Inside this issue:Director’s Corner 2

Excert from Embracing... 2

Teen Job Shadowing... 3

Legislative Update 4

Getting to Know... 5

Women’s Health 6

Immunization Questions? 7

Family Meals Under $20 8

Children on an IEP 10

Back to School Tips 11

“Quality” Family Time 11

9th Grade: Make/Break... 12

Do You Have Any Idea? 13

Education w/Disablities 15

Youth Athletics 16

S e p te m b e r 2 0 0 8

News NotesCuyahoga CountyDepartment of Children & Family Services

5th Annual NCORTC and CCDCFS Riverside Symposium Life’s Construction…Building Families Piece By Piece

For the past five years, the North Central Ohio Regional Training Center (NCORTC) and Cuyahoga County’s Department of Children and Family Services’ (CCDCFS) Riverside Symposium has been a well received annual event. The symposium is uniquely structured, with participants representing various public and private social work agencies, community partners, local and state officials, select birth parents, adoptive parents, and foster and kinship caregivers. This year’s event was evidence the symposium is still going strong and continues to offer participants a forum for serious dialogue on contemporary issues led by skilled facilitators.

The 2008 Riverside Symposium was planned with our children in mind, particularly the teen population. A teen panel opened the conference day by highlighting the ups and downs the teens have experienced in foster care. Some of the youth entered the system as teenagers, while others had experienced multiple placements having been in the system from a much younger age. Despite family challenges and disappointments resulting from being in agency custody, the teen panelists’ outlook was quite positive. Two of the teens graduated high school, while a few others will graduate this school year. The two teens who have graduated (one of whom emancipated the day of the symposium) will attend college this fall.

continued on page 3

The climactic story of the day was presented by the Honorable Michael J. Ryan, Cleveland Municipal

Court Judge. Judge Ryan was beautifully introduced by his sister, Sharese Ryan-Green, a supervisor with our agency. Theirs was a heartfelt story of loss and triumph. Judge Ryan spoke of his trek through the social services system. Despite the challenges of losing both parents and his grandmother, and

experiencing multiple placements thereafter, Judge Ryan determined to achieve the goals he

established for himself. His is a story of strong conviction and overcoming obstacles.

Honorable Michael J. Ryan, Cleveland Municipal Court Judge

and Sharese Ryan-Green

2 September2008

Gone are the days when parents brought their children to the Department because they could not care for them. Gone are the days when the Department thought it had all the answers and did not embrace the community. Gone are the days when parents (biological, adoptive and foster) passed like ships in the night giving the other little or no recognition even though they shared a very important bond. In days gone by when the Department said so, it had to be right.

Today the Cuyahoga County Department of Children and Family Services is a dynamic organization charged with addressing very complex social and economic issues. In doing so the Department has been very creative and resourceful, looking to the community, staff, parents (biological, adoptive and foster), teens, and both national and international entities in shaping a service delivery system that works for this county.

What staff should look for in the immediate/near future?

Both the Anchor and Strategic Plans call for a look within. By doing so maybe we will gain a little more respect for what each contributes and maybe this will spill over and result in even more ways to improve services for all.

Director’s Corner

Brenda Frazier, Interim Director

Schools have the capacity to play an enormous role in helping children who have been damaged by maltreatment to heal, grow and get back on a healthy course of development. The level of stimulation intrinsic in the school experience, from academic to social, can help jump-start nervous systems delayed and disrupted by maltreatment. We develop and learn about the world through the caregiver-child attachment. When the attachment is disrupted, so are the functional domains we so very much need to learn, namely cognitive, emotional, behavioral, and interpersonal processes. Just as we learn about the world and ourselves through our relationship with our caregivers, so do we learn a skill through the teacher-student bond. After the bond is formed, teaching becomes more penetrating and meaningful. Maltreated kids need more than other children to have a safe and anchoring relationship with the teacher, not only to counter-act the awfulness of previous experiences with adults but also to learn the “behind-the-scenes” skills that were missed during the first years of development.

Sometimes children are not at a place developmentally where they are ready to learn the “Three R’s”; they need to learn more rudimentary skills, such as tolerating distress, controlling their attention span, and understanding their impact on others. Teachers can serve a critical role acting as a surrogate co-regulation attachment figure; teaching maltreated children what they should have learned in infancy and early childhood.

Schools and teachers, and therefore the children and their parents, are under severe pressures to meet federal and state standards, with increasingly less funding. Teaching subjects to pass tests instead of teaching children to succeed in life is a consequence of such pressures. Another consequence is the pathologizing of those children who do not fit nicely into the typical student role. Those children whose needs are not being met by the traditional methods easily stand out in school, often being accused of being disruptive or disturbed. Many of the so-called “behaviorally disturbed” children will reduce their misbehavior once they have

formed a connection to the teacher and begin to learn how to participate adaptively in the school experience.

By adhering to a few guiding principles, allowing the student-teacher relationship to form and teaching to the child’s needs through that relationship, teachers will be able to create a positive school experience for a child recovering from neglect and abuse. When children are disabled by the effects of maltreatment to the degree it interferes with their education, there are laws that ensure they receive accommodations and specialized instruction. Parents are encouraged to learn as much as they can about what school supports are available in their communities. Schools can heal as well as teach. Schools can also contribute to the problem if they view the maltreated child’s way of adapting to her traumas as an obstacle to teaching instead of the focus of teaching. We all need to advocate for dignity and respect for the individual child, even if in doing so, we frustrate the existing status quo.

By: Tim Callahan, Jayne Schooler, and Betsy Keefer Smalley

Excerpt from Embracing a Love Like No Other: The Impact of Parenting Traumatized Children on Foster and Adoptive Parents - due out early in 2009 (NavPress)

3September2008

The Teen Employment Sub-Committee (TESC) is very pleased to report the success of their first annual Teen Job Shadowing Conference. The conference began on Monday, August 11, 2008 with Resume Building and Dress for Success workshops and a fashion show. The week’s culminating activity on Friday, August 15, 2008 was a spectacular awards ceremony to honor the teens for their commitment and dedication.

Fifty-six teens were selected for internship opportunities. Internships were provided by the Cleveland Clinic, City of Cleveland Division of Community Policing, Dave’s Supermarket, Zelma George Recreation Center and Residence Inn by Marriott to name a few. Commissioner Peter Lawson Jones and Judge Michael J. Ryan also provided internships. These organizations and influential individuals were so impressed by their interns that each is hiring teens for the remainder of the summer, school breaks and after graduation! What a statement of work ethic, professional character and a job well done.

All employers will receive a Certificate of Appreciation from our County Commissioners. Interim Director Brenda Frazier will send an accompanying letter to show our gratitude in helping make this inaugural event a success. Due to the extraordinary success of this event, Interim Director Brenda Frazier, Deputy Director Cindy Weiskittel and committee chairs

Wanda Dower, Jonevette Frost, and Sharon Hayes will explore future partnership endeavors with the Department of Workforce Development.

TESC would like to give special recognition to Social Program Administrator, Ms. Geraldine Hurns, for assisting with transportation to accommodate 25 of the 56 teens to receive their Ohio state IDs. Ms. Nisha McCornell, IV-E Supervisor, ensured all 56 teens were in possession of their certified birth certificates and Social Security cards! Without this caliber of support, these teens would have been without proper identification, per federal and state requirements, to be part of this employment opportunity. In addition, a sincere Thank You to Suited for Men for providing 4 male teens with suits to model during the fashion show. Their generosity extended to allowing the gentlemen to have the suits for their wardrobe. Much appreciation to you all for your outpouring of assistance!

Lastly, and certainly not least, accolades to all committee members for assistance in planning and implementing this first conference: Regina Gatewood, Allison Gill, Keith Grahl, Barbara Grey, Teras Herring, Sylvia Jackson, Sonya McLoyd, Carla Musarra, Albert Pebles, Chris Snider, Sherrell Stout, Tammi Swails, Patrick Washington, and Dale West. Without the assistance of agency staff to conduct preliminary interviews and partner with teens for the

final day of shadowing experience, TESC would not have been able to accomplish such an awesome task! Thank you CCDCFS for allowing us the challenge to showcase our teens’ skills and talents in their preparation to transition into adulthood.

TESC would like to acknowledge and thank the following organizations which participated in providing internships to our teens:

A Cultural Exchange•City of Cleveland, Prosecutor’s •OfficeCleveland Cavaliers•CCDCFS Department of •Information TechnologyDress for Success•East End Neighborhood House•Fairfax Place•Greater Cleveland Film •CommissionHarvard Community Center •MoBazz Barber Shop•National City Bank•Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer •DistrictRadio One/WZAK•Ruth Girls•Studio 185•Talent Group Kids•Wade Park License Bureau of •Motor Vehicles

First Annual Teen Job Shadowing Conference

Russ Goodwin

Denise Goodman

Riverside Symposium ...Continued from front page

Hundreds of attendees enjoyed a day of eye-opening discussions and a variety of workshops. Vendors were a part of this year’s symposium as well. More than ten community service providers were onsite to provide attendees with information and networking regarding services offered by their respective organizations.

The NCORTC saluted Denise Goodman and Russ Goodwin as the NCORTC 2008 Trainers of the Year Award recipients. This is the third year NCORTC has recognized trainers for exemplary efforts and professional delivery of high quality workshops. We are pleased to show our gratitude to Denise and Russ for going above and beyond the call of duty.

The NCORTC, CCDCFS and Riverside Symposium Planning Committee would like to thank everyone who supported the conference. We look forward to seeing new and familiar faces next year at the 6th Annual Riverside Symposium. The 2009 Riverside Symposium promises to be as exemplary as past symposiums!

4 September2008

On July 31, Congress passed the Higher Education Reauthorization and Opportunity Act, (HEA) which will significantly expand student aid for thousands of students pursuing higher education. The vote on the five-year reauthorization was overwhelmingly bipartisan, 380 to 49 in the House and 83 to 8 in the Senate. The president signed H. R. 4137 it into law on August 14, which includes loan forgiveness for social workers, mental health professionals, and school counselors, among other professions. In addition, it increases the maximum Pell Grant amounts from $4,800 to $6,000 in 2009 and up to $8,000 in 2014. Further, it requires the Education Department to publish data about college costs; requires universities with the highest tuition increases to submit reports to the agency explaining them, requires universities to publish textbooks costs in online catalogues so that students know the true cost of a course; and simplifies the onerous financial aid forms by cutting an eight page form with 108 questions to a two page form with 44 questions.

With respect to the loan forgiveness provisions, the law encourages students to enter public service jobs by authorizing up to $10,000 in loan forgiveness for child welfare workers, public defenders, prosecutors, firefighters, military service members, first responders, law enforcement officers, educators (including those who focus on early childhood), nurses, and others serving the public interest. Eligible borrowers must be employed full time in an area of national need and not in default on the loan for which they seek forgiveness. Child welfare workers who have a degree in social work or a related field with a focus on serving children and families and who are employed full time in public or private child welfare services are eligible as well as mental health professionals with a Master’s degree in social work, psychology, or psychiatry, who service children, adolescents, or veterans. For each year of full time employment in an area of national need that a borrower completes on or after the law is enacted, $2,000 of the student loan obligation will be forgiven for up to five years. Therefore, the maximum a borrower could receive is $10,000. The loan forgiveness provisions will be effective on or after the date of HEA’s enactment and will be available on a first come, first served basis and subject to appropriations. To find out if you qualify for the loan forgiveness provisions, go to http://www.federalstudentaid.ed.gov/. You will need to have federal student loans as private loans are not eligible for loan forgiveness. The Secretary of Education will have to work out many of the implementation details such as the definition of “national need” and whether or not previous years work will count toward the loan forgiveness.

NASW has been working to secure student loan forgiveness legislation for social workers for many years. Last year, we were able to secure loan forgiveness for social workers in the College Cost Reduction Act of 2007 http://www.socialworkers.org/advocacy/updates/2007/092107.asp, an important victory for our Social Work Reinvestment Initiative.

H.R. 4137 provides for a few new initiatives, one of which is the establishment of a program to award grants to Hispanic Serving Institutions that provide graduate students with fellowships, scholarships and academic support and faculty exchanges. The Patsy Mink Fellowship Program has been created to encourage minorities and women in graduate school programs to pursue academic areas in which they are underrepresented.

Beyond loan forgiveness and the aforementioned new programs, the new law also impacts the social justice community with a provision requiring the Department of Education to collect college campus hate crime categories identical to the categories that have been collected by the F.B.I. since 1991. NASW believes that this essential component would give students and parents a comprehensive picture concerning campus safety in addition to redressing substantial gaps in the hate crimes data promulgated by the Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE) within the Department of Education. Every year, numerous students are the victims of bias-induced slurs, vandalism, threats, and physical assaults on college campuses. In 1998, to increase awareness of hate violence on college campuses, Congress enacted an amendment to HEA requiring all colleges and universities to collect and report hate crime statistics to the OPE.

Colleges must document only those crimes involving bodily injury when the victim was targeted because of his or her race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity, or disability. Unfortunately, the Department of Education’s present hate crime statistics reflect abysmal underreporting and do not corroborate with hate crime information collected by the F.B.I. under the original statute. The delineation had been the definition of a hate crime as well as the omitted crime categories contained within the Department of Education’s data collection protocols. To this end, NASW and other national organizations are profoundly committed to a revision in the Department of Education’s hate crime categories ensuring that they would parallel those collected by the Department of Justice. The aforementioned provision alleviates any discrepancies between the F.B.I. definition of a hate crime and the HEA definition and, moreover, includes omitted crime categories to the Department of Education’s hate crime data collection mandate. The Association contends that this vital provision will further provide foundation for the total enactment of hate crimes legislation.

Loan forgiveness, new scholarship programs, and enhanced hate crime data collection procedures are some of the key issues included in the Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEA) for social workers and students. We will keep you apprised of any implementation or regulatory changes as a result of this legislation.

By: Nancy McFall Jean, MSW, NASW Lobbyist

LEGISLATIVEUPDATE

Social Work Reinvestment Victory: Congress Passes the Higher Education Reauthorization and Opportunity Act!

5September2008

Getting To Know: Ian Lucash 1. What is in your stereo/iPod right now? Since I don’t

own an iPod, I’ll go with my car CD player. Finger Eleven, Olive, Yanni, and the soundtrack to Wicked

2. Worse household chore? Definitely dusting (with mopping a close second).

3. What is most important in your life? Those people that I consider my family.

4. What was your most memorable professional accomplishment since beginning work at CCDCFS? In my 11 years at CCDCFS, I spent six of them in Intake Sex Abuse. On one of my cases, the alleged perpetrator was sentenced to 11 consecutive life sentences. The children were adopted this year by their foster mother and both have received college scholarships.

5. Do you collect anything? I have an extensive Monopoly collection, and the beginnings of a Dreidel collection. Some people might say that I also collect cats.

6. Favorite place to nap? On my living room sofa, with a cat curled up next to me.

7. What do you always have in the fridge? Since I love to cook, that’s a pretty long list. At a minimum, the basics, including juice, milk, eggs, yogurt, cheese, vegetables, and more condiments than any one person should have

8. Favorite piece of clothing? My Elmo tie because it makes children AND adults smile.

9. Book everyone should read? Sophie’s Choice, because it really makes you think about what’s important in your life.

10. Favorite TV show? Heroes and Brothers & Sisters.

11. What is your personal mantra? LISTEN TO THE MUSTN’TS by Shel Silverstein:

12. Your favorite meal? Any meal that ends with chocolate.

After having been born in Mississippi, and growing up in New Jersey, I moved to Cleveland when I was 19, so if you hear me say something that doesn’t sound quite local, I’ll blame it on all of that (like “soda” and “sneakers”). I have been involved in social services since 1994, either working or volunteering with MR/DD, WSEM Head Start, CCDCFS, and a no-kill animal shelter. While at CCDCFS, I was in intake for 1 ½ years, intake sex abuse for six years, and I am currently in the foster to adopt unit in the adoptions department. In my current capacity, I work with foster families that are interested in adopting the children in their home to finalize the adoption expediently.

Aside from working my caseload, I have also made time for Labor Management Committee, Self Evaluation Team, Decision Points Workgroup for Racial Equity subcommittee, and the near and dear to me Speaker’s Bureau. With Speaker’s Bureau, I present to professional organizations about the purpose of our agency and our role in the community, as well as their obligation to ensuring the safety of children.

In my spare time, my two primary joys are cooking and reading. I do collect cookbooks, but rarely use them, instead coming up with unique recipes of my own. When it comes to reading, I do read from a variety of genres, but my primary focus is working my way through the top 100 novels of the past 100 years (Thank you Laura Brewster for that one). I am currently reading A Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heilein, which is probably my eighth book this year. And of course, there’s my cats who are my children, Emerald, Beast, Carter, Benit & Mwenye Heri. Just ask and I’d be more than happy to talk about them and show you pictures!

When I have the time and the money available, I love to travel, though I don’t always have someone to travel with. This year, I’ve been to Ukraine and to Orlando, FL, with yet another trip possibly planned for later this year. I would highly recommend going on a humanitarian trip, like the one I did to Ukraine. It’s a life changing experience, and I’m considering going again next year, but instead of Ukraine, to Kyrzygstan.

LISTEN TO THE MUSTN’TS by Shel Silverstein

Listen to the MUSTN’TS, child,Listen to the DON’TSListen to the SHOULDN’TSThe IMPOSSIBLES, the WON’TSListen to the NEVER HAVESThen listen close to me--Anything can happen, child,ANYTHING can be.

6 September2008

Women’s Health: Uterine Fibroids

DefinitionUterine fibroids are noncancerous growths of the uterus that often appear during your childbearing years. Also called fibromyomas, leiomyomas or myomas, uterine fibroids aren’t associated with an increased risk of uterine cancer and almost never develop into cancer.

As many as three out of four women have uterine fibroids, but most are unaware of them because they often cause no symptoms. Your doctor may discover them incidentally during a pelvic exam or prenatal ultrasound.

In general, uterine fibroids cause no problems and seldom require treatment. Medical therapy and surgical procedures can shrink or remove fibroids if you have discomfort or troublesome symptoms. Rarely, fibroids can require emergency treatment if they cause sudden, sharp pelvic pain.

SymptomsWhen signs and symptoms are present, the most common uterine fibroids symptoms include:

Heavy menstrual bleeding Prolonged menstrual periods or bleeding between periods Pelvic pressure or pain Urinary incontinence or frequent urination Constipation Backache or leg pains

Rarely, a fibroid can cause acute pain when it outgrows its blood supply. Deprived of nutrients, the fibroid begins to die. Byproducts from a degenerating fibroid can seep into surrounding tissue, causing pain and fever. A fibroid that hangs by a stalk inside or outside the uterus (pedunculated fibroid) can trigger pain by twisting on its stalk and cutting off its blood supply.

Fibroid location influences your signs and symptoms:

Submucosal fibroids. Fibroids that grow into the inner cavity of the uterus (submucosal fibroids) are thought to be primarily responsible for prolonged, heavy menstrual bleeding.

Subserosal fibroids. Fibroids that project to the outside of the uterus (subserosal fibroids) can sometimes press on your bladder, causing you to experience urinary symptoms. If fibroids bulge from the back of your uterus, they occasionally can press either on your rectum, causing constipation, or on your spinal nerves, causing backache.

Sources: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/uterine-fibroidshttp://fibroids1.com/news/Fibroidsmainstory.cfm/156http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/oh11_tubbsjones/pr_050622.html

Uterine fibroids affect three out of four American women, with African-American women being three to nine times more likely to develop them. Hysterectomies have been the traditional treatment for fibroids accounting for 30% of all hysterectomies in the United States.

The late Congresswoman Stephanie Jones, who represented the Ohio 11th congressional district, continuously fought in congress for greater funding for uterine fibroid research and a public awareness campaign.

For those who wish to know more about uterine fibroids, the following is provided by the Mayo Clinic. If you are experiencing any of the symptoms of uterine fibroids, see your physician to develop a treatment plan that is best for you.

Riverside Symposium

7September2008

PPAGE 5C\CALLAGE 5C\CALL AND POST\WEDNESDAAND POST\WEDNESDAYY, , AUGUSTAUGUST 20, 200820, 2008

Their children are going toschool for the first time.

For many parents, a majorconcern is making sure theirchildren maintain good healthand are in a healthy environ-ment. Parents can help realizeboth goals by making sure theirchildren are immunized againstinfectious diseases.

“These children are going tobe in group settings now, on adaily basis, around a lot of otherchildren,” says Dr. AngeliqueRedus, a pediatrician at HuronHospital and Cleveland ClinicChildren’s Hospital. “Parentscan help make sure their chil-dren are protected against dis-eases they may be exposed to byother children, by getting theirchildren vaccinated.”

States and school districtsnow generally require, orexpect, students to be vaccinat-ed against certain infectious dis-eases before attending school.Pediatricians and other healthcare professionals seek to pro-vide the expected series of vac-cines to children by age 2, andcertainly by age 5, when theyare ready to enter kindergarten.

The vaccinations usually aregiven during routine visits to thepediatrician or when childrenare being checked for other ill-nesses. Immunization is provid-ed for such diseases as tetanus,

whooping cough, polio,measles, chicken pox, andmumps, as well as pneumonalinfections and other disease.

Several decades ago, suchdiseases caused misery orclaimed the lives of thousandsof children and adults annually.Families worldwide have beengrateful for the development ofvaccines against these illnesses.But some are still wary of vac-cines.

“The vast majority of par-ents are putting their confidencein the vaccinations,” saysRedus. “If parents have con-cerns about the safety of vac-cines they should talk to theirpediatrician or family physi-cian. Then, they can make aninformed decision.”

“I don’t belittle the concernsof parents,” Redus says. “Theissues around vaccinations arenew for a lot of parents, so theymight have questions. If theydo, then these are opportunitiesto establish communicationwith parents, have dialoguesabout their fears, their chil-dren’s health and the benefits ofvaccines.”

The newer vaccines, in fact,are purer that those producedearly on, physicians contend.Additionally, one immunizationshot may contain vaccines for afew diseases. The bodies of

children can handle the numberof vaccines they receive, Redusasserts.

A small number of parentsmay refuse to have their chil-dren immunized for religiousreasons, and some children maynot be able to receive the vacci-nations for health reasons.Either way, physicians respectthe decision of parents, shesays.

Sometimes, a few childrenmay have simply fallen behindin their immunizations by miss-ing one or more visits to thepediatrician or family doctor.Also, parents may forget thatchildren need booster shotslater, when they get older. Whenschool officials become awareof such oversights, they contactmedical professionals, usuallythose on record for the family,who motivate parents to author-ize the vaccines as quickly aspossible for their children.

In some instances, someparents may not feel the need tohave their children immunizedbecause there have been nomajor outbreaks of these dis-eases in recent years. But, thediseases have not disappeared.While cases of measles andmumps are rare, small out-breaks of chicken pox andwhooping cough still occur,research shows.

A few parents may believethat their children are safebecause the vast majority ofother children have been vacci-nated, says Redus. But sheexplains that these studentsaren’t protected from every-thing they may be exposed towhen they are in group settings.Students often share school sup-plies and may not practice goodhygiene, like frequent handwashing, in school or otherlarge gatherings, to prevent thespread of germs and viruses, shesays.

“Vaccines help strengthen achild’s immune system againstspecific diseases, where person-al cleanliness is crucial, in dif-ferent settings,” explains Redus.

Vaccines also provide addedprotection against commonchildhood maladies like earinfections and stomach viruses,she adds.

Cost should not be an issue.Insurance programs and healthprogram for children throughMedicaid generally coverimmunizations. Families with-out insurance can contact theirlocal health department aboutclinics or other health programsthat provide free vaccines.

To keep outbreak of infec-tious diseases in check, immu-nization programs have beenadopted throughout the country.

Some children may experienceside effects of a vaccination.But these discomforts are mini-mal, and generally temporary,given the consequences of con-tracting the diseases them-selves, physicians argue.

An estimated 80 percent ofchildren are believed to beimmunized in some districts bythe time they start school.School and health officialswould like to see a 100 percentrate. They get closer to that ratewhen they learn of children whohave not been vaccinated, andhelp facilitate the process.

Parents bear a great respon-

sibility in ensuring the health oftheir children, physicians say.They should talk with theirhealth care provider about con-cerns they have about any vac-cines, and about the vaccines aschool district expects a child tohave and at what age.

Redus and Dr. MichaelMacknin, also a pediatrician,practice at the Cleveland ClinicChildren’s Hospital and atHuron Hospital. Call HuronHospital’s outpatient pediatricsunit at (216) 761-7281 to sched-ule an appointment.

Immunization questions? Parents should just ask, says pediatrician

The thrill of flipping andjumping into water has becomecommon practice among chil-dren and adolescents as theydive into more than eight mil-lion swimming pools across theUnited States. Competitivedivers strive to gracefully enterthe water without making asplash however these athletes,including the future Beijing2008 Olympians, are notimmune to the increase in div-ing-related injuries over the pasttwo decades. Not only are com-petitive divers at risk for injury,but recreational divers are alsobeing treated in emergencydepartments for diving-relatedinjuries.

A new study conducted byresearchers at the Center forInjury Research and Policy(CIRP) of The ResearchInstitute at NationwideChildren’s Hospital, found thatthe most common injuries whilediving were to the head, neckand face.

Published in the Augustissue of Pediatrics, study find-ings revealed that an estimated111,000 diving-related injuriesto persons under the age of 19were treated in emergencydepartments from 1990 through2006. Lacerations and soft tis-

sue injuries were the most com-mon diagnoses, representingmore than 58 percent of allinjuries. Collision with the div-ing board or platform was theleading cause of injury – thelikelihood of collision with thediving board dramaticallyincreased when a diver attempt-ed a flip, handstand or back-ward dive.

“There is a need forincreased prevention efforts tolower the risks of diving-relatedinjuries among children andadolescents,” explained studyco-author Lara McKenzie, PhD,MA, principal investigator inCIRP at Nationwide Children’sHospital. “The recent growth ofthe sport of diving, coupledwith the increasing complexityand difficulty of dives, hasresulted in a greater potentialfor both competitive and recre-ational diving-related injuries.”

“Based on our findings, thelargest age group of injureddivers was 10- to 14-year-olds,”said study co-author GarySmith, M.D., Dr.P.H., directorof the Center for InjuryResearch and Policy atNationwide Children’sHospital, and an associate pro-fessor of pediatrics at The OhioState University College of

Medicine. “Although this groupmade up the largest number ofinjured divers, 10- to 19-years-olds were more at risk for aninjury to the extremities. Boyswere two times more likely toexperience a head or neck injuryor a fracture.”

Recommended strategies forpreventing diving-relatedinjuries include educatingdivers about jumping into shal-low water from the pool edge;placing visible depth indicatorsaround the pool; constructingsoft bottom pools; and remov-ing obstacles from lakes, riversand oceans. Also, the presenceof a lifeguard or trainer, as wellas teaching proper diving tech-niques could reduce the overallnumber of diving-relatedinjuries.

“Parents, pediatricians,coaches, lifeguards and trainersneed to be aware of the types ofinjuries seen during recreationaland competitive diving, as wellas the risk factors,” saidMcKenzie, also an assistantprofessor at The Ohio StateUniversity College of Medicine.

Data for the study were col-lected from the NationalElectronic Injury SurveillanceSystem (NEISS), which is oper-ated by the U.S. Consumer

Product Safety Commission.The NEISS dataset providesinformation on consumer prod-uct-related and sports and recre-ation-related injuries treated inhospital emergency departmentsin the United States.

development, implementa-tion and scientific evaluation ofpublic policy regarding controlof injuries. Learn more aboutCIRP at InjuryCenter.org.

More attention to prevention would reduce diving injuries

Car seat guidelinesNewborn to 1: Always

ride in a car seat, in theback seat, facing back-wards, as mandated by statelaw.

Age 1-4 AND until atleast 40 pounds: By statelaw must be in a car seat.However, the longer youstill fit in your car seat,based on guidelines on theseat, you’re safest travelingin the car seat.

Age Over 4 and too bigfor your car seat: Use abooster seat in the back seatuntil you’re 4-foot-9 inchestall. Many children are over10 years old before they getthis tall.Huron Hospital pediatrician Dr. Michael Macknin buckles Alayna in a

car seat.

Dr. Angelique Redus, a pediatrician at Huron Hospital, updates littleDaeshawn’s immunizations.

By MELISSA MATTEO

As another school year isfast approaching, also is anopportunity to make a fresh startin your child’s diet.

How often does your childeat fast food in a week? Once,twice, maybe three or moretimes? How many fast foodrestaurants does your child passon the way to and from school?Fast food is highly available,tastes good, is cheap and isintensely marketed, all of whichhas contributed to the obesityepidemic and rise in type 2 dia-betes in Americans, even inadolescents.

The very large portion sizescontain many calories in a smallamount of food, are highlyprocessed which means theylack fiber so the body can chewand swallow more food in aquicker amount of time, beforethe brain can signal the body itis full.

Many fast foods also containtrans fats, like french fries andthe breading on chicken, whichare more dangerous to the heartthan saturated fats found in but-ter, whole milk and animal fats.All of these ingredients in mostfast foods are a recipe for disas-trous health effects.

According to research con-ducted by David Ludwig, pedi-atric endocrinologist atChildren’s Hospital Boston, onethird of all school aged childreneat at fast food restaurants onany given day. This could leadto a 20 pound weight gain overthe course of a year if a childwere to eat that way every day.Individuals who eat fast foodmore than twice a week are atincreased risk for obesity andtype 2 diabetes.

Help your child reduce thisrisk by limiting how often theyeat fast food, if any at all.

If you or your child must eatfast food, consider the follow-ing tips:

• Choose low-fat milk, wateror diet pop when it comes tobeverages.

• Avoid anything breadedand deep fried, grilled chickenis always a better choice.

• Choose a single burgersandwich instead of double ortriple burgers.

• Skip the fries, choose aside salad with low fat dressingor fruit or veggie side if avail-able.

• Hold the mayo or specialsauces which add a significantamount of fat and calories.

• Choose smaller sizes ororder off the kids menu for por-tion control.

• Read the Nutritional Factsinformation to help you decidethe best menu options for yourchild.

These tips should also beused when you review yourchild’s school lunch choices.Remember, learning to makehealthy food choices is a lifestyle change for both the childand the parent. The results canbe life enhancing and life sav-ing.

Melissa Matteo, R.D.,C.D.E., is a registered dietitianand certified diabetes educatorwith Huron Hospital’s LennonDiabetes Center. For informa-tion, call (216) 761-4286.

Is your child’s diet in the fast lane?

Davion and Mia take a healthy lunch break

Pediatric ServicesAngelique Redus, MD & Michael Macknin, MD

• Newborn care• Well child care• Adolescent healthcare• School/sports physicals• Immunizations• Same-day/urgent visits• Management of chronic

medical issues (asthma,ADHD)

• Convenient location,comfortable and privateenvironment

• Accepting new patients• Most insurance plans

accepted includingCareSource, Well Care,and Medicaid

Huron HospitalWomen and Children’s Center13951 Terrace Rd. – 3rd FloorEast Cleveland, Ohio 44112

For an appointment, call216.761.7281

www.huronhospital.org

5cCle 8-20-08.qxd 8/27/2008 10:51 AM Page 1

Did you know there are a number of on-line computer teaching tutorial programs available to you at no cost? In fact, there are a variety of software application instructional programs available on the internet that provides hands-on practice and real-like simulations. So, why would you need to attend one of those expensive computer classes, where the instructor doesn’t even speak in terms you can understand; when you could learn at your own pace, in the comforts of your own home, absolutely free?

Most internet computer tutorials provide instruction at the beginner to advance level with step by step simulations. Some tutorials provide an audio feature that allows you to hear the presentation in addition to the visual instruction. So, you don’t have to be computer savvy to log on to one of these sites and begin a course. However, please be sure to read the Terms/Conditions of the website to ensure there is no cost to you.

To find a site that works best for you, log on to your internet search engine and type in “Free Computer Tutorials”. If you are looking for a specific software application tutorial, you will want to type the name of that program in your search engine (example: Free PowerPoint computer tutorials). Microsoft offers free self-paced computer training courses for all of their Office Products. Simply log on to www.Microsoft.com and select Training from the menu.

For more conventional users who are not interested in searching the net, the Ohio Department of Job & Family Services offers network users on-line web-based training courses in the following areas: Microsoft Word Microsoft Access Crystal Reports 10 Microsoft Excel Microsoft Project Group Wise 6.5 Microsoft Power Point Windows XP

Log on to www.jfswbt.org and follow the Student Quick Reference Guide that will give you instructions on how to log into the system using your Network ID.

So, what are you waiting for? Free computer training is just a click away and here are just a few tutorial programs to get you started: www.microsoft.com www.teachclick.com www.gcflearnfree.org www.baycongroup.com

Sources:www.google.com ; www.microsoft.com ; www.jfswbt.org ; www.baycongroup.com ; www.teachclick.com ; www.gcflearnfree.com

by LeVine Ross

Free Computer Resources at Your Fingertips

8 September2008

Grilled Portobello Mushroom Steaks – Under $20

Ingredients:4 large Portobello mushrooms•1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil•1/4 cup dry white wine•1 lemon, juiced•2 cloves garlic, minced•Salt and pepper, to taste•

Method: Remove the stems of the mushrooms 1. and brush off any dirt to clean. In a medium bowl or pan, combine 2. the oil, wine, lemon juice, and garlic, stirring until combined. Add the cleaned mushrooms caps and submerge in the marinade. Let sit for 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from the marinade and season 3. with salt and pepper to taste. Place the caps on a grill over medium-4. high heat and cook for 3 to 4 minutes per side, until just tender.

Makes 4 servings

Mozzarella Chicken & Angel Hair Pasta - Under $15.00 Ingredients:

4 to 6 Chicken Breasts •1 box of angel hair noodles • 1 can of Del Monte Traditional spaghetti •sauce Shredded mozzarella cheese•

Method:Sprinkle garlic salt onto chicken 1.

breasts. Cook chicken breast at 400 degrees for 2. 50-60 minutes or you can cook them on the grill, it taste great either way! Arrange cooked chicken on a cookie 3. sheet and sprinkle with mozzarella, leave to melt until pasta is ready. Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil; add a 4. splash of oil to water to keep noodles from sticking together. Add angel hair pasta; cook as directed on box. Drain and pour into a large mixing bowl. Heat spaghetti sauce on stovetop and 5. add to angel hair pasta and mix together well.

Spoon noodles onto plates and add a piece of the cheesy chicken on top!

Italian Grilled Chicken Salad - Under $20.00

Ingredients:2 bowls-medium and large •4 to 6 Chicken breasts •2 Bottles of Italian salad dressing •Freezer bag •Salad mix •2 Tomatoes •2 cucumbers •Shredded Cheese •Baco’s •Croutons •

3 to 6 hours before you are ready to grill you will need to marinade the chicken in a freezer bag. Just add the chicken to the freezer bag and pour one bottle of the salad dressing in. Shake it up well. Put into the refrigerator for 3 to 6 hours.

Method: Cook the Italian chicken for about 45 1. minutes, until you see no pink! Set aside to cool for 10 minutes. 2. Now, while the chicken is cooling, dice 3. the tomatoes and the cucumbers. I always dice the cucumber with the peel on but it’s your choice.

Add to a medium bowl; pour one bottle 4. of Italian dressing over the veggies and mix. There will be more dressing than you need, that’s ok you’ll use it later. Put into the fridge until chilled. Now, cube the grilled chicken; add to 5. a large bowl. Get the cooled veggies that are soaking in the dressing and add them to the large bowl of chicken cubes. Mix well. Chill for 10 minutes. 6. Get salads ready with cheese, baco’s 7. and croutons. Spoon chicken and veggies mix onto 8. salads and enjoy!

Sesame-Shiitake Green Beans – Under $20

Ingredients: 1 lb. green beans, washed, trimmed, and •halved1 Tbsp. vegetable oil•1/4 onion, thinly sliced•5 shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced•1/2 tsp. sesame oil•1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes•1 Tbsp. toasted sesame seeds•Salt and pepper, to taste•

Method: Steam the green beans for 2 to 3 minutes, 1. or until just tender. Set aside. In a large skillet or frying pan, add the 2. vegetable oil and bring to medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook for about 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook for an additional minute. Add the green beans, sesame oil, red 3. pepper, and sesame seeds, then toss to coat.Season with salt and pepper.4.

Family Meals Under $20

9September2008

Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Mango Sauce over Black Beans & Rice – Under $20.00

Ingredients:Pork Tenderloin •1 Lime •1 Mango •1 Red Onion •1 Red Bell Pepper •1 Bunch Cilantro •1 Package Vigo Black Beans and Rice Mix •Oil**•Soy Sauce**•Worcestershire Sauce**•Honey**•

Method:

Mango Sauce:Peel the mango and slice the 1.

flesh away from the wise, flat pit. Dice and place in a bowl

Wash the red pepper. Dice 2. half the pepper. Reserve the remainder for another use. Add the diced red pepper to the mango

Dice half the red onion. Reserve 3. the rest for another use. Add to mango

Using a zester, remove the zest 4. from the lime and add to the bowl. If no zester is available, a knife can be used to cut very thin slices of the peel. Use only the green part that has the flavor and the oil. The white spongy pith underneath the outer peel is bitter

After removing the zest, cut the 5. lime in half and squeeze the juice into the mixture

Use a handful of cilantro. Rinse 6. and then dice the leaves and stems. Add cilantro to mixture

Over the mango mixture, drizzle 7. about 1 TBSP of honey to help bring out the sweetness of the mango. Brown sugar can be substituted if necessary

Sprinkle on a pinch of salt and 8. pepper

Let the mixture sit for about an 9. hour to let juice form

Black Beans and Rice: Prepare according to package directions, allowing about 20 minutes cooking time

Pork Tenderloin:Trim any fat and any shiny tissue 1.

off the tenderloin. Marinate in a mixture of equal parts soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce – about 2 TBSP of each

In any ovenproof skillet using a 2. TBSP of oil, sear the tenderloin on all side over high heat

Place in a pre-heated oven at 3. 400 degrees to roast for about 10 minutes

When tenderloins are cooked, 4. allow them to rest for about 5 minutes before slicing

Allowing the meat to rest lets 5. the flavorful juices redistribute throughout the meat. If sliced too soon, the juices run out on the cutting board

Make diagonal slices of the 6. tenderloins across the grain of the meat

Assemble the plates by making 7. a bed of the black beans and rice. Arrange the slices of pork tenderloin over the rice

Ladle the mango salsa on top 8. and serve

**Note: The only ingredients that were not purchased with the $20.00 were the small amounts of soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce for marinating the tenderloin, the oil for searing it, and honey that was drizzled over the mango salsa.

Shredded Chicken Alfredo Shells - Under $20.00

Ingredients:4 to 6 Regular size Chicken Breasts •1 Box of small or medium Shells •3 Jars of Alfredo Sauce (store brands are •cheaper) Parmesan Cheese •Garlic Powder/Salt•

Method:Cook chicken breast at 400 degrees for 50-1. 60 minutes or you can cook them on the grill, it taste great either way! Set aside and let cool. 2.

On stove-top:Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil; add a 1. splash of oil to water to keep noodles from sticking together. Add shell pasta; cook as directed on box. Drain and pour into a large mixing bowl. Add all jars of Alfredo sauce to shells, mix 2. well. Set aside and cover.With a fork, score the chicken breast until it 3. starts to peel freely. Continue with each piece until all are 4. shredded. Add all shredded chicken to the shells and 5. Alfredo sauce, mix well. Top with Parmesan and garlic salt/powder. 6. Serve with garlic bread and/or salad.7.

NOTE: This makes a lot of pasta! 4 to 6 heaping servings. You will need a large skillet and large mixing bowl. You can add broccoli, tomatoes, olives and you can substitute the chicken with shrimp, just remember the price will change depending on the substitutions.

10 September2008

10 Back to School Saving Tips These are tough economic times. With the price of gasoline (and everything else) going through the roof, it is more important than ever to save on those back to school expenses. Here are some tips to help you keep those expenses in line.

Check to see what you already have.1. A quick inventory around the house might

turn up more than enough pens, pencils, binders, etc. Plenty of supplies can be made to last from one school year to the next.

Make a precise shopping list. 2. Once you decide what you really need, write

out a very exact shopping list. Don’t go shopping without your list and don’t buy anything not on your list. If you see an item in the store not on your list, but think you might need it, make a note of it and check it against what you already have at home to be sure you really need it.

Start at a dollar store.3. Dollar stores are surprisingly well stocked

with a lot of the basics. Start there. If the dollar stores don’t meet all your needs, move up the shopping chain to the next cheapest store. Avoid paying full retail for anything!

Try store alternatives: garage sales, estate 4. sales, etc.

Garage sales and estate sales are fun, and you never know what you’ll find. Sometimes a whole bag of new or almost new school supplies can be purchased for pennies on the dollar as sellers try to clean out a house and make a fast sale.

Use coupons.5. Check those shopping flyers; often they will

have coupons for school and office supplies.

Remember e-Bay and craigslist. 6. If there is a more expensive item that

your child “must have” (designer clothing, electronics) see if perhaps these items are on e-Bay or craigslist. Literally millions of items are sold on e-Bay, craigslist and the like, and if you are lucky you just might find the exact item you (or your child!) desire at a good price.

Set ground rules for clothes.7. Choose clothes that will give your child

room to grow and classic styles that will last. This might be a good time to teach your child about quality vs. quantity. Don’t deny your child a few of the moment fashions, however, as long as you can find a good price. Remember fashion is often a lot more important to youngsters (especially teens) than it is to parents. And don’t forget the Goodwill stores for clothing. Locally, greater Cleveland Goodwill stores are marketing themselves as back to school clothing savings centers.

Set ground rules for technology.8. Homework can be almost impossible to do

these days without a computer and access to the Internet. If you’re thinking of investing in a computer exclusively for your child’s use, look for deals. There’s no need to pay top dollar for this purchase. Again, check out eBay and craigslist, and remember that refurbished computers are another option.

As for other technology – such as a cell phone, an mp3 player, a handheld video-game player and the like – only you can be the judge of what your child should have and what you can afford. If you view a cell phone as a necessity for safety reasons, be careful to sign up for a calling plan that will actually work well for your family, and teach your child not to subscribe to joke-of-the-day services, special ring-tone services and other kinds of “premium text messaging.” Otherwise it’s all too easy to get clobbered with astronomical cell-phone bills.

Have your child pay for some items.9. A child who is a little older can be asked to

chip in on some school supplies. Make it a friendly challenge to see how much your child can save. You be surprised to see how resourceful and thrifty your child can be when asked to spend his or her own funds.

Can you hold off until after the start of the 10. school year?

And last, but not least, can you delay at least some purchases until after school has started? School supplies, being seasonal, go on sale after the fact and you can get great deals in later September or October. Also, if you cannot put off purchases for this year, stock up at the fall sales for the next school year.

Heading Back to School with a Child on an IEP

School time is especially stressful for children who are on an IEP and it is important that they be given every chance to succeed. Our foster daughter had a diagnosis of Reactive Attachment Disorder, and in order to ensure that she had the every opportunity to be successful in school, we established goals on her IEP that helped her maintain stability and helped us with our sanity. Of course each child is different; however, I have found that the following guidelines help many children who are on an IEP:

Modified school day (a possible •shortened school day)Reduced peer interaction•One on one mentoring/tutoring•Low stimulated environment•High structure/few room changes•Identified helpers (counselor, •aide, mentor, etc.)Modified homework based on •child’s abilitySafe place and people to go to in •crisis (PTSD, frustration, rage, etc.)Daily planner for recording •assignmentsAide to assist child in getting •appropriate supplies and assignments home

Break assignments into steps•

By: John Ward, M.C.C., L.C.D.C. III

11September2008

Beginning of the School Year Preparation Checklist With the new school year fast approaching, it is time to start thinking about what we can do for a smooth transition to the new school year. Here are some suggestions.

Start your school routine a week before school starts.1. Start putting the children to bed at their school bedtime a week before school starts and get them up at the school time. This will prevent the first day of school shock to their bodies.

Practice back to school skills.2. Over the summer, most kids have not picked up a pencil or read a book. Have your kids start practicing writing and reading. Try to make it fun and engaging.

Have a few test mornings.3. Wake your kids up and have a few test mornings. Look for holes in your routine and potential problems. It is much like a fire drill, when the real thing happens you will know what to do. The more organized and structured your morning routine, the better the rest of your day will be.

Have your children help with school shopping.4. Let the children help pick out book bags, notebooks, etc. This will help the children get mentally prepared for school and realize that no matter how much they do not want to admit it, school is going to start! Also, if children pick out their school supplies, they will take better care of their supplies.

Get to know your school, teachers and bus driver.5. Call the school and find out who is going to be interacting with your child this upcoming school year. If possible, have the children meet the teacher and bus driver. When the children know the personnel in advance, much of the understandable fear of the unknown will dissipate.

Discuss your children’s feelings about school.6. Take some time to talk with your children about their hopes and fears about the coming school year. Let them know that their feelings are normal and that they are able to navigate the challenges ahead.

Think about how the start of the school year is going to affect 7. your budget.

With the increase in gas and food over the summer, it is time to readjust your budget to reflect these changes. Take time to see of your child is eligible for free or reduced lunches.

Beat the rush to the doctor and dentist.8. Make your appointments now, before school starts and before everyone else who is trying to get into the doctor’s office for school physicals.

Create one more fun summer memory.9. Take your family on one more summer trip to an amusement park, the zoo, a camping trip, or to a park. One final fun and exciting family event will help the kids to have a happy memory when they get on the bus that first day of school. It will also be helpful to remind your children how much fun your family had during the final summer event when it is February and 19 degrees below zero!

Be patient and understanding.10. This is easier said than done. At the beginning of the school year everyone is struggling. Try to take a little more time before we get angry or get short with people. Students, teachers and parents are all doing the best they can. When we approach each other this way it will make for a better school year.

By: Dave Zidar, M.S.S.A., L.I.S.W. davezidar@mac.com

Monday is the soccer game. Tuesday night is parent-teacher conference. Johnnie needs 35 cupcakes for Wednesday’s classroom party. Thursday is choir rehearsal. Friday, Saturday and Sunday will introduce a totally different and demanding set of activities. Does this resemble what your life looks like week after week? Well, stop the madness! It is time to put “quality” back into “quality family time”. “How can I do that”, you ask? Read on. Hopefully, these helpful tips will be just the remedy you need.

Kathy Moore, a writer for www.About.com, has created two video clips which offer a synopsis of how busy parents can maximize the time spent with their children. The clips are simply titled, “Maximize Morning Quality Time” and “Maximize Evening Quality Time”.

Some of the suggestions include:

Immediately after school is a great time •to spend 10 minutes with the kids. Play games, walk the dog, or have them read to you. Dinner can wait for 10 minutes.Involve the children with tasks to •prepare dinner (setting the table) and after dinner (putting dishes in the sink or loading the dishwasher). Children enjoy being “helpers”. Turn off distractions while spending •time with the family and talk. Good discussions, both positive and negative, can occur during this time. Also, TV watching can spark bad habits. It is not a healthy behavior and creates sedentary (non-active) children.Establish an evening routine •to ease the strain of morning preparations. Set out school clothes, work attire and prepare lunches at night.

Wake up before the kids to mentally •prepare yourself for the day’s activities. This will allow you time to smoothly ease into the day and give the children your attention while they get ready for the day too.Most importantly, remember some •things can wait, such as the laundry.

Nothing is more valuable than the time you

have to enjoy the company of your children.

Source: Coffey, Lisa. (2008). Maximizing Family Time.

Retrieved from URL http://video.aol.com/video-detail/111507-6am-maximizing-family-time/1957260795

Putting “Quality” Back into Family Time

12 September2008

Freshman year is the time a teenager makes a success of high school or fails in the attempt. One third of American students beginning ninth grade do not graduate, according to a study by George Washington University. Ninth graders need the support of their parents, caregivers and teachers in order to succeed in high school.

Ninth grade is a time of enormous change for young people. They are not only leaving their middle school and going to a much larger high school. They are in the middle of adolescence, a time identified by child development experts as the most tempestuous in their young lives.

Change is as scary for your teenager as it is for all of us, because all of us are afraid of the unknown. Arnold Bennett, former Secretary of Education, notes, “Any change, even a change for the better, is always accompanied by drawbacks and discomforts”. These all too human doubts are intensified in our ninth graders.

There are some major differences between middle school and high school. High school has many new opportunities with classes, clubs, music, art, drama and sports. Ninth graders face semesters and final exams, try to understand what school spirit is, and even have more choices at lunch. They must learn to be organized, deal with more social events (like Homecoming and Prom), face greater academic and behavioral expectations, need to learn time management skills, and face greater peer pressure.

Many school systems are recognizing the unique needs of ninth graders and are organizing ninth grade transition programs. If your school system has such a program, you should participate and have your child attend. If your school does not have a ninth grade transition program, you can still help your child by finding as many answers as possible when school starts.

One successful program has found that ninth graders have problems with the Four L’s: Looks, Locker, Lunch and Lost. These problems include:

• Looks. “How long or short should my hair be? How baggy do I wear my pants? Do I button the top button of my polo shirt? How should I dress to fit in?”

• Locker. “If my high school is really big, I may not be able to find my locker. Do I have to carry all my books in a backpack because I can’t put any of them down? How many times do other kids visit their lockers in a day?”

• Lunch. “There are so many lines for lunch I can’t understand them. One is for pizza, another is for salad, but I don’t remember which is which. Everyone else seems to know, so I am embarrassed to ask because I don’t want to look dumb”. In Hilliard, the administration was very surprised to learn that some freshmen didn’t eat lunch for a month because they couldn’t navigate the lunch room.

• Lost. “High school is so confusing; I may get lost trying to find my next class. I don’t want to go in late because then everyone will know I got lost. I’d rather cut the class and take a zero than admit that I got lost. How do I know about clubs, activities and athletics? If upperclassmen give me poor directions to my classes, how can I trust their other information?”

Helping your child cope with these issues by helping them get these answers early will make the transition easier. It will go even better if they meet an upperclassman who is willing to answer their questions without making them feel inferior. By putting some of these aids in place, we can help our children succeed in ninth grade, the make or break year in education!

By: Jeffery Ginther, J.D., and

Norma Ginther, M.S.W., L.I.S.W.

9th Grade: The Make or Break Time for Your Teenager

13September2008

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is a United States federal law that governs how states and public agencies provide early intervention, special education, and related services to children with disabilities. It addresses the educational needs of children with disabilities from birth to the age of twenty-one.

The IDEA is considered to be a civil rights law. However, states are not required to participate. As an incentive and to assist states in complying with its requirements, IDEA makes funds available to states that adopt at least the minimum policies and procedures specified in the IDEA regarding the education of children with disabilities. Since its inception, all states have chosen to participate.

The IDEA was formerly known as the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EHA) but has grown considerably since. IDEA became a federal standard by an act of Congressional adoption in 1975 but has been amended many times since. The IDEA was most recently amended in 2004, which was a significant update. In defining the purpose of special education, IDEA 2004 clarifies Congress’ intended outcome for each child with a disability: students must be provided a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) that prepares them for further education, employment and independent living.

BackgroundBefore the EHA statute was enacted in 1974, U.S. public schools educated only 1 out of 5 children with disabilities. Until that time, many states had laws that explicitly excluded children with certain types of disabilities from attending public school, including children who were blind, deaf, and children labeled “emotionally disturbed” or “mentally retarded.” At the time the EHA was enacted, more than 1 million children in the U.S. had no access to the public school system. Many of these children lived at state institutions where they received limited or no educational or rehabilitation services. Another 3.5 million children attended school but were “warehoused” in segregated facilities and received little or no effective instruction.

As of 2006, more than 6 million children in the U.S. receive special education services through IDEA. Many states are still resistant to educating special needs children appropriately even though they continue to accept federal funding. The federal and state enforcement agencies do not use strong enforcement methods or penalties.

Eligibility for servicesHaving a disability does not automatically qualify a student for special education services under the IDEA. IDEA defines a “child with a disability” as a child . . . with mental retardation, hearing impairments (including deafness), speech or language impairments, visual impairments (including blindness), serious emotional disturbance, orthopedic impairments, autism, traumatic brain injury, other health impairments, or specific learning disabilities; AND, who . . . because of the condition, needs special education and related services.” Children with disabilities who qualify for special education are also automatically protected by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). However, all modifications that can be provided under Section 504 or the ADA can be provided under the IDEA if included in the student’s IEP.

Students with disabilities who do not qualify for special education services under the IDEA may qualify for accommodations or modifications under Section 504 and under the ADA. Their rights are protected by due process procedure requirements.

Individualized Education Program (IEP)The act requires that public schools create an Individualized Education Program (IEP) for each student who is found to be eligible under both the federal and state eligibility/disability standards. The IEP is the cornerstone of a student’s educational program. It specifies the services to be provided and how often, describes the student’s present levels of performance and how the student’s disabilities affect academic performance, and specifies accommodations and modifications to be provided for the student. An IEP must be designed to meet the unique educational needs of that one child in the Least Restrictive Environment appropriate to the needs of that child. That is, the least restrictive environment in which the child learns. When a child qualifies for services, an IEP team is convened to design an education plan. The required content of an IEP is described in the IEP. Alternatively, parents may prepare an IEP if the school’s IEP is not fair to the child.

Related services The definition of related services in the IDEA includes, but is not limited to: transportation and such developmental, corrective, and other supportive services as are required to assist a child with a disability to benefit from special education, and includes speech-language pathology and audiology services, psychological services, physical and occupational therapy, recreation, including therapeutic recreation, early identification and assessment of disabilities in children, counseling services, including rehabilitation counseling, orientation and mobility services, and medical services for diagnostic or evaluation purposes. The term also includes school health services, social work services in schools, and parent counseling and training. continued on next page

Do You Have Any IDEA? Becoming Familiar with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

14 September2008

Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE)Guaranteed by the IDEA, FAPE is defined as an educational program that is individualized to a specific child, designed to meet that child’s unique needs, and from which the child receives educational benefit. To provide FAPE, schools must provide students with an “… education that emphasizes special education and related services designed to meet their unique needs and prepare them for further education, employment, and independent living.”

Least Restrictive Environment (LRE)The U.S. Dept. of Education’s 2005 regulations implementing IDEA states: “...to the maximum extent appropriate, children with disabilities including children in public or private institutions or care facilities, are educated with children who are nondisabled; and special classes, separate schooling or other removal of children with disabilities from regular educational environment occurs only if the nature or severity of the disability is such that education in regular classes with the use of supplementary aids and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily.” Simply put, the LRE is the environment most like that of typical children in which the child with a disability can succeed academically as measured by the specific goals in the student’s IEP.

Procedural SafeguardsIDEA includes a set of procedural safeguards designed to protect the rights of children with disabilities and their families, and to ensure that children with disabilities receive a FAPE. The procedural safeguards include the opportunity for parents to review their child’s full educational records; full parent participation in identification and IEP team meetings; parent involvement in placement decisions; Prior Written Notice; the right of parents to request independent educational evaluations at public expense; Notice of Procedural Safeguards; Resolution Process; and objective mediation funded by the state education agency and impartial Due Process Hearings. IDEA guarantees the following rights to parents:

Right to be informed in writing of the Procedural Safeguards •Right to review all educational records •To be equal partners on the IEP team, along with the school staff •To participate in all aspects of planning their child’s education •To file complaints with the state education agency •Request mediation, or a due process hearing •Parents may present an alternative IEP and their witnesses (experts and others) to support their case•These hearings are Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) hearings and can be appealed•

Early InterventionPart C of the IDEA requires that infants and toddlers with disabilities receive early intervention services from birth through age 3. These services are provided according to an Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP). In contrast, Part B of the IDEA requires that children with disabilities, from age 3 to 21, are provided a free appropriate public education.

Department of Education RegulationsIn addition to the Federal law, the U.S. Department of Education publishes regulations that clarify what the law means. States may add more provisions to further regulate how schools provide services, but they cannot reverse any provision specifically included in the federal statute.

Alignment with No Child Left BehindThe reauthorization of IDEA in 2004 revised the statute to align with the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). NCLB allows financial incentives to states who improve their special education services and services for all students. States who do not improve must refund these incentives to the federal government, allow parents choice of schools for their children, and abide by other provisions. Some states are still reluctant to educate special education students and seek remedies through the courts. However, IDEA and NCLB are still the laws of the land to date.Criticisms of IDEA:

Criticisms from schoolsExcessive procedures and paperwork requires teacher time that would be better spent teaching •School staff often state beliefs that IDEA protects children and parents but not districts, schools and teachers •Providing mandated educational and related services is expensive and reduces schools’ ability to educate regular education •students

Do You Have Any IDEA? ...Continued from page 13

15September2008

Unfunded mandate. When passed, the federal government was supposed to pay for 40% of the cost of educating •students with disabilities. However, Congress has yet to provide all of this 40%. As of 2007, the federal government pays for about 12% of special education costs. Many schools fail to supply spending records or cost analysis demonstrating that they are legitimately planning or have spent more than 12% to educate special education children.

Criticisms from students and parentsParents criticize schools for not following laws in designing and implementing education plans. Enforcement is scarce and •ineffective. Impartial Due Process hearing officers are not impartial •Districts spend thousands of dollars fighting against parents who want services for their children rather than providing the •services, which are often much less expensive than the attorney’s fees Schools and districts may retaliate against families who advocate for their children, sometimes retaliating against the •children themselvesSchools label children as “learning disabled” and place them in special education even if the child does not have a learning •disability, because the schools have failed to teach the children basic skillsMinorities are overidentified as having learning disabilities, emotional disturbances, and mental retardation•Parents do not know how to prepare an IEP to counter inadequate IEPs prepared by schools•

Criticisms from taxpayersThere are no exceptions to IDEA: • NO child is so severely disabled as to not qualify for educational services under IDEA. Even children who are in a permanent vegetative state or suffering from similarly severe brain damage still qualify for a Free Appropriate Public Education. This means that schools can be required to provide “educational” services to children who have no capacity for voluntary movement, no ability to communicate, and no indication that they recognize their own names or their parents’ faces Under the “related services” clause, schools are specifically required to pay for many kinds of medical treatments, including •speech therapy, audiology, physical therapy, and nursing, if the medical treatment is expected to help the student’s education. There is no requirement that private health insurance be used when available

This article is an adapted version from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. For a complete version and article references, please visit their website at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Individuals_with_Disabilities_Education_Act.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Individuals_with_Disabilities_Education_Act.

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act: A Legislative History

1974 — The Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EAHCA) became LAW. It was renamed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in 1990.

1990 — IDEA first came into being on October 30, 1990 when the “Education of All Handicapped Children Act” (itself having been introduced in 1975) was renamed “Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.” (Pub. L. No. 101-476, 104 Stat. 1142). IDEA received minor amendments in October 1991 (Pub. L. No. 102-119, 105 Stat. 587).

1997 — IDEA received significant amendments. The definition of disabled children expanded to include developmentally delayed children between three and nine years of age. It also required parents to attempt to resolve disputes with schools and Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) through mediation, and provided a process for doing so. The amendments authorized additional grants for technology, disabled infants and toddlers, parent training, and professional development. (Pub. L. No. 105-17, 111 Stat. 37).

2004 — On December 3, 2004, IDEA was amended by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 now known as IDEA. Several provisions aligned IDEA with the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. It authorized fifteen states to implement 3-year IEPs on a trial basis when parents continually agree. More concrete provisions relating to discipline of special education students was also added. (Pub. L. No. 108-446, 118 Stat. 2647).

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Individuals_with_Disabilities_Education_Act.

Do You Have Any IDEA? ...Continued from page 14

16 September2008

Giving children a head start on a lifetime of physical fitness may be one of the best ways to protect them from childhood obesity, a growing health problem in the United States. The long list of physical activity benefits- even for toddlers and children who have just started school- begins with improved fitness, coordination, weight control and a reduced risk of health problems such as heart disease later in life. As kids grow older, participation in team sports can also help them improve skills, self-esteem and academic performance. The bonus is learning components such as discipline and fairness. To get your child started on the road to an active life, it can help to know how to choose the type of play, games, exercise, and organized sports that are right for him or her.

What are age-appropriate activities? With kids of all ages, it’s important to select activities that they find fun and rewarding. You may have been the star of your football team, but your child may prefer dancing and that’s just fine. Children don’t need organized athletics to develop athletic skills or to get physical activity. “A healthy lifestyle doesn’t have to include sports,” says Edward Laskowski, M.D. co-director of the Sports Medicine Clinic at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. “It’s more important that your child is involved in some sort of physical activity, whether it’s hiking and biking with the family or playing pickup baseball or basketball with the neighborhood kids.” Am I ready to let my child take part in sports?Consider your own reactions. How well will you accept your child’s victories and defeats? Ask yourself whether you’re ready to turn your child over to a coach for several hours each week. Allowing your child to participate in sports is an exercise in letting go. Of course, you may also volunteer to get involved in coaching or mentoring your child’s sports teams. It can be rewarding and enlightening to watch your child and other children develop. How can I help my child find the sport that’s best for him or her?If you decide to pursue sports for your child, consider how sports differ including the:

Amount of equipment needed and its cost- Amount of physical contact- Emphasis on individual skill- Emphasis on team performance- Size of the team- Opportunity for each child to participate-

Your community might offer a wide range of intramural sports. If so, allow your child to sample several activities. Younger children may benefit from exploring several options before settling on one or two.

Try team sports such as softball and soccer, as well as individual sports such as tennis, running and golf. Observe as you go. Is your child comfortable with the physical nature of a contact sport? Does he or she have the hand-eye coordination to compete in certain sports that use a ball? Once your child indicates an interest in a sport, consider whether that sport is a good match given your child’s height, weight, strength and coordination. Is the sport also a good psychological match? Some children accept coaching well and willingly attend several practices and a game each week. Others are more independent and feel more comfortable with an individual training routine. What should I look for in a sports organization?To gauge whether your child is in good hands, consider these points.

Quality of CoachingLook first for an emphasis on safety. Does the coach require that - players follow the rules that use the proper safety equipment?Is the fitness trainer working with your child certified and - sensitive to the fact that your child is not fully physically mature? Observe instructions. Children should be taught proper - movement and body positioning to avoid injuries.Also consider a coach’s attitude toward the game. If a coach - consistently yells at an umpire or the children or lets only the most skilled players into the game, your child may become discouraged. Get to know the coach and if possible, talk to the coach’s former - team members about their experiences. Once children get to be 11 or 12 years old, they may be ready - for a greater emphasis on competition and winning. But a win at all costs attitude drives many children away from sports-for good.

Youth Athletics: Finding the Right Sport

17September2008

The following is a Sport Parenting Self-assessment Test taken from the book “The Fulfilling Ride” by Greg Dale. Please take a few minutes to honestly and objectively reflect on your role as a Sport Parent. Using a scale of 1 to 5, rate yourself on your effectiveness as a Sport Parent. Ask your child and spouse to rate you as well. Total you answers to determine your rating.

1 - Strongly Disagree 2 - Disagree 3 - Undecided

4 - Agree 5 - Strongly Agree

_____ I model good sportsmanship at all competitions in the way I interact with other parents, athletes, coaches, and officials.

_____ I conduct myself in a manner such that my family and friends enjoy sitting next to me during competitions.

_____ I do not put too much pressure on my child to win or perform exceptionally well.

_____ I allow and encourage my child to talk to the coach if he or she has an issue with the coach before intervening myself.

_____ I do not criticize my child’s coach in front of my child.

_____ I do not give technical or strategic instructions to my child or other athletes during competition.

_____ I plan to allow and encourage my child to participate in multiple sports, rather than specializing in one sport, until he or she has finished high school.

_____ I provide total and unconditional love and support for my child regardless of how he or she performs.

_____ I do not expect any type of monetary return (i.e., college scholarship, professional contract) on the time and money I spend on my child’s sport.

_____ I conduct myself in a manner that makes my child proud to have me in attendance.

Your Total Score:

45-50: Excellent – You are a model Sport Parent

40-44: Very Good – Communicate with your child to maintain your current perspective

30-39: Cause for Concern – Be willing to listen and make changes to regain proper perspective

1-29: Out-of-Control – You have lost perspective. You could be in danger of ruining your child’s sport experience

Source: http://www.athensacademy.net

SPORT PARENTING SELF-ASSESSMENT

Team AssignmentsAre the children in your child’s sport grouped into teams simply - by age, which can increase risk of injury?Are they grouped according to physical maturity and skill? - Do they take time to warm up and cool down before and after - each practice or event? How the organization assigns teams and emphasizes warm ups - and cool downs may serve as an indication of the organization’s interest in injury prevention.

How can I support my child?Overall, be positive and encouraging. Emphasize effort and improvement over winning or personal performance. Attend events and practices as your schedule allows, and act as a good model of sportsmanship yourself. Above all, keep your child’s sport in perspective.

If your child decides to quit a sport or specific activity, look for signs of stress that seem tied to sports or overtraining. Your child can take up the same or another sport later, or build fitness through other activities, such as martial arts or dance.

Whether your child runs track, plays frisbee or soccer, keep your eye on your long-term goal: encouraging your child to be a fit, healthy, and happy adult! Serve as an active role model at all levels of your child’s development. Once your child sees that you enjoy physical activity, he or she will be much more likely to want to participate too. Help your child see that fitness fun can be a way of life, and he or she will come out a winner every time.

Source: http://www.pediatricsbythesea.com

18 September2008

For the next few issues of News Notes we will depart from the usual format of “CCDCFS Dateline” which has concentrated solely on the history of the Cuyahoga County Department of Children and Family Services. Using a timeline format, “CCDCFS Dateline” will look at the entire known history of child welfare from the earliest times to present day. In future issues of News Notes, we will continue this “journey through time.” Watch our next issue for “Child Welfare: Modern America.”

1600s-1700s Treatment of children in the English colonies of the New World parallels that of England with children having few rights of their own and often suffering economic exploitation.

Almshouse system is established for warehousing of the unfortunate of society, including destitute children.

1628 The “Stubborn Child Law” is enacted in Massachusetts allowing for capital punishment of a stubborn or rebellious son.

1638 The first American child is indentured. Treatment varies greatly depending upon the family to whom the child is indentured.

1692 Care for abused and neglected children is identified as the responsibility of local government and private institutions.

1770s United States basic founding principles evolve including the concept of free basic public education.

1806 New York Orphan Asylum Society is established by a group of wealthy women and is used as a model for other such endeavors. Orphaned children were to be taken care of humanely with emphasis given to moral guidance.

1832 New England Association of Farmers, Mechanics and Other Workingmen condemns child labor.

1836 Massachusetts creates the first state child labor law where child factory workers under age 15 must attend school for at least 3 months a year.

1842 Massachusetts limits children to 10 hours per day of work. Other states follow the Massachusetts lead, but laws are not consistently enforced.

1851 Massachusetts passes the first modern adoption law in the U.S. It recognizes adoption as a social and legal operation based on child welfare rather than adult interests and directs judges to ensure that adoption decrees are “fit and proper.”

1853 Minister Charles Loring Brace leads the newly founded Children’s Aid Society towards its goal to “ensure the physical and emotional well being of children and families, and to provide each child with the support and opportunities needed to become a happy, healthy and productive adult.”

1854 Charles Loring Brace starts the Orphan Train Movement. Appalled by the thousands of abused, abandoned, and orphaned children living in the slums of New York, he starts a system of transporting orphans from the coastal cities of the United States to the Midwest. The system continues until 1929 and relocates an estimated 200,000. The movement is widely recognized as the beginning of documented foster care in the U.S.

1861-1865 American Civil War creates social chaos with many children left destitute and orphaned.

1866 Ohio establishes the first law providing for county children’s homes. The homes are to be private, but receive public funds for assistance. Other states follow establishing similar institutions. These homes throughout the U.S. remain a primary child welfare institution well into the 1940s.

1874 Birth of the modern child protection movement. Mary Ellen Wilson, a child abused by her caretaker, Mary McCormack Connolly, is visited by Etta Angell Wheeler, Methodist mission worker. When authorities told Wheeler they could not intervene, Wheeler contacted Henry Bergh, president of the American Society of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) after Wheeler’s niece stated, “You are so troubled over that abused child, why not go to Mr. Bergh? She is a little animal surely.” Through his efforts, the police remove Mary Ellen and Connolly is brought to trial and sentenced to a year in jail. Heightened public awareness of child abuse and neglect leads to the establishment of the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.

1877 The New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children and several other societies across the U.S. join to form the American Humane Association.

1881 First National Convention of the American Federation of Labor passes a resolution calling on states to ban children under 14 from all gainful employment.

1889 Hull House is founded in Chicago by Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr. It becomes one of the first organizations to offer after school programs for children.

1899 First juvenile court established in Cook County, Illinois due to concerns of children brought to court mingling with adult prisoners.

Sources:Family-Centered Child Protective Services (Core 101), developed by The Institute of Human Services. Columbus, OH: The Ohio Child Welfare Training Program, 2001.Field Guide to Child Welfare, by Judith S. Rycus and Ronald C. Hughes. Washington, D.C.: CWLA Press, c1998.http://www.americanhumane.org - http://en.wikipedia.org - http://ocp.hul.harvard.edu.immigration/organizations-cas.html - http://www.childrenservices.org/directservices/USAhistory.html

CCDCFS Dateline: Child Welfare: Early America

19September2008

By David Latsko

One of the first things you were asked to do when going back to school was to report on where you went on summer vacation. Well for a lot of us, due to the economy and other circumstances, vacation this year was a pipe dream at best, but if you could afford it and wanted to feel like a kid again there is no better place than the “Happiest Place on Earth” – Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida.

It’s a place where parents and grandparents can go with their children and at times it is hard to distinguish who is who. Regular amusement parks, like Cedar Point, are for thrill seekers, but for a whole family experience nothing can beat Disney World.

It can be expensive, but with a lot of planning and hard work you can make the most of your experience. Some of the planning is a year or longer before you even go with many decisions to be made.

Where do I stay – on site or off site?

On-site Disney properties are more expensive, but there are perks – you get into the parks earlier and can stay later than those families that do not stay on site. There are four separate parks: Magic Kingdom, EPCOT (Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow), Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom. Monorails, boats, and buses are available to take you to all the different parks thus avoiding the headaches of driving and finding parking space. Maybe the best part is that if (more likely when) you will need a rest you can just hop on a monorail back to your room and jump in the pool or grab a nap. You will then feel refreshed and go back and enjoy the rest of your day. Off site is usually a little cheaper and allows for some extras that are not at Disney such as free breakfast, suites with multiple rooms and bathrooms, etc. The choice is yours.

How do I get there?

Do I drive, fly, take a train, etc? Driving is cheaper and takes longer, but you get the full family experience, especially all the sibling fights and smells from the back of the car. How many times can you say, “If that does not stop we are turning the car back right NOW!?” You do get to see and experience more of this great country, but at the expense of present day gas prices. Speaking of gas prices, what about airfares? The price of airfare is higher as well as additional costs for extra baggage, and there is still the problem of trying to convince a child who is afraid of flying to get on a plane – Good Luck! There is also a train that leaves from Virginia that allows you drive your car onboard, and by the next morning you are at Mickey’s House.

What type of tickets do I want?

Some tickets are per day for one park at a time while others are Park Hoppers allowing you go to multiple parks in one day. Others ticket packages are for the length of stay at your on-site hotel, and if you are staying longer than 10 days there are annual passes you can purchase which allow you to go to Disney World for one year after you first use the pass. All of these options are expensive so take the time to research the most economic option for your trip to ensure a wise decision.

What Character Meals do my kids want?

You can even have Disney characters join your family for a meal with some luck and advanced planning. Due to the popularity of some characters, some of these character reservations need to be made a year in advance like the Princess Breakfast at Cinderella’s castle. Every little girl dreams of having breakfast with a Princess. Others character reservations need to be made two months to six months in advance. You have to be on the phone months in advance to pluck down hard earned cash for a meal six months from now.

These are just some of the decisions, decisions, decisions that have to be made, planned for and paid for before you even leave to get the most out of your hard earned vacation. I am not trying to scare you, just trying to prepare you for the work involved. There are volumes and volumes of books written to help you plan for your Disney World trip. Just do your best and have fun, but plan ahead and save for it in order to spread the cost over a longer period of time because it won’t be cheap.

If you have seen the Disney World commercials where the parents are with their kids and you look into the reflection, it looks like two kids instead of a parent and a child: that is DISNEY WORLD!

Is it worth it – YES, YES, YES! Anytime you can feel like a kid again, jump at it! If you have room for one more I will gladly go with you as a guide, as long as you pay my way!

Just enjoy being a kid again and go!!

Where I Went on My Summer Vacation – Walt Disney World Resort

News Notes. . .News Notes, the newsletter of the Cuyahoga County Department of Children and Family Services, is published quarterly. The News-letter Committee consists of Mark McMillian, Tracy Barnes, Eddie Lebron, Sonya McLoyd, and Peter Wilson. Most photographs are by Luke Owens, Jr.; with additional photographs provided by Mary Boone. We will be glad to publish contributions from readers (on a space-available basis). All submissions are subject to editing.

Please send contributions via e-mail to Peter Wilson or Eddie Lebron.

w i l s o n p 0 3 @ o d j f s . s t a t e . o h . u so r

l e b r o e @ o d j f s . s t a t e . o h . u s

MISSION: To assure that children at risk of abuse or neglect are protected and nurtured within a family and with support of the community.

The Department of Children and Family Services embraces the philosophy that children grow better in families and support this by keep-ing children close to their families whenever possible through neighborhood foster care. Their programs have the goal of stabilizing and reuniting families that have been weakened through poverty, illness or crisis, resulting in neglect or abuse to children.

C u y a h o g a C o u n t y D e p a r t m e n t o f C h i l d r e n & Fa m i l y S e r v i c e s3 9 5 5 E u c l i d Av e n u eC l e v e l a n d , O h i o 4 4 1 1 5

COMMISSIONERSJimmy DimoraTimothy F. HaganPeter Lawson Jones

Have You Invited Dad? Did you know… that at Initial Custody / Placement staffings for the first quarter of 2008, mothers attended 69% of the meetings, but fathers only attended 29% of the time? (Source: Fathers Matter, A Self Evaluation Newsletter; TDM Quarterly Management Reports)

Tips on increasing parental attendance at staffings:

Ø Ask the child if he/she knows how to contact their dad or where he lives.

Ø Contact all parents for their availability prior to scheduling a staffing in non-emergency situations.

Ø Contact all dads in the family about the staffing, not just the one mother is involved with.

Ø If you can’t reach dad, contact paternal relatives who may be able to reach him.

Ø Even if Dad has stated he does not want to be involved, make sure you invite him by phone or by letter and document in your case notes.

Ø If Dad states he can not or will not attend, ask him why not or under what circumstances would he be able to attend.

Ø If Dad is incarcerated, try to verify his location; don’t just take someone’s word.

Ø In domestic violence cases, you may contact case review to request additional time to have separate meetings for the mother and the father.

Ø In cases where the father is unavailable, ask that other significant males in the child’s life come to the meeting, i.e. uncle, grandfather, etc.

Have you ever been told that a father on your caseload was “unknown”, “out of the picture”, or incarcerated, but later found out this wasn’t the case? Share your story of locating and identifying a father on your caseload with the Including Father’s Initiative to be printed in the next edition of News Notes. Please contact Tom Mather at mathet01@odjfs.state.oh.us.