JCCFNews Summary
July 25

Like us on FacebookFollow us on Twitter
Visit our blog


 

 Photo courtesy of the Annie E. Casey Foundation

 

The Annie E. Casey Foundation's 25th annual KIDS COUNT Data Book addresses and ranks the well-being of children across the states in four main categories: economics, education, health and family and community.

  

According to the report, in 2012, 16.3 million American children lived in poverty, a four percent rise from 2005. An increasing number of children live with only one parent or in communities with high concentrations of poverty.

 

Yet there was some good news. The data show that more children are attending preschool and graduating high school, and the teen birth rate is at an historic low. More kids have access to health care and fewer children are dying from illness and accidents.

 

KIDS COUNT also places special emphasis on disparities of child well-being based on income, race, ethnicity, and geography; and evidence-backed solutions that work.
Read more.

Check out this round-up of news stories about KIDS COUNT from local and national news media.  

What's Up Docs? The Homestretch 

"I have to be my own parent...Loneliness is one of my worst enemies."

 

"It's because of the way that I am that my mom got rid of me."  

 

The Homestretch, a new documentary from Kartemquin, shines a light on the ways race, poverty, violence, sexuality, immigration status and foster care contribute to youth homelessness.  

 

The film follows Roque, Anthony and Kasey (pictured above) through the harsh Chicago winters of their adolescent lives and into The Night Ministry's Crib emergency youth shelter, Teen Living Programs' Belfort House and Chicago Public Schools, where a shocking 22,000 kids are registered as "Students in Temporary Living Situations." In other words: homeless. 

 

Read JCCF's review of The Homestretch.

Radio Rookes: DIY Toolkit

The multi-award winning Radio Rookies have released a do-it-yourself toolkit for teen reporters and for people who lead youth journalism projects. The DIY toolkit features four animated short how-to videos, a comic book and tips for developing basic skills and stories that center on youth experience and expression. Widely recognized as one of the most successful youth reporting projects in the country, the Rookies are generously sharing their curriculum and production guides so that other media makers can make use of them.  
News
News of Note

The Los Angeles Times, Molly Hennessy-Fiske | July 25
A new study from the Pew Research Center finds that the number of unaccompanied children under the age of 12 crossing the southern border has more than doubled since last year.


Schools Must Abandon Zero-Tolerance Discipline

Education Week, Kavitha Mediratta | July 24  

Zero-tolerance discipline policies are hurting students instead of helping them. Baltimore and other cities like it in California and Colorado found alternatives to harsh policies and have brightened futures.

 

Alternet, Lynn Stuart Parramore | July 23    

Wealthy moms in Manhattan were applauded by The New York Times for kicking their drug habits with the help of personal sobriety trainers, while moms like 26-year-old Mallory Loyola are being arrested under Tennessee's new state law that classifies illegal drug usage while pregnant as assault.   

  

Study: Men With Troubled Childhoods May Seek Refuge in the Military

The Los Angeles Times, Alan Zarembo, | July 23

In America's all-volunteer army, men who enlist are about twice as likely to have had troubled childhoods. A recent study by JAMA Psychiatry may help to explain suicides, depression and PTSD in the military.    

 

As Juvenile Arrests Plummet, California Still Investing in Incarceration Facilities

The Chronicle of Social Change, Brian Rinker | July 23

Despite a decrease in California's juvenile crime and incarceration rates, the state is spending big bucks to renovate and expand juvenile halls and camps.   

 

Almost Half of America's Obese Youth Don't Know They're Obese (Opinion)

The Washington Post, Roberto A. Ferdman | July 23  

Forty-two percent of obese children and adolescents in the U.S. mispercieve their weight as normal, according to a new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics.

    

For New Grads, Depression After the Diploma

Alternet, New America Media, Raymond Fog | July 23

Post-college depression is a reality for many young adults. With youth unemployment more than twice the national rate, Americans between the ages of 18-29 are moving back home and wondering if the last four years were worth it.    

 

Yes, Immigrant Kids Are Fleeing Violence, but So Are Kids in Chicago

The Root, Keli Goff | July 22

President Obama recently requested $3.7 billion to aid in the child migrant crisis, but what is he doing for kids right here at home who are threatened by violence in their communities.

 

Former Foster Youth Take Politics Into Their Own Hands: Sokhom Mao

The Chronicle of Social Change, Victor Valle | July 22

After years in foster care, 27-year-old Sokhom Mao hopes to use his policy and advocacy experience to improve the foster care system in Oakland, California.   

 

When Struggling Families Spark Internet Rage

The New York Times, Anna Altman | July 22 

A documentary photographer's forceful series on poor, vulnerable families ignites outrage online.    

 

They Want a Baby. The Economy Won't Play Along.

Storyline, The Washington Post, Todd C. Frankel | July 21

While it's been five years since the recession hit, the nation's birth rate is at a historic low, as families struggle with the economic demands on family planning.   

 

The Youth Unemployment Crisis Hits African-Americans Hardest

NPR, NPR Staff | July 21 

While the nation's unemployment rate has fallen since the recession of 2009, young people are still struggling to find jobs, especially minority youth.  

 

Obama to Report Widening of Initiative for Black and Latino Boys

The New York Times, Motoko Rich | July 20  

Sixty of the country's largest school districts are set to join President Obama's $200 million initiative, My Brother's Keeper, which seeks to improve educational opportunities for African-American and Hispanic youth.  

Events
Events
  

Taking Stock of the Affordable Care Act: What is the Data Telling Us? 

July 29, 12 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. ET

Urban Institute

Washington, D.C.

The event will evaluate the Affordable Care Act to date and loop in experts to discuss changes in health care coverage and marketplace exchange enrollment.  

 

August 7-8

Coalition for Juvenile Justice and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
Washington, D.C.

The Youth Summit seeks to cultivate and empower a new generation of juvenile justice reform advocates through skill-building, networking, and leadership development. The event will also feature activities around the 40th Anniversary of the passage of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA). 

Opportunities
Opportunities 

National Center on Disability and Journalism

Deadline: July 31

Entries are now being accepted for the second annual contest honoring the best print, radio, television and online-only disability coverage. The first-place winner is awarded $5,000 and receives an invitation to speak at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University, where NCDJ is headquartered.

 

Open Society Fellowship 

Deadline: Aug. 4

The fellowship aims to support work that addresses at least two areas of interest to the Open Society Foundations, such as human rights, government transparency and access to information and justice.

 

Reporting Fellowships on Health Care Performance

Association of Health Care Journalists

Deadline: October 1

The one-year fellowship provides US journalists with the opportunity pursue a significant reporting project related to the U.S. health care system.    

Journalism Center on Children & Families |1100 Knight | University of Maryland | College Park, MD 20742
www.journalismcenter.org