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Listen to this30 MARCH
HONDURAS
Police killings of children and youth from
student protests
Four students were assassinated on March 24th in Honduras during a wave
of student protests that began 12 days ago. This multiple-assassination
"is an attempt to eliminate the student struggle," different human
rights organizations denounced in press releases.
The National Network of Human Rights Defenders in Honduras expressed
concern and consternation to the national and international community,
"for the events that have occurred in recent hours in the country
against the student movement in which four middle school students had
their lives taken: Soad Nicolle Ham Bustillo (13), Elvin Antonio López
(19), and Darwin Josué Martínez (21). They were student activists and
participants in recent protests that have demanded that the Honduran
government improve conditions in schools."
Casa Alianza also denounced the vile crime against the four students and
the absence of open and democratic dialogue on part of the government.
Casa Alianza's statement states that "In response to the assassination
of four middle school students in Comayaguela, and government repression
against student protests, Casa Alianza Honduras wishes to make known to
the national and international community, to international organizations
and Honduran civil society:
"On March 24, three students were assassinated (two boys and one girl),
students in night classes at Jesús Aguilar Paz Institute of Comayaguela,
who had just left the school grounds after class. On the morning of
Wednesday, March 25th, the cadaver of a 13-year-old girl was found
wrapped in a sheet. She was a student of the first course of Common
Cycle (Ciclo Común) at the Vicente Cáceres Central Institute of
Comayaguela. The girl was last seen on the morning of Tuesday, March
24th leaving her house to go to school."
"The assassination of these four students took place in the context of
an organized movement for the rights of students. Therefore, these
crimes cannot easily be attributed only to common crime."
Similarly, the Association for Participatory Citizenship (ACI-PARTICIPA)
expressed their consternation and solidarity with the families of
students Elvin Antonio López (19), a business student at the Jesús
Aguilar Paz Institute and Darwin Josué Martínez (21), two of the victims
who died in the act while the other was sent to the University Training
Hospital (HEU) where he died on Wednesday after individuals fired at him
from a moving vehicle without saying anything.
"We stand in solidarity with the family of Soad Nicolle Ham Bustillo, 13
years old, who studied at the Vicente Cáceres Central Institute. The
minor had been the victim of kidnapping for multiple hours and her
cadaver was found this morning wrapped in a sheet in the La Granja
neighborhood of Comayaguela."
Globo Radio and TV showed photos of the minor Soad Ham Bustillo
participating, a few days before her death, in a student protest.
More sssassinated students
"We also denounce that, a few weeks ago, two students were gunned down
near the Villa Cristina neighborhood of Comayaguela by unknown
individuals who rode by in a vehicle," says the statement from
ACI-PARTICIPA.
Additionally, it states that "these assassinations happened in the
context of a student crisis, where youth have protested insecurity and
the attempts of the Minister of Education, Marlon Escoto, to push back
class times for students and to increase class hours, as well as against
the counter-pedagogical conditions within the schools, the lack of
furniture, lack of student financial assistance, and the lack of
teaching materials.
Tear gas, lies, and death
This series of statements came out while members of the student movement
were attacked in the National Autonomous University of Honduras (UNAH).
The youth were violently repressed. Some were beaten, some were
detained, and tear gas was thrown at them in disproportionate
quantities.
There was also report of an attack against the team of human rights
defenders from the Center for Research and Promotion of Human Rights in
Honduras (Ciprodeh) in the same school by police and UNAH security
guards who harassed them and took their pictures. At the same time, a
student from Jesús Aguilar Paz denounced scholarship offers, and threats
of expulsion and death from the authorities of the Department Education
Office as mechanisms to convince him to abandon the student movement.
A genuine struggle stigmatized by the ruling government party
The congressional representative of the ruling National Party, Lena
Gutiérrez, characterized this movement as street protests with a
political agenda. Similarly, the Minister of Education, Marlon Escoto,
attributed the protests to interference from the Liberty and
Refoundation Party (LIBRE), and directly named congressional
representative Bartolo Fuentes and to Gilberto Ríos.
A leader of the LIBRE Party, Gilberto Ríos, clarified that he has never
been at the protests, as Escoto suggested. He stated that near his home,
in the Kennedy neighborhood, students were being repressed and the only
thing that he did was to take a picture and upload it onto his Facebook
account to denounce the occurrence. Ríos compared the assassination of
students to recent events in Ayotzinapa.
The government, through its informational propaganda, has contributed to
the stigmatization of the protests, which are characterized in some
media outlets as vandalism. However, what the children are doing is
exercising their right to protest. On March 26, different civil society
organizations will hold simultaneous press conferences to denounce this
terror strategy.
C-Libre condemns these acts and considers them to be part of a policy of
repression and terror enacted to eliminate the student movement and
spaces of free expression that belong to Honduran youth. We also call on
educational authorities not to justify their mistakes, their
intolerance, incompetence, and authoritarianism by seeking to place
blame on other political and social sectors.
Sunday, 29 March 2015, 11:31 pm
Press Release: Honduran Committee for Freedom of Expression
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO1503/S00394/police-killings-of-children-youth-from-student-protests.htm
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27 MARCH
The first person to be resentenced under recently enacted laws in California relating to child offenders is due to be released the week of March 16, 2015, Human Rights Watch, the University of Southern California (USC) Post-Conviction Project, and the law firm of Irell & Manella LLP said today. Enforcement of the new laws is an indication that the United States is moving closer to the rest of the world in its approach to sentencing for youth, the groups said.
California officials determined that Edel Gonzalez, who had been sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole for a crime he committed in 1991 at age 16, is to be released soon. His more than 20 years in prison with a pristine record and the passage of two new laws have led to his parole.
“Instead of locking up teens and throwing away the key, California’s new laws require judges to consider not only that the person was a juvenile offender, but also the choices they’ve made since then,” said Elizabeth Calvin, senior child rights advocate at Human Rights Watch. “Edel Gonzalez is an example of how a young person can completely turn his life around.”
In 2012, the US Supreme Court held in Miller v. Alabama that mandatory sentencing of juvenile offenders to life without parole was unlawful. The California Supreme Court followed suit in 2014, holding in People v. Gutierrez that sentencing courts must take into consideration a host of factors relevant to the distinct status of juveniles. Among other things the courts recognized that teenagers are still developing in ways relevant to culpability.
US states have struggled with implementing the courts’ directives. However, California’s recently enacted laws show that a thoughtful process can work, the groups said. Under the new laws, the approval of a judge, parole commissioners, and ultimately, the governor, is required before release is permitted.
“A life without parole sentence means that that there is no opportunity to ever be released from prison,” said Professor Heidi Rummel, co-director of USC Gould School of Law Post-Conviction Justice Project. “But a growing body of high-court decisions and scientific opinion weigh against the use of the sentence for people who are under 18 at the time of their crimes.”
Gonzalez was the first person whose case was heard under the Fair Sentencing for Youth Act, Senate Bill 9, passed in 2012. In December 2013, a judge gave him a new sentence with the possibility of parole. Once eligible for parole, Gonzalez benefited from Senate Bill 260, which went into effect in 2014, requiring parole commissioners to consider the diminished culpability of youth at the time of their crime.
Human Rights Watch helped lead the campaign to change California’s use of extreme prison sentences for juveniles. Gonzalez was represented pro bono by Irell & Manella LLP on a referral to the firm by the University of Southern California Post-Conviction Justice Project. The project served as co-counsel during the parole process.
“We’re thrilled and grateful that Governor Jerry Brown, the Board of Parole Hearings, and the Orange County Superior Court each recognized the remarkable transformation that our pro bono client Edel Gonzalez has gone through in the past 24 years – from an alcoholic, troubled, and immature youth to a non-violent, addiction-free man of faith,” said Bryant Yang, lead counsel for Gonzalez and an Irell & Manella attorney.
Since 2004, through numerous interviews and in-depth data analysis, Human Rights Watch has investigated the use of extreme prison sentences for people under 18, reporting on conditions of confinement of youth sentenced to life without parole throughout the United States, and in particular states such as California and Colorado. This research has found that there are stark racial disparities in the imposition of the sentence, with black youth serving life without parole at a per capita rate that is 10 times the rate of white youth.
“The racial disparities plaguing life-without-parole sentences for youth, and the harshness of this sentence in light of many youths’ lack of criminal history, are important reasons to question its fairness,” Calvin said. “But the sentence is inappropriate in every case. Both constitutional and international human rights law recognize that children must be treated differently from adults.”
No other country sentences people to life without parole for offenses they committed before the age of 18, even for homicide offenses.
Irell & Manella LLP has represented Gonzalez on a pro bono basis for close to two years, obtaining the first resentencing under Senate Bill 9 on his behalf before securing his imminent release from prison. Soon after the enactment of Senate Bill 9, Irell filed a petition to recall and resentence on behalf of Gonzalez. In a December 2013 hearing, the court recalled its original sentence and pronounced a new parole-eligible sentence.
After his resentencing, Irell and the Post-Conviction Justice Project guided Gonzalez through the youth offender parole process. In October 2014, Irell appeared before the Board of Parole Hearings and argued that Gonzalez was suitable for parole, because he did not pose a threat to public safety, he had shown sincere remorse, and uncontroverted evidence established that he has rehabilitated. The parole board and ultimately the governor agreed.
“Two years ago, prior to Irell’s involvement, Edel believed he would spend the rest of his life behind bars despite being a model inmate. Our firm is proud to have helped Edel gain his freedom and is honored that we’ve helped shaped law and set new precedent,” said Yang.
For more than 30 years, USC law students have worked under the supervision of professors to represent state and federal inmates on post-conviction matters. In 2008, PCJP expanded its focus to address the injustice of extreme sentences for youth. Rummel and her law students traveled to Sacramento to testify at hearings and meet with legislators in support of the Fair Sentencing for Youth Act. Students in the project currently represent clients sentenced to life without parole for juvenile offenses at resentencing and youth offenders in the parole process.
“Law students learn firsthand that they can make a profound difference for an individual client and that they can change the justice system for the better,” said Rummel.
Rummel referred the Gonzalez case to Chris Cowan, who as a law student had taken part in the project and who was then pro bono coordinator at Irell & Manella. Mills, a USC law student, worked alongside Irell lawyers to successfully prepare Gonzalez for his parole hearing.
Days before his release, Gonzalez shared a message for the youth he leaves behind in prison, “To those like me who thought at one time there was no light at the end of the tunnel, there is light and hope. Keep the faith.”
Human Rights Watch
25 March 2015
http://www.hrw.org/news/2015/03/25/california-first-release-under-new-child-offender-laws
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25 MARCH
"Meeting children is the best
part of my job"
— UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake
“The best part of my job is meeting young people like you, from around the world. Whether it’s a girl in a classroom, proudly explaining what she learned that day. Or a young innovator full of ideas about how he can change his life, and the lives of others, for the better.
Or children showing me the drawings they’ve made. These drawings show not only the challenges these children face each day, but more importantly, their determination – their spirit – to build a better future.
I’ve brought a picture of one of these drawings with me today – one that I saw a year ago on the wall of a primary school not far from here, in one of the communities hit hard by the tsunami. It illustrates, far better than I can, the spirit that must inspire our efforts to prepare for and respond to disasters.
The children in the drawing are defying the approaching wave. One especially brave youth is actually riding it.
The drawing’s message inspires us. But it instructs us, too. It reminds us that, while we cannot prevent disasters from happening, we can prepare for them. By standing together…by working together…and by sharing our ideas on how we can improve our preparations for these disasters in the future. The very theme of this conference.
Some startling statistics. By the end of the 1990s, climate-change related disasters affected about 66 million children per year. In the coming decades, this number is projected to reach 200 million children – a tripling. More children dying. More out of school. More facing the risk of trafficking, abuse, exploitation and forced labour.
The risk is especially great for children from the poorest and most vulnerable communities. Those living in urban slums without proper drains or storm-management systems. Those living in distant, isolated communities that are hard-to-reach. Those facing prejudice and lack of services because of their religion, gender or ethnicity – or because they live with a disability.
Every child in every community – every life – deserves every opportunity to learn…to be healthy…to be protected…and to thrive no matter where she lives, no matter what barriers stand in the way. Disaster preparedness and response efforts must reflect these needs, for every child.
Right here in Japan, these efforts are saving lives. In Iwate, about 20,000 students were attending 353 nursery schools at the time of the earthquake and tsunami…schools that were heavily damaged in the disaster. But thanks to early planning efforts – such as monthly evacuation drills, teacher training and the preparation of emergency bags – there were no casualties among the children and staff at these schools.
There are many more examples. Facing persistent famines, Niger invested in community-based health care, vaccines, bed nets and micronutrients, saving an estimated 60,000 children in 2009 alone.
Countries like Indonesia, Haiti and the Philippines are building schools that can better withstand floods, earthquakes, cyclones and tsunamis.
And Madagascar’s efforts to prepare schools include early warning systems and cyclone-resistant classrooms. The result – no child has died in a school setting from floods or storms since 2006. Not one.
Preparing children for disasters can also include simple but innovative ideas such as swimming lessons, like those for children in Bangladesh – a country with a harsh monsoon season, and a country in which 18,000 children die every year from drowning. Hundreds of Bangladeshi students also attend floating schools, on boats, during the monsoon season – a chance to continue their education, which is so vital to their future.
Another memory from my visit to that primary school in Sendai: the children showed me models they’d constructed of their town – not as it is, but as they wished it could be, with new energy generation systems, more farmland and residential areas. The models were more than wonderful examples of children’s imagination. They also sent a clear and important message: we youth and children need help to cope with future disasters.
Listen to us…let us be involved.
And in many communities, they are getting involved. In the flood and landslide-prone city of Rio de Janiero, I saw Brazilian children using cameras attached to kites to map out their community and identify potential risks. And in Nepal, children’s maps of their communities and schools were included in emergency plans for villages and schools to protect water sources, clear drains and make access to schools safe during the rainy season.
We’ll hear many more examples and ideas today, as our panellists outline how they are helping the communities plan for, and recover from, disasters.
We cannot prevent floods, storms, droughts from occurring. But with better planning, preparation and response, they don’t have to become full disasters.
And they won’t if we listen to those who know their communities best – including and especially, young people. I look forward to doing exactly that today.
As I said, it’s the best part of my job!"
UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake
17 March 2015
http://www.unicef.org/media/media_81353.html
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23 MARCH
DeVontré O'Chey Parker, a member of the Boys & Girls Club in Gretna, has been named “Youth of the Year” for Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeast Louisiana. Parker will now have the opportunity to compete for the Louisiana state honor and a college scholarship at the state capitol in Baton Rouge at the end of the month.
Being named Youth of the Year is the highest honor a Boys & Girls Club member can receive. As Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s premier youth recognition program, Youth of the Year recognizes outstanding contributions to a member’s family, school, community and Boys & Girls Club, as well as overcoming personal challenges and obstacles. The Youth of the Year program encourages Club members to reach their full potential by achieving academic success, leading healthy lifestyles and contributing to their communities. Youth of the Year honorees are shining examples and living proof that great futures start at Boys & Girls Clubs.
“DeVontré has really found his voice as a member of the Boys & Girls Club, and he has emerged as a true leader who is respected by his peers,” said Will Giannobile, director of the Westbank Unit of Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeast Louisiana. “We are proud of what he has accomplished as a member of the Westbank Club.” Ashleigh Foxworth, the Club’s teen program coordinator, has mentored Parker for the past few years. “DeVontré is committed to making an impact on the world and leaving his mark on the Boys & Girls Club,” said Foxworth.
Parker is a sophomore at West Jefferson High School, where he is an honor roll student and has qualified for the TOPs program. He has been a member of the Westbank Club for more than four years, and has been elected president of the Keystone Club, a leadership development program for teens, for the past two years. Parker hopes to attend Louisiana State University and major in Sports Medicine.
“The Boys & Girls Club has had a great impact on my life,” Parker wrote in his essay application. Bullying has been an issue he has faced in school. “[Bullying] is an obstacle I face every day. My time at the Boys & Girls Club has helped me deal with that.”
If chosen as national Youth of the Year, Parker wrote: “I want to make a difference and have an impact on bullying for all youth. I think my purpose in life is to be a voice. I want to speak for others and for what is right.”
Giving back to his community and helping others has been an important part of Parker’s Club experience that has propelled his personal growth. “My time at the Boys & Girls Club has helped me to become a better leader. It has also allowed me to enjoy what I love doing the most, helping other people. I am more confident in myself and in what I can accomplish. I grow each day that I am at the Club.”
If Parker wins at the state competition, he will receive a $5,000 scholarship and advance to compete for the title of Southeast Region Youth of the Year. Regional winners receive an additional $10,000 college scholarship, renewable for four years up to $40,000. Six youth, including five regional winners and a military winner, advance to the National Youth of the Year competition for a chance at an additional scholarship of $25,000, renewable up to $100,000 for four years. This year, Disney is the presenting sponsor of the Youth of the Year program, with additional support provided by University of Phoenix, Toyota and the Taco Bell Foundation for Teens.
Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeast Louisiana
Since 1965, Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeast Louisiana has provided after school and summer enrichment opportunities for children and teens in the greater New Orleans metropolitan area. Boys & Girls Clubs are built on the belief that every child deserves a great future. Our mission is to inspire all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring and responsible citizens. Our vision is for every Club member to be on track to graduate high school with a plan for the future, showing good character and citizenship and leading a healthy lifestyle.
Today Boys & Girls Clubs serve over 1,100 young people annually at our Club sites in Covington, Gretna, New Orleans and Slidell. Clubs are open during the after school hours and in the summer to children and teens between the ages of 6 and 18. Clubs are staffed by full-time professionals who provide youth with programming in five core areas: Education/Career, The Arts, Health & Life Skills, Character & Leadership and Sports/Fitness/Recreation. Membership dues are kept low to ensure that all young people can afford to participate. Contact www.bgcsela.org
Grenta, LA
March 22, 2015
http://www.pr.com/press-release/611380
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20 MARCH
USA: Youth mental health first aid training
in Bergen County sponsored by AFSP
A collaborative effort between the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and CarePlus to provide Youth Mental Health First Aid training to North Jersey community members free of charge.
The Northern New Jersey Chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) – in cooperation with Care Plus NJ, Inc. (CarePlus) – is providing the funding for the nationally-recognized Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA) training course on April 30th at the CarePlus Fair Lawn facility.
This training is not only important for mental health professionals, it is also critical for gatekeepers in the community including all adults who interact with children: parents, school staff, coaches, neighbors and others. The objective of YMHFA is to provide knowledge, resources and an action plan so that individuals in the community can be confident in addressing mental health problems in youth.
This special training is an opportunity to become certified in YMHFA free of charge, as well as to learn how to get involved with the AFSP and their mission to prevent tragedies within the local community. The certification course will establish an understanding on how to link a youth to the necessary resources before a situation escalates into a crisis. Many times people want to help, but they do not know what to do; this program will provide that insight.
“The AFSP recognizes the importance of community education,” said Lorraine Mackin, NJ Area Director of the AFSP. “This training goes hand-in-hand with our mission of understanding and preventing suicide through research, education, and advocacy.”
Recently, the AFSP partnered with the National Council for Behavioral Health and pledged to provide Mental Health First Aid and Youth Mental Health First Aid trainings in towns and cities across the country. The Northern NJ chapter of the AFSP is funding this opportunity for members of the surrounding community.
The award winning 8-hour Youth Mental Health First Aid course will be facilitated by certified trainers from CarePlus and hosted at the organization’s Fair Lawn location at 17-07 Romaine Street. Additionally, through collaborative efforts, the training will also provide mental health professionals in attendance with 7.5 Continuing Educations Units (CEU’s) at no additional cost.
“The key factor here is prevention,” Mackin explained, “we need more people to be aware of signs and symptoms of a potential mental health problem so that they can lead a young person to help before it is too late.”
Press release: PRWeb
19 March 2015
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2015/03/prweb12590042.htm
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18 MARCH
UNICEF: on disaster resilience,
'we must listen to those who know their communities'
Children and youth are a major part of community-level responses to disasters and must play an important role in risk reduction, United Nations officials said today in Sendai, Japan, with the head of the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) challenging a gathering of youth representatives to demand that they be involved in processes that impact them.
“We cannot prevent floods, droughts and storms but with better planning, preparation and response, these things don't have to become disasters – and they won't, if we listen to those who know their local communities the best,” UNICEF Director General Anthony told a side event in Sendai, Japan, as part of the Third World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction.
Taking up the title of the event – 'Children and Youth – Don't Decide My Future Without Me' – to challenge the energetic participants, Mr. Lake said every child in every community deserves every opportunity to thrive. Disaster preparedness must reflect needs of every child everywhere. Let us be involved! Demand it!”
Illustrating the vital need for such participation, he said that since the end of the 1990's, climate change-related disasters affected some 60 million children, while in the coming decades, that number was expected to rise to 200 million, putting even more children at risk of dying, being out of school and facing risk of trafficking and exploitation. And indeed, it was the poorest, most isolated and most vulnerable that would be most at risk.
Yet there has been some solid progress, including in the Sendai area, which was devastated in 2011 by a tsunami and flood. Evacuation drills, teacher training and preparation of emergency packs were but a few examples of the programmes under way in local elementary schools.
Spotlighting other examples, he said community-based health care in Niger had saved some 60,000 children in 2009 alone; early warning systems and cyclone-resistant classrooms in Madagascar had ensured that no child died in a disaster-related incident there since 2006.
In many areas, children and youth were getting involved, said Mr. Lake, noting that in Nepal, children's maps of their communities and schools had been included in preparedness exercises.
Ahmad Alendhawi, UN Special Envoy for Youth, who moderated the event, said children and youths have proven that they are “part of the response and part of the solution”
"Young people and children are not coming to [intergovernmental negotiations] to be cool,” he continued, explaining that boosting youth participation has been a major shift in the way the United Nations is doing business. “Engaging young people in a systematic way is not a seasonal exercise; half of the world population is under 25 years of age,” so it would benefit no one to ignore this.
UN News Centre
17 March 2015
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=50344#.VQgt0OkcSUk
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16 MARCH
Although it certainly seems intuitive that kids should have to work to earn their allowance, I have found—and most experts agree—that it’s not the most sensible way to set up an allowance system. By providing our children with an allowance that’s unencumbered by chores, I believe we are more likely to raise kids who become more comfortable with money. They’ll be better equipped to understand that money is simply a means to an end and not an end in itself – a VERY important lesson. When we can foster positive associations with money and engage our children in open money conversations, we can start to demystify this once taboo topic. By removing the link between chores and allowance, we can raise what I call more “money comfortable” kids.
All that being stated, most parents still tie allowance to chores. Most parents also don’t necessarily explain the purpose of an allowance. The fact remains that parents need a different, and better, approach. Although there are many noble efforts being done in schools, they are unfortunately not the answer. Kids are statistically VERY unlikely to learn anything other than basic money math in school. The burden of raising money smart and money comfortable kids still falls on you, the parent. And if you’re not active about it, your kids will just learn by observing you.
Teaching kids about earning money
In her short paper, Motivation Theory Applied to the Allowance/Chore Debate, Karyn Hodgens most clearly identifies why allowance and chores should not be tied together. It’s best to look at what each are designed to accomplish. An allowance is a tool to teach kids how to handle money, make smart money choices and eventually become “money comfortable.” Providing money for chores is a way to teach kids that earning money requires effort. This is a terrific lesson – just a different lesson than the one allowance is designed to teach. Paying children for chores that they are required to do and will always be required to do while living at home also leads to a problem when they become older and might be making their own money. They can’t opt-out of those chores, so why pay them for those activities in the first place and create a possible conflict down the line.
To teach children the incredibly valuable lesson that making money requires effort, you can give them what Karyn describes as “above and beyond” chores that they aren’t required to do.
Reduce money conflicts
The other big reason to untangle basic chores and allowance is that it helps reduce potential conflict and negativity associated with money. There are no threats made to take away money when a bed isn’t made. Your child can certainly be admonished when the chores go undone, but there’s no associated “money negativity.” With so much negativity in our society associated with money, I feel it’s essential to build up as many positive vibes when it comes to money as possible, so kids feel good about the green stuff.
Ditch the pig
The piggy bank has been around forever. But here’s the problem – it doesn’t work. First, it’s pretty obvious that if you’re trying to make someone comfortable with something, you certainly don’t hide it from them. The piggy banks suggests to the child that the parents don’t feel they are mature enough to deal with money. If that’s the case, then why even provide an allowance? Piggy banks are also typically associated with the concept of socking money away for a “rainy day.” As far back as the 60s, The Time/Life Guide to Family Finance noted that the idea of saving money in a piggy bank for a “rainy day” was too abstract for younger kids. I’ve found that kids are very good at setting savings goals that they can achieve in the not-too-long-term, enough for them to build the very important money smart behavior of delayed gratification, made famous in Psychologist Walter Mischel’s “Marshmallow Tests.” Ditch the pig. It’s time for a new, clearer paradigm.
Go with what works
Three jar systems seem to be everywhere these days. We use a Share jar for charitable giving, a Save jar for longer term goals and a Spend Smart jar. Notice the word “smart” to reinforce the importance of thinking when spending money. Three jar systems have proliferated because they work, particularly when you have a solid allowance system. The simplest approach is to provide your child an allowance that is one dollar per week per the age of the child. For example, our seven-year-old gets seven dollars per week. To help them build good money habits, have them put one dollar in their Share jar and two dollars in the Save jar. In an effort to encourage autonomy, give them discretion over the balance.
Incentivize to behavior-”ize”
Another terrific idea I highly recommend is that of motivating behavior, which I learned from David McCurrach’s workbook, Allowance Magic. For example, you can “match” every dollar put in the Save jar with a quarter, dollar or whatever you might think is appropriate. This helps kids understand that saving can generate additional money and it helps guide them to adopt a behavior you’re trying to encourage.
John Lanza
15 March 2015
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13 MARCH
USA
Advocates today applauded the introduction of bipartisan legislation to eliminate bureaucratic obstacles that deny federal assistance to nearly one million homeless children and youth.
The U.S. Department of Education estimates that nearly 1.3 million children and youth in America are homeless. Children and youth face the same problems as other homeless Americans, including hunger, health problems, and increased risk of exploitation and violence. But because the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) uses a different definition of “homeless” than other federal agencies, the bulk of the nation’s homeless children and youth cannot get basic HUD-funded assistance. HUD’s definition and associated paperwork requirements practically exclude many homeless families from a safe place to stay, employment assistance, help finding housing, counseling, and help accessing health care and child care.
The Homeless Children and Youth Act, sponsored in the United States Senate by Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio), and in the U.S. House of Representatives by Congressman Steve Stivers (R-Ohio-15) and Congressman Dave Loebsack (D-Iowa-2nd), would eliminate the definitional obstacle and funding restrictions that effectively deny most homeless children and youth basic assistance. The bill would not require local governments and nonprofits receiving HUD funds to prioritize children and youth over adults, but it would empower local leaders to serve all homeless people and end current policies that deny most homeless children and youth the same assistance available to homeless adults.
Organizations endorsing the legislation included the First Focus Campaign for Children, the National Network for Youth, the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth, the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty, the National Center for Housing and Child Welfare, and Covenant House. Responding to the bill’s introduction, these organizations released the following statement by First Focus Campaign for Children president, Bruce Lesley:
“HUD denies help to nearly a million homeless children and youth who live every day with hunger, trauma, exploitation and violence. This bill offers a bipartisan plan to level the playing field, so Washington bureaucrats can no longer deny homeless people help just because they’re young.”
Press release: First Focus
27 January 2015
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11 MARCH
NEW ZEALAND
Social Development Minister Anne Tolley today launched two new guidelines for agencies and organisations working with children as part of the Government’s Children’s Action Plan.
The guidelines: Safer Recruitment, Safer Children and Safer Organisations, Safer Children advise on how employers of the children’s workforce can consistently recruit safe people to work with children, and how to develop good child protection policies that enable their workers to better identify and respond to the needs vulnerable children.
Mrs Tolley launched the guidelines in Hamilton with local leaders, community groups and those setting up the new Hamilton Children’s Team.
“Every child has the right to be safe from abuse and neglect and these guidelines will help us build a stronger culture of child protection across New Zealand where the safety and security of children is paramount. By far the majority of our children’s workforce is safe and conscientious but we know predators target opportunities to be around children – these guidelines provide practical steps to help organisations to manage against that risk,” said Mrs Tolley.
The Vulnerable Children Act 2014 requires state sector agencies who work with children, and the organisations they fund to have child protection policies in place and will phase in a requirement for all paid children’s workers to be safety checked in a consistent way.
Mrs Tolley paid tribute to Child Matters for co-producing the safety checking guidelines Safer Recruitment, Safer Children.
“The Children’s Action Plan is about government and communities working together to better support vulnerable children. These guidelines are an example of that innovative partnership.”
“The Hamilton Children’s Team will be the country’s first large urban team following the establishment of Children’s Teams in Rotorua, Whangarei, Horowhenua/Otaki and Marlborough. When it is fully up and running, the Hamilton Children’s Team will be the first big team of frontline practitioners supporting around 1,400 vulnerable children and their families,” Mrs Tolley said. “Hamilton is renowned for its strong community sector and as a result is well placed to test new initiatives being developed as part of the Children’s Action Plan.
The region will trial the Vulnerable Kids Information System (Viki) under an Approved Information Sharing Agreement as well as a new Hub triage process to better coordinate services and information for at risk children.
“Today’s launch marks exciting progress in a new children protection system for the country that will prioritise the needs of our most vulnerable children helping ensure they get the right services at the right time to be happy, healthy and safe,” said Mrs Tolley.
For more information on the Children’s Action Plan and guidelines: http://childrensactionplan.govt.nz/
Source: Child Youth and Family
Press Release/Statement
http://livenews.co.nz/2015/03/10/safer-childrens-workforce-guidelines/#sthash.4uZqIbEc.dpuf
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9 MARCH
CALIFORNIA
Jodie Williams cheerfully handed out bags to the arriving Solano Community College students, making it clear to take what they needed from the crowded table of school supplies, household supplies and food.
“Take what you need, we have so much,” Williams said.
The students were all former foster youth who had aged out of the system and were now trying to make a future for themselves.
One of them, who identified himself only as John, said getting through community college all on his own “was like being tossed into the pool at the deep end” and he didn’t know there were resources like Williams’ Heart 2 Heart nonprofit that put on the giveaway on a recent afternoon.
Heart 2 Heart is a small volunteer organization organized by Williams, a Green Valley resident, that is dedicated to helping Solano County’s emancipated or aged-out foster and at-risk youth, providing them with the necessities of life as well as referrals to programs that can also help them.
The group gets daily requests for help through its Facebook page for a wide range of needs, such as finding a place to sleep, permanent or temporary housing, food, homework help, college books, school supplies, clothing, transportation assistance, housewares, bus passes and furniture.
Heart 2 Heart got its nonprofit status approved earlier this year and its goal is to break the cycle that sees many foster children ending up homeless within two years of getting out of the foster care system. It presently works with up to 200 former foster children at any given time, Williams said.
“We basically do what parents would do,” Williams said of what she calls “America’s invisible children because we don’t know what happens to them when they age out of the system.”
Until recently, the foster care system spit children out at 18, ready or not. That has increased to age 24, if the foster family is willing. Once the youth is out of the system, they are pretty much on their own, Williams said, without skills and not much of a support system that a family would provide.
She said too many former foster children wind up homeless or “couch surfing” at a friend’s house, addicted to drugs, pregnant, or in gangs or prison.
Heart 2 Heart is partly modeled after a Las Vegas-based program called Street Teen, which has a center where youth can shower and take advantage of a free store, a TV room, a tech room, a laundry room “and a safe place to be,” Williams said.
One of Williams’ goals is to establish such a center, but presently she and her fellow volunteers provide furniture, housewares, personal items, cleaning supplies, food and anything else the former foster children need.
The group runs Lesley’s Mobile Store through its Facebook site, which is named in honor of a former foster child who recently died in a Fairfield motel room, leaving behind a young child who is now in foster care.
Williams, now a married mother of two grown children and a Pampered Chef director, draws her commitment to Heart 2 Heart from her own youth as a foster child.
“I owe them these things, things that I did not have,” Williams said of her own past that has included living out of a car.
When Williams moved to Solano County from her native Monterey, she was stunned that there was no program here to help the aged-out foster youth. She initially worked for a nonprofit in Contra Costa County that helped foster and former foster children, but she believed her efforts would be better spent here.
“It was sad,” Williams said. “All of the work was being left across the bridge because there was nothing” for aged-out foster youth in Solano County.
Williams started here by getting on Facebook and inviting her friends to meet and talk about what could be done at the local level. She now has a core of about a dozen volunteers who gather supplies and money, and who also serve as adult mentors.
They started with a Christmas party for the former foster children in 2013, handing out 450 boxes that included hot chocolate, snacks and other gifts for those who otherwise would get nothing.
“I thought, what good is it to show up only once a year?” Williams said of Heart 2 Heart’s expansion to the mobile store and other activities such as the Everyone’s Birthday Bash in August that includes supplying school supplies, an Open Mike Banquet and Easter baskets.
The group now gets calls and requests for help from about 140 former foster youth. Those requests range from food and furniture to transportation for medical care.
“There is not anyone we would not do anything for,” said Cheryl Jensen of Vacaville, who serves as the group’s treasurer and said that she “loves the feeling she gets” helping the former foster children.
Makayla Griffin, who had been a ward of the court, heard about Heart 2 Heart while at Solano College. She learned about Heart 2 Heart when she needed furniture and heard about Williams.
After getting the assistance she needed, Griffin became involved as a volunteer, helping out at the group’s Green Valley small warehouse, which has been temporarily donated by its landlord, and delivering food to other former foster youth.
“All of the people here are like a family,” Griffin said of the support she has gotten.
Porchea Fields found Heart 2 Heart while searching for garage sales. It has become an important source for food and supplies for both her and her child.
“They got me a crib and equipped it,” Fields said. “They were awesome. I have gotten tons of support and so many gaps are filled by them. They have been emotionally supportive. They have filled my address book with so many meaningful numbers.”
Griffin, Fields and a core of a couple dozen former foster children spend time sorting through donated items such as clothing, furniture, dishes, pots and pans, toiletries, toys, books, paper goods and school supplies. They also monitor the Facebook sites to see what other former foster children need and get those needs filled or direct them to other resource providers.
Those interested in helping out can go to www.facebook.com/Heart2HeartSolanoCounty or send an email to Williams at Jodiescookin@comcast.net.
Ian Thompson
8 March 2015
http://www.dailyrepublic.com/news/solanocounty/heart-2-heart-reaches-out-to-former-foster-youth/
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4 MARCH
More kids nationwide are taking medications designed to treat such mental illnesses as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, and pediatricians and psychiatrists at the University of Vermont want to know why.
Led by David Rettew, M.D., associate professor of psychiatry and pediatrics, the researchers conducted a study to find out "whether the right youth are being prescribed the right medications at the proper time in their treatment," they state in their study in the March issue of the journal Pediatrics. Their findings, for the first time, delve into the clinical decision-making process of physicians who prescribe these drugs.
"There are risks associated with using these medicines," Rettew says. "At the same time, I think they've saved lives."
Many studies have pointed to increasing use of antipsychotic medications for pediatric patients. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the research arm of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, found that treatment with such drugs climbed 62 percent for children on Medicaid between 2002 and 2007, reaching 2.4 percent of those youth.
Rettew says he – along with fellow members of a Vermont state task force that keeps watch on use of psychiatric medications for young people – wanted to answer the question: "Is this a reasonable thing, or are these medications potentially being overused?"
From Medicaid claims data, the researchers sent a survey to the prescriber of every antipsychotic medication -- most commonly risperidone, quetiapine and aripiprazole – issued between July and October 2012. Relevant surveys were submitted by 147 physicians who wrote prescriptions for 647 patients.
Rettew and his co-authors turned to two sources of guidelines for appropriate use of antipsychotic medicines: the best practices recommendations outlined by the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP), and clinical indications from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The AACAP advises that kids who haven't been diagnosed with major mental illness such as schizophrenia but present with other types of behavioral problems, such as aggression, eating disorders or oppositional defiant disorder – receive treatment with these drugs only after other medications or nonpharmacological therapies are tried.
"Part of our concern is that these medicines may be getting pulled out too early in the treatment planning for things like oppositional behavior, ahead of things like behavioral therapy that could be tried first," says Rettew, director of the Pediatric Psychiatry Clinic at the University of Vermont Medical Center and the Vermont Center for Children, Youth and Families.
In half of the cases, the results show, doctors veered from the guidelines. The primary misstep was the failure to do lab tests to monitor cholesterol and blood-glucose levels before and after the patient began taking the medicine. The AACAP recommends the lab work because of the risk associated with these medications for diagnoses such as high cholesterol and diabetes.
The study found less evidence to support concerns about doctors ordering the drugs when they weren't indicated. Instead, almost 92 percent of doctors prescribed the drugs under the proper circumstances. While they did try antipsychotics as secondary treatment for aggression and mood instability, they did not prescribe them for low-level problems – for example, to help a kid sleep or control temper tantrums in young children, Rettew says.
Use of these medications for pediatric patients, the study shows, is declining in Vermont. Since 2009, the prescription rate has fallen by 45 percent for children age 6 to 12, and by 27 percent for ages 13 to 17, according to the authors.
Rettew and the research team suggest four potential initiatives that could assist doctors prescribing antipsychotics:
• Use of electronic medical records to remind
doctors of the necessary blood work;
• Increased access to evidence-based therapies that can help alleviate
anxiety, depression and oppositional behavior;
• Better training and consultation for doctors who don't initially
prescribe the medicine but are responsible for monitoring patients who
are now taking it; and
• Improved access to medical information across centers, so doctors who
prescribe the medications know the history of prior treatment.
"I'm not anti-antipsychotics; I just want to make sure they're used very carefully," says Rettew. "These findings could help us design a game plan for measures to improve best-practice prescribing,"
University of Vermont
2 March 2015
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/03/150302071353.htm
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2 MARCH
ZIMBABWE
The Zimbabwe Peace Project has claimed that opposition party members' children were being denied access to educational assistance under the Basic Education Assistance Module (Beam).
In its January report ZPP disclosed that in Bindura South scores of school children whose parents were affiliated to the NDC-T had their names scrapped off the Beam beneficiaries list.
Those whose parents were MDC-T supporters were told that they would be contacted later and it is alleged that some of the children of Zanu-PF members listed could not be classified as vulnerable.
The non-governmental organisation also reported that incidences of violence perpetrated on Zanu-PF supporters were much higher than any other political party because of intra party fighting and factionalism.
The ZPP said purges of alleged supporters of deposed former Vice President Joice Mujuru were witnessed even at lower levels of the party. – See more at: http://www.bulawayo24.com/sitemap/index-id-news-sc-national-byo-63624.html#sthash.Hj6bigy2.dpuf
Staff Reporter
2 March 2015
http://www.bulawayo24.com/sitemap/index-id-news-sc-national-byo-63624.html
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