Sacramento Head Start Alumni Association

CDF Violence Prevention, 8.22.03

Aug 22, 2003

CHILDREN'S DEFENSE FUND VIOLENCE PREVENTION LISTSERV
August 22, 2003

IN THIS ISSUE:
--In the News - Surprise amendment seeks to undercut the Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms authority
--Federal Update - Speak out for children during Congress' August
recess
--In the States - California: New study examines the state's
after-school programs
--Research & Resources - August 28 plug into a videoconference on the
faith community and substance abuse prevention; Juvenile Accountability
Incentive Block Grants trainings offered in September; Child Trends
study finds one in four teens' first sexual relationship includes some
form of abuse; New publication examines an in-school program for
children exposed to violence
--Get Involved! - September is Youth Court Month; October 9 celebrate
Lights On Afterschool! day; October 23-25 attend the "Healthy
Communities, Healthy Youth" conference; Register today for CDF's
Wednesday in Washington Grand Rally; Join the Movement to Leave No
Child
Behind?®

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IN THE NEWS

SURPRISE AMENDMENT WOULD WEAKEN THE BUREAU OF ALCOHOL, TOBACCO,
FIREARMS' AUTHORITY
In a surprise move, U.S. Representative Todd Tiahrt (R-Kansas)
introduced an amendment to the 2004 funding bill for the Commerce,
Justice, State departments that would severely undermine the Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms' (BATF) ability to track illicit guns.
Tiahrt's eight-point amendment would prohibit the use of federal funds
for several BATF activities including preventing BATF from conducting
physical inventories of gun dealers and from requiring them to provide
documentation for guns sold in a specific period. In addition, it
would
prevent BATF from denying licenses to dealers whose sales fall below a
certain level. Tiahrt reportedly admitted to the Commerce, Justice,
State subcommittee that the amendment was in large part drafted by the
National Rifle Association (NRA). Despite the fact that the
subcommittee ultimately passed the amendment by a 31-30 vote, its
introduction reportedly took many members by surprise. This push to
undercut BATF's powers, in addition to the effort to immunize the gun
industry from lawsuits, would virtually eliminate all oversight of the
gun industry through legislative and law enforcement means. If the
Tiahrt amendment were to become law, it would undo much of the work
that
was done to weed out shady dealers through the passage of the Brady
Bill
and the 1994 Crime Bill. As a result of these two laws, the number of
dealers has dropped from 250,000 federally licensed gun dealers to
under
100,000, but the Tiahrt amendment would no doubt pave the way for a
huge
increase in their numbers. To learn more, visit
http://www.jointogether.org/gv/news/features/reader/0%2C2061%2C566162%2C00.html

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FEDERAL UPDATE

CONTACT YOUR SENATORS AT HOME IN AUGUST
The U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate have recessed through
Labor Day. Just before breaking for August recess on July 23 the U.S.
House of Representatives passed the Fiscal Year 2004 Commerce, Justice,
State, and the Judiciary Appropriations bill. Most members of Congress
will be home during August holding town hall meetings and attending
local events. Since the Senate is expected to vote on this legislation
when it returns to Washington in September, the August recess is an
important time to speak out for children. August offers a great
opportunity for you to meet with your Senators at home to urge their
support for increased funding for the Juvenile Accountability Block
Grant (JABG), Juvenile Delinquency Block Grant, and Local Delinquency
Prevention Programs (Title V) funded in the Appropriations bill. We
also encourage you to send emails to your Senators by visiting
http://capwiz.com/cdf.

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IN THE STATES

CALIFORNIA
More than 90 percent of afterschool programs in California enroll youth
of color, 40 percent serve mostly youth from low-income households, and
almost 60 percent include participants with physical disabilities.
Those are among the findings in California Tomorrow's new report,
"Pursuing The Promise: Addressing Equity, Access, and Diversity in
After
School and Youth Programs." The report presents the results of a
three-year study and provides an overview of the equity, access and
diversity trends in the fields of afterschool and youth development.
The study found that cultural, linguistic and other forms of diversity
have become the norm in afterschool program enrollment. Among
programs,
there is widespread attention paid to issues of safety, child care,
academic support and enrichment. While many afterschool programs
provide valuable academic interventions, a significant number do not
yet
have the level of knowledge or capacity to be effective with groups
frequently targeted for support such as low-income youth, youth of
color, immigrant youth, and English language learners. Each of the
study's findings is supported by data, specific examples and program
profiles. The report concludes with recommendations for policy,
funding, technical assistance, programming and research. It also
includes an extensive list of organizations and online resources. To
find out more about California Tomorrow or to order a copy of the
report, go to www.californiatomorrow.org.

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RESEARCH AND RESOURCES

PLUG INTO A FAITH COMMUNITY AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE PREVENTION
VIDEOCONFERENCE
Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America will air the videoconference
"Faith Community Involvement in Substance Abuse Prevention" on August
28, from 1:00 to 2:30 PM ET. The videoconference will provide an
overview of President George Bush's faith- and community-based
initiative, examine the ways in which that initiative affects community
anti-drug coalitions, and describe effective faith-based programs
implemented by such coalitions. The videoconference will also discuss
challenges that coalitions face in engaging the faith community and
strategies designed to overcome them. For further information about
the
"Faith Community Involvement in Substance
Abuse Prevention" videoconference, visit
http://www.dlnets.com/cadca_28Aug03.htm

OJJDP OFFERS JUVENILE ACCOUNTABILITY INCENTIVE BLOCK GRANTS TRAININGS
IN SEPTEMBER
The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention is sponsoring
three Juvenile Accountability Incentive Block Grants training workshops
in September 2003. The sessions will address juvenile drug courts,
gender-specific programs, and balanced and restorative justice. Prompt
registration is recommended. Access information and register online at
http://ojjdp.ncjrs.org/jaibg/tta.html

CHILD TRENDS EXAMINES CHARACTERISTICS OF TEENS' FIRST SEXUAL
RELATIONSHIPS
"The First Time: Characteristics of Teens' First Sexual Relationships"
is a new research brief from Child Trends on teens' first sexual
encounters. The brief shows that the majority of first sexual
relationships are romantic, but many are short-term. One-quarter
included some form of abuse, with nearly one in ten teens reporting
physical abuse within their relationship. The brief provides
information on: Relationship characteristics, contraception,
differences
by ethnicity, and differences by age. The new research brief is
available at
http://mailhost.groundspring.org/cgi-bin/t.pl?id=28057:602796.

BULLETIN EXPLORES IN-SCHOOL PROGRAM FOR CHILDREN EXPOSED TO VIOLENCE
"Community Outreach through Police in Schools" (NCJ197038) is a new
publication from the Office for Victims of Crime based on a program
developed by Yale University Child Study Center's Child Development
Community Policing Program. The bulletin describes an in-school
collaborative effort between police officers and mental health
professionals to minimize the psychological effects of trauma among
middle school students at risk for exposure to violence. The program
appears to improve both students' relationships with law enforcement
and
their ability to cope with the emotional effects of violence. This
on-line only publication is available at
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ovc/publications/bulletins/policeinschools/


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GET INVOLVED

CELEBRATE YOUTH COURT MONTH IN SEPTEMBER
The month of September is Youth Court Month. This year's Youth Court
Month theme is "Empowering Youth Through Education and Service." The
goals of the month long celebration is to educate the public about
youth
courts, promote the courts' intervention and prevention roles, and
honor
those involved in youth courts. Access information at
www.youthcourt.net/12-month_campaign/2003/calendar/2003ActionKit.pdf


OCTOBER 9TH IS LIGHTS ON AFTERSCHOOL! DAY
Across the country, communities are coming together to plan local
Lights On Afterschool! events on October 9 to highlight the benefits of
afterschool programs and the resources needed to keep the lights on and
the doors open at these vital programs.
Lights On Afterschool! is a national day of activity organized by the
Afterschool Alliance. More than 5,500 afterschool programs
participated
last year, and even more are expected to participate in this year's
Lights On Afterschool! day. The only nationwide rally for afterschool,
Lights On Afterschool! is designed to give lawmakers, parents,
educators, business leaders and others an opportunity to see firsthand
the important contributions made by afterschool programs. To obtain
information on how to host an event or to register your event, visit
www.afterschoolalliance.org.

REGISTER FOR THE "HEALTHY COMMUNITIES, HEALTHY YOUTH" CONFERENCE
On October 23-25, the Search Institute will hold its annual "Healthy
Communities, Healthy Youth" conference in San Jose, CA. The conference
will help juvenile justice professionals develop practical strategies
to
incorporate diversity in community and organizational planning.
Drawing
on developmental assets that are fundamental to positive youth
development, the conference will afford adults and youth opportunities
to play leadership roles as planners, facilitators, speakers, hosts,
and
mentors to other conference participants. More than 90 sessions will
feature nearly 250 adult and youth speakers. To obtain further
information about the conference or to register online, visit the
conference website at http://www.search-institute.org/hchy/hchy2003

OCTOBER 15 ATTEND WEDNESDAY IN WASHINGTON GRAND RALLY TO LEAVE NO CHILD
BEHIND?®
On October 15, grandparents and other relative caregivers from across
the country will gather in the Nation's Capitol to bring attention to
the needs of children and kinship care families. This historic event
is
sponsored by the Children's Defense Fund (CDF), American Association of
Retired Persons (AARP), Child Welfare League of America, Generations
United, and the National Committee of Grandparents for Children's
Rights. The event will feature inspirational kinship caregivers,
Marian
Wright Edelman, Founder and President of CDF, William Novelli,
President
of AARP, members of Congress, and many others, in addition to Hill
visits by GrandRally participants. Grandparents and relatives
caregivers, kinship care advocates, and all those who support them are
welcome at the GrandRally. To learn more about and to register for the
event, e-mail grandrally@childrensdefense.org or call (202) 662-3656.

JOIN THE MOVEMENT TO LEAVE NO CHILD BEHIND?®

ENCOURAGE YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS TO CO-SPONSOR/ENDORSE THE ACT TO LEAVE
NO CHILD BEHIND
On February 12, 2003, Representative Christopher Dodd (D-CT) and
Senator George Miller (D-CA) re-introduced the Act to Leave No Child
Behind (S. 448/H.R. 936) in the U.S. Congress. This important
comprehensive federal legislation sets forth a major children's agenda
that combines the best ideas and proposals to improve the lives of
children. Among the policy objectives in the 12 titles of the Act is
legislation to: encourage positive youth development activities for all
young people; advance efforts to reduce juvenile delinquency and
support
youth in the juvenile justice system; and promote responsible gun
legislation to prevent youths' access to firearms.

Since its introduction in this session of Congress, 9 Senators and 64
Representatives have signed on as co-sponsors of the Act to Leave No
Child Behind. Please visit the CDF Action Council site at
www.cdfactioncouncil.org/cosponsors.htm to encourage your Senators
and Representative to co-sponsor this very important legislation for
children. If they are not listed as co-sponsors, please send them a
message asking them to sign on! An adaptable message is available for
you to send at
http://capwiz.com/cdf/issues/alert/?alertid=34813&type=CO.

Additionally, it is important for state legislators to support this
legislation as a way to underscore the support for children in the
states. We need advocates to e-mail their state legislators and
encourage them to sponsor the re-introduced Act Leave No Child Behind
so
they can play a role in moving this piece of federal legislation.
Visit
http://capwiz.com/cdf/issues/alert/?alertid=88158&type=ST to send a
message to your own state legislators!