Early Childhood Development Brings an Economic High Rate of Return

This article from the fedgazette  online magazine examines early childhood development programs as a priority for state and local governments and a key to economic benefits.  Studies find that well-focused investments in early childhood development yield high public as well as private returns. The article makes a case for public funding of early childhood development in Minnesota and backs it up with research, studies, and program results.

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  The other side of the Social Security Debate: What Social Security means to children and families

The National Center for Children in Poverty brings to our notice over five million children who benefit from Social Security, either directly as beneficiaries, as dependents of workers who have become disabled, or indirectly as family members in households where an adult relies on Social Security. Here are two documents to review:

Why Social Security Matters to Children and Families: What Every Policymaker Should Know – Five page fact sheet loaded with information and statistics, with endnotes.

Whose Security? What Social Security Means to Children and Families – Policy brief describes the role that Social Security plays in protecting America’s children and argues that the current debate ignores how privatization and benefit cuts will impact our most vulnerable population – children. 10 page pdf file.

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State Ombudsman Programs

This new Juvenile Justice Bulletin describes the role of an ombudsman and examines how Tennessee, Connecticut, and Georgia have designed diverse ombudsman programs to serve the needs of children and youth. Also provides information on establishing an ombudsman office. 21 page pdf file.

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Immigration and Kids

Children of Recent Immigrants: National and Regional Trends

This new report from the National Center for Children in Poverty says that 65% of the children of recent immigrants are low-income. Other data from the report:

• Two-thirds of children of low-income, recent immigrants live in the South and West.
• Nationally, 85% of these children live with parents who are employed and 71% live with married parents.
• Almost half (45%) of children of low-income, recent immigrants have parents who do not hold a high school degree.

Mentally Retarded Refugee Orphan’s Quest for Freedom and Justice and the Need for Systemic Reform in the Treatment of Unaccompanied Alien Children

Malik, a mentally retarded teenager,  has become a powerful symbol of the plight of over 5,000 unaccompanied alien children arriving in the U.S. every year in search of protection, freedom and safety. He was detained primarily in adult prisons while his asylum proceedings dragged on for three years. His special needs as a mentally disabled child were neglected. Immigration officials never acted on his request to seek relief in state court as an abandoned child, a process which would have made him eligible for a green card under the special immigrant juvenile visa program.

Because he had three international law firms and an army of pro bono attorneys working on his behalf Malik is now free.  Most refugee children are unrepresented in their immigration proceedings because they are not afforded the right to government-appointed presentation.

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Exceptional Returns: Economic, Fiscal, and Social Benefits of Investment in Early Childhood Development

The Economic Policy Institute has just released this new report on the youngest and most vulnerable children in the United States. Nearly one in five children underage six lives in poverty, and the number is rising. A strong consensus among the experts who have studied high-quality early childhood development programs is that these programs have substantial payoffs. The study demonstrates, for the first time, that providing all 20% of the nation’s three- and four-year-old children who live in poverty with a high-quality ECD program would have a substantial payoff for governments and taxpayers in the future.  

The link above is to a brief summary of the report. Click here for the full 44 page pdf file.

Related Information:

Oklahoma’s Pre-Kindergarten Statewide Program - The state of Oklahoma is the top state in the county in the percentage of four-year-old children attending quality public preschool programs. It is one of only two states offering voluntary, universal access to four-year-old education programs. This link takes you to a fact sheet on Oklahoma’s pre-kindergarten program.

High/Scope Perry Preschool Program – The High/Scope Perry Preschool study is a study of the effects of a high-quality preschool program for children born in poverty in Ypsilanti, Michigan. It has followed the lives of 123 students assigned to the preschool program throughout their lives, at ages three to 11, and at 14, 15, 19, 27, and most recently as they reached ages 39 to 41. The study has found evidence of subsequent educational success, economic success, and reduced number of criminal arrests throughout the lives of the program’s graduates. The results add up to a large return on public investment.

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SEED, a Charter boarding school in Washington, D.C.

SEED is a boarding school based on the idea of taking kids out of living and learning environments that are failing them and giving them the skills they need will produce able adults. The Class of 2004 is the first graduating class of the school. 21 of the original 40 SEED members of the Class of 04 will graduate from high school this year and all 21 of them are going to college.

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The Harlem Children’s Zone

The Harlem Children’s Zone Project is a multi-year comprehensive community building initiative of the Harlem Children’s Zone. The HCZ Project’s mission is to create significant, positive opportunities and outcomes for all children living in a 24-block area by helping parents, residents, teachers and other key stakeholders create a safe learning environment for youth.

One of the HCZ’s tenets is that children from troubled communities are far more likely to grow to healthy, satisfying adulthood if a critical mass of the adults around them are effective and engaged in the community. This article describes the project in detail.

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Kids and Politics.org

This portion of the Connect for Kids web site will help you keep track of what’s happening with kids’ legislation in Washington and other political questions about kids’ issues. Jan Richter, at this site, writes a column about children’s politics that is updated daily and includes her observations about almost anything.

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• A Citizen’s Guide to Advocacy – The Vermont Association for Mental Health director has produced this booklet. It includes a list of 16 Helpful Hints for Citizen Advocates which are published in the article at the link above. The booklet is available for $5 from the VAMH.

   

• ABCs of Advocacy – The subject of the interview in this article, advocate Sue Thau,  says only 5 to 10% of U.S. voters ever contact their legislators about public-policy issues, which explains why even small groups of dedicated advocates can have a disproportionate influence on decisions made in Washington and state capitols. 

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• National Association of Counsel for Children – Policy agenda on children’s rights

   

• Children’s Rights An Overview – from the Legal Information Institute at Cornell and the most thorough legal review of the subject I found online.

   

• The Convention on the Rights of the Child – UNICEF commentary

   

• Child Rights Information Network (CRIN) 
• International Standards Concerning the Rights of the Child – Defence for Children International

   

  From Human Rights Watch:

   

  • Juvenile Justice – treatment of and conditions of confinement of children world wide

     

  • The Other Immigrant Children – editorial commentary on undocumented children in the U.S. Some 5000 of them are detained by INS annually.

     

  • Detained and Deprived of Rights: Children in the Custody of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service

     

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  Better Public Policy for Children, Youth and Families: An Advocacy Guide

   

  If you are, or ever anticipate you might be, acting as a public policy advocate for children and families this practical tool will provide the right kind of help. It has sections on phone calls, letter writing, visits to the Hill, site visits, media work and includes several useful appendices. Doesn’t matter how little experience you have. While it was written to facilitate advocacy at the federal level, it is also useful for state and local advocacy. Downloadable pdf. 60 pages.

   

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  Keys to Cultural Competency: A Literature Review for Evaluators of Recent Immigrant and Refugee Service Programs in Colorado - Kurdistan , Russia , Central America , Mexico , Laos , Vietnam , Somalia and Sudan . 53 pages. Pdf.

   

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  The Forum for Youth Investment

   

  This web site is devoted to efforts to frame youth work not only in terms of what organizations want to prevent, but also in terms of what they want to promote. The work of the site is geared to state and local efforts to improve their youth policies. 

  Here are two of the documents available at the site. They appear to very useful to anyone involved in planning for children and youth at the state level and will be of interest to anyone who works with kids. Both are written by Karen Pittman and Thaddeus Ferber.

   

  Adding It Up: Taking Stock of Efforts to Improve State-level Youth Policies – Full of charts about activities in states and attention-grabbing sidebar information as well as reporting on organizations seeking to improve state-level youth policies.  

   

  State Youth Policy: Helping All Youth to Grow Up Fully Prepared and Fully Engaged – makes the case that, while states have put in place scores of youth policies, no state can claim to have a single, coherent youth policy that serves as a lens for assessing and planning individual policies. However, states are working to develop more coordinated approaches to youth policy.

   

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  Justice 4 Youth Coalition

   

  This is the web site of a New York City coalition of youth, teachers, parents and community members in opposition to a proposed substantial increase in the number of secure juvenile detention beds. Justice 4 Youth opposes New York City ’s $64.6 million allocation to build 200 additional secure juvenile detention beds and will tell you why at this web site. Good example for advocacy groups.

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  Working Mothers in a Double Bind

  Working moms, minorities have the most rigid schedules, and are paid less for the sacrifice

   

  This Briefing Paper from the Economic Policy Institute flies in the face of popular assumptions and determines that working mothers are no more likely than other workers to be able to determine the times they arrive at and leave work. Single mothers have particularly rigid schedules. Black workers are much less likely than white workers to be able to exercise any discretion over their work schedules.  Who gets the flex time, according to this paper? Men, and to some extent women, with supervisory or policy-making authority, enjoy much greater flexibility than other workers. Further, workers who do have flexible hours earn more, not less, than those with rigid work schedules.  The paper’s author says this is contrary to the expectations of many economists, who presume that men are paid more in part, for their willingness to accept rigid schedules.

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  Contemporary Mythology:
  • Day care causes kids to become bullies.

     

  • Women are rushing out of the workforce and turning into stay-at-home moms.

     

  • Professional female managers are rueful over their family lives.

  According to an article by Mary Kane in Newhouse News Service, reporting on a recent Boston conference,  social scientists are frustrated when their work on these and other related subjects  is taken out of context or ignored entirely to support political positions or plausible, but flawed theories.

  By the way, all three of the assertions above are wrong. Read the article and you’ll see why.

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   The Prom Closet

   If this project is something you already knew about and it’s all old news, apologies. I had never heard of such a project and was struck both by the need and the response when I read about it in our local paper.

   Teenage girls in foster care rarely have enough money to purchase a prom dress or to have their hair done. In response to this unmet need, the Family Counseling Services of Northern Nevada has gathered more than 200 prom dresses, shoes and purses so foster girls can go to their proms. The school district assesses the needs of individual girls. Once qualified, teens present an appointment card to try on dresses at the Prom Closet at the Reno Gazette-Journal offices. The paper’s conference center has become a dressing room facility. Girls also receive a card so they can get their hair done free of charge. The only expense to these young women is $5 to defray the cost of dry cleaning.

  Read the details in these two articles from the Reno Gazette-Journal:

   Making Prom Possible        Dresses are filling up Prom Closet   

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  The Arizona Children’s Action Alliance

  This is a non-profit, non-partisan research, education and advocacy organization acting on behalf of the children of the State of Arizona .  The following links should be of interest:

  Fact Sheets – These range from child well-being to state fiscal analysis. These links provide detailed information and one-page summaries of issues affecting children and their families.

  CAA Publications – Include research publications, statewide forums, and news bulletins. All downloadable in pdf.

  Projects and Issues –  CAA has projects in seven issue areas, among them child care and preschool education,  poverty and family income, children’s health.

   Smart Beginnings is a new project of the CAA. This is a two year research, planning and system development prevention project that will design a model of public and private supports for families to promote the healthy development of children, prenatal through age three. Here are two of the reasons Smart Beginnings was begun:

  Research shows that ninety percent of brain development occurs in children by the age of three. The care and stimulation children receive from birth to age three permanently shapes their physical, intellectual, and emotional development.

  Early intervention programs can provide significant benefits for children and families and can result in long-term cost savings. Research shows that prevention and early intervention programs such as home visiting result in fewer incidents of child abuse, improved child health, and less reliance on public assistance.

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  From a Parent’s Perspective: A Handbook for Parents of Children Committed to the Massachusetts Department of Youth Services

  This document strikes me as one that probably should be available everywhere in the country in one form or another, but probably isn’t. It was written by the parent of a teen committed to the Massachusetts Department of Youth Services for a year and a half. Among other subjects, it tells parents how to advocate on behalf of their child while the child is in the system. It was published by the Citizens for Juvenile Justice and can be read and printed at the CFJJ web site. 

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  Family Ties: Improving Establishment  Practices and Procedures for Low-Income Mothers, Fathers and Children - This report, jointly written by a mothers’ advocacy group and a fathers’ organization, calls for new public policy that would encourage low-income noncustodial parents to provide child support. The National Women’s Law Center (NWLC) and the Center on Fathers, Families and Public Policy (CFFPP) recommend the end to policies that force families to establish paternity or funnel support payments into state coffers to pay for welfare benefits. The report advocates the establishment of more culturally sensitive public education campaigns and improved access to procedures that allow families to acknowledge paternity voluntarily outside the hospital setting.

  National Women's Law Center (NWLC) 

  Center on Fathers, Families and Public Policy (CFFPP)

    Teenage girls in foster care rarely have enough money to purchase a prom dress or to have their hair done. In response to this unmet need, the Family Counseling Services of Northern Nevada has gathered more than 200 prom dresses, shoes and purses so foster girls can go to their proms. The school district assesses the needs of individual girls. Once qualified, teens present an appointment card to try on dresses at the Prom Closet at the Reno Gazette-Journal offices. The paper’s conference center has become a dressing room facility. Girls also receive a card so they can get their hair done free of charge. The only expense to these young women is $5 to defray the cost of dry cleaning. Research shows that ninety percent of brain development occurs in children by the age of three. The care and stimulation children receive from birth to age three permanently shapes their physical, intellectual, and emotional development.   and you’ll see why.  Teenage girls in foster care rarely have enough money to purchase a prom dress or to have their hair done. In response to this unmet need, the Family Counseling Services of Northern Nevada has gathered more than 200 prom dresses, shoes and purses so foster girls can go to their proms. The school district assesses the needs of individual girls. Once qualified, teens present an appointment card to try on dresses at the Prom Closet at the Reno Gazette-Journal offices. The paper’s conference center has become a dressing room facility. Girls also receive a card so they can get their hair done free of charge. The only expense to these young women is $5 to defray the cost of dry cleaning. Research shows that ninety percent of brain development occurs in children by the age of three. The care and stimulation children receive from birth to age three permanently shapes their physical, intellectual, and emotional development.   Teenage girls in foster care rarely have enough money to purchase a prom dress or to have their hair done. In response to this unmet need, the Family Counseling Services of Northern Nevada has gathered more than 200 prom dresses, shoes and purses so foster girls can go to their proms. The school district assesses the needs of individual girls. Once qualified, teens present an appointment card to try on dresses at the Prom Closet at the Reno Gazette-Journal offices. The paper’s conference center has become a dressing room facility. Girls also receive a card so they can get their hair done free of charge. The only expense to these young women is $5 to defray the cost of dry cleaning. Research shows that ninety percent of brain development occurs in children by the age of three. The care and stimulation children receive from birth to age three permanently shapes their physical, intellectual, and emotional development.  From Human Rights Watch: If you are, or ever anticipate you might be, . It has sections on phone calls, letter writing, visits to the Hill, site visits, media work and includes several useful appendices. Doesn’t matter how little experience you have. While it was written to facilitate advocacy at the federal level, it is also useful for state and local advocacy. Downloadable pdf. 60 pages. Kurdistan , Russia , Central America , Mexico , Laos , Vietnam , Somalia and Sudan . 53 pages. Pdf. Here are two of the documents available at the site. They appear to very useful to anyone involved in planning for children and youth at the state level and will be of interest to anyone who works with kids. Both are written by Karen Pittman and Thaddeus Ferber. – makes the case that, while states have put in place scores of youth policies, no state can claim to have a single, coherent youth policy that serves as a lens for assessing and planning individual policies. However, states are working to develop more coordinated approaches to youth policy. This from the Economic Policy Institute flies in the face of popular assumptions and . Single mothers have particularly rigid schedules. Black workers are much less likely than white workers to be able to exercise any discretion over their work schedules.  . Further, workers who do have flexible hours earn more, not less, than those with rigid work schedules.  The paper’s author says this is contrary to the expectations of many economists, who presume that men are paid more in part, for their willingness to accept rigid schedules.  Teenage girls in foster care rarely have enough money to purchase a prom dress or to have their hair done. In response to this unmet need, the Family Counseling Services of Northern Nevada has gathered more than 200 prom dresses, shoes and purses so foster girls can go to their proms. The school district assesses the needs of individual girls. Once qualified, teens present an appointment card to try on dresses at the Prom Closet at the Reno Gazette-Journal offices. The paper’s conference center has become a dressing room facility. Girls also receive a card so they can get their hair done free of charge. The only expense to these young women is $5 to defray the cost of dry cleaning. Research shows that ninety percent of brain development occurs in children by the age of three. The care and stimulation children receive from birth to age three permanently shapes their physical, intellectual, and emotional development.   and you’ll see why.  Teenage girls in foster care rarely have enough money to purchase a prom dress or to have their hair done. In response to this unmet need, the Family Counseling Services of Northern Nevada has gathered more than 200 prom dresses, shoes and purses so foster girls can go to their proms. The school district assesses the needs of individual girls. Once qualified, teens present an appointment card to try on dresses at the Prom Closet at the Reno Gazette-Journal offices. The paper’s conference center has become a dressing room facility. Girls also receive a card so they can get their hair done free of charge. The only expense to these young women is $5 to defray the cost of dry cleaning. Research shows that ninety percent of brain development occurs in children by the age of three. The care and stimulation children receive from birth to age three permanently shapes their physical, intellectual, and emotional development.   Teenage girls in foster care rarely have enough money to purchase a prom dress or to have their hair done. In response to this unmet need, the Family Counseling Services of Northern Nevada has gathered more than 200 prom dresses, shoes and purses so foster girls can go to their proms. The school district assesses the needs of individual girls. Once qualified, teens present an appointment card to try on dresses at the Prom Closet at the Reno Gazette-Journal offices. The paper’s conference center has become a dressing room facility. Girls also receive a card so they can get their hair done free of charge. The only expense to these young women is $5 to defray the cost of dry cleaning. Research shows that ninety percent of brain development occurs in children by the age of three. The care and stimulation children receive from birth to age three permanently shapes their physical, intellectual, and emotional development.   and you’ll see why.  Teenage girls in foster care rarely have enough money to purchase a prom dress or to have their hair done. In response to this unmet need, the Family Counseling Services of Northern Nevada has gathered more than 200 prom dresses, shoes and purses so foster girls can go to their proms. The school district assesses the needs of individual girls. Once qualified, teens present an appointment card to try on dresses at the Prom Closet at the Reno Gazette-Journal offices. The paper’s conference center has become a dressing room facility. Girls also receive a card so they can get their hair done free of charge. The only expense to these young women is $5 to defray the cost of dry cleaning. Research shows that ninety percent of brain development occurs in children by the age of three. The care and stimulation children receive from birth to age three permanently shapes their physical, intellectual, and emotional development.   Teenage girls in foster care rarely have enough money to purchase a prom dress or to have their hair done. In response to this unmet need, the Family Counseling Services of Northern Nevada has gathered more than 200 prom dresses, shoes and purses so foster girls can go to their proms. The school district assesses the needs of individual girls. Once qualified, teens present an appointment card to try on dresses at the Prom Closet at the Reno Gazette-Journal offices. The paper’s conference center has become a dressing room facility. Girls also receive a card so they can get their hair done free of charge. The only expense to these young women is $5 to defray the cost of dry cleaning. Research shows that ninety percent of brain development occurs in children by the age of three. The care and stimulation children receive from birth to age three permanently shapes their physical, intellectual, and emotional development.  From Human Rights Watch: If you are, or ever anticipate you might be, . It has sections on phone calls, letter writing, visits to the Hill, site visits, media work and includes several useful appendices. Doesn’t matter how little experience you have. While it was written to facilitate advocacy at the federal level, it is also useful for state and local advocacy. Downloadable pdf. 60 pages. Kurdistan , Russia , Central America , Mexico , Laos , Vietnam , Somalia and Sudan . 53 pages. Pdf. Here are two of the documents available at the site. They appear to very useful to anyone involved in planning for children and youth at the state level and will be of interest to anyone who works with kids. Both are written by Karen Pittman and Thaddeus Ferber. – makes the case that, while states have put in place scores of youth policies, no state can claim to have a single, coherent youth policy that serves as a lens for assessing and planning individual policies. However, states are working to develop more coordinated approaches to youth policy. This from the Economic Policy Institute flies in the face of popular assumptions and . Single mothers have particularly rigid schedules. Black workers are much less likely than white workers to be able to exercise any discretion over their work schedules.  . Further, workers who do have flexible hours earn more, not less, than those with rigid work schedules.  The paper’s author says this is contrary to the expectations of many economists, who presume that men are paid more in part, for their willingness to accept rigid schedules.  Teenage girls in foster care rarely have enough money to purchase a prom dress or to have their hair done. In response to this unmet need, the Family Counseling Services of Northern Nevada has gathered more than 200 prom dresses, shoes and purses so foster girls can go to their proms. The school district assesses the needs of individual girls. Once qualified, teens present an appointment card to try on dresses at the Prom Closet at the Reno Gazette-Journal offices. The paper’s conference center has become a dressing room facility. Girls also receive a card so they can get their hair done free of charge. The only expense to these young women is $5 to defray the cost of dry cleaning. Research shows that ninety percent of brain development occurs in children by the age of three. The care and stimulation children receive from birth to age three permanently shapes their physical, intellectual, and emotional development.   Kurdistan , Russia , Central America , Mexico , Laos , Vietnam , Somalia and Sudan . 53 pages. Pdf. Here are two of the documents available at the site. They appear to very useful to anyone involved in planning for children and youth at the state level and will be of interest to anyone who works with kids. Both are written by Karen Pittman and Thaddeus Ferber. – makes the case that, while states have put in place scores of youth policies, no state can claim to have a single, coherent youth policy that serves as a lens for assessing and planning individual policies. However, states are working to develop more coordinated approaches to youth policy. This from the Economic Policy Institute flies in the face of popular assumptions and . Single mothers have particularly rigid schedules. Black workers are much less likely than white workers to be able to exercise any discretion over their work schedules.  . Further, workers who do have flexible hours earn more, not less, than those with rigid work schedules.  The paper’s author says this is contrary to the expectations of many economists, who presume that men are paid more in part, for their willingness to accept rigid schedules. and you’ll see why.  Teenage girls in foster care rarely have enough money to purchase a prom dress or to have their hair done. In response to this unmet need, the Family Counseling Services of Northern Nevada has gathered more than 200 prom dresses, shoes and purses so foster girls can go to their proms. The school district assesses the needs of individual girls. Once qualified, teens present an appointment card to try on dresses at the Prom Closet at the Reno Gazette-Journal offices. The paper’s conference center has become a dressing room facility. Girls also receive a card so they can get their hair done free of charge. The only expense to these young women is $5 to defray the cost of dry cleaning. Research shows that ninety percent of brain development occurs in children by the age of three. The care and stimulation children receive from birth to age three permanently shapes their physical, intellectual, and emotional development.   Teenage girls in foster care rarely have enough money to purchase a prom dress or to have their hair done. In response to this unmet need, the Family Counseling Services of Northern Nevada has gathered more than 200 prom dresses, shoes and purses so foster girls can go to their proms. The school district assesses the needs of individual girls. Once qualified, teens present an appointment card to try on dresses at the Prom Closet at the Reno Gazette-Journal offices. The paper’s conference center has become a dressing room facility. Girls also receive a card so they can get their hair done free of charge. The only expense to these young women is $5 to defray the cost of dry cleaning. Research shows that ninety percent of brain development occurs in children by the age of three. The care and stimulation children receive from birth to age three permanently shapes their physical, intellectual, and emotional development.  From Human Rights Watch: If you are, or ever anticipate you might be, . It has sections on phone calls, letter writing, visits to the Hill, site visits, media work and includes several useful appendices. Doesn’t matter how little experience you have. While it was written to facilitate advocacy at the federal level, it is also useful for state and local advocacy. Downloadable pdf. 60 pages. Kurdistan , Russia , Central America , Mexico , Laos , Vietnam , Somalia and Sudan . 53 pages. Pdf. Here are two of the documents available at the site. They appear to very useful to anyone involved in planning for children and youth at the state level and will be of interest to anyone who works with kids. Both are written by Karen Pittman and Thaddeus Ferber. – makes the case that, while states have put in place scores of youth policies, no state can claim to have a single, coherent youth policy that serves as a lens for assessing and planning individual policies. However, states are working to develop more coordinated approaches to youth policy. This from the Economic Policy Institute flies in the face of popular assumptions and . Single mothers have particularly rigid schedules. Black workers are much less likely than white workers to be able to exercise any discretion over their work schedules.  . Further, workers who do have flexible hours earn more, not less, than those with rigid work schedules.  The paper’s author says this is contrary to the expectations of many economists, who presume that men are paid more in part, for their willingness to accept rigid schedules.  Teenage girls in foster care rarely have enough money to purchase a prom dress or to have their hair done. In response to this unmet need, the Family Counseling Services of Northern Nevada has gathered more than 200 prom dresses, shoes and purses so foster girls can go to their proms. The school district assesses the needs of individual girls. Once qualified, teens present an appointment card to try on dresses at the Prom Closet at the Reno Gazette-Journal offices. The paper’s conference center has become a dressing room facility. Girls also receive a card so they can get their hair done free of charge. The only expense to these young women is $5 to defray the cost of dry cleaning. Research shows that ninety percent of brain development occurs in children by the age of three. The care and stimulation children receive from birth to age three permanently shapes their physical, intellectual, and emotional development.   Here are two of the documents available at the site. They appear to very useful to anyone involved in planning for children and youth at the state level and will be of interest to anyone who works with kids. Both are written by Karen Pittman and Thaddeus Ferber. – makes the case that, while states have put in place scores of youth policies, no state can claim to have a single, coherent youth policy that serves as a lens for assessing and planning individual policies. However, states are working to develop more coordinated approaches to youth policy. This from the Economic Policy Institute flies in the face of popular assumptions and . Single mothers have particularly rigid schedules. Black workers are much less likely than white workers to be able to exercise any discretion over their work schedules.  . Further, workers who do have flexible hours earn more, not less, than those with rigid work schedules.  The paper’s author says this is contrary to the expectations of many economists, who presume that men are paid more in part, for their willingness to accept rigid schedules. and you’ll see why.  Teenage girls in foster care rarely have enough money to purchase a prom dress or to have their hair done. In response to this unmet need, the Family Counseling Services of Northern Nevada has gathered more than 200 prom dresses, shoes and purses so foster girls can go to their proms. The school district assesses the needs of individual girls. Once qualified, teens present an appointment card to try on dresses at the Prom Closet at the Reno Gazette-Journal offices. The paper’s conference center has become a dressing room facility. Girls also receive a card so they can get their hair done free of charge. The only expense to these young women is $5 to defray the cost of dry cleaning. Research shows that ninety percent of brain development occurs in children by the age of three. The care and stimulation children receive from birth to age three permanently shapes their physical, intellectual, and emotional development.   Teenage girls in foster care rarely have enough money to purchase a prom dress or to have their hair done. In response to this unmet need, the Family Counseling Services of Northern Nevada has gathered more than 200 prom dresses, shoes and purses so foster girls can go to their proms. The school district assesses the needs of individual girls. Once qualified, teens present an appointment card to try on dresses at the Prom Closet at the Reno Gazette-Journal offices. The paper’s conference center has become a dressing room facility. Girls also receive a card so they can get their hair done free of charge. The only expense to these young women is $5 to defray the cost of dry cleaning. Research shows that ninety percent of brain development occurs in children by the age of three. The care and stimulation children receive from birth to age three permanently shapes their physical, intellectual, and emotional development.   and you’ll see why.  Teenage girls in foster care rarely have enough money to purchase a prom dress or to have their hair done. In response to this unmet need, the Family Counseling Services of Northern Nevada has gathered more than 200 prom dresses, shoes and purses so foster girls can go to their proms. The school district assesses the needs of individual girls. Once qualified, teens present an appointment card to try on dresses at the Prom Closet at the Reno Gazette-Journal offices. The paper’s conference center has become a dressing room facility. Girls also receive a card so they can get their hair done free of charge. The only expense to these young women is $5 to defray the cost of dry cleaning. Research shows that ninety percent of brain development occurs in children by the age of three. The care and stimulation children receive from birth to age three permanently shapes their physical, intellectual, and emotional development.   Teenage girls in foster care rarely have enough money to purchase a prom dress or to have their hair done. In response to this unmet need, the Family Counseling Services of Northern Nevada has gathered more than 200 prom dresses, shoes and purses so foster girls can go to their proms. The school district assesses the needs of individual girls. Once qualified, teens present an appointment card to try on dresses at the Prom Closet at the Reno Gazette-Journal offices. The paper’s conference center has become a dressing room facility. Girls also receive a card so they can get their hair done free of charge. The only expense to these young women is $5 to defray the cost of dry cleaning. Research shows that ninety percent of brain development occurs in children by the age of three. The care and stimulation children receive from birth to age three permanently shapes their physical, intellectual, and emotional development.  From Human Rights Watch: If you are, or ever anticipate you might be, . It has sections on phone calls, letter writing, visits to the Hill, site visits, media work and includes several useful appendices. Doesn’t matter how little experience you have. While it was written to facilitate advocacy at the federal level, it is also useful for state and local advocacy. Downloadable pdf. 60 pages. Kurdistan , Russia , Central America , Mexico , Laos , Vietnam , Somalia and Sudan . 53 pages. Pdf. Here are two of the documents available at the site. They appear to very useful to anyone involved in planning for children and youth at the state level and will be of interest to anyone who works with kids. Both are written by Karen Pittman and Thaddeus Ferber. – makes the case that, while states have put in place scores of youth policies, no state can claim to have a single, coherent youth policy that serves as a lens for assessing and planning individual policies. However, states are working to develop more coordinated approaches to youth policy. This from the Economic Policy Institute flies in the face of popular assumptions and . Single mothers have particularly rigid schedules. Black workers are much less likely than white workers to be able to exercise any discretion over their work schedules.  . Further, workers who do have flexible hours earn more, not less, than those with rigid work schedules.  The paper’s author says this is contrary to the expectations of many economists, who presume that men are paid more in part, for their willingness to accept rigid schedules.  Teenage girls in foster care rarely have enough money to purchase a prom dress or to have their hair done. In response to this unmet need, the Family Counseling Services of Northern Nevada has gathered more than 200 prom dresses, shoes and purses so foster girls can go to their proms. The school district assesses the needs of individual girls. Once qualified, teens present an appointment card to try on dresses at the Prom Closet at the Reno Gazette-Journal offices. The paper’s conference center has become a dressing room facility. Girls also receive a card so they can get their hair done free of charge. The only expense to these young women is $5 to defray the cost of dry cleaning. Research shows that ninety percent of brain development occurs in children by the age of three. The care and stimulation children receive from birth to age three permanently shapes their physical, intellectual, and emotional development.   Kurdistan , Russia , Central America , Mexico , Laos , Vietnam , Somalia and Sudan . 53 pages. Pdf. Here are two of the documents available at the site. They appear to very useful to anyone involved in planning for children and youth at the state level and will be of interest to anyone who works with kids. Both are written by Karen Pittman and Thaddeus Ferber. – makes the case that, while states have put in place scores of youth policies, no state can claim to have a single, coherent youth policy that serves as a lens for assessing and planning individual policies. However, states are working to develop more coordinated approaches to youth policy. This from the Economic Policy Institute flies in the face of popular assumptions and . Single mothers have particularly rigid schedules. Black workers are much less likely than white workers to be able to exercise any discretion over their work schedules.  . Further, workers who do have flexible hours earn more, not less, than those with rigid work schedules.  The paper’s author says this is contrary to the expectations of many economists, who presume that men are paid more in part, for their willingness to accept rigid schedules. and you’ll see why.  Teenage girls in foster care rarely have enough money to purchase a prom dress or to have their hair done. In response to this unmet need, the Family Counseling Services of Northern Nevada has gathered more than 200 prom dresses, shoes and purses so foster girls can go to their proms. The school district assesses the needs of individual girls. Once qualified, teens present an appointment card to try on dresses at the Prom Closet at the Reno Gazette-Journal offices. The paper’s conference center has become a dressing room facility. Girls also receive a card so they can get their hair done free of charge. The only expense to these young women is $5 to defray the cost of dry cleaning. Research shows that ninety percent of brain development occurs in children by the age of three. The care and stimulation children receive from birth to age three permanently shapes their physical, intellectual, and emotional development.   Teenage girls in foster care rarely have enough money to purchase a prom dress or to have their hair done. In response to this unmet need, the Family Counseling Services of Northern Nevada has gathered more than 200 prom dresses, shoes and purses so foster girls can go to their proms. The school district assesses the needs of individual girls. Once qualified, teens present an appointment card to try on dresses at the Prom Closet at the Reno Gazette-Journal offices. The paper’s conference center has become a dressing room facility. Girls also receive a card so they can get their hair done free of charge. The only expense to these young women is $5 to defray the cost of dry cleaning. Research shows that ninety percent of brain development occurs in children by the age of three. The care and stimulation children receive from birth to age three permanently shapes their physical, intellectual, and emotional development.  From Human Rights Watch: If you are, or ever anticipate you might be, . It has sections on phone calls, letter writing, visits to the Hill, site visits, media work and includes several useful appendices. Doesn’t matter how little experience you have. While it was written to facilitate advocacy at the federal level, it is also useful for state and local advocacy. Downloadable pdf. 60 pages. Kurdistan , Russia , Central America , Mexico , Laos , Vietnam , Somalia and Sudan . 53 pages. Pdf. Here are two of the documents available at the site. They appear to very useful to anyone involved in planning for children and youth at the state level and will be of interest to anyone who works with kids. Both are written by Karen Pittman and Thaddeus Ferber. – makes the case that, while states have put in place scores of youth policies, no state can claim to have a single, coherent youth policy that serves as a lens for assessing and planning individual policies. However, states are working to develop more coordinated approaches to youth policy. This from the Economic Policy Institute flies in the face of popular assumptions and . Single mothers have particularly rigid schedules. Black workers are much less likely than white workers to be able to exercise any discretion over their work schedules.  . Further, workers who do have flexible hours earn more, not less, than those with rigid work schedules.  The paper’s author says this is contrary to the expectations of many economists, who presume that men are paid more in part, for their willingness to accept rigid schedules.  Teenage girls in foster care rarely have enough money to purchase a prom dress or to have their hair done. In response to this unmet need, the Family Counseling Services of Northern Nevada has gathered more than 200 prom dresses, shoes and purses so foster girls can go to their proms. The school district assesses the needs of individual girls. Once qualified, teens present an appointment card to try on dresses at the Prom Closet at the Reno Gazette-Journal offices. The paper’s conference center has become a dressing room facility. Girls also receive a card so they can get their hair done free of charge. The only expense to these young women is $5 to defray the cost of dry cleaning. Research shows that ninety percent of brain development occurs in children by the age of three. The care and stimulation children receive from birth to age three permanently shapes their physical, intellectual, and emotional development.   From Human Rights Watch: If you are, or ever anticipate you might be, . It has sections on phone calls, letter writing, visits to the Hill, site visits, media work and includes several useful appendices. Doesn’t matter how little experience you have. While it was written to facilitate advocacy at the federal level, it is also useful for state and local advocacy. Downloadable pdf. 60 pages. Kurdistan , Russia , Central America , Mexico , Laos , Vietnam , Somalia and Sudan . 53 pages. Pdf. Here are two of the documents available at the site. They appear to very useful to anyone involved in planning for children and youth at the state level and will be of interest to anyone who works with kids. Both are written by Karen Pittman and Thaddeus Ferber. – makes the case that, while states have put in place scores of youth policies, no state can claim to have a single, coherent youth policy that serves as a lens for assessing and planning individual policies. However, states are working to develop more coordinated approaches to youth policy. This from the Economic Policy Institute flies in the face of popular assumptions and . Single mothers have particularly rigid schedules. Black workers are much less likely than white workers to be able to exercise any discretion over their work schedules.  . Further, workers who do have flexible hours earn more, not less, than those with rigid work schedules.  The paper’s author says this is contrary to the expectations of many economists, who presume that men are paid more in part, for their willingness to accept rigid schedules.  Teenage girls in foster care rarely have enough money to purchase a prom dress or to have their hair done. In response to this unmet need, the Family Counseling Services of Northern Nevada has gathered more than 200 prom dresses, shoes and purses so foster girls can go to their proms. The school district assesses the needs of individual girls. Once qualified, teens present an appointment card to try on dresses at the Prom Closet at the Reno Gazette-Journal offices. The paper’s conference center has become a dressing room facility. Girls also receive a card so they can get their hair done free of charge. The only expense to these young women is $5 to defray the cost of dry cleaning. Research shows that ninety percent of brain development occurs in children by the age of three. The care and stimulation children receive from birth to age three permanently shapes their physical, intellectual, and emotional development.