Return-Path: <nifl-family@literacy.nifl.gov> Received: from literacy (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by literacy.nifl.gov (8.10.2/8.10.2) with SMTP id e99BPe907515; Mon, 9 Oct 2000 07:25:40 -0400 (EDT) Date: Mon, 9 Oct 2000 07:25:40 -0400 (EDT) Message-Id: <MAEBLPCCEIIMGAKFAAAHOEMICNAA.nsledd@famlit.org> Errors-To: listowner@literacy.nifl.gov Reply-To: nifl-family@literacy.nifl.gov Originator: nifl-family@literacy.nifl.gov Sender: nifl-family@literacy.nifl.gov Precedence: bulk From: "Nancy Sledd" <nsledd@famlit.org> To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-family@literacy.nifl.gov> Subject: [NIFL-FAMILY:3183] Excerpts from Connect For Kids Weekly -- October 9, 2000 X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook IMO, Build 9.0.2416 (9.0.2910.0) Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Type: text/plain; Status: O Content-Length: 7678 Lines: 162 ********************************************** Connect for Kids Weekly--October 09, 2000 ********************************************** **Rising Star in Denver by Cecilia Garcia By transforming a neighborhood blight into a nurturing pre-school for Latino children, a group of parents and teachers in Denver, Colorado have shown that community effort can improve the lives of children and brighten a whole neighborhood. Connect for Kids' director Cecilia Garcia explains how the Family Star Community Center was born. http://www.connectforkids.org **Resources for Adults Concerned About Young Children >From brain development and early learning to discipline and the effects of the media on very young children, the Connect for Kids Early Years feature is your resource on issues affecting children under age three. http://www.connectforkids.org **What Grown-Ups Understand About Child Development Zero to Three surveyed 3,000 adults-many of them parents-on their knowledge about child development and specific policies affecting children and families. Though most respondents had a grasp on the basics, there is some room to grow. Many do not understand that even very young infants have long-term memory, are affected by witnessing violence, and can become depressed. Read the summary or full study on zerotothree.org. (You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader.) http://www.connectforkids.org **Pediatricians Take a Position on Mental Health Coverage The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) released new guidelines (October, 2000) on child and adolescent mental health and substance abuse services, calling for more comprehensive public and private insurance aimed at increasing access to treatment to address the needs of increasing numbers of children with psychosocial problems. http://www.aap.org/advocacy/releases/octmental.htm Watch for the Surgeon General's national Action Plan for Children's Mental Health to be released soon. http://www.gwu.edu/~mtg/ejournal/october_2.htm **Improving School Environments for Students The U.S. Dept. of Education announced grants to 58 school districts to establish or expand elementary school counseling programs staffed by school counselors, psychologists and social workers. http://www.ed.gov/PressReleases/09-2000/0915.html ___________________________ RESOURCES FOR COMMUNITY BUILDING **Early Head Start Funding The Administration for Children, Youth and Families is accepting applications from local public and private nonprofit and for-profit organizations interested in carrying out services under the Early Head Start program. Grants are available in 83 communities in 35 states and the District of Columbia. Deadline: November 13, 2000. For an application, call 800-351-2293. ___________________________ HEALTH -- WHAT WE DON'T TALK ABOUT CAN HURT KIDS **Sex Education in America Parents say they want more in-depth sex education in schools, including practical issues like resisting pressures to have sex or how to use condoms as well as more attention to controversial topics like sexual orientation and abortion, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. http://www.kff.org/content/2000/3048/ **HIV Epidemic Hitting Women, Minorities, Adolescents Harder Over the last fifteen years the AIDS epidemic in the United States has shifted considerably, with the number of new AIDS cases among women, minorities and adolescents increasing. A new report from the Institute of Medicine calls for greater emphasis on prevention measures, including routine services for at-risk and infected individuals in all clinical settings. http://www.nationalacademies.org/webextra/hiv/ **Drug Dependence, a Chronic Mental Illness The social consequences of drug dependence have cast it as a "social problem," but it has all the earmarks of a chronic illness. Treating it as a chronic mental illness can lead the way to better prevention and treatment, according to this Journal of the American Medical Association article, which argues that "drug dependence should be insured, treated and evaluated like other chronic illnesses." http://jama.ama-assn.org/issues/v284n13/abs/jsc00024.html **Primary Caregivers and Psychological Problems of Children What are the factors that influence a physician's willingness and ability to talk to parents about their children's emotional and psychological problems? According to research in the journal Pediatrics, the key factor in pediatricians providing counseling or referrals was the relationship between physician and parents. Unfortunately, visits don't often last long enough to create bonds. http://www.pediatrics.org/cgi/content/full/106/4/e44#Conclusion **A Look at Poor Dads Who Don't Pay Child Support The 2.6 million fathers who do not live with their children, are poor and owe child support may face barriers to employment and financial security similar to poor custodial mothers. This Urban Institute report asks what can be done to improve programs to help these fathers meet their obligations to their children. http://newfederalism.urban.org/html/discussion00-07.html#intro **Emerging Neighborhoods for Affordable Housing Even in some of the hottest real estate markets in the country, working families can still find modestly priced homes in "just right" neighborhoods, like the "Seven Trees" neighborhood in San Jose, according to the Fannie Mae Foundation. Innovative public policies are essential to maintain such islands of affordability before they are submerged by rising housing costs, if working families are to be able to secure a toehold in the housing market. http://www.fanniemaefoundation.org/news/release/justright092600.htm **City House or Country House Makes a Difference Families leaving welfare and trying to find gainful employment in rural areas face different, and sometimes more persistent, barriers than urban families, according to a series of reports from the Joint Center of Poverty Research. http://www.jcpr.org/newsletters/vol4_no5/index.html ___________________________ REPORTS IN BRIEF **Pediatrics Beyond the Office The October 2000 issue of Pediatrics has a number of articles on children's exposure to harmful elements in their environment, including television commercial violence, tobacco smoke from non-parental smokers in inner city households and lead exposure despite dust control. http://www.pediatrics.org **Early Drinking Increases Lifetime Injury Risk Adults who began drinking before age 14 are more likely to drink heavily and are at greater risk for unintentional injury during adulthood than those who began drinking at or after age 21. http://silk.nih.gov/silk/niaaa1/releases/injury.htm **Making Up Your Mind to Learn The Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation offers "So I Made Up My Mind," an overview of adult learning in library literacy programs. http://www.mdrc.org/Reports2000/MDRCLibLit.pdf Minnesota. The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports on a pilot program to help kids visit their moms -- in prison. http://www.connectforkids.org/homepage1667/index.htm?state_id=400 Mississippi. Mississippi is using federal School-to-Work dollars to support a Web site to help children ages four and up learn about higher education and career opportunities. http://www.connectforkids.org/homepage1667/index.htm?state_id=401 **************************************** ABOUT CONNECT FOR KIDS The Connect for Kids Weekly is an electronic newsletter of Connect for Kids (http://www.connectforkids.org/), a resource for adults who want to build better communities for kids and families. The Benton Foundation, our publisher, works to realize the social benefits made possible by the public interest use of communications.
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