Teenagers in foster care often have stories to tell – but lack the tools to tell them. Martha Pitts reports on how the Center for Digital Storytelling has provided those tools to participants in their program, and helped create valuable teaching tools for those who work with teens in care.
Archive for July, 2006
Telling Stories that Teach, and Heal
Published July 31st, 2006 in South Florida Children. 0 CommentsMarriage as Anti-Child-Poverty Program
Published July 24th, 2006 in South Florida Children. 0 CommentsCongress recently allocated $750 million over five years to promote marriage and fatherhood initiatives among low-income groups. As a result, federally-funded marriage promotion programs are springing up around the country, including in Washington, DC. Roshin Mathew, an Emerson Hunger Fellow working with Connect for Kids this year, wondered about the connection between marriage promotion and better lives for low-income children. Here are her findings, and her thoughts.
Hockey Scores with Special-Needs Kids
Published July 20th, 2006 in South Florida Children. 0 CommentsIce hockey fans are devoted to their sport, unfazed by the game’s physical demands, cumbersome equipment, and the red-hot competition for ice time. Massachusetts is one of the centers of hockey fever in the U.S. So it’s only fitting that the gradually growing list of hockey clubs for children with special needs now includes The Boston Bear Cubs, which hit the ice in February. Lisa M. Cataldo explains how the Cubs got their start, and what the club means to its players and their parents.
World of Opportunity Welcomes All Comers
Published July 20th, 2006 in South Florida Children. 0 CommentsLow-income students who drop out – or are pushed out – of school without a high school diploma face long odds in their search for a path to a successful and stable adult life. In Birmingham, Ala., a former public school teacher is waging a fierce campaign to give such students a second chance. Gin Phillips reports on the World of Opportunity School.
Looking for Balance in Foster Care Views
Published July 17th, 2006 in South Florida Children. 0 CommentsWhen you learn that a teen is in foster care, what is your reaction? Empathy? Curiosity? Apprehension? News stories and popular media portrayals of young people involved with the child welfare system, paired with selective statistics about how this population is faring, can feed apprehension at the expense of a more positive view of the strength that can come from overcoming adversity. La Terra Cole, an intern with Connect For Kids, reflects on some recent “mainstream media” portrayals of foster care.
Child poverty is changing, as more low-income parents enter the workforce yet remain impoverished. The Urban Institute has a team of researchers investigating why work is no longer a ticket out of poverty, what that means for kids, and what kinds of programs might help. UI’s Gregory Acs, a senior research associate in the Income and Benefits Policy Center, offers this overview.
