September Children's Advocate online!

The full September-October issue is online at http://www.4children.org/issues/2009/september_october/ -- for Spanish or Chinese, click the link at the top of any page.

Articles in this issue:

• Grassroots snapshot: Oakland parents successfully push for school repairs
• Hot topics: Parents design L.A. parent involvement model
• Early care and education: Classroom projects offer rich learning opportunities
• Raising kids: Families and parent educators share tips for stopping bullying
• Parent Voices: Parents and providers call on legislators to protect child care
• California Child Development CORPS: Riverside Corps participants build leadership
• Children's Advocates Roundtable: call for parent input, Childhood Matters returns to KISS 98.1FM, new food stamps and nutrition laws, health care reform, state budget cuts services for families

July Children's Advocate now online!

The full issue is online at http://www.4children.org/issues/2009/july_august/. For Spanish or Chinese, click the link at the top of any page.

Articles in this issue:

• Grassroots snapshot: Parents win change in school lunch policy
• Hot topics: A statewide quality improvement system for California?
• Early care and education: Teachers can help English learners build skills in two languages
• Raising kids: A parent shares how she helped her children cope with divorce
• California Child Development Corps participant speaks out—and is heard—at budget hearing
• Parent Voices: Parents rally for child care
• Children's Advocates Roundtable: bills in the legislature, combating the Cradle to Prison Pipeline, stimulus funds, state budget

May Children's Advocate now online!

This issue includes our election coverage for the May election and a special easy-to-read comic book about California's budget gridlock. Teachers and providers will be interested in our professional development article -- learning social skills through play, as well as an article about how the Water Cooler is bringing children's advocates together. Articles of interest to parents include our parent advice article on raising boys and two articles about parent activism. Here's a full list of articles:

• On the Ballot May 19: Nonpartisan election coverage of Propositions 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, and 1E
  
• Grassroots snapshot: San Francisco parents get an advocate on the school board
  
• Hot topics: “I don’t want more kids to get asthma”
  Parents and advocates take action against pollution to prevent asthma in their communities
  
• Early care and education--Learning through play: “A recipe for life success”
  Children develop social skills through play
  
• Raising kids: Overcoming Stereotypes, Part 2: “We’re encouraging ourson to be happy and expressive”
  Families and educators share tips for raising boys
  
• “A coalition that’s broad enough to make it happen”
  The Water Cooler brings advocates for young children together
  
• News from the California Child Development CORPS: “I wanted to be part of it!”
  
• News from Parent Voices: Members get involved in federal advocacy campaigns
  
• California Budget Gridlock: Grandma Tells the Story
  A Children's Advocate comic book (available in PDF format only)
  
• Children's Advocate Roundtable: Spring into action: Sacramento lobby days

Read these articles in English and Spanish (Chinese will be up next week), or download the pdfs to share with colleagues, parents, and students. Online at http://www.4children.org/issues/2009/may_june/

January-February Children's Advocate

Check out our January-February Children's Advocate issue -- now available and online in English, Spanish, and Chinese! This issue includes our annual multicultural calendar with dates for key 2009 multicultural holidays as well as anniversaries of significant events. In this issue:

• 2009 multicultural calendar (online only!)
• Grassroots Snapshot: Families win pesticide buffer zone
• Hot topics: LIFETIME helps parents get their CalWORKs benefits
• Early Care and Education: Learning through play: Ways children can bump into numbers
• Hot topics: Union? Family child care association? Family child care providers debate the benefits
• Raising kids: Parents talk with kids about their family's tough times
• Community resources: Resources for families going through tough times
• California Child Development CORPS: The CARES stipend is a strong motivator
• Parent Voices: "Now everything I do incorporates Parent Voices"

In English at http://www.4children.org/issues/2009/january_february
(for Spanish or Chinese, click on the link at the top of that page)

One-third of toys contain harmful chemicals!

I just got this in my email from a great organization, MomsRising.org (I recommend getting on their list!) and thought it was so important I wanted to share it as widely as possible. Have a wonderful, safe, and healthy holiday season!

Dear MomsRising.org Member,
Starting your holiday shopping this week? The LAST thing you want to be giving the children and babies on your list is dangerous chemicals like lead and arsenic. Yet, when the Ecology Center, a Michigan-based nonprofit, tested over 1,500 popular children's toys for lead, cadmium, arsenic, PVC and other harmful chemicals, they found that one in three toys tested were found to contain "medium" or "high" levels of chemicals of concern.

Scary, right? But knowledge truly is power in this case. Before you give a child a toy this holiday season, search the HealthyToys database for its chemical test results:
http://www.momsrising.org/healthytoys

When you're at the store, you can search the HealthyToys database from your cell phone. Simply text "healthytoys [name of toy]" -- for example "healthytoys Elmo" or "healthytoys Wii" -- to 41411.

Then help other parents protect their kids. Print out this information and post it at work, school, the grocery, wherever you go.

From MomsRising, http://www.momsrising.org/

P.S. According to the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, toys containing toxic phthalates are supposed to be banned starting on February 10, 2009. But the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is saying that stores can continue to sell down their inventories as long as they were manufactured before the February deadline. If you haven't already, please sign our letter to the CPSC to tell them to stop monkeying around with our kids' health! (Already 6,443 people have signed.) Go to http://www.momsrising.org/really_ban_phthalates to add your name.

November-December Children's Advocate

Check out our November-December Children's Advocate issue -- now available and online in English, Spanish, and Chinese! This issue includes a special supplement about how raising families’ income is a key strategy for improving the lives of young children

Special supplement:

• Money Matters: Community programs boost families’ incomes
• Money Matters: Money matters for child development
• Money Matters: What can I do to help?

Also in this issue:

• Grassroots Snapshot: Oakland homeowners win foreclosure protections
• Hot topics: Parents are taking action—in their homes and in the community—to protect girls from developing too soon
• Early Care and Education: Learning through play: Play activities that include letters and writing prepare children to read
• Hot Topics: Immigrant child care providers—and even many who were born here—sometimes find the system confusing
• Raising kids: Parents offer tips for talking with kids about advertising
• Bookbasket: Hard times
• News from the California Child Development CORPS
• News from Parent Voices
• News from the Children's Advocates Roundtable
  

In English at http://www.4children.org/current.htm
In Spanish at http://www.4children.org/current.htm#esp
In Chinese at http://www.4children.org/current.htm#chn

Advocacy events coming up!

Here are some great ways to get active this fall on children's issues -- and stay tuned for our November issue which will cover Step up for kids day as part of the Parent Voices feature!

Sep 16: Step Up For Kids Day is an opportunity to call on policymakers to make children a national political priority. Sacramento. For more information, contact Parent Voices, Mary Ignatius, (415) 882-0234


Oct 16: Lights on Afterschool! is an opportunity to call attention to the importance of after-school programs and the need for more programs. For event information and activity ideas, contact the Afterschool Alliance, (866) KIDS-TODAY


Oct 17-19: National Observance of Children's Sabbaths is an opportunity for congregations to learn more about children's issues and work to improve the lives of children. For more information or resources specific to different faiths, contact the Children's Defense Fund, (800) CDF-1200

September-October Children's Advocate

Check out our September-October Children's Advocate issue -- now available and online in English, Spanish, and Chinese! This is our special election issue, with information on presidential candidates and ballot measures that affect kids. We also kick off a new series in this issue for early care and education teachers and providers on learning through play.

Election 2008:

• Candidates for President: Find out where candidates for president (Democratic, Republican, Green, and Libertarian) stand on children's issues
• Ballot measures: Summaries of key propositions affecting children, with pro and con arguments.
• Election resources: "Why should I vote" a reproducible cartoon flyer about why parents and others should vote, as well as nonpartisan resources.
  

Also in this issue:

• Grassroots Snapshot: Parents preserve affordable housing for low-income families
• Early Care and Education: Learning through play: Taking ownership of language
• Raising kids: Families and parent educators share tips for helping children stay motivated in school
• California Child Development Coprs: Corps group nurtures new leaders
• Parent Voices: Parent Voices member helps draft family-issues platform

In English at http://www.4children.org/current.htm
In Spanish at http://www.4children.org/current.htm#esp
In Chinese at http://www.4children.org/current.htm#chn

July-August Children's Advocate

The Children's Advocate July-August 2008 issue is now available -- and online -- in English, Spanish, and Chinese. This is a special environmental issue, with tips on raising "green" kids and connecting kids with nature, as well as a snapshot of anti-global-warming activism in Chula Vista and a bookbasket of environmentally themed kids' books. Check it out:

• Grassroots Snapshot: Parents help win Chula Vista global warming plan
  
• Hot topics: Families organize to bring children's issues into political campaigns
  
• Early Care and Education: Early care and education teachers share tips for helping children connect with nature
  
• Hot topics: Stressed-out parents find help and education in support groups
  
• Raising kids: Families and educators offer kid-friendly environmental tips
  
• Bookbasket: Children's books provide kid-friendly descriptions of environmental issues -- and suggest positive ways to make a difference
  
• News from the California Child Development CORPS: Working against budget cuts -- locally and statewide
  
• News from Parent Voices: Parents come together to create platform on family issues
  
• News from the Children's Advocates' Roundtable

In English at http://www.4children.org/current.htm
In Spanish at http://www.4children.org/current.htm#esp
In Chinese at http://www.4children.org/current.htm#chn

Children's Advocate March-April issue

The Children's Advocate March-April 2008 issue is now available -- and online -- in English and Spanish. This issue includes articles about grassroots activism -- and efforts to push for a fair budget -- along with a package of articles for families and early care and education staff about helping kids learn to control their impulses. Check it out:

• Moms' walking group leads push for a walkable neighborhood


• Pushing for a fair budget: Parents and advocates mobilize to fight the proposed
  state budget cuts


• Kids with attention deficit disorder and hyperactivity can learn to control
  their impulses -- but they need special support


• After-school programs are multiplying because of funding from Prop 49. How
  can parents make sure their children benefit?


• Parents and parent educators offer tips for helping children learn to control
  their impulses


• Children's books on keeping impulses in check


• News from the California Child Development CORPS: The Corps mobilizes to
  fight proposed budget cuts


• News from Parent Voices: Spreading the word about tax credits


• News from the Children's Advocates Roundtable

In English at http://www.4children.org/current.htm
In Spanish at http://www.4children.org/current.htm#esp
And Chinese coming soon!

Brood Awakenings

And here's another interesting resource --

The online environmental news site, Grist, has put together a package of articles that tackles some of the environmental health issues faced by families, including
* chemicals and reproduction
* dealing with the plastics scare
* kid-proofing your cleaning supplies
* toys -- avoiding toxic ones and finding alternatives to disposable ones
* eco-causes of early puberty
* the need for more public investment in school lunches

Several of articles include stories about how parents are navigating these challenges along with all the usual challenges of raising kids.

http://www.grist.org/feature/2007/09/17/parenting/index.html

Good schools as a human right

You know that the lousy schools in poor neighborhoods have devastating effects on the lives of kids and reinforce injustice. Educational inequity violates the human rights of students in low-income communities and communities of color.

Now there’s a new training manual for advocates, organizers, community members, parents, and youth interested in using a human rights framework as a tool for improving public education in the U.S. It was produced by the National Economic and Social Rights Initiative (NESRI) and Community Asset Development Re-defining Education (CADRE), a grassroots parent organization in L.A.

The manual includes three training curricula: (1) Know Your Human Rights -- Introduces participants to basic human rights principles, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and standards for the right to education; (2) Using Human Rights for Social Change -- Introduces participants to strategies for using the language and principles of human rights in their campaigns and messaging; (3) Taking Action by Documenting Human Rights Abuses -- Introduces participants to research methods for documenting rights violations in schools and tips for using documentation as an organizing tool. The appendix includes training handouts and exercises, a glossary of human rights terms, and excerpts from human rights treaties and declarations recognizing the right to education. To order hard copies email info@nesri.org or call 212-253-1710. Available in English and Spanish online in PDF format at:http://www.nesri.org/programs/education_manual.html

School discipline/parents’ rights

People call our office when they have tough problems and there’s no obvious place to go for an answer. Often these problems have to do with arbitrary/harsh/racist/etc. school discipline decisions. We do our best to suggest resources, but it’s always inadequate.

So I was delighted to see that Carolyn Goossen, of New America Media, has written a step-by-step guide for parents: ‘My Child Just Got Expelled’ – What Every California Parent Should Know About School Discipline http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=90f1622ef1ce3e2185d1ca373c003bd0&from=rss

I hope parents and everyone who works with parents will print this out and keep it handy for the next time you are faced with a situation you feel is unfair. The article ends with an important point – if you think unfair discipline is a pattern at your child’s school, you don’t have to deal with this only on a case-by-case basis. You can organize with other parents and demand change.

I would just add that this applies, not only to racial bias in discipline (which is a huge problem) but also to harsh/arbitrary discipline in general. It’s a long tradition in public education to decide kids are “no good” and declare war on them. It happens to kids of color disproportionately but it happens to kids of every background.

For some inspiration on the possibilities of organizing for a positive, supportive approach to discipline, see the article in our May ’07 issue, www.4children.org/news/507gse.htm

CalWORKs changes: More pressure

More Trouble Department
The new federal welfare law, signed last February, will put a lot more pressure on states, and thus on low-income families, who already had plenty, thank you.
The new law forces states to get more of the people on welfare working. It also puts more restrictions on what you can count as “work” (for example, you can count a year’s worth of job training, but the new law specifies that this “training” can’t be part of a four-year college program).
If you’re interested in the technical details, the feds didn’t actually increase the “work participation” requirement: it’s still 50%. What they did was drastically decrease the credit that states get for reducing the number of families on welfare. The states were using this credit to make up for the fact that nowhere NEAR 50% of the families on welfare were working. In California it’s been around 23%.
(That’s because families on welfare have REASONS for not working. Some parents lack job skills. Some are homeless. Some can’t find child care or transportation. Many have mental health, domestic violence, or substance abuse problems. That’s why they’re on welfare. Duh.)
(If you want even more technical details about the federal changes and California’s response, see the summary by the Western Center on Law and Poverty at http://www.wclp.org/files/Welfare%20Watchers%207-21-06%20final.doc )
California has responded to this pressure in a good way, by trying to protect supportive programs for CalWORKs families and even providing more funds for programs such as job training, that will help parents meet work requirements. They’re also moving some families out of the federal welfare program so they won’t be under pressure to work if that’s not appropriate for them. They’ve added policies to help families avoid “sanctions” (penalties for not meeting CalWORKs requirements) and to end sanctions quickly.
But the federal law will still increase pressure and restrict options for CalWORKs and CalWORKs families.
Fortunately California also has some kick-ass organizations that are mobilizing to help CalWORKs parents learn about the new law and figure out how to deal with it, both on an individual and a policy level.
LIFETIME (Low-Income Families Empowerment Through Education) (http://www.geds-to-phds.org/) will be working with other organizations in the TANF Stakeholders Working Group to prevent any cuts in income to CalWORKs families. They’ll also continue to work on expanding educational opportunities for CalWORKs parents.
Meanwhile LIFETIME staffer Dianna Collier will be traveling around the state holding workshops for parents on CalWORKS about how they can deal with the new requirements and build toward financial success for their families. To schedule a workshop at your community college or organization, contact her at dcollier@geds-to-phds.org.
And look for the Children’s Advocate’s article on new issues in CalWORKs, coming up in our March issue.

Lower pay for moms

Everyday Outrages Department

If you're a woman, on average, becoming a mother will cost you 17 cents off every dollar in your paycheck. If you're a man, your pay is likely to increase when you become a father.
?!?!@#?!??@#!
We all know there's a "wage gap" between women and men. But now a bunch of studies have shown that women with kids also get paid less than women without kids. One study, for example, found that women without children make 90 cents to a man's dollar. Moms make 73 cents, and single moms make 56 to 66 cents.
Oh, but it's because they take more time off when kids are sick etc., right? Wrong. A Cornell University researcher, Shelley Correll, released a study last year showing that the cause is discrimination. It's not mothers' "fault" for doing delinquent things like taking care of their kids.
Correll also found that mothers were less likely to be hired than non-mothers and were offered lower starting pay. (She figured this out by comparing the hiring experiences of equally qualified moms and non-moms.)
This discrimination is the latest target of an organization called MomsRising, an internet activism group trying to drum up political pressure for "family friendly" policies in the U.S. They've published The Motherhood Manifesto, which documents problems and proposes solutions on a wide range of issues from work policies to child care to health and more.
Lower pay for moms hurts kids! MomsRising quotes a researcher at the Institute for Women's Policy Research, who says that if this pay gap didn't exist, the poverty rate would be cut in half for single-mother families and the poverty rates for dual-earner families would be cut by 25%.
To see the solutions MomsRising is proposing for this and other problems, check them out at www.momsrising.org.
Jean