Report says child protective services not equipped to deal with truancy

On October 25, the New York State Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) released “Getting Teenagers Back to School: Rethinking New York State’s Response to Chronic Absence,” a policy brief researched and written for the agency by the Vera Institute of Justice in partnership with Casey Family Programs.

This policy brief proposes that the state develop a new non-punitive approach to teenage absenteeism that is rooted in research on adolescent behavior and school engagement. The brief found that the child protective system—the network of state and local agencies that handle allegations of child abuse and neglect—is not well equipped to help teenagers improve their school attendance. At times, it can make matters worse.

OCFS Commissioner Gladys Carrión said, “The report shows that the majority of allegations of educational neglect in NYS are made on families with teenagers who are chronically absent from school, or truant. The data also indicates that these youth present as “very low” on the scales that measure risk for child abuse or maltreatment. The Child Protective system should not be the point of entry for a family in need of assistance in reengaging their adolescent with the educational system. We seldom have the tools to offer meaningful help.”

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http://www.examiner.com/cps-and-family-court-in-albany/report-says-child-protective-services-not-equipped-to-deal-with-truancy

The Best in the Nation: A Plan for Early Care and Education

The next Governor of New York State stands at the threshold of an extraordinary opportunity: The chance to articulate a vision and to build frameworks that will make New York’s early care and
education the Best in the Nation.

To begin, in the First 100 Days,the Governor will need to:
• Establish an Early Learning Commission to develop a plan of action
to bring lasting coherence and coordination to early care and education
programs and services

READ MORE: http://www.winningbeginningny.org/WBNYMarketingKit.php

More of New York’s children are living in poverty.

Census data released yesterday revealed that 1 in 5 children in New York State are living in poverty, an increase of 5 percent from last year. In New York City, 1 in 4 children are living in poverty.

The 868,354 vulnerable children who are living in poverty now will suffer the consequences for many years to come. A child’s early years are crucial to their brain and physical development and losses in these early years are difficult, if not impossible, to compensate for. Children living in poverty are less likely to experience appropriate early learning opportunities, more likely to attend failing schools and more likely to suffer from preventable health problems, such as asthma and obesity.

READ MORE: http://hosted.verticalresponse.com/617170/deaf9433af/288052421/a0558b09b5/