Sacramento Head Start Alumni Association

California Voices 4 Children -- Email News Bulletin: September

Sep 17, 2003

California Voices 4 Children is an online community of people committed
to
the well-being of children and families in California. California
Voices 4
Children is sponsored by Action Alliance for Children at
http://www.4children.org

NOTE: There will not be a regular email news bulletin or Master
Calendar
update this month. Instead, please check out the September-October
2003
Children's Advocate articles and our upcoming conference on parent
leadership.

IN THIS ISSUE:

FROM THE CHILDREN'S ADVOCATE NEWSPAPER
* Fathers "fully involved as parents" (in English and Spanish)
* Not "just baby blues" (in English and Spanish)
* Building school-family relationships
* On the move against asthma

UPCOMING CONFERENCE
* Register now for Parents leading the way ... toward stronger
communities
for children

SUBSCRIBE/UNSUBSCRIBE

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FROM THE CHILDREN'S ADVOCATE

FATHERS "FULLY INVOLVED AS PARENTS"
What are the obstacles and how can men overcome them?

Each time Martin Romo reads a story to his 10-year-old daughter,
Ruby-Marie, he values the bond he has built with her. When he
unexpectedly
became a dad and husband at 15, Romo could not imagine a close
father-daughter relationship. But he wanted to give his daughter what
he
never had: a nurturing father who does more than pay bills and dish out
discipline.

"Many of us grow up believing we have only three roles: provider,
protector, and disciplinarian. We can't express ourselves with our
children
because we're fitting into these roles," says Alejandro Moreno,
director of
the National Compadres Network in Los Angeles. Says Oakland author and
activist Paul Kivel, "We need to build a community expectation that men
are
going to be fully involved as parents."

[Read the full article at http://www.4children.org/news/903papae.htm
In Spanish at http://www.4children.org/news/903papas.htm]


NOT "JUST BABY BLUES"
Helping mothers overcome depression is important for their children's
development

In the first days after her son was born, says Antioch mom Diana
Ferranti,
"I recognized there was something wrong." She felt anxious, hopeless.
"I
was struggling. Everything felt difficult." She requested a home visit
from
a breastfeeding counselor. "Your son is feeding fine," said the
visitor,
"but I want you to read this brochure." It was on postpartum depression
(PPD), and it described the way Ferranti was feeling.

She called the number on the brochure and reached the Postpartum Health
Alliance, which helped her find therapy and support. Now, eight years
later, Ferranti says, '"A lot of good came out of it. I learned to take
care of myself and that it's important to let dads have a major role --
I
realized I don't need to be Wonder Woman."

[Read the full article at http://www.4children.org/news/903mothe.htm,
In Spanish at http://www.4children.org/news/903moths.htm]


BUILDING SCHOOL-FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS
Parent Services Project brings parents into the school community

When Denise Shaheen became PTA president at Lynwood Elementary School
in
Novato, she was concerned. Only a small group of parents were actively
involved in the school, and they were split -- Anglo parents in the
PTA,
Latino parents in the English Language Acquisition Committee.

Then she heard that the Parent Services Project (PSP), which works to
develop strong parent communities around preschools, planned to start
working at elementary schools. From her involvement with PSP at her
children's preschool, Shaneen says, "I believed in their concept of
involving parents in helping to drive the center or the school, not the
curriculum, but in doing what families may need. It all becomes more
community-oriented."

[Read the full article at http://www.4children.org/news/903sch.htm]


ON THE MOVE AGAINST ASTHMA
Grassroots groups of parents and professionals push environmental
change
and education

* In San Francisco last June, children and parents overcame their
nervousness to share asthma stories and push for policy changes at the
board of education.
* In Tulare, community members this summer met at a local school to
pull up
allergy-producing plants and replace them with "low-trigger" plants.
* Merced and Mariposa County parents are taking an active role in their
children's health thanks to children's classes on asthma.

In areas of the state with the highest rates of asthma, grassroots
coalitions of parents and health professionals are stepping up to the
plate
to educate and advocate on behalf of California's young people who have
asthma. In the last decade, the rate of childhood asthma has soared-in
the
Central Valley it has nearly doubled. More than 500,000 California kids
now
live with asthma.

[Read the full article at http://www.4children.org/news/903asth.htm]


Discuss Children's Advocate articles on the online discussion board at
http://www.4children.org/voices.htm
Read more articles from the Children's Advocate at
http://www.4children.org/current.htm
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UPCOMING CONFERENCE

REGISTER NOW!
PARENTS LEADING THE WAY ? TOWARD STRONGER COMMUNITIES FOR CHILDREN

Oct 17-18, 2003 - Preservation Park, Oakland, CA

Action Alliance for Children, in partnership with a diverse group of
Bay
Area organizations, invites you to a two-day conference offering Bay
Area
parent leaders and organization staff an opportunity to build skills,
share
what works, and connect with each other in a unique, interactive
format.

Together, participants will explore:
* The power of our stories
* Pathways into leadership
* The journey from involvement to leadership
* Successful strategies in schools and communities
* Authentic leadership and shared power
* Sustaining parent leadership for social change

Features: Participatory learning * Exciting cultural presentations *
"Open
Space" dialogue * Simultaneous translation * Child care

Space is limited! Priority registration ends September 17, 2003. For
details, visit http://www.4children.org/events.htm

Supported by The Zellerbach Family Foundation


Got a conference or event coming up? Announce it on the online
discussion
board at http://www.4children.org/voices.htm
For more conferences and trainings, check out our expanded, online
Master
Calendar at http://www.4children.org/mcconf.htm
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California Voices 4 Children is an online community to connect and
inform
people committed to the well-being of children and families in
California.
California Voices 4 Children is sponsored by Action Alliance for
Children
and includes an online discussion board, email news bulletins, and
expanded
Master Calendar conference and resource listings online. For more
information, check out http://www.4children.org/voices.htm. A listing
in
this email news bulletin does not constitute an endorsement by AAC.

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California Voices 4 Children

Sponsored by
Action Alliance for Children, publisher of the Children's Advocate
1201 Martin Luther King Jr Way, Oakland, CA 94612
ph: (510) 444-7136; fx: (510) 444-7138; http://www.4children.org