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Youth Homepage
Youth 411: Youth in the News
Volume 1, Number 5, November 1-15, 2006
Contents
State Watch
Research
Government
STATE WATCH
- In Pennsylvania, a new project will provide youth that have dropped out of high school or will be aging out of foster care opportunities to receive career-focused education.
- College students from Mississippi will mentor kids from ages 8 to 11 in a youth empowerment program.
- In Philadelphia, parish schoolhouses stay open after hours to provide a haven for youth in troubled neighborhoods.
- Programs in Alabama and Florida engage the entire family to reduce risk factors and prevent youth drug use and violence.
- A large tobacco company requests the entertainment industry to stop using its brands in movies and television shows.
RESEARCH
- Research shows adolescent brains react differently than adults to alcohol and drug use.
- The Youth Risk Behavior Survey Committee will administer a survey in a Virginia county asking students about health and risk behaviors.
- Research shows that youth who are “media savvy” are less likely to smoke.
- A new study shows youth with a history of arrest are at greater risk for HIV infection.
GOVERNMENT
- Political campaigns employ the internet to attract young voters.
- Officials in Columbia, South Carolina would like the state legislature to pass legislation defining a gang.
- New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson and First Lady Barbara Richardson plan to request funding from the legislature for Big Brothers Big Sisters.
ARTICLES
PENNSYLVANIA
PA Governor Rendell Announces Strategy to Reconnect Pennsylvania Youth With Education
November 3, 2006
Pennsylvania Office of the Governor
Governor Edward G. Rendell today announced the creation of Pennsylvania Youth in Transition (PAYT) Project, a project designed to reconnect young people who left high school before graduation, or are becoming too old for foster care, with opportunities to receive career-focused education.
"Without an education, people find that the door is often closed to the challenging jobs of the 21st century," Governor Rendell said. "We have the responsibility to provide our young people with an opportunity to receive the education they need to share in the commonwealth's growing economic prosperity. The Pennsylvania Youth in Transition Project will help make that happen."
Four to six grants of $150,000 to $200,000 each will fund the PAYT project - a cooperative effort being developed by the departments of Labor & Industry, Education and Public Welfare, the Pennsylvania Workforce Investment Board, and local workforce and education organizations. The federal money will also be used by state and local partners to find ways to improve educational and employment options for youth falling into these categories. Funding will help create community-based strategies that address young people's needs through counseling and training that focuses on high school completion, post-secondary preparation and career success.
A resource booklet is available to PAYT applicants to optimize the use of all resources available to youth organizations in the commonwealth.
The deadline for applications is Dec. 15, 2006. Applications, eligibility guidelines, and the resource booklet for PAYT grants are available at http://www.paworkforce.state.pa.us/, under the "Governor Rendell's Strategy for Building a Skilled Workforce" quick link.
MISSISSIPPI
Tougaloo Gets $250K for Youth Program
After-school program will be conducted at Walton Elem.
November 12, 2006
By Lucy Weber, The Clarion-Ledger
Private Tougaloo College will use a $250,000 federal grant to conduct an after-school program at Jackson's Walton Elementary.
The grant will fund a youth empowerment program that allows college students to serve as mentors for 8- to 11-year-olds at the school at 320 Bailey Ave. The money going to Tougaloo is part of more than $13 million awarded to 38 organizations across the country to support efforts to eliminate health disparities in racial and ethnic minority communities.
"We will do an after-school program at Walton that involves academics, personal development, violence prevention, wellness" and other topics, said Gary Anderson, a staff member with Tougaloo College's Owens Health & Wellness Center.
The program begins this month and runs through May. The grant is funding the after-school program for three years, Anderson said.
Tougaloo College students have been involved with a violence-prevention program at Walton and the surrounding Virden Addition neighborhood for 12 years. When Tougaloo officials learned of the youth empowerment program, they realized it paralleled the existing program in some respects, he said. By adding more pieces to the program, college officials realized that they could be eligible for the grant, Anderson said.
College officials are now selecting elementary students for the program. There will be 35 students in the program and another 35 who will not participate but will be used as a comparison group, Anderson said.
"We're in the process of selecting the youths," he said.
College students will serve as one-on-one tutors. The program will have the college students working with the younger students Mondays through Wednesdays at Walton Elementary. On Thursdays, the elementary children will go to to the Tougaloo campus for different activities, Anderson said. "That's where the community partners are coming in."
Tougaloo has enlisted partners, such as the Jackson Police Department, Central Mississippi Health Services, United Way and the Jackson Heart Study, to present programs on topics like nutrition, hygiene and violence.
Walton has the highest accreditation rating from the Mississippi Department of Education, and "we want to help them stay Level 5," Anderson said.
The youth empowerment grants are designed to address unhealthy behaviors in at-risk minority youth and to teach them positive lifestyles through community involvement.
"These awards underscore our continuing commitment to eliminate health disparities experienced by traditionally disadvantaged populations across the nation," said Garth Graham, U.S. deputy assistant secretary for minority health.
"Our comprehensive effort to close the health gap among minorities continues to strengthen our nation's health care while providing better health services to more Americans," he said.
PHILADELPHIA
Philadelphia Catholic Schools are 'Beacons' in Troubled Neighborhoods
November 7, 2006
By Christie L. Chicoine, Catholic New Service
The parish schoolhouse door is staying open after the regular school day in five troubled Philadelphia neighborhoods, affording children there a haven from drug pushers and street violence.
In September Cardinal Justin Rigali of Philadelphia and Mayor John F. Street announced the opening of five new "beacon schools." Involvement by the Catholic schools extends the city's current beacon school program already operating in 25 public schools.
Under the new plan, Catholic Social Services of the archdiocese is working with the child advocacy organization Philadelphia Safe and Sound under a $2 million contract from the city.
"Beacon" refers to a "beacon of light," a place of safety, activity and positive social activities, said Augustine J. Keirans, a vice president of the advocacy group and a member of St. Christopher Parish in northeast Philadelphia.
Located in communities with high rates of youth violence, child abuse and other social ills, each beacon school will stay open after regular school hours, offering recreational and skill-development activities.
"The archdiocese fully supports the city of Philadelphia's initiatives to focus resources and programming on violence reduction and youth development, by serving children before crises occur in their lives," the cardinal said.
The mission of Catholic Social Services to address the needs of children and families dates back to the mid-19th century.
"The work has changed over the years but the commitment remains," Cardinal Rigali said.
The cardinal and the mayor announced the project at a Sept. 21 press conference at one of the beacon schools, St. Martin de Porres in north Philadelphia.
"I thank Cardinal Rigali for agreeing to this unique partnership for the benefit of the city's most at-risk children and families," Street said.
The first phase of the program provides after-school activities for elementary school children. Participating schools remain open from the time classes end until 8:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. The activities will typically be held in the school's cafeteria, auditorium and designated classrooms.
On Nov. 1, the beacon schools opened another program for young people between the ages of 12 and 18. In addition to the same weekday hours, that program includes Saturday hours.
The fee will be $10 per child per week, although there will be flexibility regarding families that cannot afford the fee, according to James Amato, deputy secretary for the Catholic service agency.
Each beacon school will have four full-time staff members as well as additional workers and consultants who will provide programming and enrichment services.
Catholic Social Services will administer the programs and hire the staff at the five beacon schools.
Philadelphia Safe and Sound used ZIP codes to identify appropriate beacon school locations, relying on statistics that indicate a dangerous environment for children in those areas, including: new child abuse and neglect cases; crime arrests for those between the ages of 7 and 23; juvenile arrests for drug-related offenses for those 17 years of age and under; and data listing homicide victims and gunshot victims between the ages of 7 and 24.
Based on the information Safe and Sound provided, Catholic Social Services identified several locations as appropriate beacon school sites.
Each Catholic school is located near a public school, and will serve all eligible students – from both public and private schools – in a targeted neighborhood.
The city is working to move fewer endangered children from their homes into foster care, and at the same time to create safer in-home and community strategies to keep children safe, Amato told The Catholic Standard & Times, newspaper of the Philadelphia Archdiocese.
The beacon school program "really underlines the city's interest in providing funding for children in their own communities (using) funding that was traditionally for child placement and (related) activities," he said.
Youngsters in the beacon school program are "going to find a full range of youth development, recreation and social programs," Amato said.
"It's academically and socially enriching, as well as a safe haven ... in communities that are easily accessible for children and their family," he said .
Amato added that with such programs "the Catholic Church, through its parishes, continues to be alive and committed to the inner city."
Each beacon school will have its own youth council, which will help develop programs according to the needs and interests of its respective community.
ALABAMA
County Receives Grant
November 14, 2006
Gov. Bob Riley has awarded a $48,410 grant to help youth in Marshall County avoid lives filled with drugs and violence.
The grant will help the Marshall County Commission fund the Teen Project and the Parent Project, programs that help youth and their parents recognize and avoid behaviors that commonly lead to drug abuse and violence.
First-time juvenile offenders and students who frequently skip school will be referred, along with their parents, to the 12-week program.
“Providing parents with education and juveniles with positive alternatives are important steps to ensure than teenage offenders don’t become career criminals,” Riley said. “I commend Marshall County officials for helping to prevent and reduce juvenile crime by providing these programs.”
Parents complete the Parent Project, a program that teaches them how to deal effectively with out-of-control children who display violent, destructive or defiant behavior.
Used nationally for more than 10 years, the curriculum teaches parents strategies to identify, prevent and intervene in adolescent problem behaviors.
Juveniles complete the Teen Project, a program that helps them understand the benefits of choosing to live free of drugs and violence. In the program, teens learn ways to control anger, manage stress and develop self-esteem.
During the last two weeks of the courses, parents and their children will meet together to discuss what they have learned and ways to implement it at home.
Riley awarded the grant from funds made available to the state by the U.S. Justice Department.
Local matching funds of $5,378 will supplement the award.
FLORIDA
Children First
Getting to the root of the problem
November 12, 2006
By Penny Lofton, The Star-Banner
The Marion County SAFE (School Age Families Education) program at Church Without Walls is not just for kids.
"We are able to reach and affect an entire family through our program, whereas sending a kid to class once a week does not," explained Shawn Girton, the group's program coordinator. "We look at the entire family structure and dynamics and try to find out what's working and what is not."
"No matter how many times you wash a smelly sock, if you continue to put it back in the laundry basket with other smelly clothes . . . it will continue to stink. When a young person comes from a dysfunctional family, you must engage the entire family if you want to be successful. The siblings and the parents must all be on the same page learning to talk, work out problems and how to find additional help to deal with their specific problems. With our program the family is helped all the way down to the roots."
The purpose of SAFE is to reduce the risk factors present in the lives of youth and families being served as identified in the Department of Juvenile Justice 8-percent Solution guidelines.
These risk factors are defined by youth having significant issues/problems in at least three of four domains: school, family, substance abuse and individual behavior. By reducing these risk factors, the youth is less likely to be involved in drug use, gang-related activities and more likely to improve as a student both in academics and social situations.
Parents learn the skills needed to be an effective parent and communicator and be more understanding of their children's behavior and the issues they face in today's society.
SAFE receives funding from the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice.
"The DJJ grant funds allowed us to employ a family care manager whose responsibilities include providing additional support and resources to SAFE families, make home visits and monitor each child's progress in school," said Girton.
Bruce Seaman, executive director of Church Without Walls, offers this perspective on the SAFE program: "Parents are often blind sided by the changes in their children. Their child was a great student and fun to be around and now she barely gets passing grades. They ask 'what happened?' And from the child's perspective, those nice parents have become strangers and more difficult to handle as well. They become alienated and don't understand why the parents aren't listening to them anymore. Things that used to be OK are no longer acceptable."
According to Seaman, these are growing pains. "While they aren't always easily understood, there comes a point between parents and their children when growth and change can wreck a previously good relationship."
How will SAFE help? The program serves youth ages 7 to 15 and their families. By providing a dynamic prevention curriculum that will aid in strengthening the family bond and provide young people with opportunities to develop personal resiliency, families work together to rebuild their family unit. The program consists of eight consecutive weeks of psychosocial workshops held one evening per week.
After completing the eight weeks of workshops, the youth must then attend a teamwork/leadership workshop. Support groups utilize the successful parenting curriculum from "Parenting Wisely," led by a facilitator and workbook activities. Parents are able to explore parenting concerns and issues with their peers.
The SAFE program is free, child care is offered for children 6 and under and dinner is provided. SAFE receives referrals from Department of Children and Families, the Children's Advocacy Center, Marion County Public Schools, Guardian Ad Litem, the judicial system, Arnette House and other local agencies.
"The family remains the anchor for youth as they face a stormy world of many mixed opportunities," said Seaman. "Families can help youth in defining the choices they make in a positive way."
And isn't that getting to the root of the problem?
TOBACCO
Philip Morris Tries to get out of Hollywood
November 15, 2006
The Washington Times
Cigarette maker Philip Morris USA, a unit of consumer products giant Altria Group Inc., announced that it has begun an advertising campaign asking the entertainment industry to stop using its brands in movies and television shows.
Print advertisements were placed this week in trade publications such as Daily Variety and the Hollywood Reporter, Philip Morris USA said.
The ads are designed to "raise awareness" of the tobacco giant's positions against product placement and the use of its brand imagery, the company said. The campaign also encourages the industry to reduce or eliminate smoking scenes in movies directed at youth.
"Movies have the power to amuse, delight, teach and inspire. However, some studies suggest they may also influence a child's decision to smoke," said Jennifer Hunter, Philip Morris USA vice president for Youth Smoking Prevention and Cessation Support.
Since 1990, company policy has been to deny all requests for permission to use or display its brands in filmed entertainment intended for general audiences, the company said.
ALCOHOL AND DRUG USE
Adolescents react differently than adults to the initial effect of alcohol
November 08, 2006
By Diane M. Peebles, R.A.S., Ledger Dispatch
The brain of the adolescent is unique and differs from that of younger individuals and adults in numerous areas of the brain, including those that are critical with respect to alcohol and other drugs. Particular sets of brain circuits are involved in the development of addiction and these are the same ones that are rapidly undergoing change during adolescence.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging has shown that the teen brain is a work in progress. Until recently, most scientists believed that the major "wiring" of the brain was completed as early as age 3 and that the brain was fully mature by the age of 10 or 12. New findings show that the parts of the brain responsible for functions such as self control, judgment, emotions and organization undergo the greatest changes between puberty and adulthood. Both organizational and functional changes occur in the frontal lobe during adolescence.
The brain has a heightened plasticity during adolescence, which is a double edged sword. It provides a unique opportunity to guide brain development in healthy ways, but it also appears to increase the vulnerability to disruptive effects of both "acute and chronic" alcohol and other drug use. Please remember that adolescents use alcohol and other drugs differently than adults.
Adolescents react differently to the initial effect of alcohol. Research on 15- and 16-year-olds showed the process of acquiring knowledge is impaired in teen alcohol abusers, compared to their non-abusing peers, even weeks after they stop drinking. This suggests that the abuse of alcohol by teens may have long-term negative effects on the makeup of their brains. This research may also provide an explanation for why adolescents often fail to heed adults' warnings about risks. Simply put, they may not be able to understand and accept guidance that seems logical and decisive to adults.
Key factors:
- The adolescent brain is a brain in transition.
- The sets of brain circuits rapidly undergoing change during adolescence are the same ones involved in the development of addictions.
- The majority of serious health problems involving the control of behavior and emotions occur during adolescence.
- Adolescents react differently than adults to the initial effect of alcohol.
For more information, visit http://captus.samhsa.gov or call (888) 734-7476.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Center for Substance Abuse Prevention.
'California Healthy Kids Survey' results
In 2005, Amador County Unified School District participated in the "California Healthy Kids Survey." Fifth, seventh, ninth and 11th grade students were surveyed. These are the results on how Amador County students reported drinking alcohol:
Binge drinking (five or more drinks) in one sitting: seventh grade, 9 percent; ninth grade, 17 percent; 11th grade, 29 percent.
Reported alcohol use during lifetime: fifth grade, 37 percent; seventh grade, 29 percent; ninth grade, 54 percent; 11th grade, 72 percent.
Reported alcohol use during past 30 days: seventh grade, 1 percent; ninth grade, 33 percent; 11th grade, 45 percent.
For more information on the "California Healthy Kids Survey," click on "Reports" at http://www.wested.org/pub/docs/chks_home.html.
Keep in mind that kids are at school taking this survey without needing to identify themselves and they have the opportunity to tell us what is going on in their lives. This survey is taken every other year, but these students attend school every year. Effects of alcohol on their brain or the brain of their friend's, is of great concern. How can we help the healthy growth and development of our youth?
HEALTH AND RISK BEHAVIORS
Committee Preparing Questions for the Next Youth Risk Behavior Survey
November 15, 2006
By Cathy Benson, Main Street Newspaper
A committee is in the early stages of preparing the next survey that will ask Botetourt youth in middle school and high school about their behavior-how they and their friends drive, their health and exercise, sex, drugs, alcohol, bullying, suicide and violence.
In March, the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) Committee will administer the survey to the county's sixth, eighth, 10th and 12th graders.
Right now, the committee is in the process of refining the survey that will be administered for the fourth time.
The survey gathers information about the students' health and risk behaviors and provides a picture that school officials and health professionals can analyze and use to implement prevention programs.
The survey has two main focuses. The first is to help determine what violent or injurious behaviors are the leading causes of death or disability prior to age 25. The second is to see what lifestyle behaviors lead to chronic disease and social problems later in life.
Parents have the right to exclude their child from the survey by denying permission at the time of the survey.
In 2004, 1,571 students were asked to take the survey in Botetourt County.
Botetourt County was the first school system in the area to offer a YRBS to middle and high school students. The first survey took place in February 1998, followed by the second in May 2001 and the third in March 2004.
Currently, the YRBS Committee is meeting to go over the last survey and overhaul a few questions.
For the first time, other Roanoke Valley school divisions-Roanoke County, Roanoke City and Salem-are preparing YRBSs for their own school systems.
“We use the risk survey here to collect data to see what is going on with our young people and compare it to the national youth risk behavior survey to see how we rate in Botetourt County compared to the rest of the country,” says Lynn McDowell, chair of the committee and a representative of Blue Ridge Behavioral Healthcare.
The committee is going through the questionnaire with a refined eye. Members also have a copy of the proposed Roanoke County survey and are comparing some of the questions. The most important thing they feel is to keep the questions “pertinent to our school and local environment and as close to the national survey as possible so we can compare statistics.” McDowell notes.
There is a major change in the survey that will be conducted in March. This time, sixth graders will be excluded from questions about sexual behavior due to legislation passed in the General Assembly this year. That legislation prohibits surveys from requesting sexual information from students in kindergarten through sixth grade.
It also ensures that personal information from a survey is not disclosed.
Volunteers will administer the YRBS in March. Typically, the survey covers sixth and eighth grade in middle school and is administered in health and PE classes.
In high school, the survey is administered to 10th grade health and PE classes and 12th grade government classes.
One of the challenges, McDowell says, is not getting too many questions on the survey because students have just one class period for the survey.
Dr. Kerry Redican of Virginia Tech uses the resources available at the university to tabulate results. When the results are complete, they are compared to the national responses and made available to the public.
The YRBS Committee will meet again in late November or early December to zero in on questions and complete the review of the 2007 survey.
MEDIA SAVVY
Savvy teens are less likely to smoke
November 12, 2006
Daily Bulletin
According to the American Lung Association (ALA), one-third of all smokers began smoking as teenagers. Each day, upwards of 6,000 American children have their first smoke, and about one in three of those will become regular smokers. The ALA estimates that around 6 million current child smokers will eventually die of smoking-related causes.
While the influence of friends and adult role models undeniably affects the decision to start smoking, health researchers are also concerned about the impact of advertisements and the almost relentless exposure that children experience from television, film and other media. While rising stars and popular age-related peers are seen as ideal examples of style and desirability, resulting in increased sales of clothing and other teen accessories, these same exemplars, shown smoking in film and print media, are also more likely to be seen as role models for smoking and other risky activities.
Mindful of the increasing amount of television, in particular, that teens are exposed to on a daily basis and the additional exposure of ``teen culture'' that is packaged and teen-targeted in magazines and other media, researchers have begun to study the extent of this influence, looking for ways to reduce its impact on children's lifestyle choices.
One such study was recently published in the Journal of Adolescent Health. Lead author Brian A. Primack and colleagues at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Graduate School of Public Health surveyed more than 1,000 high school students between the ages of 14 and 18, obtaining measures of ``smoking media literacy.''
In this study, smoking media literacy was measured by questions that assessed the extent that students were aware that advertisers create such media messages for profit, targeting specific audiences to influence purchasing behavior. Media literate people tend to be aware that messages can be interpreted in different ways and that advertisers may seek to modify attitudes and behavior by filtering the reality presented, sometimes omitting or selectively providing chosen information.
Having measured students along a media literacy continuum, Primack and his colleagues compared smokers and those at risk for smoking with those who did not appear to be at risk. They found that students who scored higher in smoking media literacy were half as likely to smoke as those whose literacy scores were lower even when the researchers made an effort to eliminate the effects of other known risk factors for smoking.
These findings add an important piece to the puzzle of teen smoking cessation. While the standard approaches of health warnings and threats may reach some, many teens seem to ignore ``the facts,'' as presented by adults, about the health consequences of even starting to smoke. What I found intriguing was the notion that critical thinking skills might be combined with an appropriate amount of skepticism to essentially inoculate an otherwise vulnerable population from some of the effects of a campaign to influence our youth to begin and continue to smoke.
While in its early stages, this kind of research gives support to a notion that makes sense: training ourselves and our children to think critically and to examine the motivations of those who place potentially unhealthy products in films and other media to catch our attention and influence our purchasing, lifestyle and health choices.
With this in mind, we must learn not to believe something about a product (or a service) just because we have read about it in a magazine or heard someone vouch for it on television, radio or the Internet. Rather, we might ask, ``Who will really benefit from my purchase or use?'' If the answer is not ``me or someone whom I love,'' then we are probably better off saving our time and money for another opportunity.
Consume wisely!
HIV INFECTION
Adolescent Arrest History Influences Risk of Acquiring HIV
Substance abuse and sexual behavior contribute to increased risk
November 14, 2006
Adolescents with a history of arrest are at greater risk for HIV infection than adolescents with no arrest history, according to a new study published in the November issue of Drug and Alcohol Dependence. Researchers from the Bradley Hasbro Children's Research Center and Brown Medical School attribute higher rates of substance abuse, sexual risk behaviors and mental health issues to the increased risk of infection.
Study participants included adolescents ages 15 to 21 who were categorized into two groups – arrestees and non-arrestees. Researchers at sites in Rhode Island, Georgia and Florida assessed both groups of adolescents in terms of their alcohol and drug use, substance abuse during sex, unprotected sex acts, sexually transmitted infection diagnoses, attitudes about substance use and unprotected sex, suicide attempts and psychiatric hospitalizations.
"We found that adolescents with a history of arrest were significantly more likely to use alcohol and drugs, engage in unprotected sex acts, use a substance during sex and have significant mental health histories than adolescents without a history of arrest," says lead author Marina Tolou-Shams, PhD, staff psychologist at the Bradley Hasbro Children's Research Center and assistant professor (research) at Brown Medical School.
This study was unique because it categorized participants based upon their history of arrest regardless of the severity of their offense. "Prior research has demonstrated that incarcerated or detained youth have higher rates of mental health problems, substance use and sexual risk-taking behaviors that significantly increase their risk of contracting HIV. Our findings extend the prior research to suggest that any type of arrest history, not necessarily one that results in incarceration or detention, can serve as a marker for sexual risk, substance abuse and a history of mental health difficulties.
In addition, researchers found that attitudes about substance abuse and unprotected sex also differed between the two groups of participants. Adolescents with a history of arrest viewed unprotected sex and using drugs during sex more favorably than those who had not been arrested. "Understanding risk attitudes in this population can help to inform the development of HIV prevention interventions for juvenile justice youth thereby potentially altering the interventions' impact," says Tolou-Shams.
The researchers note that the results of this study could have important public health implications for the best time to identify adolescents considered at risk for HIV.
"The time of arrest provides a window of opportunity to identify adolescents at risk for HIV," says Tolou-Shams. " By addressing substance abuse and other risk factors upon their first contact with the justice system and providing resources to help change their attitudes toward risky behavior - their chances of contracting HIV could be reduced considerably."
POLICITAL CAMPAIGNS
Web Could Give Young Voters a Voice
By Mima Mohammed, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
November 5, 2006
The 10 million members of Facebook.com — the social networking website that's a fixture on college campuses — aren't using it just to check out potential dates or keep track of old high school buddies. They're increasingly using it, and other Internet tools, to get involved in politics.
"He ain't Kinky, he's my governor" is a Facebook group in support of Kinky Friedman, the country singer running for governor of Texas. Polls show the independent candidate in fourth place, but that doesn't discourage the group's 20,000 members, most of whom are younger than 25. Messages on the group's blog urge: "Grab friends and family and take them to the poll!" and "Wear T-shirts!"
Young people, many of whom have used computers since elementary school, are considered a particularly rich target for expanded online political outreach: Every day, nearly two-thirds of all 18- to 30-year-olds check their e-mail, and one-quarter use online communication tools such as Facebook or instant messaging, according to a Young Voter Strategies Battleground Poll conducted in May.
In September, Facebook set up "Election Pulse" — a rundown of Senate, House and governors' races. "We wanted to do something to increase the political voice of the people on Facebook, a group that tends to be on the younger side of the electorate and which is often underrepresented in Washington and state capitals," said Ezra Callahan, project manager for the site's new politics initiative.
The company approached the major political parties, as well as several smaller ones, offering to set up profiles of candidates, said Melanie Deitch, the site's marketing director.
According to Facebook, more than 1,600 contenders for national and state offices have posted profiles to connect with young voters. Facebook members can add messages and photos to a candidate's page, and the site's "news feed" feature informs their friends that they have done so — encouraging others to take a look.
But whether these efforts will persuade students to get more involved in politics is unclear. The new Facebook feature "does not really have an appeal to those who are not already following particular House or Senate races," said Stanford University junior Jeremy Lorber, who is active in Republican politics on campus. He said he believed it was used mostly by "people already tuned into the political scene."
Studies have consistently shown that younger people lag when it comes to voting.
But Harvard University's Institute of Politics contends that the previous data on youth voting are inaccurate, because many young people use only cellphones, not the landline phones that survey-takers call. Its poll, which was released Wednesday and includes online survey data, indicates that 32% of the nation's 18- to 24-year-olds will be voting in the midterm elections. That would be a record.
"Younger voters could make a difference in campaigns across the country," said Jeanne Shaheen, director of Harvard's Institute of Politics.
Some groups suggest that voting levels should not be the only measurement in determining whether young people care about politics.
Generation Engage was founded two years ago to get young people who do not attend college involved in meaningful political debate.
It hires young people for get-out-the-vote campaigns — so far in North Carolina, Virginia and New York — and sponsors Internet broadcasts in which politicians and celebrities discuss issues with young people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds.
The live programs enable audience members at each broadcast site to pose questions to the speakers, who have included former President Clinton, speaking on technology; former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, discussing renewable energy sources; and film director Spike Lee and architect Michael Arad, examining the role of arts in society.
On Monday, Tom Daschle, the former Senate Democratic leader from South Dakota, addressed groups in New York City; Louisville, Ky.; and St. Paul, Minn., on the technology gap between urban and rural communities and the ways young people can effect change in government.
Adrian Talbott, co-founder and executive director of Generation Engage, said the group did not measure success only in the number of newly registered voters. Instead, it is attempting to change the culture — especially of young people who are not seeking higher education — to create responsible citizens who are continually aware of national and global issues.
"Young people are not apathetic," he said. "They don't suffer from lack of interest but suffer from lack of access."
SOUTH CAROLINA
Legislation Sought to Fight Gangs
November 14, 2006
By Adam Beam, The State
South Carolina will never successfully fight gangs if law enforcement agencies can’t agree on what a gang is, USC researchers told a group of residents and police at an anti-gang summit Monday morning.
University of South Carolina professor Michael Smith said databases and intelligence-gathering are useless unless everyone is “working from the same sheet of music.”
“We’ve got to begin moving toward some common understanding of what we’re talking about,” he said at the Anti-Gang and Youth Violence Prevention Summit at the Clarion Town House.
To do that, South Carolina needs legislation to define gangs so law enforcement agencies can reliably track gang activity.
Columbia Mayor Bob Coble said gang legislation will be the city’s top priority for the upcoming legislative session.
“The time has come and gone for gang legislation,” Coble said. “Gangs are emerging each year more and more as a critical issue.”
Gang legislation has stalled for several years in the Legislature because of concerns that innocent people will be targeted by law enforcement.
“I think it’s overkill and overly aggressive,” said Lonnie Randolph Jr., president of the S.C. National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. “Crime is crime. I don’t care who commits it.”
The State Law Enforcement Division uses the FBI’s definition of a gang to track South Carolina gang members through a federal database. The list has about 1,100 names on it.
But Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said there are about 1,100 gang members in Columbia alone.
“It’s totally useless unless everybody participates in it,” Lott said.
Several residents commented during a breakout session Monday that the gang legislation violates the Constitution by unfairly targeting some people.
But Smith said 35 states have gang legislation that has been tested by the court system.
“It is doable,” he said. “The various stakeholders need to be able to agree on how to define a gang.”
NEW MEXICO
Big Brothers Big Sisters Seek Boost From State
By Walt Rubel, Santa Fe Bureau Chief, The Daily Times
November 15, 2006
First lady Barbara Richardson announced Tuesday that she and Gov. Bill Richardson will seek $4 million in the upcoming legislative session to expand the Big Brothers Big Sisters program into every county in the state.
The legislative package would include an increase to $2 million in ongoing funding and another $2 million in one-time funding. The goal is to provide one-to-one mentoring for at least 10 percent of the state's 7,300 at-risk youth, according to a press release from the Governor's Office.
"We all recognize that early intervention is a deterrent to later crimes such as substance abuse and violence," Barbara Richardson said. "Big Brothers Big Sisters is one of the most effective groups, and this is an effort to address the needs of kids who are in our rural areas."
The program matches youth with adult volunteers in one-to-one relationships to provide positive role models.
Current funding for ongoing programs is $893,200. Richardson's proposal would more than double that, allowing for the building of new sites in unserved areas.
The one-time funding would expand the program in southern New Mexico to include children in Anthony, Vado, Deming, Hatch, Lordsburg and Truth or Consequences; establish a school-based program in Tularosa; establish a full-service office in Eddy County; and match more children on the Navajo Nation.
The Big Brothers Big Sisters program operates its San Juan County office in Farmington.
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