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.”

READ MORE:

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/

Please join us for the annual Fall meeting of the New York State Parenting Education Partnership on Monday, October 4, 2010!

REGISTER NOW:
https://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/6013/event/2010NYSPEPFallMtg

Date: Monday, October 4, 2010
Time: 8:30am-4:00pm

Location: Carondelet Hospitality Center
385 Watervliet-Shaker Road
Latham, NY 12110-4799

Working with Community Collaborations to Strengthen Families: Likely and Unlikely Partners


“New strategies are needed to move beyond circumscribed service programs toward community-level engagement in nurturing children and families.” Kathryn Harding, 2008.

“Can collaboration and partnerships become the hall mark . . . allowing communities to take advantage of the expertise and wisdom of all disciplines and all participating organizations, thereby maximizing the use of all available fiscal and human resources?” Deborah Daro & Anne Cohn Donnelly, 2009.

Keynote Panel Presentation:
Partners in community child/family support coalitions in New York State discuss why and how their coalition developed, challenges they faced, new opportunities they’ve found, and how they are building their communities’ resources and support of children and families. Participants will learn about potential partners - likely and unlikely - that they might work with to further their program mission.


Followed by questions for the panelists and break-out discussion groups.

NYSPEP Workgroups will meet following lunch and news-and-announcements from participants and the NYSPEP Steering Committee.

Registration Fee: $ 20.00

Recession rips at US marriages, expands income gap

WASHINGTON – The recession seems to be socking Americans in the heart as well as the wallet: Marriages have hit an all-time low while pleas for food stamps have reached a record high and the gap between rich and poor has grown to its widest ever.

The long recession technically ended in mid-2009, economists say, but U.S. Census data released Tuesday show the painful, lingering effects. The annual survey covers all of last year, when unemployment skyrocketed to 10 percent, and the jobless rate is still a stubbornly high 9.6 percent.

READ MORE:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100929/ap_on_bi_ge/us_census_recession_s_impact

Census Finds Record Gap Between Rich and Poor

AP
WASHINGTON (Sept. 28) -- The income gap between the richest and poorest Americans grew last year to its widest amount on record as young adults and children in particular struggled to stay afloat in the recession.

The top-earning 20 percent of Americans - those making more than $100,000 each year - received 49.4 percent of all income generated in the U.S., compared with the 3.4 percent earned by those below the poverty line, according to newly released census figures. That ratio of 14.5-to-1 was an increase from 13.6 in 2008 and nearly double a low of 7.69 in 1968.

A different measure, the international Gini index, found U.S. income inequality at its highest level since the Census Bureau began tracking household income in 1967. The U.S. also has the greatest disparity among Western industrialized nations.

At the top, the wealthiest 5 percent of Americans, who earn more than $180,000, added slightly to their annual incomes last year, census data show. Families at the $50,000 median level slipped lower.

READ MORE:
http://www.aolnews.com/nation/article/census-finds-record-gap-between-rich-and-poor/19651337?icid=main%7Chtmlws-main-n%7Cdl1%7Csec1_lnk1%7C173763&a_dgi=aolshare_digg

Shortage of foster parents seen as U.S. trend

States are facing shortages of foster parents, despite a nationwide decline in the number of children in need of foster care.

Officials in states including California, Texas, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Florida report having fewer foster homes available than needed. But a study released this month by the Department of Health and Human Services shows that the number of children in foster care has dropped from 460,416 in September of 2008 to 423,773 in 2009 — and is down from about 523,000 in 2002.

READ MORE:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-09-23-fostercare23_ST_N.htm