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PULLING OUT OF THE VALLEY
 A few weeks ago, I picked up a copy of Spencer Johnson's 'Peaks and Valleys.' This short read uses metaphor and storytelling to explore our physical and metaphorical peaks, or high points, and our valleys, or low points. I found this book particularly relevant given the shakeups going on for us right now, both as professionals and as Americans. We all want to stay on our peaks where the air is fresh, the going easy, and the world a peaceful and productive place. The reality is that every peak has a valley or two -- those times when things are simply not going as planned and we wonder how in the world we ended up here in the first place. In fact, we need the valleys to experience the peaks.
Now, the good news. According to Johnson, we are in control of how long we stay on our peaks and how often we hit our valleys. Every peak and valley provides us opportunities to glean valuable knowledge and skills; every valley has some good hidden in it. When we effectively use our knowledge and skills and keep our eyes open for lessons, we can spend more time on our peaks and less in our valleys. As you read through this issue of Into Practice, look for resources that support your own 'peak' experiences. And keep a good thought for better days ahead.
~ Cindy Carraway-Wilson, NEN Training Director
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Research & Promising Practices
EVALUATION: BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS IMPROVE OUTCOMES FOR TEENS
 A study by Public/Private Ventures has found that teens who frequently participated in their local Boys and Girls Club showed positive change on 15 of 31 measures, including increases in integrity (knowing right from wrong) and academic confidence, decreases in incidents of skipping school, and a lower likelihood of starting to carry a weapon or using marijuana or alcohol. The data was based on surveys of a sample of low-income, ethnically diverse youth, following them from seventh to tenth grade. Interview data suggest that the overall Club environment -- a safe place and supportive interactions with adults and peers -- was crucial in helping promote teens' positive development, more important, in fact, than specific programming.
REPORTS: ISOLATION OF RURAL AMERICA POSES CHALLENGES TO YOUTH
Two reports from the Carsey Institute at the University of New Hampshire confirms that growing up in rural America poses special difficulties for many youth. 'The Forgotten Fifth: Rural Child Poverty' looks at how the educational, environmental, and social challenges faced by poorer, rural children are compounded by isolation and access to fewer resources. 'The New, Longer Road to Adulthood: Schooling, Work and Idleness among Rural Youth' examines the disadvantages faced by rural youth along the increasingly complex transition to adulthood in a competitive labor market. The authors suggest that the reduction in elderly poverty in the US over the last 30 years could serve as a model for new social policies to address the needs of America's children.
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Young & Latency-aged Children
FASD OFTEN MISDIAGNOSED AS ADHD, BUT SOCIAL DEFICITS ARE WORSE
University of Toronto researchers have found that children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) have a harder time understanding social information than their peers with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and are at a higher risk of psychiatric problems. FASD and ADHD share similar behavioral problems -- a limited attention span, restlessness and severe impulsivity -- and children with FASD are often misdiagnosed as having ADHD. But the researchers found that children with FASD had more difficulty interpreting the mental state and emotions of others. The authors conclude that these children should receive targeted interventions in social and emotional processing domains. The study will appear in Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.
HOW TO TALK TO CHILDREN ABOUT HAVING ADHD
Psych Central, an online mental health social network, has developed a guide for parents and other adults about how to talk to children about having ADHD. The guide addresses how, why and when to constructively talk with a child about ADHD. It offers tips on the best ways to discuss school performance, relationships with peers, the role of health care professionals, what parents and other adults in the community can do to support the child, and what role the child can play in his/her own success and positive development. The online guide also includes links to additional resources and information about ADHD.
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Resources
TOOLS FOR RECRUITING OLDER MENTORS
 MENTOR has developed two resources: 'The Wisdom of Age: A Staff Guide,' a handbook about recruiting and effectively working with older adults who could be volunteer mentors, and 'The Wisdom of Age: A Handbook for Mentors,' which supports older mentors in their mentoring relationships. The staff guide explores current research regarding this population, breaking it down into three distinct categories and explaining the characteristics of each. It also contains a series of 'ready-to-use' tools, templates and training exercises that help build quality mentoring relationships between youth and their 50+ mentors. The mentor handbook builds skills and strengthens the confidence of older mentors through practical, hands-on applications and activities.
NEED HELP PAYING BACK STUDENT LOANS?
 Child- and youth-care workers consistently tell us yes -- students loans are one of the reasons they end up leaving the field. But, hot off the presses from Washington, there are some new options for relief. "Income-Based Repayment" is meant to make federal student loan payments more manageable for low-earning college graduates, and a new repayment system allows all students with federal student loans (including Stafford, Grad Plus and consolidated Perkins loans) to extend their repayment period up to 25 years. There are also recent public-service loan forgiveness programs for which social service workers may be eligible after 10 years of payments and employment. The website below has comprehensive information about repayment options, the loan forgiveness option including a repayment calculator, and links to webinars for more information.
2009 'KIDSCOUNT' RELEASED, WITH DATA ON YOUR STATE
The Annie E. Casey Foundation's 2009 KIDS COUNT Data Book has been released with new data on child well-being. Complementing the book is an online Data Center with hundreds of measures from national, state, and city information. New this year in the Data Center is community-level data. There are also customizable graphs, maps, and charts for use in agency presentations and websites. If you're a grantwriter or program developer, check it out.
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| Advocacy & Public Policy
COMBAT OBESITY: A CENTRAL PLANK OF HEALTH CARE REFORM?
 'F as in Fat: How Obesity Rates Are Failing in America 2009' finds that in the past year, adult obesity rates grew in 23 states and did not decrease in a single state. Two-thirds of adults and nearly one third of children and adolescents are overweight or obese; those rates are likely to grow due to the economic downturn, which has a negative impact on health. The report concludes that combating obesity must be a central objective of health reform and the federal government should create a national strategy to do so. The report recommends a comprehensive, nationwide plan involving every agency of the federal government, state and local governments, businesses, communities, schools, families, and individuals.
'ROSIE D'-INSPIRED PROGRAM LAUNCHED IN MASS.
After years of lawsuits and court battles, a new program to provide mental health care for Medicaid-eligible children in Massachusetts has begun. The Children's Behavioral Health Initiative includes efforts that connect families with teams of support staff to coordinate services between state and local agencies. The program, inspired by the class-action 'Rosie D.' lawsuit that argued that poor children had a right to be treated in less restrictive environments, also provides for a single case manager to work with each family. The purpose is to give children facing mental health problems a chance to remain at home and in their local schools rather than be treated specialized facilities. The program also includes mobile crisis teams, which families can call upon for immediate help if a child is experiencing emotional crisis.
HUD RELEASES 2008 HOMELESS REPORT
HUD's new report provides the latest count of homelessness nationwide, including counts of individuals, persons in families, and special population groups such as veterans and chronically homeless people. The report also covers the types of locations where people use emergency shelter and transitional housing; where people were just before they entered a residential program; how much time they spend in shelters over the course of a year; and the size and use of the US inventory of residential programs for homeless people.
KEY NATIONAL INDICATORS OF CHILD WELL-BEING
A new report from the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics tracks 40 key indicators measuring children's economic circumstances, health, physical environment and safety, family and social environment, behavior, and education. This year's report has a special feature on children with special health care needs. Some troubling statistics include: in 2007, the poverty rate for children rose from 17% to 18% and 12.4 million children in America -- or 17% of all children -- live in households that are food-insecure. An estimated 14 percent of children ages 0-17 had a special health care need -- a health problem expected to last at least 12 months and which required prescription medication, special therapies, or which limited his or her ability to engage in activities.
HOUSE ACT INTRODUCED TO REFORM SECTION 8
The House Financial Services Committee has approved H.R. 3045, the Section Eight Voucher Reform Act of 2009, that would establish a cost-effective funding system for the Section 8 housing program and ensure that no tenant is at risk of losing housing assistance due to unexpected budget shortfalls. It would also restore previous assistance levels by authorizing 150,000 new vouchers. Under the bill, calculations governing tenant rent payments are simplified, the housing inspection process is streamlined and agencies are allowed to make greater use of 'project-based' vouchers.
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Funding & Administrative News
YOUTUBE VIDEO VOLUNTEERS
YouTube Video Volunteers allows nonprofits to post a 'video assignment' -- after it's posted, Video Volunteers, a hand-selected group of YouTube users who meet certain criteria, will be able to see the volunteer opportunity and connect with the nonprofit to complete the project. The website also provides information for non-profits that could use help creating an appealing promotional video about their work and specific needs for volunteers.
TOM'S OF MAINE GRANTS FOR COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
 Tom's of Maine seeks applications from nonprofits for community projects in the areas of the environment, health, and community engagement. Five nonprofit organizations will be awarded $20,000 each and projects will be evaluated on: 1) achievability; 2) positive impact; and 3) community involvement. A review panel will narrow down applications to 50 finalists and the public will vote on a website for the five projects to be funded. Deadline is Aug. 30.
JENESIS GROUP GRANTS FOR YOUTH DEVELOPMENT
The Jenesis Group offers grants to small grass-roots nonprofits focusing on youth development, education, and social entrepreneurship. Priority is given to programs that are preventative in approach and that provide long-term solutions to the challenges facing youth today. The Jenesis Group focuses on organizations that build self-esteem and foster self-reliance, emphasize literacy and academic excellence, offer leadership training and development, utilize mentoring strategies, teach career readiness and/or life skills, prevent juvenile delinquency, and/or develop entrepreneurial skills. Deadline is rolling.
'STRAIGHT TALK ON HIV' PREVENTION
The Office of Public Health and Science will make six grants of $200,000 for each of up to five years for its 2009 Straight Talk on Preventing HIV Program. The goal of the program is to develop gender- and age-specific HIV/AIDS prevention education that is culturally, spiritually, and linguistically appropriate for female teenagers at-risk for or living with HIV/AIDS. Successful applicants will develop and pilot a cross-generational HIV/AIDS prevention education program that is adapted from an existing CDC evidence-based HIV prevention program. The new program should be designed to establish effective communication between female teenagers and their mothers, grandmothers, aunts, cousins, and older sisters about health issues. Deadline is Aug. 15.
CONNECT FOR KIDS' FUNDING TOOLKIT
From Connect for Kids, this Funding Toolkit covers every current funding opportunity imaginable, plus tips and how-to resources for grantwriters.
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August 13-14
National Enforcing Underage Drinking Laws Leadership Conference Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention - Underage Drinking Enforcement Training Center Dallas, TX
August 25-27
National Conference on Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Prevention National Children's Advocacy Center New Orleans, LA
September 1-4
National Independent Living Conference - Growing Pains 2009 Daniel Memorial Institute Nashville, TN
October 5-8
Journey to the Heart: Walking with Our Hurting and Wounded Youth
National Chaplains Association for Youth at Risk
St. Paul, MN
Contact: Rev. Marilyn E. Link at Saint Anne Institute, 160 North Main Avenue
in Albany, New York 12206; (518) 437-6625; (518) 522-0184
October 21
2009 Teen Pregnancy Institute: A New Era in Adolescent Sexual Health and Support for Young Families
Massachusetts Alliance on Teen Pregnancy
Worcester, MA
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