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Children’s Rights Litigation Newsletter
Here are two articles from the most recent issues of the ABA’s Children’s Rights Litigation Newsletter:
The U.S. View of the Convention on the Rights of the Child - Time for Reconsideration (Fall 2006) Successful Strategies for Representing Child Sex Offenders (Summer 2006)
This article reviews the presentations at this teleconference conducted in March, 2006 ++++++++++ Unaccompanied Immigrant Youth
The thousands of children who arrive in the U.S. each year alone without a parent or guardian, are very young, have little or no English, and little education. Given the appropriate legal assistance, many of them could remain in the country legally. Judges who often find themselves explaining the law to 12-year-olds, through a translator, are frustrated and the government has no real handle on the problem.
The ABA has published standards for Unaccompanied Alien Children.
The Vera Institute is working to help a select group of non-profit organizations across the country to develop and implement local pro bono programs to help these children.
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Defining and Using “At Risk” Defining the Term “At Risk” - Child Trends has published this Research-to-Results Brief which aims to define this term, used frequently, but with no consistent definition. Cumulative Risks Among American Children – This companion research brief which looks at sociodemographic risk and the relationship between risk and child well-being.
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Indiana Child Safety PSAs Rattle Viewers
These public safety announcements about the safe supervision of children are compelling to watch. There are three of them. One shows a father leaving a young child in the bath while he takes a phone call. The second shows a mother who loses sight of her child in a backyard swimming pool. The third ad, scheduled to appear in August, shows a mother who suffocates her baby while sleeping with the baby on a sofa. All three PSAs from the Summer Supervision Campaign can be viewed at the Indiana Department of Child Services web page. ++++++++++ America’s Children in Brief: Key National Indicators of Well-Being, 2006
The Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics has released this annual report that includes detailed information on the welfare of children and families. The report is available online at the link above. ++++++++++ The Family Environment and Adolescent Well-being: Exposure to Positive and Negative Family Influences
Child Trends and the National Adolescent Health Information Center report data on teens’ experiences in their families with a focus on differences across social groups to identify where disparities exist and where needs for intervention are greatest. Highlights from the report: Over three-quarters of all parents report very close relationships with their adolescent children. Many 15-year-olds report difficulty talking with their mothers and fathers about things that really bother them. Adolescents who live with two parents are more likely to have parents who know their whereabouts after school. Hispanic parents are less likely than white and black parents to know who most of their adolescent’s friends are. Foreign-born adolescents are more likely than their native-born peers to eat meals with their family. Adolescents with better-educated parents are less likely to be exposed to smoking and heavy drinking by their parents. Adolescents whose parents exercise are less likely to be sedentary themselves.
Downloadable 12 page pdf file.
++++++++++ Adults Get an Overall C+ on the Annual Teen Report Card
Annually, the Uhlich Children’s Advantage Network (UCAN) asks more than 1,000 American teens, ages 12-19, to give an A through F grade to the adults in their lives. This year we didn’t do so good.
Highlights from the Teen Report Card:
53% of teens gave adults favorable ratings for teaching positive values Adults received the highest average grade for providing young people a safe place to live. Adults received the lowest average grade in stopping young people from drinking
More than 40% of young people gave adults a below average grade in running the government, protecting the environment, really listening to and understanding young people, and stopping young people from using drugs. ++++++++++ Children of Immigrants – Facts and Figures
The Urban Institute makes this report available as a pdf file on its web site. It includes sections on immigration trends; poverty, family structure, and economic hardship; and school performance. 4 page pdf file. From the report: Children of immigrants comprise over 20% of the U.S. population. Four-fifths of them were born in the United States. Over 5 million children live with unauthorized parents. Children of immigrants live in lower income families than children of natives. Children of immigrants are more likely than natives to live with both parents.
++++++++++ Website: Building Refugee Youth & Children’s Services ( BRYCS)
Site resources include publications, programs, technical assistance, a clearinghouse, research and a toolkit for working with refugee parents. ++++++++++ Policy Matters: Twenty State Policies to Enhance States’ Prosperity and Create Bright Futures for America’s Children, Families and Communities
In this publication the Center for the Study of Social Policy examines 20 policy areas and provides research summary on policy effectiveness. The report reviews work, health, education and family policies in the states. Downloadable in sections or as the full 144 page report. ++++++++++Making Early Developmental Screening Routine
A growing number of pediatricians see parental observation as a powerful tool for predicting a child’s possible disabilities, developmental delays and other challenges. In support of this cause, the Los Angeles County Early Identification & Intervention Group collaborates with roughly 100 agencies in Los Angeles County in a three-pronged approach to bring to children and their families: Early screening using high-quality tools based on parent observation, Quick follow-up from health care providers, and Help for families in finding and accessing resources they need.
++++++++++Index of Child Well-Being, 1975-2003 with Projections for 2004 The Foundation for Child Development has updated its measures of trends in the well-being, or quality of life, for children and youth in the US over a 28 year period. You will find useful statistical information here with trends for whites, African-Americans, and Hispanics. 17 page pdf file. ++++++++++Ballroom Dancing in Middle School - A Stellar Program Inspired by the 2005 documentary film, Mad Hot Ballroom, which followed fifth-graders from three schools in New York City during a 10-week program that proved dancing’s effects go far beyond learning fancy footwork, the Kansas City, Kansas school district has started Ballroom Dance Blast. The program is modeled after the NYC program and has been started with a middle school and two elementary schools. Among other, more ineffable effects including increased self esteem, the program teaches social interaction and etiquette along with dance steps. A click-on video of the KC program accompanies the article. Click here to visit the web site and learn more about Mad Hot Ballroom and to see the kids perform. Betcha you can’t watch the movie’s trailer without smiling! I want to see the movie! ++++++++++Homeless children and a place to play
This Washington Post article profiles the Homeless Children’s Playtime project and similar resources for homeless children who have no place to play. ++++++++++HappyNews.Com
This is a website devoted exclusively to good news. Here are two representative articles from its pages: Heat and Eat: Using Federal Nutrition Programs to Cushion the Shock of Skyrocketing Heating Bills Here’s a timely document. FRAC (Food Research and Action Center) reviews strategies in food stamps and child nutrition to help low income families avoid the heat-or-eat quandary this winter. The federal government expects this winter’s average monthly natural gas heating bill to jump 41%. ++++++++++Scouting Bridges Cultures for American Muslim Youth Scouting for the children of Muslim immigrant families helps integrate their sons and daughters into the rituals of American childhood. Muslim children must balance between being an observant Muslim and an American kid, not an easy thing to do. ++++++++++100 Best Communities for Young People America’s Promise presents the nation’s 100 best communities children. They cover 40 states and range in size from 8500 to two million. Nearly half are urban. 22 are rural and 29 are suburban. ++++++++++Through the Eyes of the Future The world seen through a teen’s eyes - about teen issues and the future of the country. Written by a very thoughtful and literate young woman. ++++++++++Regional Data on Marriage and Births A new Census Bureau analysis of marriage, fertility and socioeconomic characteristics examines this data by state. People in the Northeast marry later and are more likely to live together without marriage and less likely to become teenage mothers than are people in the South. Generally, states in the Northeast and the West had a higher percentage of unmarried-partner households than those in the South. The percentage of births to unmarried mothers was highest in the South. Noncitizens make up a third of the new mothers in California, and more than 20% in Arizona, Nevada and Texas.
++++++++++ Young Children of Substance Users: The Case for Alcohol and Other Drug EducationThe Spring 2005 issue of The Source, the newsletter of the National Abandoned Infants Assistance Resource Center, is devoted entirely to this subject. The newsletter is 28 pages packed with information, some superb programs, a preschool drug prevention program, resources, curricula, program materials, books, etc. – all on this subject. ++++++++++ |
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