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Products -- Safe from the Start Newsletter Archives
SFTS December 2001 News
The Safe from the Start Team has partnered with Sonoma State University to provide technical assistance service to county teams. The first ten teams have been chosen to receive a Technical Assistance Discussion Day. The first event occurred in San Joaquin County on Nov. 26th and it was a valuable day. The 25 participants discussed issues such as how to begin early with prevention and intervention efforts, what is being done and could be done to better serve children exposed to violence and their families, how to improve coordination and increase resources and volunteerism, what research and data regarding children exposed to violence are collected and how to better utilize that information. Several commitments to move discussions to actions were made by the participants and many efforts will be accomplished between now and next summer. Good luck to San Joaquin County, and a big thank you for helping to make California's children healthier and safer. The Safe from the Start Team will keep you updated on their progress.
The Expo on March 12, 2002 from 9am - 4pm will take place at the DoubleTree Hotel in Sacramento. Save the Date flyers have been sent to over 6,000 California agencies and organizations and can be viewed at www.safefromthestart.org. Registration materials will be sent out immediately following the holidays and will also be available on the web site. With foundations and corporations attending, valuable workshops on funding, evaluation and strategies to help keep children safe, as well as all participants receiving an extensive "tool kit" at the conclusion of the event - this event will be like no other you have attended!
As the host for the annual winter meeting of the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG), California Attorney General Bill Lockyer will feature the Safe from the Start project in a special presentation at the Newport Beach meeting. Attorneys General and management staff from 45 states will attend the December 4 - 6 forum. Neuroscience researcher, Dr. Bruce Perry, of the Texas Children's Hospital, will come to California to present his work on the impact of the exposure to violence on the developing brain. Actor, director, activist Rob Reiner will also attend and will inspire the Attorneys General with information on his personal involvement in child development issues and his dedication to preventing and reducing the number of children exposed to violence. All participants will be provided with packets of materials and Safe from the Start videos in the hope of promoting involvement of other state Attorneys General in the issue.
Nearly 650 law enforcement personnel, educators, youth and community members attended the Partnership conference on School Safety sponsored by the Attorney General and the State Department of Education in Los Angeles on November 14-15, 2001. The 32 workshops and general session keynote presentations addressed the importance of involving youth in school safety planning and the overall improvement of school climate. The Attorney General and the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, as well as Rob Reiner and comedian Michael Pritchard, encouraged conference participants to work collaboratively in keeping California's children safe. The AG and Mr. Reiner emphasized the connections of Safe from the Start to school readiness and school safety. Over 75 participants attended the Safe from the Start workshop presentation and received materials, videos and suggestions for involvement in the initiative.
Commission Chairperson Rob Reiner treated participants at the School Safety conference in Los Angeles to an advance look at the California Children and Families Commission (CCFC) "Parent Information Kits." The kits include four videos and numerous pamphlets and articles for new parents. For more information on the kits, or to request one, contact the Commission at (916) 323-0056 or kmanassero@ccfc.ca.gov or nkasabian@ccfc.ca.gov.
From "Time" Magazine, November 2001:
The American Academy of Pediatrics warns that TV can negatively affect early brain development, especially for kids 2 and younger, when learning to talk and play is so crucial. Despite that kind of caution, the Children's Hospital Medical Center of Cincinnati has found that 40% of 2-year olds watch more than 3 hours of TV a day.
Also from "Time" Magazine:
Sibling arguing at the dinner table might be annoying to parents, but it may be important for child development according to British psychologist David Cowell. His recent study of over 1,000 families found that mealtime is often the only chance children get to practice cooperative and confrontational skills. He found that banter between siblings, in the presence of their parents, could teach kids self-assertion, negotiation and compromise.
From the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, November 2001:
A new study by the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston confirms that teenage girls who witness or experience violence have a higher risk of engaging in risky health behaviors, such as using alcohol and other drugs. Researchers determined that the teenage girls who had witnessed violence were two to three times more likely to use tobacco or marijuana, drink alcohol or use illicit drugs. Furthermore, girls who experienced violence first-hand, were more likely to take the same health risks, and were two to four times more likely than those with no exposure to violence, to have sex at an early age, have intercourse with strangers, have multiple sex partners or test positive for a sexually transmitted disease. "Exposure to violence is clearly associated with an increased likelihood of engaging in multiple health-risk behaviors, with adolescent girls who both experience and witness violence at the greatest risk," according to Dr. Abbey Berenson, lead author of the study. Researchers recommended that all clinicians should consider screening adolescent girls in their care for prior exposure to violence.
Safe from the Start has received a number of questions as to whether and when information about specific children or families can be shared without violating laws regarding confidentiality. Therefore, we have prepared a summary of state and federal law on this topic, which was unveiled at the San Joaquin County Technical Assistance Day on November 26th. This is now on our website at www.safefromthestart.org.
If you have any events that you would like us to post on our Safe from the Start community calendar coming soon to our new Web site in January, please let us know at www.safefromthestart.org.
Would you like to discuss this update or any other Safe from the Start related material? If so, please call Safe from the Start team member Craig Pierini at (916) 322-2956.
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