JCCF NEWS SUMMARYNovember 15, 2012
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Series Spotlight: An Empty-Desk Epidemic
 Photo by Scott Strazzante, Chicago Tribune
Nearly 32,000 students in Chicago's public elementary schools miss four or more weeks of class in a year. Chicago Tribune investigative reporter Gary Marx, watchdog reporter David Jackson and special reporter Alex Richards explore the ramifications of this jarring statistic in the series, "An Empty Desk Epidemic."
Educators and experts agree: truancy and absenteeism are tremendous contributing factors to the nation's dropout crisis. Jackson and Marx found children can begin missing huge chunks of the school year as early as kindergarten.
Digging into the city's truancy patterns required tenacity and good ol' gumshoe reporting. The reporters took to the streets, building trust and relationships with affected families.
"I think one of the lessons in this project is that often the best stories are the stories you try to attack again and again and again in your career and that--to put it bluntly--really haunt you," Marx said. "And this was one of them."
Read more about reporting "An Empty Desk Epidemic" here and experience the full multimedia project here. Please note that some content can only be accessed by the Tribune's digital subscribers.
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Appointment TV: Poor Kids
Photo Courtesy of PBS
PBS Frontline travels to the nation's heartland, in "Poor Kids," premiering Tuesday, Nov. 20 at 10 p.m. ET on PBS.
The one-hour documentary captures what it's like to grow up poor from the point of view of children. Filmmaker Jezza Neumann spent nearly a full year with families who had once known better times, and the children speak frankly about grumbling bellies and struggling with their parents' unemployment.
At a Tuesday, Nov. 13, event hosted by Frontline, experts and filmmakers gathered for a panel discussion to explore what poverty means to children. Neumann, who has filmed kids in tough straits all around the world, emphasized how similar a child from Middle America is to a child from Zimbabwe.
"Children here are the same as children everywhere. They want good, decent lives. They want to have hope," he said.
You can watch footage from the discussion here. Check local-listings here.
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Dart Society Reports: Veterans
The fourth issue of Dart Society Reports features reporting, essays and reflections on veterans.
The issue also explores how to best tell veterans' stories. Check out Lee Hancock's The Narrative Comes Later, a feature story exploring how trauma affects the brain that also suggests small changes journalists can make to ask the right questions, more sensitively.
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 NEWS OF NOTE
WCSH-TV 6 (Portland, Maine), Kathleen Shannon | Nov. 14, 2012
Generations of Native Americans were taken from their families at early ages. Maine has agreed to a Truth and Reconciliation process with its four Wabanaki tribes to address the scope and depth of the issue.
Child Welfare in the Storm: What Happens to Vulnerable Families after a Disaster?
Child Welfare Watch, Abigail Kramer | Nov. 14, 2012
Child welfare workers became first responders after Hurricane Sandy, tracking down children in foster care, public housing and homebound clients to ensure their safety and prevent homelessness.
Local Educators Battle Poverty in Schools
Calhoun (Ga.) Times, Erik Green | Nov. 13, 2012
For many students living in poverty or facing homelessness, schools can be the primary stabilizing force in their lives.
Women, Hispanic Farmers Say Discrimination Continues in Settlement
Boise State Public Radio, Jessica Robinson | Nov. 13, 2012
Thousands of farmers say the U.S. Department of Agriculture discriminated against them for being female, black, Native American or Hispanic. And now farmers are suing over the legal settlements--saying the process violates civil rights.
Failed to Death: "System Was Set Up to Fail"
The Denver Post, Jennifer Brown, Christopher N. Osher and Jordan Steffen | Nov. 12, 2012
The job of a child abuse caseworker is tough, and, at times, a matter of life and death.
Number of Homeless Veterans Dropping Notably, But Major Hurdles Remain in Solving the Problem
The Washington Post/Associated Press | Nov. 11, 2012
Officials and experts say it would take more than a doubling of the current annual progress and billions more in federal money to end veteran homelessness by 2015, a goal set by Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki.
Researchers Seek Clues for Unexplained Infant Deaths
NBC News/My Health News Daily, Rachael Rettner | Nov. 9, 2012
More than 4,500 infants in the U.S. die suddenly from no obvious cause each year. A new database run by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention logs detailed information about such cases.
D.C. Juvenile Offender Seeks A Clean Slate (Audio)
WAMU (Washington, D.C.), Emily Berman | Nov. 9, 2012
Shawn was 14 when he first entered the juvenile justice system. Three years later, with the help of the staff from his detention center, he's out and preparing for college and work.
Hurricane Sandy Destroys Ali Forney Center for Homeless LGBT Youth
ABC News, Susan Donaldson James | Nov . 9, 2012
The storm flooded Ali Forney Center's drop-in facility, where LGBT kids on the street could seek medical attention, shelter and support. Resources for homeless LGBT youth were already scarce and two back-to-back storms have taken a toll.
Her War: The Invisible Crisis of Women Veterans (Video)
Center for Investigative Reporting, Mimi Chakarova | Nov. 8, 2012
Female veterans represent the fastest-growing segment of the nation's homeless population.
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EVENTS
Nov. 15, 1 p.m. - 2:45 p.m. PT Fostering Media Connections and Chief Justice Earl Warren Institute on Law and Social Policy The forum on media access to juvenile dependency hearings will explore what ethical standards journalists should adhere to in exchange for access to these sensitive hearings.
Nov. 19, 1 p.m. - 2 p.m. ET Pew Home Visiting Campaign, Pew Charitable Trusts A panel discussion on the election results and potential impact of the looming "fiscal cliff" and what it could mean for programs serving children and families.
Nov. 19, 10 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. ET Half in Ten, Center for American Progress Action Fund Washington, D.C. The Half in Ten campaign will release its second annual report on how America is faring on key indicators of cutting poverty. Keynote speakers and panelists will tell the stories behind the numbers and discuss the findings in the context of the lame duck battles before Congress.
Nov. 20, 12 p.m. ET Cato Institute Washington, D.C. Author, Russell K. Niell offers a provocative look at affirmative action and a plea to refocus public attention.
Dec. 6 Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago Partnerships between schools, community institutions and public agencies can help youth learn and thrive. How do these partners work with each other, what's required to support these complex relationships and what are the opportunities and challenges in evaluating these efforts?
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OPPORTUNITIES
Deadline: Nov. 16, 2012 National Press Photographers Foundation Five scholarships at $5,000 each will be awarded to professional still photographers who have worked for at least three years and have returned to school.
Deadline: Nov. 19, 2012 Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard A short-term visiting fellowship for individuals to work on special projects. Publishers, programmers, Web designers, media analysts, academics, journalists and others interested in improving journalism.
Deadline: Nov. 30, 2012 Kiplinger Program in Public Affairs Journalism The fellowship will guide journalists who want to use social media to better cover their beats. The fellowship also aims to sharpen public affairs reporting skills.
Deadline: Dec. 10, 2012 USC Annenberg School of Journalism's California Endowment The all-expense-paid fellowship is open to print, broadcast and online journalists from California or those based elsewhere who contribute to California media outlets. Field trips, workshops and seminars will hone multimedia reporting skills and explore the role that factors such as race, ethnicity, pollution
National Center for Disability and Journalism, Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University A new national awards program to recognize excellence in reporting on disability issues and people with disabilities. Entries will be accepted beginning January 1, 2013.
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The Journalism Center on Children & Families, a program of the University of Maryland's Philip Merrill College of Journalism, is a national nonprofit organization committed to supporting media coverage of children, youth and families, particularly the disadvantaged. The JCCF News Summary helps journalists and others keep in touch with the latest news, policy analysis and research reports on critical social issues that impact families and communities. We encourage redistribution of this material with credit given to the Journalism Center on Children & Families. Journalists are encouraged to submit their stories for consideration for publication in the JCCF News Summary and on our website. Please send story links to: info@journalismcenter.org. Stories should be archived and free of access charges for at least seven days. JCCF thanks The Annie E. Casey Foundation for its generous support of our work.
www.journalismcenter.org
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