Youth in the News
Volume 2, Number 17, November 1-15, 2007
Contents
State Watch
Research
Government
STATE WATCH
- In Illinois, the number of HIV-infected youth under the age of 24 has increased 60 percent since 2000.
- In Maryland, a new member is appointed to the Prince George's County youth commission.
- Schools in a Washington county are stepping up to the plate to serve healthy food to students.
- Community members in Boston, Massachusetts are advocating for the removal of alcohol advertising on public transportation.
- In Texas, positive youth development programs may be contributing to reductions in arrest rates.
- A community program in Florida assists foster care youth with summer jobs, managing bank accounts and renting apartments.
- California's statewide foster care initiative places liaisons at community colleges to help foster youth with financial aid like scholarships and tuition waivers.
- A local program in Colorado teaches teens how to educate their peers on bullying and relationship-based violence.
- Youth and community groups applaud Rockstar for announcing its intent to stop selling their alcohol-energy drink.
RESEARCH
- Researchers study how poverty increases stress-related health risks for youth.
- A new study shows a correlation between sleep duration and youth that are overweight.
- Data shows that dating violence affects both boys and girls.
- A study shows that a cost-effective hospital-based peer intervention program reduces youth involvement in the criminal justice system.
GOVERNMENT
- Texas passed legislation requiring students to participate in at least 30 minutes of physical education a day.
- Education and health officials gather at the Oklahoma Capitol to discuss school violence prevention.
ARTICLES
ILLINOIS
Youth HIV/AIDS Forum Reveals Startling Stats
November 14, 2007
By Tully Satre, Windycitymediagroup.com
The Illinois Department of Public Health ( IDPH ) released staggering statistics about the escalating numbers of HIV-infected youth in the state. The Children’s Place Association, a Chicago-based provider of care to Illinois HIV/AIDS-infected children and families, held a forum to address the IDPH data.
Medical experts, policy makers and leading Illinois HIV/AIDS youth specialists convened on Nov. 9 at the Chicago InterContinental Hotel, 505 N. Michigan, to discuss solutions.
The data shows a 60 percent increase in Illinois HIV infections among youths under the age of 24—with a 100 percent increase among males alone—since 2000.
“HIV/AIDS-infected youth are a severely overlooked group from a service and public policy perspective,” said Cathy Krieger, president and CEO of The Children’s Place Association. “The surging infections among [ youth ] is proof positive prevention efforts are failing.”
During a panel at the forum, statistics showed that adolescents today are becoming more and more sexually active while being unaware of the risks of HIV infection. According to the Youth Risk Behavior Survey of Illinois ( 2007 ) , nearly half of youth grades 9-12 reported having sexual intercourse.
“The solution is education and prevention,” said Pam Briggs, director of the Heart of Illinois HIV/AIDS Center at the University of Illinois. Several experts at the forum expressed concerns that Illinois schools—most of which have abstinence-only health education programs—were not emphasizing HIV prevention and that this has added to the inflation of HIV among youth.
Dr. Marguerita Lightfoot of the Neuropsychiatric Institute and the Center for HIV Identification, Prevention and Treatment Services at UCLA, who delivered a keynote address via videoconference, said that more youth today look for information about safe sex online and that taking advantage of technology may be an opportunity to educate youth about safe sex.
However, lack of education about safe sex and HIV prevention only addresses part of the problem. Illinois is one of the few states with strict policies regarding HIV infection among youth today. Section 2a of the Communicable Disease Prevention Act requires school principals to be notified if a student tests positive for HIV.
“State law trumps HIPAA [ The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act ] preventions, which is why this law still presents a problem,” David Ormsby, a spokesman for the Children’s Place Association, told Windy City Times.
The law—passed in 1987 and revised in 1988—presents a major fear factor for HIV testing among youth.
“The principal notification law is a barrier to testing and a legislative relic from an era when governments passed HIV/AIDS-related laws grounded in ignorance and fear versus fact,” said State Rep. Sara Feigenholtz, D-Chicago, who attended the forum. “I will sponsor legislation to repeal this law.”
MARYLAND
Bowie High student appointed to youth commission
November 1, 2007
By Matt Armes, hometownannapolis.com
First article of a series
Ben Barrows has tried his hand in student government before. Now he's ready to take his political aspirations a step further.
Barrows, a 16-year-old junior at Bowie High School, was appointed by the Prince George's County Council to be the 2007-2008 youth commissioner and sworn in to his position Tuesday.
"There are a lot of organizations out there who want a youth voice on issues in our society today," Barrows said. "I'm just glad to be able to represent the youth voice, not just Bowie High School or the Bowie community."
After serving as his class president during his sophomore year and working as a lobbyist on the Prince George's Regional Association of Student Government, Barrows said he was looking forward to meeting with local and state representatives in the Maryland House of Delegates about the issues that youth are facing today.
Some of the more pressing social and academic topics that Barrows plans to address on his agenda are improving sexual education and working with legislators to help close the student achievement gap.
"I believe we need to take a more comprehensive look at sexual education and find solutions other than abstinence," Barrows said. "I think the community should be more empowering (in this issue), teaching abstinence and better contraceptive use."
" 'Abstinence only' is ridiculous, it's shown not to work," he added. "If we knew how to teach proper prevention methods, we would know how to better protect ourselves."
Regarding student achievement levels in Bowie schools, Barrows said that more work can and should be done to improve test scores and academic success.
"I honestly believe that urban, more diverse areas don't receive as much education funding per se," he said. "We need to spend more time on it and find more solutions."
On a personal level, Barrows attributes his character traits to his grandfather, retired Air Force Col. John J. Lighter, who recently passed away. In a letter to the Blade-News commemorating his legacy, Barrows credited his grandfather for helping him grow personally and professionally.
"My grandfather has left behind many things, but probably one of the biggest things he's left with me is the person that I am. A majority of who I am comes from him: my sense of humor, my political efficacy, my respectful manner - even my pickiness in food are all traits I've acquired from him."
Barrows' appointment to the Prince George's County Youth Commission is slated to run through this school year. He could potentially serve the same position during his senior year as well. Looking ahead to college, Barrows is considering Towson and the University of Maryland and majoring in political science with an emphasis in community involvement.
The Youth Commission is comprised of youths aged 15-18, representing each public and private high school in Prince George's County and who have an interest in and background in community-based activities. The commission is charged with developing strategies to meet the needs of county youths by increasing youth involvement in government affairs, offering opinions on legislation and policies that impact youths and recommending programs to enhance the lives of county youths.
WASHINGTON
Serving up health in Camas
November 13, 2007
By Isolde Raftery, Columbian.com
Earlier this year, Clark County health department officials made local school districts a deal: Meet current state and federal nutrition standards by 2008, and we'll waive your cafeteria inspection fee, usually around $1,000 per year per school.
Only the Camas School District accepted the challenge.
Sales of soda, candy and other snacks are an important source of money for schools - sales totaled more than $1 million countywide in 2002-03. Profits are used to pay for activities and boost student government budgets.
Jonnie Hyde, public health services manager for Clark County, said she understood that school districts are in financially stressed positions.
Still, she was disappointed.
"It brings revenue for the schools, needed revenue," Hyde said. "But it's revenue that comes at the cost of increasing obesity and diabetes among youth."
In 2004, the state Legislature required that all school districts draw up a plan to improve their food and physical fitness programs. The legislation was a response to the realization that obesity among youth was rising.
In Clark County, 28 percent of eighth-graders are obese, according to Clark County Public Health. In Washington, the percentage of obese adolescents tripled between 1980 and 2002.
Health officials argued that school districts needed to improve their food programs; better food led to more focused students, they said, and for many, school breakfast and lunch were the only meals of the day.
Though all school boards approved policies, many plans were vague, stating the need for more "healthy food," without defining "healthy" or specifying when healthy food would start being dished out.
Vancouver Public Schools' policy, for example, says the district should "promote fruits, vegetables, whole grain products, low-fat and fat-free dairy products and healthy food preparation methods."
To be sure, Vancouver's food has improved. The district has decreased sugar use by 8 tons and started serving whole-wheat buns. Fries are no longer sold a la carte; students must also order the burger.
Mari Ovens, the district's head nutritionist, said that having soda machines available beginning a half hour after lunch makes it impossible for the district to meet the health department's standards.
But come 2010, the district may not have a choice.
Last year, the state Legislature increased demands on school districts, to be met by 2010. Standards include:
- Less than 35 percent total calories from fat.
- Less than 10 percent total calories from saturated fat.
- Less than 35 percent or 15 grams composed of sugar. (A 12-ounce can of Coca-Cola contains 39 grams of sugar. An individual container of applesauce contains 16 grams of sugar.)
Camas' 2004 nutrition and physical fitness plan specifies the above standards, complete with a timeline for implementation and portion sizes.
The food program no longer offers fried foods, nachos or chicken nuggets.
"We've implemented buns, rolls, tortillas - all whole wheat," Nutrition Services Director Sarah Winans said. "We've brought in more soups, teriyaki bentos and veggie humus wraps. We provide Gardenburgers at the secondary level."
Camas students can eat couscous salads, bean and corn salads, bulgur, corn and rice salads. Recently, Winans has introduced tofu stir-fry and mango slices.
"We're moving away from the high-fat, quick items," Winans said. "We're trying to promote, 'We're adding this, look at all the cool stuff we're adding.' "
As for Jonnie Hyde at the health department, she said that as other districts meet the standard, they'll also have their inspection fee waived.
MASSACHUSETTS
Boston Misses the Bus on Alcohol Advertising
New National Survey Finds MBTA Ad Policy Among Nation’s Worst
November 8, 2007
Commondreams.org
In the wake of a new national report from Marin Institute that finds the Massachusetts Bay Area Transportation Authority (MBTA) is one of only two major public transit systems that explicitly allow alcohol advertising, a coalition of local organizations, community leaders, activists, parents and youth are stepping up their call for an end to alcohol ads on the T.
“It is unfathomable – in the midst of an epidemic of underage drinking in Massachusetts – that a government agency would allow alcohol advertising on public space,” said Amy Helburn of Massachusetts Banding Together Against Alcohol-Advertising. “It is past time for the MBTA to join with other transit agencies around the country in recognizing that the small amount of revenue generated by these ads is not worth the cost to public health.”
Released today, the report, entitled The End of the Line for Alcohol Ads on Public Transit, details the policies of twenty major public transit systems. Of the systems surveyed, only NYC and Boston have policies that claim to protect children, yet still allow alcohol advertising. And in New York, State Assemblyman Felix Ortiz has just introduced legislation that would outlaw alcohol ads on mass transit.
“The connection between youth exposure to alcohol ads and underage drinking is well documented,” said Michele Simon, JD, MPH, research and policy director at the alcohol watchdog Marin Institute. Simon said: “Boston should join Chicago, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Seattle, and many others in saying no to alcohol ads on public transit. It’s not only possible legally, but commonsense policy.”
Alcohol advertising for products ranging from Coors Light to Svedka Vodka routinely appears on MBTA trains and buses. In Greater Boston, 25,000 youth depend on the T to get to school each day. Countless other youth are subjected to alcohol advertising on wrapped trains and buses traveling through their communities. Since January 2005, politicians, community leaders, public health advocates, and concerned parents and youth have urged the MBTA to change its policy on alcohol advertising, but the agency has refused, claiming it relies on the money generated by theses ads. But alcohol advertising accounts for only 0.1% percent of MBTA’s total revenue.
The MBTA’s stance on alcohol advertising is particularly puzzling since just last year the agency amended its policy on videogame advertising so that it no longer accepts ads for games rated as unsuitable for children under 17. The agency made the change within weeks of receiving a public letter that expressed concern about advertisements for the violent videogame Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories on the outside of the Green Line trains.
“It is disappointing that an agency that was so responsive to concerns about advertising that promotes media violence refuses to acknowledge the negative impact of alcohol ads,” said Josh Golin, Associate Director of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, which wrote and organized the videogame letter. “A publicly funded state agency should not be in the business of undermining public health.”
To read the complete report, please visit: www.marininstitute.org.
TEXAS
After-school programs target juvenile crime
November 14, 2007
By Adam Young, The Daily Toreador
Juvenile arrests in Texas have decreased nearly 24 percent in the last 10 years, a trend some Lubbock after-school programs credit to their increased efforts.
Though arrests for people younger than 18 in the United States decreased 11 percent from 1997 to 2006, representing 16.9 percent of the 7,920,504 arrests in the country, the state percentage decreased 23.8 percent, with juveniles representing 15.7 percent of the 1,078,961 arrests, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Alex McAdoo, Community Youth Development coordinator for YWCA in Lubbock, said he credits some of Texas' decrease in juvenile arrests to the Community Youth Development program, which began 10 years ago as a state-funded program designed to coordinate local organizations in preventing juvenile delinquency in at-risk zip codes across the state.
One of the 15 areas targeted by the program is Lubbock's 79415 zip code, located north of the Texas Tech campus, where approximately 500 to 600 at-risk children are provided after-school opportunities through seven organizations participating in the Community Youth Development program, including the YWCA, The Boys and Girls Club of Lubbock and the Guadalupe-Parkway Neighborhood Center, he said.
"If we can keep youth from engaging in criminal activity and (encourage) being positive role models in the community, it helps everyone out," McAdoo said.
Scott Peterson, unit manager of the Boys and Girls Club John W. Wilson branch in Lubbock, said the primary focus of the Boys and Girls Club is to inspire at-risk children and teenagers to realize their full potential as responsible and caring citizens, "not just to be another number or statistic, but to be a productive part of society.
"The kids we deal with are coming from situations - they're just not in a very good home situation, and so that's why we do everything we can to build a relationship with those kids," he said. "Not just be here to be their baby-sitter, but build a relationship, figure out what's going on with their family and do something to help them."
McAdoo said local organizations like YWCA keep children from developing into career criminals by engaging them in positive activities through participation in sports, education seminars and field trips.
"If we don't catch them early, and they become a victim of the system, then we're pumping out money to house them with inmates instead of money that can be used in positive activities," he said.
While Sgt. Scott Farmer of the Lubbock Police Department's juvenile crime's division said he cannot directly attribute the decrease of juvenile arrests in 2006 to after-school activities, he does believe they could be effective.
"Any time that a juvenile has idle time, is unsupervised and allowed to function solely on their own, it opens up an avenue for getting into trouble," Farmer said, "but if a child's time is occupied by a positive situation, whether it's sports, athletics, band - something that's going to give them skills and knowledge and a positive pursuit - it is really going to be a huge benefit."
Though Farmer said the LPD only is capable of reactive solutions to the 846 juvenile arrests in 2006, he said a first offender program is in place that provides an opportunity for juveniles arrested for first-time, non-violent crimes to receive counseling and perform community service rather than having a mark on their state records.
Luis Ramirez, an assistant professor of sociology at Tech, said he believes after-school programs that promote community service and involvement can be effective because a child's or teenager's social bonds within the community will effect the likelihood of him or her committing crimes.
"One of the reasons you wouldn't commit crimes is because you're not going to want to disappoint your family or your friends or your community," he said. "Think of someone who may be homeless, who may not have a job and may not be close to their family, then there's not a lot of external pressure on them to stop them from committing crime."
FLORIDA
Program aims to help foster-care teenagers as they turn 18
A nonprofit group unfurls an ambitious plan to ease the teens' transition to adulthood.
November 13, 2007
By Kate Santich, orlandosentinel.com
Imagine you've just turned 18 and you have no home, no drivers license, no job, no idea what you want to do with yourself and no family to lean on. If you're lucky, you at least have a high-school diploma.
That's the reality for many of the 150 teenagers in Orange, Osceola and Seminole counties who each year grow out of the age range for foster care with no safety net.
"Those 150 foster youth can be a great resource for the community -- or they can be a great drain," said Gerard Glynn, president of the board of City of Life Foundation.
The local nonprofit organization released an ambitious plan Monday to ease foster teens' transition to adulthood.
"We'd prefer to rally behind our next generation rather than turn our backs on them," he said.
In many ways, Glynn said, the plan would simply give foster kids the same opportunities most teens have -- a chance to work a summer job, get a library card, get help with schoolwork and learn to manage a bank account, rent an apartment, and make their own medical and dental appointments.
Further, foster teens should have a chance to stay in the same school instead of moving every few months.
They should learn to use the Internet -- with adult supervision. They should have the chance to go to church or participate in extracurricular activities. And they should all learn how to drive.
"I know a lot of young people struggle those first few years away from home, but unlike foster youth, they have a family to support them," said 23-year-old Jeseia Brown, a former foster child who spoke at a news conference announcing the plan.
"I lacked so many basic life skills. . . . I had no support network. I spent two weeks with $20 to my name and absolutely no food."
Her turning point came when the wife of her former foster home's director helped her get a job and education at Rollins College, where she earned a degree in anthropology while working and raising her little sister.
Today she has a job with the university's Philanthropy & Nonprofit Leadership Center. She's also a wife and new mother -- and her little sister is earning her degree in environmental studies at Rollins.
Martinez lends support
U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez of Orlando, a former foster child, also spoke to lend his support to the plan.
Though his circumstances were different -- he had loving parents, but they were still in Cuba -- Martinez recalled the anxiety he felt at 18, when he realized he was on his own.
"Most of all I lacked that support of knowing I had family to fall back on," he said.
Although there have been piecemeal attempts at some of the ideas proposed, the City of Life's plan calls for community-wide cooperation on a wide-ranging agenda that would be monitored by the foundation.
Many of the ideas, Glynn said, could be implemented without any additional funding, and all the goals could be reached within five years.
Charities that already offer mentoring to younger kids, for instance, could be called upon to help 16- to 23-year-olds -- an age group that is typically ignored by such programs.
And financial counselors who now aid adults with credit woes could be tapped to teach foster teens how to open bank accounts and manage their income.
Some ideas bear costs
But some of the ideas would cost money -- such as giving every foster teen a free bus pass. And a network of apartment owners would have to be persuaded to rent to former foster kids with no credit history and no adult to co-sign.
"We, the people in the state of Florida, have become their de facto parents," Glynn said. "And we need to treat these young adults as we would our own biological children in helping them succeed."
CALIFORNIA
California Community Colleges Help Foster Dreams
Former wards of the state now have advocates at public institutions
November 9, 2007
By Mary Andom, chronicle.com
When Henry Gutierrez aged out of the California foster-care system a year ago, he thought, "What next?"
He had dreams of one day attending Harvard Law School and becoming a district attorney in California.
But just getting to college seemed complicated. His social workers and teachers encouraged Mr. Gutierrez, 19, to go, but he didn't know the steps to get there. A couple of friends from his group home attended Los Angeles Pierce College, so he decided to enroll there.
Choosing classes, taking placement tests, applying for financial aid — the pressure was so overwhelming that Mr. Gutierrez wanted to quit.
"A few times, I was thinking … damn, this a lot to take care of," he says.
He got some help from a new program at Pierce designed to help former foster kids not only to enroll but also to make it to graduation.
The program is part of the statewide Foster Youth Success Initiative, which this fall placed liaisons at all of California's 109 community colleges. The liaisons serve as advocates, helping foster youth tap into resources such as scholarships, housing, and life-skills programs.
Many states now offer financial assistance in the form or scholarships or tuition waivers to former foster children.
In 2001, Oregon adopted a tuition-scholarship program for youth who have been in foster care for at least 12 months between ages 16 and 21, and who enroll in an Oregon state college or university. At the University of Texas at San Antonio, a joint outreach program with Casey Family Programs, a Seattle-based national advocacy group, links foster youth with federal TRIO programs for low-income, first-generation students. And for two decades, Florida has offered tuition waivers to foster youth at its state universities. Until age 23, the students are also eligible for services that help them become independent, such as a stipend to cover living expenses.
Former foster children face almost insurmountable obstacles when it comes to making the transition from the foster system to higher education. At the age of 18, people emancipated from the system often lack the financial resources and life skills to survive on their own and are at high risk of becoming homeless, incarcerated, or victims of violent or sexual crimes.
Of the 80,000 children in California living in foster care, about 4,000 age out of the system each year, according to a 2006 study at the University of California at Berkeley's Center for Social Services Research. And the rates of foster youth attending college are dismal. Nationwide, less than 50 percent complete high school and less than 10 percent enroll in college, according to research from the Casey Family Programs. Of those who do attend college, less than 1 percent graduate.
"The expectations for foster youth to be fully functioning adults at 18 is unrealistic," say Michael McPartlin, of the City College of San Francisco.
Marco J. De La Garza, dean of student services at Los Angeles Pierce College, decided to become a liaison for the Foster Youth Success Initiative after attending two days of training last February.
In a room full of financial-aid counselors, social workers, and foster-youth advocates who discussed the dismal statistics on access and retention, the biggest shock to Mr. De La Garza came from the students themselves.
"They told us what we were doing wrong. It was basically everything," he says. "We came in with the assumption that somebody in the high school or home told them what to do. But for many of them, they didn't have years to plan for college. They decided yesterday."
Mr. De La Garza heard stories of students living in hotels or out of their cars while dealing with the difficult transition to adulthood. When financial-aid counselors were thinking about getting them special grants, foster youth were thinking about how to survive the next day.
"They said things like, 'We don't have a home; we have a bed. We don't have an address; we have a mailbox,'" Mr. De La Garza says.
The bureaucratic nature of admissions and financial-aid offices make it even more important to have foster-youth advocates within the system, he says.
He noticed that some former foster children at Pierce were paying out-of-state fees when they were in-state residents. Financial-aid applications require California residents under 19 to provide their parents' information. But some foster youth left that answer blank.
Mr. De La Garza also helped prospective students write letters to their employers requesting W-2 forms for their financial-aid applications. And when the students struggled to pay for books at the beginning of the quarter, Mr. De La Garza told them about the state's Independent Living Skills Program, which reimburses foster youth for textbooks. The students, however, didn't have money to pay for the books upfront, so Mr. De La Garza found the cash. He then walked the students to the bookstore.
Reaching Out
The City College of San Francisco was one of the first California community colleges to make a coordinated effort to reach out to foster youth. In 2003 the college became part of the Guardian Scholars project, which began in 1998 at California State University at Fullerton and provides academic assistance and emotional support to foster youth at many colleges and universities in the state. At that time, only 20 former foster children attended the college. Since the program started, that number has grown to 103.
Michael McPartlin, a Guardian Scholars project coordinator at the college, said housing, bureaucratic hurdles, and lack of resources make it difficult to reach out to this sometimes-invisible population.
"We are trying to address a host of societal ills. That can't happen in one meeting," Mr. McPartlin says.
Stephanie Ortega, another project coordinator, knows all too well the struggles of being young and independent.
At 15, Ms. Ortega was left alone when her sister, whom she lived with, left the state to attend the University of Pennsylvania. Ms. Ortega never entered the foster system because her father, who lived in another state, supported her financially.
After graduating from high school, Ms. Ortega attended the University of California at Santa Barbara, where she majored in law and society. She now helps foster youth in San Diego County through the Guardian Scholars program there. She says she finds that admissions guidelines often don't apply to foster children and that financial-aid counselors are not well versed in the language of the foster system. With so many agencies working with foster youth, she says there is a tug of war between organizations whose roles often overlap.
"You have the court system, social workers, admissions, financial aid. It is hard getting everyone aligned and working together," Ms. Ortega says.
Still, she says, foster children's biggest challenge is that "they were never taught to ask questions from people who they perceive as an authority." She knows of students struggling in class who would go to the tutoring center, only to turn back when someone at the front desk did not acknowledge them.
The stigma of being a former foster youth, Ms. Ortega says, can be debilitating.
Mr. Gutierrez, for one, says that growing up in the foster-care system made him feel secluded from the world. His greatest challenge was building self-esteem and realizing he could accomplish his goals.
"You don't feel like you are worth much — it's the toughest part to deal with," he says. "I had to have the good things about me pointed out to me."
Now, in his first semester at Pierce, studying political science, Mr. Gutierrez is juggling a full-time job at a Sears marketing center and a full load of classes. But the hard work, he says, is satisfying.
"If it weren't for that program at Pierce, I wouldn't have quit, but it would have made it harder," Mr. Gutierrez says. Since the inception of the Foster Youth Success Initiative, Mr. De La Garza has seen similar small successes.
At first only a handful of students arrived at Mr. De La Garza's office. By word of mouth, that handful turned into a dozen. Mr. De La Garza believes the foster-youth population may be in the hundreds at Pierce College, and he has realized that they have their own network.
"They hang outside our office," he says. "It's becoming crowded."
Mr. De La Garza enjoys knowing that he is reaching out to more students. He just hopes the college is preparing them for the next step in life.
"The foster kids are bright, they are survivors," Mr. De La Garza says. "We will help them do things. But eventually they need to learn these skills on their own."
COLORADO
Teen education program seeks to reduce violence
November 13, 2007
By Bridget Manley
Prevent.
One word may make the difference for a high school or middle school student encountering violence.
A program sponsored by Advocates-Crisis Support Services, PReVENT educates high school students about bullying and relationship-based violence and then trains them to pass that information on to their peers.
What difference does it make if an adult or a peer talks to a teenager about such subjects?
“Kids listen to other kids better than adults,” said Anngie Jenkins, Advocates Youth Services Coordinator. “They take it to heart more.”
The program, developed in 1994 by Moffat County teens, is largely student-driven. Every year, program participants make presentations and perform role-play to seventh-grade and freshmen students, teaching them how to prevent any number of violent encounters and providing one-on-one mentoring, if needed.
PReVENT members focus on teaching seventh-grade students what to do if they or their friends experience bullying. At the high school, the program focuses on the signs and prevention of relationship violence, including date rape.
The program also teaches members how to help victims of relationship violence.
PReVENT is as much about awareness as it is about helping students cope with and prevent violence, Jenkins said.
“The bigger picture is getting people — parents and kids — to acknowledge that these issues are occurring in our community,” she said.
“It would frighten parents to know how much (date rape) goes on this community,” she added.
In 2006, Advocates-Crisis Support Services served 48 victims of primary or secondary sexual assault, Jenkins reported.
“I would encourage parents to talk with their kids ... and be aware of what their child is going through in their relationships,” she added. “To the kids, those relationships are serious.”
Every other week, participating students meet with Jenkins after school for training. They watch educational videos about date rape and discuss how the violent act impacts the victim. Students also review statistics about the prevalency of relationship violence.
At their training, PReVENT members also learn how to mentor students who have been victims of violence.
“Amazing youth we’ve had in the past,” said Karen Aragon, Volunteer Coordinator and Shelter Manager at Advocates. “I considered it an honor to work with these kids.”
For eight years, she led the group before handing it over to Jenkins this year. During that time, she saw program members develop a “passion” for violence prevention and victim advocacy.
Some take Advocates training during or after high school, she said. Others return from college to work as advocates.
Seeing others take an interest in her work “gets me fueled up ... to do this work,” Aragon said.
New leadership will help the program set to “the next level,” Aragon said.
“These kids have given me hope for the future,” Aragon said. “Young people come out of the group able to advocate for others ... who are less fortunate than themselves.”
ROCKSTAR
Youth and Community Groups Commend Rockstar for Taking 'The Buzz' out of its Energy Drinks
November 12, 2007
Prnewswire.com
California youth have teamed up with doctors, teachers, law enforcement officers and health experts to applaud Rockstar for announcing its intent to stop selling Rockstar 21, the company's alcoholic energy drink. Now, the California Coalition on Alcopops and Youth is calling on Anheuser Busch, Miller, and other producers of these pernicious alcohol-energy drinks to follow Rockstar's lead.
Sold in brightly colored cans, Rockstar is a well-known energy drink popular with teenagers. Young people, parents and even store clerks often confuse the alcoholic Rockstar 21 with its non-alcoholic counterpart. With 6% alcohol content, Rockstar 21 was a concern of parents because it often was sold alongside the non-alcoholic energy drinks. Public health advocates from across the nation have been recording stories involving alcohol-laced energy drinks and youth. In one California community, a middle-school principal found 12 students drinking energy drinks with alcohol on campus and in plain sight. Alarmed, the teachers said they had "no idea" the drinks contained alcohol. Elsewhere, a single mom gave what she thought was a refreshing beverage to her 13-year-old son. His teenaged sister noticed the product contained alcohol, just moments before the boy was to drink it. And law enforcement officers in one California suburb, after observing a young man stumbling down the street with an energy drink, discovered that it actually contained alcohol.
These stories illustrate a serious new trend. Young people are particularly vulnerable to the new alcohol-and-energy drink combination because caffeine, a stimulant, can make you feel less drunk than you really are. This promotes binge drinking and risk-taking behavior that too often results in traffic crashes, violence, sexual assault, and suicide. The hype producers use to promote alcoholic energy drinks only furthers their risk-taking potential: they are marketed as the perfect party drink because you can party harder and longer. With caffeine, ginseng, and guarana, these alcoholic energy drinks are enormously popular with teens and young adults alike because they build on the popularity of nonalcoholic energy drinks that have similar packaging. Marketers also use youth-oriented advertising themes, extreme sports sponsorships, and Internet sites popular with teens.
"These drinks taste very similar to each other. Most adults we have found can't tell which have alcohol in them," said Kellie Goodwin of the California Youth Council. Goodwin and other teens gave law enforcement officers and teachers energy drinks, some with alcohol some without, to see whether they could tell the difference. "On top of that, the alcohol industry labeling practices make it too hard to tell the difference between drinks that contain alcohol and those that don't. It's not surprising some parents are accidentally purchasing these items for their kids."
Researchers at Wake Forest University, Baptist Medical Center, found that college students who combine energy drinks with alcohol are more likely to drink excessively, get hurt, ride with a driver who is drunk, and sexually assault someone else. Additionally, according to a report from The Marin Institute (http://www.marininstitute.org) 31 percent of 12- to 17-year-olds and 34 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds report regular consumption of energy drinks. "Alcohol problems among youth constitute a public health and safety crisis of major proportions. Alcohol in energy drinks creates a dangerous mix," said Michele Simon, JD, MPH, research and policy and director at the Main Institute and co-author of the report.
"As young people, we congratulate Rockstar for voluntarily pulling energy drinks with alcohol off the shelves," Kellie Goodwin said. "Other companies, like Anheuser-Busch, should follow Rock Star's lead. Our future depends on it." Please contact Judy Walsh-Jackson at (619) 947-2755.
Background: The California Coalition on Youth and Alcopops formed in 2005 to oppose AB 417, which would have redefined alcopops as beer instead of distilled spirits. This practice, which then Attorney General Bill Lockyer found to be illegal, resulted in lower taxes and greater availability. Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed this special interest legislation calling for more public debate and discussions; a call that has been heeded. The State Board of Equalization has decided to enforce California law by voting to correctly tax alcopops as distilled spirits instead of beer, raising the price and generating an estimated $40 million annually in new tax revenues, and there is bipartisan Legislative support for AB 346, which would require clearer labeling on alcopops containers.
The Schwarzenegger Administration has not yet joined these continuing efforts. Alcopops are still sold in convenience stores and other venues popular with youth. We encourage the Governor to continue his leadership in protecting California's young people from aggressive alcohol industry marketing tactics by treating alcopops as distilled spirits and supporting new labeling requirements.
STRESS
Study Points to Stress-Related Health Risks for Impoverished Youth
November 14, 2007
By Elizabeth Manapsal, cornellsun.com
In a new study published this month by the journal Psychological Science, Prof. Gary Evans, design and environmental analysis, has found that poverty-induced stress triggers physiological responses in adolescents and children. This is the first research of its kind as previous studies have focused primarily on how poverty affects adults.
One of the goals of the study was to observe what parts of the body break down after an individual is chronically exposed to poverty. According to the report, entitled “Childhood Poverty and Health: Cumulative Risk Exposure and Stress Dysregulation,” it is widely known that poverty and low socioeconomic status contribute to poor health, but Evans set out to understand what mechanisms generate changes in the body that lead to a health decline. To do this, he measured how cumulative risk factors affect the body’s stress regulation system using a variety of tests.
The six risk factors he looked at included three physical risks and three social risks. The physical risks included crowding, noise and substandard housing, while the three social factors were family turmoil, separation from parents and exposure to violence.
Co-author Pilyoung Kim grad, said this study relied on measuring the allostatic load, which is a combination of several physiological indicators that manifest the effects of stressful stimuli through various organs and tissue in the body.
Evans and his team of researchers collected data from over 200 children ages eight to thirteen, 53 percent of whom were living below the poverty line. The team submitted each subject to stress-induced activity such as mental arithmetic.
In addition to mental exercises, the study used a battery of tests to assess damage on the children’s stress regulation system.
As a result of a diminished stress regulation system, the body is less able to cope with daily demands, leading to long-term wear and tear of the immune system. In children, this damage is manifested in the form of elevated blood pressure and raised level of stress hormones. For adults, having an inefficient immune system could lead to an increase risk in development cardiovascular diseases as well as other diseases.
Shoshana Aleinikoff ’08 acted as the project manager for the laboratory. She explained that the children were given examples of stressful scenarios, like being accused of cheating on an English test. The research team then videotaped the childrens’ responses to each situation. The video camera was ostensibly in the room to record the children’s reactions, but actually tested how the kids responded to the presence of the video camera in the room.
Of these types of activities, Aleinikoff said, “one of the most difficult things as a researcher was to intentionally stress the kids out.”
What the research found was that children who are chronically exposed to conditions prevalent in poverty exhibited signs of damage in the stress regulation system. Such signs included increased levels of stress hormones such as cortisol and muted responses in cardiovascular activity.
According to Evans, his research would seem to discredit the American dream.
“There’s an American myth that you can pull yourself up by your bootstraps, but there is a lot of evidence to the contrary,” he said. “People just have less opportunity. . . There are children at eight [years old] who have elevated stress hormones and blood pressure. How are they going to pull themselves up?”
“Despite peoples’ image of what the media portrays, most poor people are white, not people of color,” Evans continued. “There is a lot of evidence that indicates rural poverty is more pervasive and it predominantly affects white children living in rural areas.”
Evans pointed out that the higher number of Caucasian children living in poverty is partly due to the fact that white people comprise the majority of the country’s population, and that people of color have a higher percentage of poverty overall.
He explained there is a linear gradient for life expectancy that correlates with how much money a person makes. According to the gradient, wealthy individuals are more likely to live longer.
“Do you think someone who is a high school teacher will live longer than someone who is a bank president?” he said.
Evans’ research suggests a shorter life expectancy.
Rural poverty is distinct in that it lacks the infrastructure for social mobility. According to an article in the Sept. issue of Finance and Development, it is easier to move out of urban poverty than rural poverty because urbanization has led to growth in a variety of job sectors, allowing urban residents to achieve a higher income.
Additionally, more people are likely to flee rural areas to an urban environment where a variety of jobs are available. Rural areas consist of agricultural and manufacturing sectors, which have recently seen slow growth, especially in upstate N.Y.
Aleinikoff added, “Within a two-hour radius of Cornell, there are a lot fewer resources in areas where they are most needed. There is little to no rural health care infrastructure, which only intensifies the problem . . . It’s cyclical.”
To better stabilize this economic disparity, Evans suggested reducing the slope of the gradient that measures life expectancy according to economic status. Though not eliminating the differences between income levels, it would minimize the overall impact of these differences on a person’s health.
Evans presented his findings to the Robert W. Johnson Foundation Commission to Build a Better America last month.
SLEEP
Less Sleep May Expand Kids' Waistlines
November 12, 2007
ScienceDaily.com
Diets high in fat and sugar may not be the only things contributing to American children’s expanding waistlines. Research findings from the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital suggest that kids who aren’t getting enough sleep also may be at an increased risk for being overweight.
In a study exploring the relationship between sleep duration and overweight risk for third-grade and sixth-grade children, researchers found that children who got less shut-eye – fewer than 9 hours each day – were at an increased risk of being overweight, regardless of their gender, race, socioeconomic status, or quality of the home environment.
These findings reveal that sixth graders with shorter nightly sleep durations were more likely to be overweight. And third-grade students who got fewer hours of sleep, regardless of their body mass index, or BMI, were more likely to become overweight in sixth grade. Results from this study appear in the November issue of the journal Pediatrics.
“Many children aren’t getting enough sleep, and that lack of sleep may not only be making them moody or preventing them from being alert and ready to learn at school, it may also be leading to a higher risk of being overweight,” says study lead author Julie C. Lumeng, M.D., assistant research scientist at the U-M Center for Human Growth and Development.
“This study suggests that an increased risk for overweight is yet another potential consequence of short sleep duration, providing an additional reason to ensure that children are receiving adequate sleep, primarily through enforcing an age-appropriate bed time.”
Already, research has demonstrated that among adults, even modest reductions in sleep duration are associated with significant increases in obesity risk. Other studies conducted in Japan and England also offer evidence of a link between shorter sleep duration and overweight risk in children. Those studies with children, however, are limited by racial and socioeconomic homogeneity, says Lumeng, assistant professor in the Department of Pediatrics and Communicable Diseases at C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital.
Since U.S. children’s risk for overweight varies by race and socioeconomic status, Lumeng and her colleagues wanted to examine sleep duration and overweight risk for children independent of those factors.
The researchers reviewed data from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development on reported sleep problems, sleep duration and BMI for 785 elementary school children, ages 9 to 12. Among those studied, 50 percent were male, 81 percent were white, and 18 percent were overweight in sixth grade.
The researchers found that overweight sixth-grade children slept fewer hours than children who were not overweight. Boys made up the majority of overweight sixth-grade children.
Boys, too, were reported to sleep fewer hours, while girls were found to have more sleep problems. Sleep problems, however, were not associated with a child being a risk for overweight.
Most promising, these study results show that for every additional hour of sleep in sixth grade, a child was 20 percent less likely to be overweight in sixth grade; every additional hour of sleep in third grade resulted in a 40 percent decrease in the child’s risk of being overweight in sixth grade.
“Sleep may have a behavior impact on children,” says Lumeng. “In other words, children who are better rested may have more energy to get more exercise. For example, they may be more likely to go out and play, as opposed to lying on the couch watching TV. It also is possible that when children are tired, they may be more irritable or moody, and may use food to regulate their mood.”
Even more important, Lumeng says, is emerging research that shows a connection between sleep disruption and the hormones that regulate fat storage, appetite and glucose metabolism. Short sleep duration alters carbohydrate metabolism, and leads to impaired glucose tolerance, which can affect a person’s weight. Circadian rhythms, too, affect the body’s leptin, glucose and insulin levels.
“So weight gain may not be a result of sleep’s effect on behavior, but rather sleep’s effect on hormone secretion in the body, specifically, leptin and grehlin,” says Lumeng, who notes that sleep and leptin secretion in children is an important area for future research.
Bottom line: If families are struggling to get their children to go to sleep at a reasonable hour, they should seek help from their health care provider, Lumeng advises. Revising school start times may also provide a solution to increasing the amount of sleep a child gets each day.
The National Sleep Foundation recommends these basic daily sleep requirements for children, adolescents, pre-teens and teens:
- Preschoolers: 11-13 hours
- Elementary school students: 10-12 hours
- Pre-teens: 9 - 11 hours
- Teens: 8 ½ - 9 hours
In addition to Lumeng, co-authors from the U-M Center for Human Growth and Development are Deepak Somashekar, B.S., and Niko Kaciroti, Ph.D.; Danielle Appugliese, MPH, with the Data Coordinating Center, Boston University; and Robert F. Corwyn, Ph.D., and Robert H. Bradley, Ph.D., with the Center for Applied Studies in Education, University of Arkansas.
The study was supported by the American Heart Association Fellow-to-Faculty Transition Award, and the American Heart Association Midwest Affiliate Grant-in-Aid.
Reference: Pediatrics, November 2007, Vol. 120, Issue 5.
DATING VIOLENCE
Dating Violence Strikes Both Boys and Girls
November 9, 2007
By Bob Roehr, medscape.com
Physical abuse within the context of a dating relationship affects 8.8% of female and 8.9% of male adolescents. Some 70% of girls and 52% of boys reported injuries as a result of that violence, according to a national study presented here at the American Public Health Association 135th Annual Meeting.
Previous research on the topic was limited by the small sample size, differing sets of definitions, and regional limitations, making it difficult to generalize to the national population, said Saba Masho, MD, MPH, a researcher at Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond.
Her study used data from the 2005 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey. The biennial survey sampled a cross section of 203 schools across the nation. It generated 13,808 valid responses, for an overall response rate of 67% of the total student enrollment that was approached.
The study population was 62.3% white, 14.4% black, 9.5% Hispanic, and 13.8% other. Age spanned the typical 14- to 18-year-old distribution for high school students, with 50.5% boys and 49.5% girls.
The survey also asked about other forms of violence, sexual activity, substance use, suicidal ideation, and body self image and found responses in line with what is reported in the literature.
The key question for this study was: "During the past 12 months, did your boyfriend or girlfriend hit, slap, or physically hurt you on purpose?"
In the crude analysis, "race was a significant predictor of physical dating violence, with blacks 1.5 times more likely than whites" to experience it within a dating situation, Dr. Masho said. There was no significant difference between the sexes in terms of incidence in any of the population subsets. There was a trend toward increased violence as students grew older, particularly among boys.
However, when she adjusted for confounding factors, "race was no longer significant, age was no longer significant — it was confounded by all other factors."
The most significant factors for experiencing physical dating violence were sexual victimization (odds ratio [OR], 8.14), poor body image (OR, 2.91), currently sexually active (OR, 2.49), alcohol use (OR, 1.5), and illicit drug use (OR, 1.5). "Illicit drug use was predictive for males but not predictive for females, while body image was significant for females but not for males," Dr. Masho said.
She cautioned that high-risk youth are more likely to skip school, so any school-based survey runs the risk of undersampling that population.
Georgia Cohort
Another study presented at the same session of the meeting provided new data on a cohort of ninth graders in northeast Georgia that is being followed in a longitudinal study. Surveys were completed by 627 students in these high-risk communities. The sample was 50% white, 39% black, and 9% Latino, with 52.5% boys and 47.5% girls, said Pamela Orphinas, PhD, a researcher at the University of Georgia, Athens.
The investigators stratified the students into 4 groups based on their reported activity during the last 3 months: not dated (35%), dated with no victimization (29%), dated with psychological victimization (16%), and dated with physical victimization (20%).
"Physical victimization was higher among the boys [61%] than the girls," said Dr. Orphinas, and they scored significantly worse in every variable such as substance use. The girls (69%) were more likely to report psychological victimization: "They were less likely to be white and less likely to live with both parents." Students who did not date scored significantly higher academically.
From subsequent focus groups of students, the researchers learned that dating norms in general "did not allow violence from boys to girls, but there was much more support of violence from girls to boys, that was much more acceptable." She said there was a "soap opera-ish" quality to it, "It is as if they are expecting it.... The norms are quite different" in terms of what is acceptable from a boy or a girl.
It was no surprise that students who suffered physical victimization scored significantly worse in terms of involvement in schools and family support.
Teacher rated the students on leadership, social, and study skills. "In all of [the groupings], the girls scored significantly higher than the boys. The 'no date' group had the highest scores [in these 3 areas]; the physical aggression group had the lowest scores. One surprise was that teens in the 'dated psychological victimization' group scored higher than the kids in the 'dated, no victimization' group.' "
Dr. Orphinas cautioned that the study did not measure the severity of aggressive behavior, which could have a significant effect.
Men as Victims of Sexual Assault
Dr. Masho also presented new data on the prevalence of male sexual assault in Virginia. The literature suggests that 1 in 33 adult men have been the victim of attempted or completed rape at some point in their lifetimes. However, such assault is underreported, and most studies are clinically based and focus on the most severe cases.
The intensive random-digit dial program completed 705 surveys of adult men (average age, 47.2) using a computer-assisted telephone interviewing system. It found a lifetime prevalence of sexual assault of 12.9% and a 0.1% rate of victimization within the previous 12 months.
Dr. Masho said the mean age when the assault occurred was 12 years; the majority of these assaults occur between ages 12 and 17 years. "The majority were single events by one person, followed by multiple events by the same person." Some 60% of the perpetrators were men, "nearly 40% were victimized by females"; nearly 75% were older than 18 years, and nearly 80% were known to the victim.
Although 58.2% of the victims reported talking to someone about the assault, most did not do so with a person in authority. Only 15.4% spoke with a counselor, 6.6% with the police, 2.2% with a physician, and 2.2% with a hotline.
"Men who were sexually assaulted were 3.4 times more likely to be depressed and 2.4 times to experience suicidal ideation than those who were not assaulted," she said.
Other data in the literature suggests that young men who are perceived to be gender variant are at greater risk for sexual assault. Dr. Masho told Medscape Public Health & Prevention that questions on sexual orientation did not survive institutional review board review.
The speakers have disclosed no relevant financial relationships.
PEER INTERVENTION
Study quantifies cost-benefit of hospital-based program to keep youth out of prison
Program estimated to cost $60,000 less per patient than cost of incarceration in juvenile detention system
November 12, 2007
Eurekalert.org
With violence plaguing inner-city youth at epidemic rates, the report of a new study in the November issue of The Journal of the American College of Surgeons illustrated a research-based approach to confronting this national problem. The study showed that “Caught in the Crossfire,” a hospital-based peer intervention program, reduced involvement in the criminal justice system among youth aged 12 to 20. Additionally, this program proved to be cost efficient in comparison with the cost of a stay in a juvenile detention center.
In 2001, the US Surgeon General warned of an epidemic in youth violence, calling for a research-based approach to systematically confronting the problem. Despite the attention, this issue continues to be a major public health concern in the US, where intentional violent trauma is the second leading cause of death among youth between the ages of 15 and 24. Violence among youth is notably worse in some inner-city areas, including Oakland, CA, where this study took place.
“This study demonstrates that investing dollars in preventive intervention programs is not only a good public health practice, but it is a good economic practice as well,” said Daniel Shibru, MD, University of California, San Francisco. “The findings are particularly significant because it proves that peer intervention programs like ‘Caught in the Crossfire’ can reduce retaliatory youth violence as well as their involvement in the criminal justice system, especially as they return to the same violent environments where their injuries occurred.”
This retrospective, comparative double cohort study included 154 patients treated at a university-based urban trauma center in Alameda County, CA. Patients were 12 to 20 years of age and were hospitalized for intentional violent trauma. The two groups evaluated included the enrolled group of 75 patients with a minimum of five interactions with an intervention specialist and the control group of 79 patients who were selected based on age, gender, ethnicity or race, type of injury and year of hospitalization. Follow-up review for both groups was conducted over a period of 18 months after the date of their initial hospitalization and injury to determine three outcomes: whether they had died, had been re-hospitalized for another intentional violent injury, or had been involved or reinvolved with the criminal justice system.
Participants in the hospital-based peer intervention program reduced risk of criminal justice involvement for at-risk youth six months after completion of the one-year program (relative risk=0.67; 95% CI, 0.45, 0.99; p=.04). Based on a logistic regression analysis of age, gender and ethnicity or race, the study showed that only age (under 17 years) had a confounding effect on the association between program participation and criminal justice involvement (relative risk=0.71; p=0.043). After successful treatment through the program, risk of subsequent violent criminal behavior was reduced by 7 percent compared to the control group (p=0.15). Risk of death, physical re-injury and re-hospitalization from intentional violence were similar between both groups.
After a significant association was established between program participation and subsequent criminal justice involvement, attributable risk calculations showed that 16 percent of risk reduction in criminal justice involvement can be attributed to the peer intervention program. To prevent a single adverse criminal outcome, six patients needed to be treated through the program.
The cost of the program, which treats 75 to 100 youth annually, is approximately $3,500 per patient per year. The annual cost for a juvenile detention center admission in Alameda County is $80,000 per person. Since six patients need to be treated through the program to see a 16 percent risk reduction in involvement in the criminal justice system, the intervention program’s annual cost amounts to $60,000 less per patient than the cost of incarceration in the juvenile detention system. Annually, this program could produce a total cost reduction of approximately $750,000 to $1.5 million, assuming that each juvenile who is rearrested and reconvicted spends one year in a detention center.
TEXAS
Parents can help kids get fit, have fun
November 12, 2007
By Bill Shaw, thefacts.com
The Monster Dash 5K on Oct. 27 marked not only the end of the 2007 running season but also the end of the 2007 BASF-sponsored Kids Runs staged at almost all of the area contests. For a $1 contribution, youngsters 12 and younger ran distances, depending on their ages and abilities, from 200 yards to a little more than a half mile.
BASF provided all participants T-shirts and finishers medals. Thanks to BASF, to Jennifer Carey who supervised the Kids Runs and to the physical fitness advocacy of Sharon Rogers, BASF manager of community and government affairs, for promoting youth fitness through this activity for more than 10 years. Kelly Colosimo of the Brazosport Area Road Runners Association coordinated the Kids Run.
“Back in the 1960s when P.E. was part of every day and fast food wasn’t, only 3 percent of 6- to 19-year-olds were overweight or obese,” Cynthia Bowers reported on the CBS Evening News on Nov. 8. “Today 30 percent are. And 80 percent of chubby adolescents will grow up to be overweight adults.”
Bowers noted projections indicate 48 percent of Texans will be overweight by 2025, which led the Texas Legislature to mandate that beginning in the spring of 2008, Texas will become the first state in the nation to require at least 30 minutes of physical education a day. The legislation also requires that the 4 million Texas students in grades three through 12 take a series of annual physical fitness tests in 2008 and compare their fitness to their peers in later years.
When I was a youngster growing up in the ’40s and ’50s, I did not have the distractions that youngsters have today.
My family did not have a TV until 1956, my senior year in high school, and we had only two channels.
Physical education classes were required of everyone. In the daylight hours, we were usually on a vacant lot playing baseball or football or in a gym, a recreation center or the downtown YMCA.
It was difficult for our parents to get us in after dark because we loved to play outside.
It seems to me a sad state of affairs when our government and the schools assume what is a parental responsibility. Some parents have relinquished their responsibility of seeing to their youngsters’ health and fitness, many perhaps by setting poor examples and expecting the schools to mentor their youngsters in health, nutrition and fitness.
What are responsible parents to do to stem the tide of overweight youngsters and the problems of obesity?
Elizabeth Quinn suggests the following in “How Parents Can Get Kids Involved in Fitness,” in Sports Medicine.
First, make fitness a family matter.
“A research study showed that in families where both parents were active, 95 percent of the children were active,” Quinn said.
Second, get your youngsters involved in the physical activities you participate in and like, whether it’s running, swimming, soccer, baseball or other physical activities. Help your youngster find a lifelong physical activity.
Third, make physical fitness fun, suggests Quinn. Do not make negative comments about your youngster’s performance or ability. I accept my average abilities and my limitations. Youngsters have that right, too.
Last, says Quinn, take an active part in encouraging your child’s school to schedule fun, age-appropriate physical activity and to make certain that physical activities are supervised and taught by qualified and knowledgeable instructors.
Encouraging physical fitness in the younger generation should begin at the family level, and those of us who know the value of physical fitness and fear the consequences for those who do not, should be proactive in promoting a fit and healthy lifestyle.
OKLAHOMA
School violence: What now?
November 14, 2007
By Jaclyn Houghton, mwcsun.com
Gayle Jones believes youth violence transcends the school boundaries and is a community problem.
“One thing that’s of concern to me is parent education and it’s not something schools can require,” said Jones, coordinator of Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities for the Oklahoma State Department of Education. She said when some schools have offered programs to teach parents about violence prevention, bullying prevention and early warning signs of mental illness, for example, many parents have not shown up.
A group of education and health officials gathered at the Oklahoma Capitol on Wednesday to discuss school violence prevention at a meeting led by Rep. Wallace Collins, D-Norman.
Collins said he wants to write legislation to address the issue and wants to make sure money is attached to any new programs, a concept one superintendent urged.
The idea of school violence prevention “sounds great,” said Little Axe School District Superintendent Barry Damrill. “But I have 130 unfunded mandates on my desk. If we’re going to do it, let’s fund it … I don’t need another salary that I cannot afford to support. It’s as simple as that.”
Damrill said the school district east of Norman needs help when it comes to the mental health of students. He said bullying is one of the biggest problems facing the district of about 1,240 students.
James Marks, director of child and adolescent health at the Oklahoma State Department of Health, said he would like to see agencies and groups come together to influence school policies.
A 2007 Oklahoma Youth Risk Behavior Survey randomly polled 2,612 public students in ninth- through 12th-grades and responses indicated 22.3 percent of students carried a weapon such as a knife, gun or club within that past 30 days of when the study was conducted. About 9 percent carried the weapon to school within a 30-day period. The study also showed 5.1 percent of students did not go to school at some point over a 30-day period because they felt unsafe at school or traveling to or from school. More than 10 percent of students were in a physical fight on school property over a one-year period and 7.7 percent reported being physically forced to have sex when they did not want to.
Several meeting participants Wednesday advocated creating a comprehensive plan to address youth violence.
“Is there anything formal that is taking place?” Marks said. “It seems like everything is piecemealed from one agency to the next.”
Jones said many of the state’s 539 school districts receive less than $3,000 for all safety programs in a year. School districts need to be less dependent on federal money and focus more on community outreach, she said. She would also like to see more counselors in the schools to handle issues as they arise. There is an average of one counselor for every 357 students in Oklahoma, she said, noting the recommendation is one to every 250 students.
Steven Sternlof, assistant professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center and a licensed health service psychologist, believes peer mediation can help students control violent behavior.
He has worked on the Everyone’s Responsible for a Safe Environment project - ERASE - which teaches students peer mediation. He said a lot of violence stems from feeling rejected and it may help to have peers embrace one another rather than reject one another.
“My vision is really let’s create a new school culture,” Sternlof said.
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