Sharing Web Resources--Newsletter-October 7, 2011

In researching my current newsletter I researched an interesting link titled, “Mitchell family went to greath lengths, and distances for kids.”  This article was about Kit Carson School District R-1 board that decided to tell state officials that they would not be able to provide for the special needs of children living in the Mitchell family’s group home.

The Mitchell family (Howard and Melody Mitchell) decided in order to provide their children (foster and adopted) with quality education they would make daily drives of 20 miles each way to a more welcoming school district in Eads.  It was by officials who believed they could accommodate the special needs of abandoned or abused children.

Sadly, on Thursday morning while Howard Mitchell was traveling to take the children to school disaster struck.  The van driven by Mr. Mitchell went into the back of a  semitrailer truck  killing Howard Mitchell and five of the children, while seven of the children remain in the hospital.

According to Janelle Asmus spokeswoman for the Colorado Department of Education, “There is no state mandate on this.  We have a lot of local districts that makes decisions like this on their own.”

Another topic of discussion in my newsletter was about:  U.S. Child Obesity Reduction Program Test.  Over the past three decades, obesity rates among children and adolescents have almost tripled according to Dr. Thomas R. Friedan, director of the CDC.  He states that, “obese children are more likely to have asthma, depression, diabetes and other serious and costly health problems.  This project will help figure out ways our children can grow up to lead long, healthy, and productive lives.”

The Center for Disease Control and Preventions is using $25 million made available by the Affordable Care Act to support a four-year Childhood Obesity Demonstration Project.  They will target children ages 2-12 covered by the Children’s Health Insurance Program.

In the first article that I explored I think that it is wrong for a school system to turn their backs on educating young children.  Just because a child has a handicap their parents shouldn’t have to go outside of their school district to get quality education for their children.

In my second article, which fell under quality for education, I think it is important for us to remember that when children are overweight we need to keep them very active.  I think this is play can have positive effect on children.  When children are active in physical movement they are able to loose fat tissues that are not needed.  Today, many of our children sit in front of video games for fun and they are not physically active.

Resources

National Association of Child Care Resources & Referral Agencies. (Newsletter:

     http://capwiz.com/naccrra/mlm/signup/

Steffen, J. (October 2011).  Mitchell Family went to Greath Lengths and Distances for

     Kids.  The Denver Post.  Retrieved from

     http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_19117902

Getting to Know Your International Contacts--Part 2

Insightful information I gained from the Harvard University’s Global Children’s Initiative Website:

(1)   The Frontiers of Innovation (FOI) initiative and online community, developed by the Early Childhood Innovation Partnership.  Their design is to create cross-sector partnership and create high impact strategies for faster innovation in the field of early childhood programs and practices.  They do this by: Bringing people together with different areas of expertise; focusing on making a child ready to learn when they are ready for kindergarten; trying new things and taking risks; having a desire to go to the next level; and a better investment early on.

(2)   In understanding intervention it is important to know that “the basic science of early childhood and early brain development answers the “why” and “what” questions about investing in young children.  The applied science of intervention and program evaluation is essential to answer the “when” and “how” questions.”

(3)   The FrameWorks Institute emphasizes the importance of early intervention for children who experience symptoms of mental distress to help them avoid long-term adverse outcomes.  There are many stressors and environmental influences interacting with genetic predispositions that can cause the breakdown of unhealthy social and emotional development in early childhood that can endure through adulthood.  “The emergence of mental health concerns in young children occurs within the context of an environment of relationships that can include a child’s parents, relatives, caregivers, teachers, and peers.”

In my podcast I listened to Maysoun Chehab who is the Regional Early Childhood Development Program Coordinator at the Arab Resource Collective (ARC), a not-for-profit non-governmental organization based in Beirut, Lebanon.  She works along with practitioners and policymakers in raising awareness about early childcare and development.  They train early childhood workers on best practices.  They also work along with the parents and teachers on issues that affect child development.  Maysoun stated, “adults have to be supportive in order to support young children.”

I also learned that the World Forum Foundation have an organization called Global Leaders for Young Children.  Their goal is to “encourage participants to become more effective change agents ad advocates for quality early childhood development services in their home countries.”

Sharing Web Resources

Newsletter- Friday, September 23, 2011

There was an article in my newsletter entitled, “Fingerprint checks for daycare workers sought.”  This information seemed relevant to my current professional development because I work in a corrections facility and we have many people there who are sex offenders.  The article mentioned that early childhood advocates in Missoula want fingerprint background checks to be a requirement for everyone in Montana working in a daycare.  They are hoping this will prevent sex or violent offenders from being employed in their daycare centers.  I think that this should be done in all facilities.  Parents are assuming that they are leaving their children in loving and trusting care while they are away.  You cannot look at a person and determine if they are a sex offender or not.  I work around them everyday and you would be amazed at how most sex offenders come off to be so caring and loving, while at the same time they are some of the most dangerous people to be around especially around children.  So, I hope they decide to mandated fingerprint into their law.

In my newsletter was article titled, “Parents Wait For Co-Pay Refunds After Cleveland Child Care Shuts Down.”  This article made me think about the idea of daycare center in a new way.  It reminded me of a family being hit by poverty.  I never gave much thought to a daycare center not receiving enough funding to keep the doors open for the children.  In the reading the Woodland Learning Center in Cleveland closed it doors two weeks ago, posting only a sign and a voice mail to give parents the bad news.  Parents were left with nowhere to take their children.  Woodland Learning Center claimed it closed due to declining enrollment and cuts in federal funding.  The parents’ say they felt robbed, and even the employees didn’t know what was going on.  This seemed to me that poverty hit the daycare center.

Information from my newsletter that adds to my understanding of how the three disciplines support the early childhood field was found in the article, New Jersey’s Poorest Districts Get More Pre-K Money.  It explained how the budget signed by Gov. Chris Christie in July increased K-12 money, but did not include additional preschool funding.  In May, Christie’s attempt to cut school funding by $1.6 billion was ruled unconstitutional by the state’s Supreme Court, and the court ordered funds restored to the state’s 31 poorest schools.  As we all know the most obvious component of providing quality programs is to have adequate funding.  We must not cut the funding to the programs that we have; if we do we are jeopardizing the future of our children by not providing them with the quality needed early on in life.

Other insights gained by reading my newsletter were from the article, “Single Mothers Hit Hard by Economy (Impact of the Economy on Child Care).”  In Illinois nearly one-quarter of families with children are headed by single women, who face high unemployment, low pay, and frequent poverty.  Nearly 39 percent of Illinois households headed by single mothers exist at the poverty level and 6.4 percent for married couples.

Reference

National Association of Child Care Resources & Referral Agencies. (Newsletter:

     http://capwiz.com/naccrra/mlm/signup/

Getting to Know Your International Contacts- Alternative

My podcast participant was Susan Lyon.  Susan is the Director of Innovative Teacher Project in San Francisco, which she started in 1994.  She talked about how you can see a window in the minds of children if you really look.  You will be able to understand how children see things and how to understand their world. 

The Innovative Teacher Project was designed for educator’s professional development and a way to advocate on behalf of the children, by using the environment in which the children grow.  In this project, educators come together from public and private schools to have discussion groups where they share ideas, and the participants walk the environment.

My other podcast participant was Barbara Jones (BJ).  She spoke about how the public school was not for her.  She founded the Pine Grove School in Falmouth, Maine in 1985.  And, it is still in existence today, 25 years later.  This a Montessori school for preschoolers in which they help children to develop positive social skills, self-esteem, and a love for learning just to name a few.

Since I used the alternative, I also read about childhood poverty in Kyrgzstan.  Kyrgzstan was a part of the Soviet Union until 1991.  The majority of this country’s population makes their living from agriculture.  The children in Kyrgzstan disproportionately live in poverty.  57 percent of urban infants under 1, and 65 percent of rural under 1 live in poverty.

In 2001 an estimated 7 percent of children were malnourished, and approximately 14 percent of the population had no access to health care services.

Recent research estimate that 24 percent of children work either full or part time, similarly since transition there are now homeless or “street” children in Kyrgzstan’s cities, and some reports of child prostitution and trafficking.

My insight is that poverty has been a critical issue for a long time and it continues to evolve.  We need to make sure children are able to get an education and not have to work jobs to help take care of the families.  Without an education these children grows up and keep the cycle repeating.  Our governments need to find ways to expand economic growth, create a better society by making commitments to eliminate/reduce child poverty.

Resources

Childhood Poverty Research and Policy Centre’s.  Retrieved from

     http://www.childhoodpoverty.org/

World Forum Foundation Radio.  Retrieved from

     http://www.worldforumfoundation.org/wf/radio.php

Sharing Web Resources

The organization I selected is: 

National Association of Child Care Resources & Referral Agencies

Their link is: http://www.naccrra.org/

(Newsletter:  http://capwiz.com/naccrra/mlm/signup/)

Brief Description:  NACCRRA is a nonprofit organization that speaks for childcare.  Their goal is to make sure that children have access to high-quality, affordable childcare.  They represent over 750 state and local Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies (CCR&Rs) by providing training, resources, and best practice standards to local and state CCR&Rs that support high-quality childcare.  They also provide the families with information and resources on childcare and parenting by connecting the families to local CCR&R resources.

Current Issue from the newsletter:

Despite Weak Economy, Child Care Costs Continue to Rise

According to the newsletter released by the National Association of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies (NACCRRA), on August 24, 2011, the cost of childcare continues to increase.  Parents are struggling to afford quality care for their children.  The report revealed that the average annual cost for center-based care for infant care was higher than a year’s tuition and related fees at a four-year public college.  Childcare is very important for working families.  Parents want to know that their child is safe and also in a safe childcare setting that promote healthy development and learning.  However, “In the United States, more than 11 million children under age 5 are in childcare each week and although childcare costs are high, most states have inadequate requirements for the quality of care.”

The federal Child Care and Development Block Grant provides funds to states to help make childcare more affordable for families; however, it is not mandated that funds be used to pay for licensed care.   In these unlicensed care facilities they are not required to meet state health and safety standards, providers are not required to be trained and the settings are not inspected.  And, on a national average more than 20 percent of children who receive assistance from this grant are in unlicensed settings.  There should be more responsibility and accountability for quality childcare when the government is providing funds.

                                                                         Reference

Http://capwiz.com/naccrra/mlm/signup/

Establishing Professional Contacts and Expanding Resources

Hi Everyone,

My choice of establishing professional contacts is to use the World Forum Foundation and World Forum Radio.  Currently, I have listen to some podcasts that are available.  I am in the process of subscribing to World Forum Radio and downloading iTunes to my computer.  Of course, I am skeptical when it comes down to downloading on my computer so I will not have that portion done until tomorrow when my daughter gets in town to help me.  I haven't seen any links yet that would contact me with the people in the podcast.  I am hoping that once I get everything download I will be able to share more information on how I got it all done.  So, stay tune to hear from me again with this information.

The early childhood organization's website I chose to immerse myself in National Association of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies (http://www.naccrra.org/).  I was able to subscribe to a free electronic newsletter through this website (Newsletter:  http://capwiz.com/naccrra/mlm/signup/).

My Supports

Supportive factors in my daily environment:

Television News:  I watch the news daily to keep me informed on what’s going on around my community and me.  The news also keeps me informed on what going on in the world, so that I’m not left out in the dark.

Church:  I am a Christian so the church provides me with religious support that I need to be grounded.  My Christian beliefs keep me focus; I try to live right and treat people right.

Family and Friends:  I get emotional support from my family and friends.  If I have a crisis, they are there to listen to me and give me advice.  They are also there just for social communication.  It gives me comfort and peace knowing that I have people around me that love me.

Medical Services:  If I am not feeling well and think I need medical attention there are medical facilities in my community that is of service.  Just this week I was sick with a sinus infection, I went there and got the medical treatment needed.

Life would be difficult if I didn’t have a mean of knowing what’s going on in my community and the world.  Anytime of the day I can turn my television on to find out what’s going on.  Without my faith and trust in my church and God, I believe my soul would be lost.  My family and friends are everything to me and without their love I just can’t imagine what life would be like.  And lastly, it would be frightening to know that there were no medical services in my community to go to in time of sickness.  All of the these factors are of high quality in my life and without them the impact would be challenging in more way than I can imagine.