the school curriculum”
Because of PSP, says Shaheen,
“voices are beginning to be heard that
were never heard before—and I don’t
think they will let their voices not be
heard again. They know so much more
about how to get involved and how to be
advocates for other parents and chil
dren.”
Contact:
• Parent Services Project
415-454-1870
www.parentservices.org
CHILDREN’S ADVOCATE 7
Fathers “fUlly involved as parents”
What are the obstacles and how can mere overcome them?
-
By Irene Moore
ach time Martin Romo reads
a story to his 1 0-year-old
daughter, Ruby-Marie, he
values the bond he has built with
her. When he unexpectedly became
a dad and husband at 15, Romo
could not imagine a close fatherdaughter relationship. But he want
ed to give his daughter what he
never had: a nurturing father who
does more than pay bills and dish
out discipline.”
Many of us grow up believing we
have only three roles: provider, pro
tector, and disciplinarian. We can’t
express ourselves with our children
because we’re fitting into these
roles,” says Alejandro Moreno,
director of the National Compadres
Network in Los Angel-es. Says
Oakland author and activist Paul
Kivel, “We need to build a commu
nily expectation that men are going
to be fully involved as parents.”
E
Communities can:
Provide more free recreation
al activities. “Without free activi
ties,” says Kivel, “families fall
back on consumer activities, like
TV and video games, which are
less connecting.” In addition, he
says, “There should be more
socizIsuppor[ groups available
for parents.”
Employers can:
Provide more paid family
leave and flexible hours. “Some
smart companies are giving
‘personal days’ This way parents
do not have to use ‘sick days’ to
tend to their children,” says
Moreno. In addition, “compa
nies could give fathers time off
to attend their kid’s first day of
school and parent/teacher con
ferences.”
Government can:
Provide more public support
for child care and paid family
leave, says Kivel. Pass “living
wage” laws and other anti-pover
ly measures, so parents don’t .1
have to work so many hours. “If
you’re working all the time, the
qualily of parenting goes down,”
Kivel says. He notes that in
Eu rope, where there is more paid
family leave, more men spend
time with their kids and there is
“less social pathology.”
Contact:
• National Center on Fathers
and Families,
www.ncoff.gse.upenn.edu
• National Latino Fatherhood
and Family Institute,
323-728-7770, www.nlffi.org
• Bay Area Male Involvement
Network, Stan Seiderman,
415-454-1870
The “tough guy”
Focus on strengths
Los Angeles father Juan
Muniz felt discouraged
because his son, Juan Jr.,
did not want to join him in
activities like watching TV
or taking a walk. His wife
eventually told him that
Juan Jr. didn’t like Muniz’s
habit of poking his son
with his elbow.
Oakland dad John Bowers has a
nine-year-old son who’s developmental
ly delayed. But, he says, “Every child
has strengths,” and emphasizing the
strengths is key to a nurturing relation
ship. “Sam is an outdoor enthusiast,”
Bowers says. “He loves ice skating,
swimming, gymnastics. These are
things we enjoy doing together.”
Mom’s role
MEN AS NURTURERS:
THE CHALLENGES
“Moms feel they’re the nurturing
ones,” says Castro. Sometimes “dads
who want to change diapers are discour
aged by mothers.” Other mothers try in
many men
vain to enlist fathers’ help
have been raised to believe it’s unmanly
to provide physical care to young chil
dren.
—
The provider role
“Dads see their primary role as the
provider. They’ll work one, two, three
jobs for that,” says Hector Castro,
fatherhood involvement coordinator for
Monterey County Head Start, who sees
many dads working overtime in the
fields. Long working hours mean less
time and energy for children.
Employers may be more willing to
arrange flexible working hours with
mothers than with fathers. And “fathers
often think that providing money for the
kids’ diapers means they don’t have to
spend time with them,” says Rodrigo
Contreras, a parent counselor at the
National Latino Fatherhood and Family
Institute in L.A. For fathers as
providers, “low-paying jobs make us
feel we don’t have respect, that we can’t
be role models for our kids,” says Kivel.
He notes that the job picture is worse for
men of color because of racial discrimi
nation.
The authority figure
“I grew up, like most men, with the
expectation that we’re the ones who
have to be in control and are responsible
for the performance of our kids,” says
Kivel. Castro agrees: “In the Latino
household, the dad is the authoritarian
figure, the one giving orders.” Kivel
recalls angry, tearful battles with his
kids when he tried to be a “homework
cop.” He acknowledges that the parent
does have to “work it out with the kid so
they do the homework,” but says “dis
cussion, negotiation, agreement” lead to
a more positive relationship.
Living separately
When Romo’s daughter was two
years old, he and his wife divorced.
“Ruby-Marie’s mother didn’t let me
spend much time alone with my daugh
ter, and that was tough,” he says.
Michael Williams, a San Francisco
divorced father, has to drive two hours
to see his son, who lives in Sacramento.
“The distance makes it much more dif
ficult to fully participate in his school,
sports, and social events,” says
Williams.
BREAKING
THROUGH BARRIERS
Keep a positive
relationship with the
mother
If a father says, “listen to your moth
er,’ children will grow up respecting the
wOrds of both parents,” says Moreno.
Romo worked hard to develop a
cooperative relationship with RubyMarie’s mother. When she remarried,
Romo realized Ruby-Marie also needed
to get along with her stepfather. “My
daughter likes him so I want to work
with him. We discuss anything from
problems in school to health issues and
come to an agreement.”
Learn from moms
Make some sacrifices, as mothers do,
says Kivel, like getting up at night with
a crying baby. Moms should also teach
dads how to be more engaged in the
daily work of changing diapers and
holding the baby, asserts Castro: “If they
can’t do these things, many dads feel
discouraged and go back to their usual
roles.”
Spend time together
Remember your own
childhood
Castro emphasizes the “small
moments” that can strengthen the bond
activities like flying a kite, going for
a walk, or reading together. Even fathers
who work long hours in the fields can
“take a few minutes to hug or kiss your
kid, ask them about their day,” he says.
Fathers living separately can still spend
time with their kids. “There is always
time to visit my son,” says Williams,
“because I have made it a priority.”
—
Men can learn from their own expe
riences with their fathers’ behavior.
After Muniz’s wife told him about the
elbow poke, he visited his father and
noticed that his father did it to him
and it was hurtful and annoying. After
that he stopped poking Juan Jr. with his
elbow.” ‘I don’t want to be antiquated
like my father” is a common concern
expressed among the fathers we work
with,” says Moreno.
—
1..
SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2003
N ot
“lust b a by b I U es”
Helping mothers overcome depression is important for their
children’s development
Who can help?
By Marissa Brownell
Home visitors
n the first days after her son was
born, says Antioch mom Diana
Ferranti, “I recognized there was
something wrong.” She felt anx
ious, hopeless. “I was struggling.
Everything felt difficult.” She
requested a home visit from a,,
breastfeeding counselor. “Your son
is feeding fine,” said the visitor, “but
I want you to read this brochure.” It
was on postpartum depression
(PPD), and it described the way
Ferranti was feeling.
She called the number on the
the
reached
brochure and
which
ce,
Allian
Postpartum Health
helped her find therapy and sup
port. Now, eight years later, Ferranti
says, “A lot of good come out of it.
I learned to take care of myself and
that it’s important to let dads have
a major role—I realized I don’t
need to be Wonder Woman.”
Mother new mom, Teena Abu
Hamdeh, went through “Iwo weeks
of hell” until the Kaiser “Welcome
Home Baby lady” visited after her
son was born. Abu Hamdeh was
terrified to hold her baby because
of frightening “intrusive thoughts”
—visions that she might harm him.
The’ Kaiser visitor explained that
such thoughts are another lype of
postpartum mood disorder. Abu
Hamdeh immediately started coun
seling and medication and after a
couple of months began to enjoy
ci’nd bond with her son.
Like many First Five (Prop. 10)
commissions, Alameda County First
Five offers new moms up to three
home visits from a public health nurse
In the four participating hospitals, says
Deborah Bremond, director of Family
Support Services, 97 percent’ of new
mothers accept.
If the visiting nurse sees signs of
depression, she brings a mental health
specialist along on the next visit. The
specialist watches the mother-child
interaction—the parent’s sensitivity
and responsiveness to the baby—and
recommends treatment if it’s needed.
For now, Bremond says, First Five
funding can pay for home visits,’ but.
she’s concerned about the effect. of
budget cuts on this kind’ of pro-active
.Prevention and on resources for treat
ment.
I
w
Resources:
• Beyond the Blues:
www.beyondtheblues.com:
links to PPD sites, and PPD
book ordering information
• Child Care Health Line:
800-333-3212
• Depression After Delivery:
800-944-4773, www.
depressionafterdelivery.com,
includes lists of professional
resources
Center for Postpartum Health,
818-887-1312, www.
postpartumhealth.com,
information and links to
many other sites
Pediatricians
Stigma and shame
Suffering alone
Ferranti and Abu Hamdeh were
lucky—knowledgeable and- supportive
home visitors connected them with help.
Although postpartum depression is very
common, affecting 10 percent to 20 per
cent of new, moms, experts say most
women suffer through it alone.
But treatment is important, says Dr.
Ronald Soderquist, whose Westlake
practice specializes in PPD. Of moms
who experience PPD, “forty percent
will still be depressed a year later if they
don’t get treatment.” That’s a problem,
not just for the mothers, but for their
children.
Effect on children
“Often parents’ depression makes
them unable to respond to the child’s
most basic cues—crying, hunger,”
explains Kadija Johnston of the UCSF
Infant/Parent Program. The child can
start to feel “helpless as to having an
effect on their world.” Some babies
stop expressing their needs, others
become very demanding.
“The longer a mom is depressed, the
more significant the impact on
the child,” says Pec Indman,
coauthor of Beyond the Blues, a I
book on PPD. A mother’s
depression can affect a baby’s b 01
language development and f
brain development, says /
Indman, if the mom is too
depressed to play with the
baby or respond to his babbling. When mothers are
depressed, children of any
age are more likely to have
behavioral or learning
problems.
If PPD is so common and treatment
so important, why do most mothers
struggle with it alone? “Our culture is
not attuned to the struggles that mothers
go through,” says Soderquist. “People
think, ‘if your children are healthy, just
be thankful.’ Mothers get blamed if
they’re not happy.”
Often “mothers do not realize [they
are depressed] until they come out of it,”
says Sue Jensen, RN, of the Child Care
Health Line. And a mother may fear a
“stigma” in admitting an emotional
problem, says Johnston.
Treatment
Treatment for postpartum depres
sion, says Soderquist, can be “a combi
nation of antidepressants and counsel
ing. Sometimes [PPD is] a combination
of hormonal and relational problems. A
new baby can put a stress on a couple’s
relationship. Depression is so common
with mothers of young children.
Mothers working outside the home are
often happier because they get a break.
Being home with young children can be
lonely, boring, and stressful.”
“Doctors shouldn’t
assume it’s
only biochem
ical,” he adds.
“Sometimes
antidepressants
aren’t needed.”
4,.
‘-
-
-
10 SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2003
(4
A Ct
Soflc,,
% ?reo
-
‘
-
“A pediatrician’s role goes beyond
the care of just the child,” says San
Diego pediatrician Richard Walls. “An
advocate for the child is also the advo
cate for the parent.” Pediatricians
should “check in with the mental health
of the primary caretaker—the mom is a
major part of the bby’s environment,”
says Shoshana Bennett, psychologist
and president of the California chapter
of Postpartum Health Alliance.’
Pediatricians ‘may feel ‘it’s not their
role, but “doctors need to know that
women are relieved and thankful if the
doctor cares about how they feel,” says
Dr. Ronald Soderquist, who treats
women with PPD. He suggests that
pediatricians use a short questionnaire
to screen all new moms for depression..
Walls, on the other hand, says doctors
should gear questions to the particular
family—the key is creating an atmo
sphere where the mother feels comfortable enough to be open.
Pediatricians’ offices can also help
by displaying information about PPD,
especially about available counseling
and other resources.
:‘
Child care providers
Child care providers are “most like
to
ly be in the best position to identify
with the parents and offer referrals,”
says Kadija Johnston, who directs the
Day Care Consultants project of. the
UCSF InfantfParent Program. But
providers should be careful not to make
a mom feel her parenting is being
attacked, Bennett warns.
Because a parent’s depression is dif
ficult for children, “lots of depressed
parents take criticism from child care
providers and the community at large,”
says Sue Jensen, RN, of the Child Care
Health Line. A child care provider is
much more likely to be able to help if
she “feels empathy. instead’of criticism
and anger,”. Johnston says.
Bennett recommends neutral ques
tions like, “Are you able to sleep at
night when the baby is sleeping?” or
even simply, “How have you been feelingT’ One of the most important things [
a provider can do, says Jensen, is to put
out literature that describes depression
and offers-information on where to get
help.
, -
Has Prop. 227 (“English-only” education)
benefited “English language learners”?
Y
N
PINION
By Jennifer Re
HELPED!
pponents of bilingual edu
cation said “I told you so”
last spring, when the state
Department of Education announ
ced test scores for “English learn
ers.” Those in English-only class
rooms scored higher on a test of
their English skills than students in
“bilingual education,” who spend
part of the day studying English and
the rest studying other sublects in
their home language.
More than five years ago
California voters passed Proposition
227, requiring public schools to be
taught “overwhelmingly” in English
—unless at least 20 parents in one
grade request bilingual education.
Now less than one in 10 “English
learners” are in bilingual class
rooms—before Prop. 227 it was
almost one in five.
Most students who enter the sys
tem with limited English spend one
year in intensive English classes,
then move to mainstream class
rooms.
Has Prop. 227 helped or harmed
“English language learners?”
Q
“Experiment after experiment with
bilingual education has shown its failure
to teach English. The test scores have
confirmed this. Bilingual education is
not used anywhere else in the world.
English has become the world’s unoffi
cial language (especially for business
and technology).”
—Ron Unz,
initiator of Proposition 227
“When I told the school we speak
Spamsh at home, they put my son (who
could speak English) in a 50-50
Spanish-English class (illegal under
Prop. 227).
“I’m against children taking bilin
gual classes because (they) don’t give
them the proper grammar they need to
succeed in high school and college.
Kids are sponges for languages. They
watch TV; kids in the neighborhood talk
to them in English. if we tell kids they
have a language barrier, it holds them
back. We should get the right to learn
the proper business language.
“So we asked them to put him in full
English immersion. When he got into
the English class he was able to focus
more.”
—Lourdes Oliva, producer
Radio Bilingue
SOME GOOD EFFECTS
For more information on English
immersion and bilingual educa
tion:
• California Association for
Bilingual Educatior:
www.bilingualeducation.org
• California State Department of
Education: www.cde.ca.gov
• California Teachers
Association: www.cta.org
• California Tomorrow:
http://californiatomorrow.org/
• English for the Children:
www.onenation.org
“One positive is that the districts are
adopting new materials that are better at
addressing the needs of English learn
ers. We also have more qualified aides
to assist students, some who can provide
followup in the home language. And
more teachers now have (training in
teaching English learners).”
—Gary Dixon, prinicipal, Gardenhill
Elementary School, La Mirada
-
“It’s not good for the kids, but in
some ways it was good for the teachers.
It made bilingual programs clean up
their act and show results, not only in
the primary language but also in teach
ing English. I’m not sure it was the best
way to do it, but in some respects it has
made programs more accountable.”
—Liz Aguirre, teacher Bowling Green
Elementary School, Sacramento
HARMED!
“(Prop. 227 created) a situation
where English learners are set up for
failure because they are not able to get
any help in their native language. As a
result, the kids don’t want to go to
school. They feel like low achievers.”
What about last spring’s tests, when
students in English-only classes got
higher scores?
“Not every district still has bilingual
programs. The ones that do tend to be
large urban districts—those test scores
will probably be lower.”
—David Sanchez, veteran teachei
Santa Maria School District,
secretary-treasurer Caljfornia
Teachers Association
12 SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2003
“In my experience, Prop
227 has been destructive to
(English learners). While
they develop the ability to
communicate in English
rather quickly, they haven’t
developed the English voca
bulary and concepts for aca
demic subjects.
“I’m now teaching a
group of English learners,
all in English, and they have
a great deal of difficulty in
writing and in understand
ing complex concepts in
reading. if they had been
developing those abilities
all along in their primary
language, that could trans
fer into English.
—Paul Huebner LA. ele
mentary school teache,
East Area Chairfor United
Teachers of L.A.
“Proposition 227 under
mined the potential of many
students to be bilingual.
Kids who speak a foreign
language are taught English
at the expense of their
native language, which they lose and
then have to re-learn- later.”
—Francisco Jimenez, novelist and
Santa Clara University professor
“English immersion may help some
students learn English faster but it does
not work for everyone. And many
Chinese parents value Chinese bilingual
programs because it enhances their con
nection to their child.”
—Christina Wong, policy advocate,
Chinese for Affirmative Action
“Our school doesn’t have any
Spanish-speaking teachers at the prima
ry level. Parents are coming to me say
ing that in kindergarten and first-grade,
their kids come home crying because
they don’t understand, saying they hate
school.
“Then they come to us at the inter
mediate level and they know they can’t
read, although they try to hide it. Some
of these students will drop out—look at
the drop-out rate for Latino students.”
—Lydia Cruz, teache, Clayton B. Wire
Elementary School, Sacramento
THE ISSUE IS QUALITY!
“For me, both programs work if they
are implemented well. The question
isn’t whether someone teaches in
English, the question is how well some
one teaches English.”
—Howard Bryan,
director of bilingual education at
Santa Ana Unified School District
“The bilingual programs in my dis
trict are not very organized, and certain
ly not as well staffed. We don’t have the
trained teachers—we don’t even have a
text book. I don’t think [bilingual edu
cation] has been done well on a large
scale in California ever. (But) I think
what we do with bilingual edw’ation is
better than taking their language away at
kindergarten.”
—Marta Gardnei; bilingual teacher
Esperanza Elementary School in LA.
“There’s reams of research showing
hat effective bilingual programs devel
op students’ academic and English pro
ficiency as successfully or more suc
cessfully than English-only. The re
search also shows that most students
can’t learn English in one year.
“(In last spring’s tests) the scores of
students in English-only programs
moved up, but kids in bilingual educa
tion made greater gains proportionally.”
But students in English-only classes
still scored higher
“Because parents whose- kids are at
the lowest level of English proficiency
put them into bilingual programs!”
—Norm Gold, former director of
bilingual educationfor the
California Department of Education
“As a principal, I found that Prop 227
can be successful only when four condi
tions are present:
1. A competent teacher who knows
English-teaching strategies
2. After-school and summer (tutoring)
that’s at least partly in the student’s
primary language
3. Students who come in with some lit
eracy skills
4. At least three hours a day of English
language teaching
“In the current budget environment,
that’s tough to get.
“In Fresno County we have dual
immersion bilingual education in
Khmer and Spanish (English-speaking
students learn the other language while
speakers of that language learn
English). The research is pretty clear.
Scores of the English learners in those
programs are behind in the beginning,
but by seventh or eighth grade they are
caught up and in some cases ahead.
“As we become more of a global
society, the ability to be completely flu
ent in both languages is important—but
without primary language support, they
may not be fluent in both.”
—Kathryn Catania, coordinator of
programs and student support, Fresno
County Office of Education
Before you give your child a latch-key...
By Julieta Santana
here is no affordable afterschool program in your area.
Your 10-year-old has been
nagging you to let her/him come
home alone after school. Soccer
practice only happens twice a week.
So you have begun to consider hay• ing your child come home alone
after school. But when and how
should you start? How can you.
make it work? Different families will
need different rules, but parents
and educators offer some tips for
finding your own solutions.
T
-
Consider the age
In her workshop, “The Unsupervised
Child,” Patricia Mayer, vice president of
the San Diego-based Parents Institute
for Quality Education, tells parents
there is no set legal age for leaving a
child home alone. But she suggests that
most children under 12 should not be
left unsupervised for long periods.
Know your child
Rona Renner, host
of Childhood Matters (a
weekly Bay Area par
enting radio show),
emphasizes the impor
tance of temperament in
deciding whether a
child is ready for selfcare. “Children usually
considered shy or sensi
tive typically need more
preparation. They might
need time to slowly
adapt to the change.
They might need just A,
B, or C to be OK. This
might be a favorite
video or music—what
ever may increase their
comfort level.”
She
recommends
starting by leaving a kid
alone
for
shorter
amounts of time, like
half an hour, and paying
attention to how the
child seems when you
get back. “I started leav
ing my son home alone for 15 minutes
max when he was 10,” says Watsonville
mom Rita Moreno, “but I noticed some
times when we came back he was very
anxious. You have to be very careful,
because for some children, being alone
a short while can seem an eternity.”
Because of her son’s “very sensitive”
nature, “after I got home I made it a
point to talk to him about his feelings.”
Moreno’s second son, a “spirited
child,” shows more curiosity and confi
dence. Because such a child “will get
easily bored and restless,” she notes the
importance of making very clear rules,
such as “Don’t go into the yard alone.”
David Valladolid, president of the
Parents Institute, recalls that at age 12
his daughter began “rebeffions against
the babysitter, calling her grandmother
to complain, almost demanding to be
left home alone.”
“Parents are often surprised how
well their children do,” says Renner.
“Parents are more anxious. A lot of it is
about parent fear.”
Have a clear plan
Valladolid encourages families con
sidering the latch-key option to make a
to-do list including: a back-up plan if
keys are lost and a child has no access to
the house, emergency phone numbers,
including neighbors available to help,
and a scheduled phone call to parents.
“With teens,” Renner stresses, “you
need to be very clear.” She recalls a time
when she had said “no parties” and came
home to fmd several other teens in the
house—they just didn’t consider that a
party. She also recommends now and
then coming home earlier than expected.
“I didn’t have to tell my children the
stove is off limits, or jumping out of the
window is off limits,” Moreno points
out. “I teach them how to use things so
they don’t use them in inappropriate
ways.”
Renner suggests that parents practice
home-alone role plays with their chil
dren. Parents should “make it a game of
‘What if?’ rather than something scary.”
Perhaps the most important things chil
Decide
how much structure
Jan Eatre, of Berkeley, doesn’t give
her son a strict set of rules and schedule
because, “he hates being told what to
do. He gets that at school all day. [Also,]
he’s very self-sufficient, grounded.”
Your family’s latëh-key rules, she says,
“depend upon your relationship with
your child already. If you don’t trust
your children, then you have a problem.
Parents transfer their fear to their chil
dren. Our children are fme. They need
more respect.”
In contrast, Mayer feels that “at 13 to
15 years, it is important to give unsuper
vised children some structure.” She sug
gests parents and child agree upon “a
schedule with expected outcomes to be
completed by the time a parent anives,
for example, first homework, then write
a letter, then cook the pasta or make the
salad.”
A believer in schedules, Mayer says,
“idle time often gets children into trou
ble.”
Look for alternatives
When parents are really anxious
about leaving kids alone, Mayer sug
gests they consider alternatives. Some
may be able to cut their work hours or
juggle work schedules with other family
members.
Vallodolid had live-in relatives until
his children were 12. He suggests
extended family might help with child
care, or older children might care for
younger ones. But parents should be
careful of their children’s feelings,
Mayer notes. They may resent being
“pushed to maturity.”
Or perhaps fmding an affordable
after-school program just involves
doing more research. Despite budget
problems, the state has increased sup
port for after-school programs in the last
few years, and some are free or low
cost. Karla Rosales, director of an afterschool program in San Francisco, says
in her program parents pay only $30 a
month. Kids get a snack, homework
help, and recieational activities ranging
from art to dance, from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Parents should inquire at
schools, churches, libra
ries, community organiza
tions, and the YMCA. If
they don’t have programs
of their own, they may
know where else to look.
“Ready for it”
Eatre’s son Daniel start
ed staying home alone at
12. He says he was “was
ready for it. Now (at 14)
my parents know my
friends that come over.”
The rule is, “Just no girls!”
Daniel admits that at first,
with his new freedom, he
thought, “Maybe I should
do something my parents
wouldn’t let me, now that
they are not home!” But
then, “I thought it wouldn’t
be so smart.”
I
then should rehearse is how and
whether to answer the phone and door.
A phone call to parents upon arrival
at home is a key rule. “This not only
reassures parents, but gives the child a
sense of security and connection” says
Mayer. Parents who work in restaurants
or stores can use their breaks to check in
with their children. “My child is 16,”
says Mayer. “I still expect him to call
meat 3:30—I call him again at 5.” Cell
phones, she says, can be “life-saving”
for children, “knowing they can reach
mom or dad at any moment. I know how
helpful it has been for my son.”
Consider
your community
“Low-income neighborhoods can
have more issues of safety, and often
Jess resources,” says Valladolid. But
“usually there is more of a cultural com
munity, people are more dependent
upon each other.”
Another major consideration may be
how the community treats your particu
lar child. Eatre notes, “Our culture is
safer for white kids than it is for kids of
color. I know that a white 14-year-old
found ‘experimenting’ will be treated
differently than a kid of color. Parents
with children of color are dealing with
racism. There is more fear, which may
make them more protective, with
stricter rules.”
These web sites have tips on
leaving kids home alone:
• www.nccic.org/fags/home• alone.html
• www.bancinasincorg/
uploads/i 006288807.pdf
• www.gomcs.org/english/
GOMC-inf-lkey.htm,
•For questions about liability
for unsupervised children, call
the Child Care Law Center
-394•74.
CHILDREN’S ADVOCATE 13
CHILDREN’S ADVDCATES
-
RDUNDTABLE
Proposición54:
Iniciativa cie Privacidad Racial
L
a Proposición 54 fue creada por
Ward Connerly, autor de la
Proposición 209 que eliminara la acción
afirmativa en el gobierno de California.
Esta iniciativa, que estará sujeta a
votación en la convocación extraordi
naria del 7 de octubre, prohibe a
cualquier agencia del gobierno (excepto
a Ia policIa y a algunos investigadores
medicos) reunir datos referentes a raza
u origen nacional de las personas. La
medida incluye a todas las escuelas
püblicas y empleados ptiblicos. En la
actualidad, apuntar el oiigen étnico y
racial es opcional.
ARGUMENTOS A FAVOR
Mejor para los niños:
Si eliminamos preguntas sobre etni
cidad, “no le enseflaremos a nuestros
nifios a ponerse en un casillero desde
tan pequefios”, dice Diane Schachtterle,
vocero de Ia Coalicidn Americana de
Derechos Civiles, principal proponente
de la Proposicidn 54.
Identidad Americana:
“Se trata de que todos los californi
anos se vean a sI mismos como
Schachtterle.
dice
Americanos”,
de pen
rnanera
esa
“Queremos cambiar
Una
categorfas.
en
sar que nos agrupa
a
comienzan
inmigrantes]
vez que [los
como
mismos
ellos
en
pensar
Americanos, alcanzan el éxito”.
Ahorra dinero:
La Prop. 54 aflnna que esta medida
conducirfa “a ahorros anuales para el
estado que se ubicarlan potencialmente
entre unos cuantos millones de dólares
hasta más de 10 millones a partir del
aflo 2015”.
Ejemplo nacioflal:
Con esta medida, dice Schachtterle,
“California estará liderando el camino
(para el resto de los estados) en cqntra
de perspectivas de segregación”.
OPONENTES:
PROPONENTES:
Coalición Americana de Derechos
Civiles, (916- 444-2278, www.acrcl.
g) Shelby Steele, Ward Connerly,
Adolf Coors.
ARGUMENTOS
EN CONTRA
Doña el sistema de salud:
“Si esta iniciativa entra en vigor”,
dice Ellen Wu, directora ejecutiva de
California Pan-Ethnic Health Network
(Red Panétnica de Salud de California),
“no nos será posible juntar la informa
ción de salud que precisamos”. La may
orla de las organizaciones de salud,
incluyendo la Asociación Médica de
California, se opone a la Prop. 54. Amy
Dominguez-Arms, vice presidenta de
Children Now (Los NiiIos Ya), dice:
“Hay importantes disparidades en cues
tiones de salud en función de Ia corn
posiciOn étnica (de las personas), inclu
‘endo una mayor incidencia de partos de
bajo peso y embarazos en adolescentes
entre las latinas. Si quienes to-man deci
siones no cuentan con información
detallada sobre el bienestar de los niLños,
es muy difIcil para ellos saber hacia
dónde tienen que canalizar los recursos”.
Disminuye Ia responsabilidad
de Ia escuelu:
El informe annual de Children Now
“contintia mostrando importantes dis
pandades en los resultados académicos
en función de la historia étnica”, dice
Dominguez-Arms. “Sin esta informa
ción”, dice J.C. Flores, vocero del
Fondo Mexico-Americano para la
Defensa Legal y la Educación
(MALDEF, segün sus siglas en inglés)
“cómo se supone que vamos a evaluar
si nuestros esfuerzos para mejorar la
educación están funcionando?”
Children’s Roundtable Foster Care Reform
Committee
I
the last several months the Foster Care Reform Committee of the Children’s
Advocates Roundtable has geared up to• be an energetic, unified grassroots
force advocating for foster children. The group has developed principles and a
mission statement, started an email group, and submitted comments to the nation
al Pew Commi sion on Children in Foster Care. The committee will monitor and
take action on legislative efforts and. policy debates, particularly in response to the
recent federal review concluding that California’s foster care system is failing the
children it is charged with protecting. For more info, email [email protected]
or call 619-260-4806
e3pQñol
Cornite de Reforma de laAdopción
Temporal de Children ‘s Advocates Roundtable
n los tiltimos meses, el Comité de Reforma de la Adopción Temporal (‘lostsr care”) de Children’s Advocates Roundtable—grupo de trabajo deorgani
zaciones abogando en diversos temas infantiles—se ha convertido en un fuerza
de base enérgica y unificada para abogar por los niflos en adopción temporal. El
grupo ha creado una serie de principios y una declaración de objetivos, ha comen
zado un grupo dO correo çlectrónico y enviado comentarios a la Comisión Pew
pam Nifios en Adopción Temporal. El comité se ocupará de realizar tareas de
monitoreo y participarti directamente en esfuerzos legislativos y debates sobre
politicas pi.iblicas, particularmente en respuesta a la revision federal reciente que
concluyera que el sistema de adopciOn temporal de California no provee a los
nilios la protecciOn qne éstos debieran recibit Para obtener más información
envie un email a [email protected] o flame al (619) 260-4806.
14 SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2003
Panétnica de Sälud), Kaiser Per
manente, ACLU, CA State PTA
(Asociación de Padres y Maestros del
estado de California), entre muchas
otras.
•
Traducción al castellano por
Lucrecia Miranda
Proposition 54:
Racial Privacy Initiative
P
rop. 54 was created by Ward
Connerly, author of Prop. 209,
which outlawed affirmative action in
California government. This initiative,
which will be on the ballot in the
October 7 recall election, forbids any
government agency (except police and
some medical researchers) from collect
ing data on race and national origin.
This includes all public schools and all
public employees. Currently, checking a
racial/ethnic box is optional.
ARGUMENTS FOR
Befter foi: kids:
If we eliminate questions about eth
nicity, “our children will not be taught to
put themselves in boxes at so early an
age,” says Diane Schachtterle spokes
person for American Civil Rights.
Coalition, the main proponent of
Proposition 54.
American identity:
“It’s about every Californian seeing
themseif as American,” says Schacht
terle. ‘We want to change the mindset
that groups us into categories. Once
they [immigrants] start thinking of
themselves as Americans, they suc
ceed.”
Saves money:
-.
E
Coalition for an Infonned California
(Coalición para una California
Informada, 415-621-1490, www.
informedcalifornia.ozg), Children Ncw,
Children’s Defense Fund (Fondo de
Promoción Infantil), MALDEF, CA
Pan Ethnic Health Network (Read
Prop. 54 contains the claim that it
would lead to “annual state savings
potentially ranging fmm several mil
lions of dollars to more than $10 million
starting in 2015.”
National example:
With this measure, says Schachtterle,
“California will be leading the way (for
the rest of the states) away from segre
gated perspectives.”
Proponents:
American Civil Rights Coalition,
(916 441 2278, www.acrc1.org) Shelby
Steele, Ward Connerly, Adolf Coors
ARGUMENTS AGAINST
Harms health care:
“If this initiative goes into effect,”
says Ellen Wu, executive director of the
California Pan-Ethnic Health Network,
“we will not be able to collect the health
data we need.” Most majir health orga
nizations including the California
Medical Association oppose Prop. 54.
Amy Dominguez-Arms, vice president
of Children Now, says, “There are sig
nilicant disparities in health outcomes
according to ethnic background, includ
ing higher prevalence of low birth
weight and teen pregnancy among
Latinas. When decision makers don’t
have detailed information on children’s
well-being, it is difficult for them to
know where to target resources.”
Undermines school
accountability:
Children Now’s annual report “con
tinues to show significant disparities in
(educational) outcomes according to
,ethnic background,” says Dominguez
Anus. “Without this data,” says J.C.
Flores, spokesperson for the Mexican
American Legal Defense and Education
Fund (MALDEF) “how are we sup
posed to gauge if any of our efforts to
improve education are working?”
Opponents:
Coalition for an Informed California,
(415-621-1490, www.informedcalifornia.
• Children Now, Children’s Defense
Fund, MALDEF, CA Pan Ethnic Health
Network, Kaiser Permanente, ACLU,
CA State PTA, and many more.
Tired of
California’s
budget gridlocks?
T
he California Tax Reform Associa
tion and other organizations are cir
culating initiative petitions for two mea
sures that would increase the California
legislature’s ability to raise taxes by
majority vote and empower the legisla
ture to make corporations pay their fair
share;
The Budget Accountability Act
would allow the legislature to pass a
budget with a 55 percent majority. The
current rule that a budget needs a twothirds majority creates gridlock by
allowing a minority of legislators to
block a budget. The bill also includes
other provisions, to reduce gridlock,
such as docking legislators’ salaries for
late budgets.
The Corporate Tax Accountability
Act would help legislators end specialinterest tax breaks. Currently a majority
of the legislature can pass a corporate
tax break but it takes two-thirds to
repeal it. The measure would also
require, all corporate tax breaks to end
automatically in five years unless reen
acted.
For info: 916-444-43)0,
www.caltaxreform.ora
FOURTH ANNUAL
HIGH/SCOPE
REGIONAL CONFERENCE
FRIDAY
and
SATURDAY
OCTOBER 10 & 11,2003
Friday: 1:00pm to 6:00pm
Saturday: 8:30am to 4:30pm
LOS MEDANOS COLLEGE
PITTSBURG, CA
Children’s Advocate,
a bimonthly newsmagazine,
provides in-depth coverage of issues
affecting children and families,
including child care, health, educa
tion, child welfare, poverty, violenceprevention, and more.
Communities
Committed to Children,
a 16-page special report, shows how
five distinct California comrflunities built
collaboration and mobilized people
power to improve conditions for
children and families.
Pathways to Parent Leadership,
a 48-page special report in Spanish
and English, highlights nine successful
programs that help parents become
leaders in their children’s lives,
schools, and communities.
You may order any of our publications online at www.4children.orgIsubscribe.hi
CA residents add 8% sales tax.
Children’s Advocate:
L $12 first-hme,
one year rote
L $18 one year renewal
$34 for Iwo years
H
OlE TI41:,
ROAD
0
Bulk Orders (6 issues/year):
L $29/yr for 25 copies
L $47/yr for 45 copies
L $90/yr for 100 copies
Special Reports:
IJ Communites Committed
To Children
$3 + $1 .95 s/li
L Pathways to Parent
Leadership
$5 + $2.40 s/h
NAME
ORG A NI ZATI 0 N
ADDRESS
CITY
STATE
ZIP
PHONE
EMAIL
Enclosed is my check for
Make check payable (do not send cash) to Action Alliance for Children
$_________________
Please mail this form to:
1201 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Oakland, CA 94612
Radios en español para padres
Call 1-800-350-8802
for a registration form
BAY AREA REGIONAL TRAINING CENTER
Discover a
world of ideas
and gain a new perspective
on early childhood
programs.
TUITION:
Friday: $80
Saturday: $125
Both days: $190
Padres inmigrantes y profesionales comparten su experiencia sobre un amplio
espectro de temas parentales en un programa de radio en espafiol. con un sisterna
de Uamãdas en vivo, el cual sale al aire los martes de 10 a 11 de la mañana.
La Placita Bilingiie, conducida por los padres, sale al aire en la red deS estaciones
de Radio. BilingUe en California: KSJV 91.5 FM en Fresno, KHDC 90.9 en
Salinas, KMPO 88.7 FM en Modesto, KTQX 90.1 FM en Bakersfield, y KUBO
88.7 FM en El Centro. También puede accedersó a travs de 1ntrnet.. en
www.radiobilingue.org.
.
.
Para obtener más informacidn por favor conta€te a las productoras del programa:
Delia Saldivar, en Salinas, al ntImerö 831-757-80396 Lupita Carrasco, en Fresno,
al 559-455-5761. La Placita Bilingile esposible gracias a los fondos recibidos de
la California Wellness.Foundrtion (Fundacidn para el Bienestar de Califàrnia).
.
...
..
IN THE BAY AREA•
Rona R.enner n
The radio talk show for parents and others
who care for kids
Sundays 9 to 10 am
LIMITEDSCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE.
98.1 KISS-FM
Calitoll free: 877-372-KIDS
Listen to all previous shows on our website
www.childhoodmatters.org
CHILDREN’S ADVOCATE 15
____
CHILDREN’S ADVOCATES RDUNDTABLE
Child care teachers/providers
as leaders
Maestros y proveedores de
cuidado infantil como iIderes
HEALTH INSURANCE OUTREACH
PROMOCION DE SEGURO MEDICO
The 100% Campaign: Health Insurance for Every California Child has a new out
reach brochure for child care providers who want to help families sign up for Medi
Cal or Healthy Families. Available in English and Spanish. Customized inserts avail
able for 21 counties. Call 510-663-1294 or download at www.l0Opercentcam
paign.org.
VOTER REGISTRATION
The California Child Development Corps is mounting a voter registration and
political awareness drive focused on child care center teachers and family child care
providers in California. The goal of the drive is to increase the political participation
of the child care worlcforce and to educate them about early childhood and other pub
lic policies’ influence on their livelihoods, their programs, and the young children in.
their care. The Corps is hoping to do outreach partly through county CARES pro
grams. For info: call Alice Burton, 415-808-4300.
epañoi
cCansado de
los estancamientos en
el presupuesto de California?
alifornia Tax Reform Association (AsociaciOn para la Reforma Impositiva de
California) y otras organizaciones están haciendo circular peticiones para pre
sentar dos medidas que darlan mis flexibilidad a la legislatura de California para
aumentar los impuestos por simple mayoria de votos y dale mis competencia para
hacer que las corporaciones paguen lo que les corresponde.
La Ley de Responsabilidad Presupuestaria permitirla que la legislatura aprobara el
presupuesto con una mayorIa del 55 por ciento. La disposición actual que establece
una mayoria de dos tercios para aprobar el presupuesto crea una situación de
estancamiento al pennitir que una minorla de legisladores bloquee el presupuesto. La
propuesta de ley incluye también una serie de medidas para reducir dicha situación de
bloqueo, tales como descontar dinero del salario de los legisladores cuando éstos no
aprueben el presupuesto en ténnino.
La Ley de Responsabilidad Impositiva para Corporaciones ayudaria a los legis
ladores a poner fin a las prerrogativas impositivas de las que gozan ciertos intereses
especiales. En Ia actualidad, la mayoria en Ia legislatura puede aprobar leyes estable
ciendo recortes impositivos para corporaciones, si bien precisa de dos tercios para
revocarlas. La medida también requeriria que todos los recortes impositivos terminen
automáticamente en cinco años, a menos que vuelvan a ser puestos en vigor de fomia
explicita. Para obtener mis información flame al (916) 444-4300, o dirijase al sitio
web www.caltaxreform.org
C
-‘
Campana del 100%: Health Insurance for Every California Child (Seguro Medico
paa todos los Niilos de California) cuenta con un nuevo folleto de promociOn para
proveedores de cuidado infantil que buscan ayudar a farnilias de California a
inscribirse en Medi-Cal o Healthy Families. El folleto está disponible en inglés y
espanol y cuenta con páginas intenores especfficas para 21 conclados. Para obtener
una copia flame al (510) 663-1294, o bájela de Internet yendo al sitio web
www.100percentcampaign.org.
REGISTRACIÔN DE VOTANTES
California Child Development Corps (Cuerpo de California para el Desarrollo
Infantil) está montando una campafia de concientización polItica y registro de
votantes centrado en los maestros y proveedores de los centros de cuidado infantil de
California. El objetivo de la campaila es aumentar Ia participaciOn polftica de Ia
fuerza de trabajo en los mencionados centros y educar a los trabajadores sobre el
impacto que poilticas ptlblicas de infancia ejercen sobre su sustento, asI como sobre
los programas y los niiios de los que se ocupan. El Cuerpo espera concretar sus
esfuerzos de promoción en pate a iravés de los programas CARES del condado. Paa
obtener información ilame a Alice Burton, (415) 808-4300.
The cost of raising kids in California
The National Economic Development and Law Center has published a new
report showing how much it really costs to support a family in each California
county. It shows that:
* About three in 10 California households have incomes too low to cover their
basic needs, although only about one in 10 are officially “poor.”
* More than half of housholds with a child under six have inadequate income.
* More than half the families with inadequate income have at least one work
er working full time and yea round. More than two-thirds are U.S. citizens.
* The proportion of families with inadequate incomes is greater in the Los
Angeles area (one-third), for African Americans (more than one-third), and for
Latinos (more than half).
NEDLC hopes the report wifi be used as an advocacy tool for policies to
increase family incomes (such as a higher m nimum wage and increased job train
ing) and to reduce costs (more subsidized housing, child care, and health care).
For info: 510-251-2600 or www.nedlc.org.
Action Alliance for Children presents I presenta
PARENTS LEADING THE WAY
toward stronger communities for children
w.
PADRES HACIENDO CAMINOS
Traducción al castellano por Lucrecia Miranda
hacia una comunidad más fuerte para los niños
El costo de criar niños
en California
z
1:
La organización National Economic Development and Law Center (Centro
Nacional de Desarrollo Econdmico y Leyes) ha publicado un nuevo informe
mostrando cuánto cuesta realmente sustentar una familia en cada condado de
California. El infonne muestra que:
* Aproximadamente tees de cada diez hogares de California tienen ingresos
demasiado bajos para cubrir sus necesidades básicas, si bien solo uno de cada diez
es oficialmente “pobre”.
* Mis de la mitad de los hogares con nifios de menos de 6 afios tiene ingresos
insuficientes.
* Mis de Ia mitad de las familias con ingresos insuficientes cuentan con al
menos una persona de la familia trabajando a tiempo completo durante todo el
afio. Mis de dos tercios son ciudadanos estadounidenses.
* La proporción de familias con ingresos insuficientes es mayor en el area
metropolitana de Los Angeles (un tercio), para afro-americanos (mis de un ter
cio) y latinos (mis de Ia mitad).
NEDLC espera que este informe pueda ser utilizado como herramienta para
abogar por poilticas pdblicas destinadas a aumentar el ingreso familiar (tales
como un aiza en el salario minimo o mis entrenamiento laboral) y reducir costos
(mis subsidios para vivienda, cuidado infantil y salud). Para obtener mis infor
macion flame al nthnero (510) 251-2600 o dirijase al sitio web www.nedlc.org
A two-day conference for
organizations committed to fostering parent leadership
and
emerging parent leaders
LJna conferencia de dos dias para los padres de familias formandose en el camino del
liderazgo y para organizaciones comprometidas a nutrirles en ese proceso
October 17-18,2003 117 y I 8de octubre del 2003
Preservation Park, Oakland, CA
BUILD our skills
SHARE what works
CONNECT our strength and our stories
FOR MORE INFORMATION, contact:
PARA MAS INFORMACIÔN, favor escriba o Ilame a:
I
1
14.
16 SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2003
DESARROLLAR nuestras capaadades
COMPARTIR lo que nos ha funcionado
CONECTAR lo fuerte en nosotros con nuestras historian
Action Alliance for Children, 1201 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Oakland, CA 94612-1217
510-444-7136 email: aac4children.org web: www.4children.org
Funded by the I Patrocinado por Zellerbach Family Foundation • Partners indude I Organizaciones asociadas:
Coleman Advocates for Children and Youth • Northern California Citizenship Project • Parent Services Project
Parent Voices • Redwood City Family Centers • San Rafael Canal Hmistry
lnsptring presentations • Inter anise learning • Open Space” dialogue • Simultaneous translation • Child care program
simultanea • Cuidado do uitos
Presentanionnu que Se Inspiralãn • Apreoderenrus interactuando • Diilogos “Espano Abierto’ • Traducción