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the citizens' information source on children's issues June/July 2003 Newsletter IN
THIS ISSUE:
Welcome Welcome to the June/July edition of the Massachusetts Citizens for Children online newsletter! Thank you for your patience as MCC completed the search for a new editor and Campaign Coordinator. We are pleased to welcome aboard Sarah Spurgeon, who will now be updating you on the latest news and events at MCC.. The staff at MCC has been very busy updating this website to include exciting new information and innovative ways you can help support our efforts to prevent child abuse. This newsletter will give you a brief update on happenings at MCC and links to our new web content.
Mass
Ranks 9th In New Kids Count Report Massachusetts Kids Count, an MCC program, today released the 2003 Kids Count Data Book in conjunction with its national release by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. The 14th annual Kids Count Data Book reports widespread improvements in child well-being from 1990 to 2000 – both nationally and in Massachusetts. Based on gains in 7 out of 10 measures of child well-being, Massachusetts ranks 9th among all states for the year 2000. Despite this strong showing, the state slipped at the end of the 1990s from 4th in 1998 to 6th in 1999. In general, Massachusetts did well on health care measures and not as well on economic measures. Massachusetts ranked #1 for having the lowest infant mortality and teen death rates, and third for its death rate for children 1-14. The state’s lowest ranking of 42nd reflects the fact that 29% of Mass children live in families where no parent has full-time year round employment. This represents 429,000 children. To view the Massachusetts data online, click here. To view more information about the reports’ findings,
click here. Massachusetts
Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Partnership (MCSAPP) Updates In April, the Partnership hosted Taking Action to Prevent Child Sexual Abuse: Strategies for Your Community, the first ever statewide conference on preventing child sexual abuse in Massachusetts. Supported by the federal Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the conference was an integral part of a 3-year project to develop and evaluate promising sexual abuse prevention programs in community pilot sites in Massachusetts, Georgia and Minnesota. Lessons learned will be used to guide future efforts throughout the state and country. Over two hundred people, including parents, members of faith communities, mental health workers and medical professionals attended the event. Of the attendees who completed the conference evaluation form, 67% said the conference changed an attitude or belief they had about child sexual abuse, 97% said they gained new information, 88% said they learned new skills and 94% gave the conference the highest possible overall rating. Based on the tremendous success of this year's event and the requests of numerous individuals, the Partnership intends to make this conference an annual event. For handouts and information about the speakers, please visit http://www.masskids.org/mcsapp/mcsapp_conf03_home.htm Under its CDC funded initiative, the Partnership is developing
a set of strategies aimed at preventing child sexual abuse.
The prevention strategy for Massachusetts will engage parents,
other adults and various professionals and will be implemented
at both the statewide and local levels. Three pilot site communities
to be selected will develop community action plans to implement
immediate and long range prevention activities. MCSAPP
Public Opinion Poll Findings Two-thirds of Massachusetts’ residents correctly believe that children are most likely to be sexually abused by an adult family member, friend or neighbor, according to a poll released by the Massachusetts Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Partnership. Over 40% of poll respondents consider child sexual abuse to be a serious problem and nearly half surveyed said they would participate in a training program in their community to help them recognize and respond to child sexual abuse. The Massachusetts telephone survey found that
about one of five women and one in ten men reported they
had been sexually
abused as children. “Although these results are consistent
with similar local and national surveys, the poll wasn’t
designed to determine actual rates of abuse in the population,” said
Lou DiNatale, Director of the University of Massachusetts Poll
that conducted the survey. David Robinson, Partnership member
and Research Director for MSPCC explained, “The rates
in this type of survey are somewhat lower than the rates identified
in studies that conduct more comprehensive assessments. In
any case, we are clearly faced with a significant public health
epidemic.” MCC
Participates in Two-day Shaken Baby Syndrome Prevention
Training. Last month, 35 professionals and other interested individuals attended a two-day training on preventing Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS) in Worcester, Massachusetts. Training was conducted by Jacy Showers, Ed.D., a nationally known expert on prevention. The training was sponsored by the Central Massachusetts Shaken Baby Syndrome Prevention Campaign, which is being coordinated by Massachusetts Citizens for Children, and funded by The Health Foundation of Central Massachusetts. The major goals for the two-day training were:
Pre and post survey results revealed that participants significantly increased their knowledge about SBS. Approximately 75% of the participants perceive their ability to conduct SBS trainings as being excellent or above average. Trainers and their agencies have made commitments, in turn, to train at least 25 others in the next six months. Two
New Ways to Donate! Don’t know what to do with that old car you no longer
want? Don’t spend time, money and energy trying to sell
it. Donate it to MCC! Through the Vehicle
Donation Program all you have to do is fill out a form,
and then your car is picked-up from your driveway within a
week. Your car will be
cleaned and then auctioned off—all profit after the sale
will go to MCC's Child Sexual Abuse Prevention efforts and
you get to deduct the fair market value of your car from your
taxes—an
amount often higher than what a dealer would offer you for
a trade-in.
So
donate
now,
save money and help MCC! **************************************************************************************** The Massachusetts Campaign for Children is a program of Massachusetts Citizens for Children. Its mission is to build and maintain a statewide, grassroots membership organization, which can then become a powerful voice for the children of our state. The Campaign's goal is to engage in non-partisan electoral and legislative actions at the local and state levels that promote the well-being of all Massachusetts children, youth, and their families, and help us move children's issues to the center of every political arena. We believe that all our children have the right: to be free from poverty; to get the medical and preventive care they need; to learn in quality child care and school settings; to be safe from abuse, neglect, and violence; and to live in caring families and healthy communities. Please share this newsletter with your friends and colleagues, and urge them to join with us to become a powerful voice for the children of our state. We urge you, too, to join with us, or renew your membership if you are already a member. The Campaign for Children is a non-profit independent advocacy organization, and we receive no state or federal funding. We rely entirely on the generosity of our members and donors. Please visit www.masskids.org to join online; or call 800-CHILDREN for a free information packet. * * * *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * To subscribe to this newsletter please visit our web site at www.masskids.org, or send an email to subscribe@masskids.org. To unsubscribe please send an email to unsubscribe@masskids.org.
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Massachusetts
Citizens for Children
14 Beacon Street, Suite 706 ~ Boston, MA 02108
phone: 617-742-8555 ~ fax: 617-742-7808 ~ www.masskids.org