Visit our Budget Watch Web page
to stay up-to-date on the latest budget news. Watch Marian Wright Edelman’s recent interview on CBS’ “The Talk”
in which she gives a resounding call to action for women to raise a ruckus before it’s too late and Congress balances the budget on the backs of babies and the poor. We urge all of you to raise a ruckus and raise your voice for children.
On March 14 Black faith, community, education, and business leaders from around the country convened at CDF’s national office for a 2-day “Black Community Crusade for Children Teach-In and Lobby Day.”
Monday evening’s “Teach-In” featured experts on education reform who emphasized the urgent need to address zero tolerance policies that push poor and minority children out of school, ensure an equitable distribution of the best teachers and leaders to high-poverty districts, and hold schools and districts accountable for providing all children with a high quality education. Learn more about CDF’s priorities for the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) on our education page
.
On Tuesday morning, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan spoke to the group about the Administration’s goals to level the education playing field for all children. The Secretary urged parents to raise a ruckus, organize, and demand that schools provide their children with a quality education.
Visit our multi-media gallery
and subscribe to our YouTube channel
to watch videos of Secretary Duncan’s address and others from the meeting. CDF presents substantive talks from thought leaders on children and child advocacy through video.
In her latest book, Pull Up Your Pants for Personal and Social Change (Infinity Publishing 2010, ISBN-10: 0741457075 $15.95), Sabrina Hayes, an author, trainer, and mother of three, shares her inspiration, traditional childhood rearing philosophy and avid purpose to mentor and develop young people. Hayes is passionate and unequivocally determined to take young people "back to the basics" - observing and honoring sensible, respectful, and obedient behavior.
In the midst of the controversy surrounding anti-abortion billboards that feature President Barack Obama or declare that “black children are an endangered species,” Arizona has become the first state to make abortions illegal based on the race and gender of the fetus.
Low-income children, particularly black and Hispanic kids, are suffering the most from a cliff-like decline in childhood arts education.
In a recent government study, more than 50 percent of young black adults surveyed in 1982 said they received a childhood arts education compared to 26 percent in 2008, a 49 percent drop and the largest among all race groups. Among whites, childhood arts education dropped only 5 percent in the same time period.
All non-profits, who would like to review and possibly present the material to the at-risk girls they serve, are encouraged to visit the website www.ElisClainGroup.com or send an email to info@elisclaingroup.com for more information.
The Elis Clain Group, which is a network created for ordinary people who give back, is extending an invitation to all service-oriented individuals who offer a service, to post a link on the ECG website.
PRESS CONTACT:
Shamela McClain
510-265-4394
shamela@elisclaingroup.com
Five-year old actor Myles Brooks put himself on the map when his first film, Pioneer, took home the Best Narrative Short award at the South by Southwest festival this year.
The 15-minute production is the story of a father telling an epic and violent tale about an absent mother to his young son.
Many kids think cheese is naturally orange and strawberry juice a bright red — thanks to a collection of widely used artificial food dyes that a Food and Drug Administration advisory panel (FDA) will now re-examine for safety.
Color additives like quinoline yellow and ponceau 4R have long been deemed safe, but some recent British studies have associated the dyes with hyperactivity in children, prompting the FDA to convene a two-day meeting to discuss the science.
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On Monday night's episode of BET's '106 & Park,' hosts Rocsi and Terrence J. remembered the late radio and TV personality DJ Megatron, who was shot to death early Sunday morning near his Staten Island home. (March 29)
There's always been a long list of ammunition in the Mommy Wars between working and stay-at-home mothers.
But new statistics could call for a cease fire. A report shows that seven out of 10 American moms -- that's 70.8 percent -- with kids younger than 18 are in the labor force or looking for work, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Read more…
Police reports that radio and TV personality DJ Megatron has been shot and killed near his Staten Island home at 2 a.m. Sunday during a late run to a store. He was found dead with a gunshot wound in the stomach. The 32-year-old, born Corey McGriff, had become a fixture in recent segments of "What's Good" on "106 & Park" in addition to working for hip hop and R&B stations in New York, Boston and Philadelphia. He also appeared in movies including 2005's State Property 2 alongside rappers Beanie Sigle and N.O.R.E.
Bill Cosby, the comedian, the grouch, the chief celebrity critic of the African-American plight, was recently in the news for alleged comments he made to Russell Simmons. They were rude comments and we wouldn’t expect any less from Mr. Huxtable. Cosby has long expressed his dismay for Black celebrity rappers and actors who promote the hood lifestyle. Recently, he told The Star Press just exactly how he felt about Simmons.
“People like Russell Simmons and that three-named fool telling people that this behavior is all right and neither one of them were brought up that way. They may have transgressed, and they were taught by people who were brought up with pride in themselves. … They were not raised that way and they know it, yet they’re gonna put it out that this is good.”
A British woman has had frozen ovary tissue inserted back into her by a robot in a pioneering operation - raising hopes for women left infertile.
Emma Leach, 39, was left infertile and went through the menopause after undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer.
She had pieces of her ovaries frozen five years ago following her diagnosis and they have now been put back into her body.
Just in time for the Elite Eight NCAA games, consumer advocate and former presidential candidate Ralph Nader is calling for an end to college athletic scholarships.
The head of the College Board, 71-year-old Gaston Caperton has announced he's stepping down in 2012. Caperton's held the job since 1999 and has overseen the number of students who take the SAT or AP exam skyrocket from 3 million to 7 million.
Working mothers spend just over an hour a day day with their children, a study has revealed.
The average figures include weekends - so many manage no more than a few minutes each day with their youngsters during the week.
Over five million children ages four to 17 have been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in the United States and close to 3 million of those children take medication for their symptoms, according to the Centers for Disease Control. But a new study reported in The Lancet last month found that with a restricted diet alone, many children experienced a significant reduction in symptoms. The study’s lead author, Dr. Lidy Pelsser of the ADHD Research Centre in the Netherlands, said in an interview with NPR, “The teachers thought it was so strange that the diet would change the behavior of the child as thoroughly as they saw it. It was a miracle, the teachers said.”Dr. Pessler’s study is the first to conclusively say that diet is implicated in ADHD. In the NPR interview, Dr. Pessler did not mince words, “Food is the main cause of ADHD,” she said adding, “After the diet, they were just normal children with normal behavior. They were no longer more easily distracted, they were no more forgetful, there were no more temper-tantrums.” The study found that in 64 percent of children with ADHD, the symptoms were caused by food. “It’s a hypersensitivity reaction to food,” Pessler said. (Flickr image: by Scorpions and Centaurs)
Americans clamoring to adopt children of the Japan tsunami's victims will likely be disappointed. Tony Dokoupil on what happens to orphans in a country where adoption is virtually unheard of.
Days after the earth heaved and waves pummeled northern Japan, Western comment boards and blogs lit up over the fate of the tsunami's most vulnerable victims: the newly orphaned. "I want to take 1 or 2 of these kids [home] with me," wrote a commenter on The Imperfect Parent. "I'm rich and I can afford it," another person posted on Yahoo! Answers. A prospective parent on CNN.com gushed that their "little orphan baby" would be brought up "with lots of love!" Even formal organizations, from the Kyrgyzstan government to the National Association of Japanese Canadians, explored the idea of temporary shelters, adding to a now familiar chapter in stories of war and natural carnage.- Yahoo! News
History is full of men and women who have devoted countless hours to turning their ideas into physical properties. Thomas Edison had ideas about improving incandescent lighting, and he worked hard until he'd come up with a longer-lasting light bulb. And good for him! (He's why you're able to read this right now.) But there are just as many moments in our past where men and women have devoted those hours to realizing a dream only to see that dream crushed by the pragmatic demands of reality, then to realize that they've accidentally come up with something of equal or greater importance. Our lives depend on these accidental inventions more than we might know, and our world and economy are certainly in their debt. If you've ever cured your illness or nuked a TV dinner, you're living proof of the happiness of accidental discoveries.
Online Degree 10 Accidental Inventions That Became Big Business
A week today the cuts will start to bite. As the financial year ends, grants will run out, contracts will wind up, and charities and services will begin to shut their doors. After months of anxiety about the impact of the cuts, the consequences of the government's rapid deficit reduction programme will begin to be real.
The Guardian gives a slice of what this will mean across the country, highlighting a cross-section of 50 services that will shrink or cease to exist from the end of this month. Most are unglamorous, obscure, unfeted projects, staffed by employees who are not very well paid, but hugely committed to what they do. All of these losses come as a result of the government's decision to cut spending by £95bn over five years.
The Guardian
Youth violence rates around the country have been decreasing in recent years, but violent crimes are still most concentrated in poorer, urban neighborhoods. Experts say kids who grow up in dangerous areas are more likely to become targets.
In Chicago, a program called CeaseFire is working to curb violence by helping at-risk youth find employment and patrolling the streets to stop crimes before they happen. : NPR
"American Kids Are Falling Behind."
Not really. Anybody seeking signs of American decline in the early 21st century need look no further, it would seem, than the latest international educational testing results. The Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) -- the most-watched international measure in the field -- found that American high school students ranked 31st out of 65 economic regions in mathematics, 23rd in science, and 17th in reading. Students from the Chinese city of Shanghai, meanwhile, shot to the top of the ranking in all three categories -- and this was the first time they had taken the test.
The latest example of a dangerous drink, called 'Blast by Colt 45,' is being promoted by music star Snoop Dogg in an obvious attempt to target urban youth.
Newborn hearing screening has been considered a valuable addition to newborn care over the last decade. The earlier children with hearing loss can be identified, experts say, the sooner they can begin therapies to learn sign language or be evaluated for cochlear implants.
However, a new study shows that many children pass the screening test only to be diagnosed as hearing-impaired later on. The study, published Monday in the Archives of Otolaryngology -- Head & Neck Surgery, found that one-third of children who later received cochlear implants initially passed the newborn screening test. It appears that some children have a delayed onset of hearing loss that stems from the inner ear or central processing centers of the brain. This type of loss is not detected immediately after birth.
When Neil Brown got high on bath salts, he took his skinning knife and slit his face and stomach repeatedly. Brown survived, but authorities say others haven’t been so lucky after snorting, injecting or smoking powders with such innocuous-sounding names as Ivory Snow, Red Dove and Vanilla Sky.
Flossing may be a bore but this kind of fastidious teeth-cleaning might be a lifesaver
Tooth loss increases the risk of a stroke many years later, according to a new Japanese study, and underlying gum disease may be to blame.
Researchers have calculated that those with fewer than 24 of their own teeth (adults should have 32) are 60 per cent more likely to suffer a stroke.
Motherhood and nursing are mine by choice; my skin color and curly hair are factors over which I had no more control than any other person born into this world. But sadly enough, the convergence of these three aspects of my identity – my blackness, my role as a mother, and my decision to nurse, especially into the toddler years – makes me a rather unconventional bird, indeed.
Rango is this crazy animated movie about a lizard in a state of existential crisis. His tale is narrated in song by a mariachi band comprised of four owls, and they sing about his imminent, heroic death throughout. Rango keeps not-dying, and the band then sings about how he hasn’t died yet but he’s going to die soon, for sure. This goes on through the whole movie, which is neck-deep in death. Some of it’s kind of shocking.
Young American adults have increased the amount of coffee they drink daily in 2011, after feeling better about their finances following the global economic crisis, a survey showed on Saturday.
Forty percent of the 18- to 24-year-olds who responded to theNational Coffee Association's National Coffee Drinking Trends 2011 survey said they are drinking coffee daily, compared with 31 percent in 2010.
Wired! Young Americans increase coffee consumption | The Raw Story
This is a photographic tour of the Elmina Slave Castle located in Ghana. The book also includes a detailed history of the castle, and function of the castle. This is a must have for Africans is the diaspora that may never have a chance to visit.
Even the most vocal detractor of language lessons knows the difference between a noun and a pronoun. But it takes a special kind of grammar aficionado to pick up on the intricacies between the various verbs and plethora of pronouns. As with every passion, linguistics comes with its own unique vocabulary challenging fans to memorize them all. Hundreds more exist beyond these 33, but they certainly make for an amusing start! Especially that "eggcorn…"
Singer Nate Dogg, whose near monotone crooning anchored some of rap's most seminal songs and helped define the sound of West coast hip-hop, died Tuesday of complications from multiple strokes. He was 41. (March 16)
The return to segregated neighborhood schools, most often populated by poor black and brown students, unequally funded, and labeled "low performing" or "failing" should be taken very by seriously by the black community. The "new" segregation that has evolved in the post-Brown era is even more insidious than that of pre-Brown segregation. The deeply rooted problems that plagued pre-Brown segregated schools persist; while a new set of problems inherent in the "new" segregation have emerged. The "new" post-Brown segregation is creating a class of chronically undereducated students who will be left with only underclass options.
God works in mysterious ways, and he touches the souls of a special few with the fire to spread his word. Although Isaiah Jackson (pictured) may be pint-sized, his voice has touched hundreds of thousands of people throughout the world by the special way in which he prays. - BV Black Spin
Japan's devastating 8.9 earthquake and subsequent tsunami has many people wondering if such a disaster could happen in quake-prone California. The short answer? Yes—and that's why since 2008, the state has been educating residents, particularly school children, through a program called The Great California ShakeOut. The program helps Californians prepare for and practice how to respond in the event of an earthquake. So, just how ready are the state's schools for the "Big One?"
A group of more than 50 students involved in abstinence-only education programs around the country are descending on Capitol Hill to urge lawmakers to restore federal funding to their programs.
President Obama eliminated all federal funding for abstinence-only education after he took office, citing independent evaluations that found the programs didn't convince kids to delay sex and, in fact, lowered condom use among participants who did have sex. In a compromise measure, Congress restored $250 million over five years to abstinence education in last year's health care overhaul, but that is still a much smaller outlay than the programs received under President George W. Bush.
Education Secretary Arne Duncan warned yesterday that 80,000 of the nation's 100,000 public schools will be labeled failures under President George W. Bush's "No Child Left Behind" law, which President Obama wants Congress to significantly alter this year.
Using common opioid painkillers shortly before or early in pregnancy may increase the risk of developing congenital heart disease and other birth defects.
According to an ongoing research conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), women who consume opioid analgesics such as codeine, hydrocodone or oxycodone early in pregnancy are at a 2- to 3-fold greater risk of giving birth to infants with certain congenital defects.
Taking a migraine and epilepsy drug known as topiramate by pregnant women can increase the risk of developing oral birth defects in the unborn, US federal agency warns.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that expectant mothers who use topiramate (Topamax) are about 20 times more likely to have their infants develop cleft lips or cleft palate deformities.
The study of 1,300 pregnant women showed that the higher total iron intake during the first trimester of pregnancy positively influences the infant's birth weight.
The findings published in the Human Reproduction suggested that the relation is stronger in women with adequate intake of vitamin C, which is known to enhance iron absorption from non-meat sources. Read more…
President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama have posted a video on Facebook to promote a bullying prevention conference they'll host at the White House. (March 9)
Editors note: We are posting this video for information only. We do not advocated sex before marriage or ‘hooking up’.
Japan's health ministry has halted the use of vaccines made by Pfizer Inc and Sanofi-Aventis SA to prevent meningitis and pneumonia following the deaths of four children.
The infants died shortly after receiving the vaccines and while it was unclear if there was link between the deaths and vaccines, use of Pfizer's Prevenar and Sanofi's ActHIB will be suspended while the deaths are investigated, the ministry said in a statement.
A shocking survey has discovered that hours of computer games are making
children too tired to learn in the classroom.
The study found that more than three quarters of the children questioned use a games console every night and all of them spent time on YouTube.
Some also admitted staying up to 4 or 5am playing on their consoles, while others said they had been up since 5.30 doing the same.
Babies can remember melodies they hear in the womb even after they are born, according to new research.
Scientists played music to infants three weeks before they were born and then tested them one month after birth.
They discovered the babies' heart rates slowed by about 12 beats a minute when the familiar melody was heard. An unfamiliar song had much less of an effect.
The State Department regularly puts out reports on how horrific human trafficking is in other countries. But right under the government's nose in DC, dozens of girls and boys are sold into the treacherous underworld of prostitution and human trafficking. Director of Courtney's House Tina Frundt says it is a lot easier for kids to slip into sex trafficking then people would like to believe; usually they know the man pushing them into the business for a while.
An Ohio school district is in hot water after the mother of a black fifth-grader said her son was assigned to play a slave for a social studies lesson.
Aneka Burton told a Columbus, Ohio, television station that in her 10-year-old son Nikko's social studies lesson, the class was divided into two groups: slaves and masters.
Bad lesson? Ohio elementary school in trouble after black student made to play slave in class
Fewer teens and young adults are having sex, a government survey shows, and theories abound for why they're doing it less. Experts say this generation may be more cautious than their predecessors, more aware of sexually spread diseases. Or perhaps emphasis on abstinence in the past decade has had some influence.
Or maybe they're just too busy.
US teens, young adults 'doing it' less, study says - Yahoo! News
Dean’s Horizon organic milk generates plenty of controversy. For years, Horizon has been sparring with the watchdog group Cornucopia over its farming practices, like use of conventionally raised heifers on its certified-organic farms. Cornucopia also goes after Dean for putting additives in its “organic” products. The latest dust-up is over a new Horizon product called “Fat-Free Milk Plus DHA Omega-3.”
Despite Horizon brand, dairy giant Dean Foods really doesn’t get organic | Food Freedom
Sickle cell anemia is an inherited disease in which red blood cells are unable to properly carry oxygen throughout the body because of their distinctive crescent-like, or sickle, shape. The condition causes severe episodes of pain and fatigue, and it can lead to damage to the eyes and other organs. Sickle cell anemia affects about 72,000 people in the United States, most of African descent. Here, six men and women speak about the impact sickle cell anemia has had on their lives and families. (Join the discussion here.)
Patient Voices: Sickle Cell Anemia - Multimedia Feature - NYTimes.com
We have recently been overwhelmed by requests for help concerning hormonal, fertility, and pregnancy issues. Some of those women have had these sort of problems, despite eating a commendable diet.
In this era, chemicals that imbalance the hormones are plentiful, and there is little wonder that both men and women are becoming infertile at higher rates than ever before in history. This article is based upon information that we have provided to some of them.
Not everyone has fallen for the grand hoax: 20 million kids worldwide diagnosed with mental disorders, necessitating psychiatric drugs for years or life. Some individuals are speaking out. Yet so many parents, kids and schools have fallen prey to one of the most insidious yet most profitable misinformation campaigns of modern society.
Kids who fidget, get distracted or bored easily, talk too much (or too little), defy rules, are not as obedient as some adults may like or have mood swings, are liable to be tagged with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, Bipolar Disorder, Avoidant Personality Disorder or other such ills. In short, what used to be known as typical child and adolescent behavior has been redefined as mental illness.
The hidden tyranny: children diagnosed and drugged for profit
The freedom to think for yourself and choose whether or not to receive vaccinations is under attack. Many of those in positions of power would rather you simply keep quiet and do what you are told, even if this means blindly accepting the administration of high-risk vaccine schedules for your children that are linked to serious adverse events like neurological damage, paralysis, and even death. In the hard-hitting new book Vaccine Epidemic: How Corporate Greed, Biased Science, and Coercive Government Threaten Our Human Rights, Our Health, and Our Children authors Mary Holland, JD, and Louise Kuo Habakus, MA, provide a wealth of useful information aimed at countering these concerted efforts to mandate vaccinations.
Vaccine Epidemic book a powerful weapon in fighting back against pro-vaccine propaganda
More and more children in Europe are being diagnosed with asthma. But not all youngsters are equally at risk. Curiously, a new epidemiological study just published in The New England Journal of Medicine shows that children living on farms are significantly less likely to develop asthma than other kids.
More proof of hygiene theory - exposure to microbes help kids breathe better
