Joan Sharp: joan@wcpcan.wa.gov  

Maria Gehl: maria@wcpcan.wa.gov 

Chris Jamieson: chris@wcpcan.wa.gov

Kristen Rogers: kristen@wcpcan.wa.gov

Toni Peycheff: toni@wcpcan.wa.gov

Sophy Chan: sophy@wcpcan.wa.gov 

WCPCAN 2006 - 2007 Funded Programs Announced 

WCPCAN is pleased to announce funding awards totaling more than $610,000 to 17 child abuse prevention programs across the state. Programs selected for funding have identified and developed comprehensive and innovative child abuse and neglect prevention strategies that work to strengthen family bonds, provide an understanding of early childhood development and assist parents with developing positive discipline skills. The awards, which are made possible by combined federal and state-funded grants, are matched by funds from local sources. The full list of programs is available at: http://www.wcpcan.wa.gov/.

WCPCAN Coming to a Community Near You 

If you are interested in communities where families are strengthened in their ability to nurture young children, we want to hear from you! The WCPCAN Council voted in May to propose that the state of Washington dramatically step up its efforts to strengthen families. Their rationale? Despite research that shows the lasting benefits to society when families with young children are supported, Washington is failing to act. Focusing on reaching 25% of the families in our state facing the greatest challenges in nurturing their children would reap benefits for many years to come. Knowing how early relationships influence healthy brain development for a lifetime, WCPCAN is holding conversations across the state aimed at learning more about what communities want and need in the way of programs that support families with young children. The input we get will help make the case that WCPCAN's 25th anniversary is an opportune moment to take critically need, significant steps forward. For information about meetings already scheduled - or to offer to host such a conversation in your community -- e-mail us at: wcpcan@wcpcan.wa.gov. Please participate. While WCPCAN is uniquely positioned to deliver results by virtue of our 25 years serving local communities, the kind of major step forward we envision cannot happen without you.

Postpartum Depression Awareness Celebration

On Monday, June 19, WCPCAN and our partners will celebrate the accomplishments of the "Speak Up When You're Down" statewide Post Partum Depression Awareness campaign at Vio's Restaurant in Seattle. The event, open to the public but by RSVP only, takes place from 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. If you are interested in the campaign - including how to keep the momentum up now that the 1-year funding period has come to an end  -- let us know by e-mailing sophy@ wcpcan.wa.gov by June 15.  (You can also call us at 206-464-6151.) All with an interest in PPD awareness are welcome! Speak Up When You're Down brochures (in English and Spanish) and posters are now available.  To order brochures, go to: www.wcpcan.wa.gov/ppd/resources_brochure.htm and to order posters, go to: www.wcpcan.wa.gov/ppd/resources_poster.htm.

An African American Healthy Marriage Initiative Forum

June 16, 2006, Seattle, Washington

This AAHMI Forum is an opportunity for faith-based and community organizations to learn about this important subject: healthy marriage in the African American community. Join us as we share information and build skills through panels, plays, and presentations from prominent leaders. For additional information regarding this event, please contact Janice King-Dunbar at (206) 615-2716 or jking-dunbar@acf.hhs.gov or go to: http://www.aahmi.net/.

Research Roadmap at NICHCY

Research isn't always under R - at least not at the National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities (NICHCY). To help parents, researchers, and providers find research information on the Web site and in federal publications, NICHCY prepared a roadmap guiding browsers through special education research, what works, and research on specific disabilities. Launched in February, the site also includes an instant feedback survey opportunity. For more information, go to: http://research.nichcy.org/researchroadmap.asp.

New U.S. Estimates on Autism Diagnoses

A recent study from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) offers a new estimate for the number of diagnosed cases of autism in 2003-2004. The study shows that at least 350,000 (or about 5.5-5.7 out of every 1,000) children have been diagnosed with autism. An article in Pediatrics suggests that the numbers reflect improved diagnostic measures. For more information, go to: www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5517a3.htm and or, go to: http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/117/4/1028.

Advocate in the Best Interest of Your Child

The Kindering Center for infants and children with special needs presents Margaret-Lee Thompson, King County Parent Coalition presentation "Advocate in the Best Interest of Your Child". This event is being held on Tuesday, June 27, from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the center, 16120 N.E. 8^th St., Bellevue. Pre-registration required. For more information or to register, all or email Jennifer Clark at 425-653-4294 or Jennifer.clark@kindering.org.

New Resource: IDEA Parent Guide

The new IDEA Parent Guide is now available form the National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD). This guide goes through the special education process - a process that is the same regardless of a child's particular difficulties or disabilities. Within the guide, special emphasis is placed on the category of specific learning disability. The guide includes parent perspectives, terms that are helpful to know, and practical materials for parents such as Checklists, Sample Letters, Charts, and Questions to Ask. To view the guide, go to: www.ncld.org/content/view/902/456086/.

Who Receives a Diagnosis of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in the United States Elementary School Population?

The objective of this study was to investigate factors that are associated with the probability of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnosis among U.S. elementary school children, including child, family, school, and policy factors. Girls, black children, and Hispanic children were less likely to have the diagnosis even after controlling for other characteristics. Living with one's biological father was negatively associated with ADHD diagnosis. Higher diagnosis rates were associated with having an older teacher, and lower rates were associated with having a white teacher, relative to a nonwhite teacher. In schools that were subject to stricter state-level performance accountability laws, researchers found higher odds of ADHD diagnoses. Researchers concluded that ADHD diagnoses are likely to be influenced by a child's social and school environment as well as exogenous child characteristics. Concerns that increased pressures for school performance are associated with increased ADHD diagnoses may be justified. For more information, go to: http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/117/4/e601.

"Healthy Start, Grow Smart" Pamphlet New Online Ordering

HHS is proud to present organizations the opportunity to order the series of pamphlets for parents and caregivers, called "Healthy Start, Grow Smart." This series consists of 13 issues beginning with information on newborns through the first year of life and provides valuable, age-appropriate information about health, safety, nutritional needs, and early cognitive development that has been proven to help babies thrive. These guides are provided free of charge to assist organizations in reaching out to families. The pamphlets are available in English, Spanish, Chinese, and Vietnamese, You can review the written product through the downloadable versions also found on the website, at: www.ntis.gov/cms/index.aspx. If you have any questions, please contact June Milby at 410-786-8686.

Online Sites Help New Parents Stay Organized

When you're expecting a new baby or have a newborn in the family, staying organized can seem impossible. Most books and articles on getting organized offer the same tips you would have heard in the ‘50s. That's fine for closet organizing, maybe, but it's time to modernize. There are so many great Web sites to help you stay afloat, there's no excuse of covering your desk with a bevy of Post-It notes. Some resources are: Ta-da List (http://www.tadalist.com/) - this fast, free to-do list site lets you to create as many lists as you want; and 30 Boxes (http://www.30boxes.com/) - which has an online calendar which is a great way for a stay-at-home parent and working parent to stay in sync. For more information, go to: www.parentmap.com/june_06/0606_2.htm.

GRANT OPPORTUNITY: Promoting Responsible Fatherhood

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Family Assistance (OFA), announces the availability of competitive grant funds to support responsible fatherhood activities. The Responsible Fatherhood Program purpose is to promote responsible fatherhood by funding programs that support healthy marriage activities, promote responsible parenting and foster economic stability. The fatherhood program will enable fathers to improve their relationships and reconnect with their children. It will help fathers overcome obstacles and barriers that often prohibit them from being the most effective and nurturing parents. While the primary goal of the initiative is to promote responsible fatherhood in all of its various forms, an essential point is to encourage responsible fatherhood within the context of marriage. Faith-based and community organizations are eligible to apply. Applications are due by July 3, 2006. 1 to 3 awards totaling $3,000,000. For more information, click here or contact Terri Ames at 202-401-5436 or tames@acf.hhs.gov.

What About the Dads? Child Welfare Agencies' Efforts to Identify, Locate, and Involve Nonresident Fathers: Final Report

The Urban Institute, with the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) at the University of Chicago, conducted the Study of Fathers' Involvement in Permanency Planning and Child Welfare Casework. This study reviewed the extent to which child welfare agencies identify, locate, and involve nonresident fathers in case planning. This paper reviews the results of the study on the steps that child welfare agencies take with engaging nonresidential fathers, possible barriers, and the policies that affect involvement. To view or download the report, go to: http://peerta.acf.hhs.gov/policies/family.htm#responsible.

The Winter 2006 Justice Resource Update

The "Update" highlights significant initiatives, priorities, products, and Web sites as will as announcing funding information of interest to the criminal justice field. The winter 2006 issue highlights new public service ads from ONDCP targeting methamphetamine use created for the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign; the MethResources Web site; new meth-related publications from COPS Office, including Tools for Combating Meth; Wyoming's Methamphetamine Initiative from BJA; and upcoming conferences on the subject of methamphetamine. For more information, go to: www.ncjrs.gov/justiceresupd.html.

Early Exposure to Toxic Substances Damages Brain Architecture

Neurotoxicity (i.e., the quality or state of having a poisonous effect on neurons or neural circuits) may produce changes in the architecture and function of the brain as a result of exposure to a variety of biological or chemical agents. Certain prenatal infections, such as rubella, cytomegalovirus, and toxoplasmosis, are examples of biological agents whose neurotoxin properties have been studied extensively. This paper focuses on the wide variety of chemical substances that can harm the developing brain, which have been subdivided into three categories: (1) environmental chemicals, such as lead, mercury, and organophosphates; (2) recreational drugs, such as alcohol, nicotine, and cocaine; and (3) prescription medications, such as anticonvulsants to control seizure disorders and selected drugs for treatment of severe acne. Greater public understanding of this often confusing scientific knowledge provides an important opportunity for evidence-based policies that can strengthen our capacity to protect the developing brains of all young children. To read the full article, go to: www.developingchild.net/papers/toxins.pdf.

New WHO Growth Standards Highlight How Children Should Grow

The World Health Organization (WHO) released its new International Child Growth Standards for infants and young children that, for the first time, provide evidence and guidance about how every child in the world should grow. According to the United Nations System Standings Committee on Nutrition, the new WHO Child Growth Standards demonstrate that children born in different regions of the world, and given an optimum start in life, have the potential to grow and develop within the same range of height and weight age. These growth standards are based on a careful long-term study of infants and children from Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, and North America. These children were fed according to accepted international nutritional standards, and their mothers were adequately nourished and avoided known adverse factors such as tobacco exposure. A key characteristic of the new standard is that it established breastfeeding as the biological "norm" and the breastfed infant as the standard for measuring healthy growth. Previous reference charts were based on the growth of a mixture of breastfed and artificially-fed children. The growth standards will be widely used as a tool in public health, public nutrition, medicine and by governmental and health organizations for monitoring the well-being of children and for detecting children or populations not growing properly or who are under-or overweight, requiring specific health and nutrition responses. To read more about these standards, go to: www.who.int/nutrition.

The Best Beginning: Partnerships Between Primary Health Care and Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services for Young Children and their Families

The National Technical Assistance Center for Children's Mental Health is pleased to announce a new publication featuring best practices for linking primary care, mental health and substance abuse services for young children and their families. Pediatricians are in a unique position to identify early childhood mental health concerns and family mental health and substance abuse risk factors. This SAMHSA-funded web-based resource features eight innovative medical home practices that integrate behavioral health screening for the whole family, facilitate referrals to community services, and offer follow-up care. This resource describes how the practices use very different approaches to do it, fund it, and the lessons they learned. A must read for practitioners who want to replicate an integrated primary care and behavioral health model. For more information, click here.

Review of "Branding for Nonprofits - Developing Identity with Integrity"

Reviewer: Jeremiah Casey Jr. from: On Philanthropy 5/19/06

Within "Branding for Nonprofits: Developing Identity with Integrity", written by DK Holland, the author attempts to demystify the strategy behind the branding and design process as it applies to the nonprofit sector. While corporate institutions often have the ability to finance an expensive branding initiative in an effort to spur growth, nonprofits can rarely afford the same comfort. Holland positions this resource as a guide aimed at "enhancing the effectiveness of your nonprofit organization," regardless of size. With the advent of the $41 trillion wealth transfer projected to take place over the next 50 years, nonprofits have begun to change their concentration from purely program related services to a more entrepreneurial and business-minded approach. Holland draws from her extensive experience as both a graphic designer and nonprofit consultant to provide current and historical examples that clearly illustrate the process and benefit of successful brand identity. To read more, go to: www.onphilanthropy.com/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=6489.

10 Basics to Traits You Can't Ignore

In an age of complexity and multitasking, any nonprofit executive can be caught up in a maze of duties, some of which may have been anticipated but have become more complicated and some that were never anticipated. Similarly, the skills expected of a nonprofit executive are wide-ranging, sometimes being used in unanticipated ways, and sometimes executive need to utilize skills they never knew they had, or would need, for their work. In his book The Nonprofit Chief Executive's Ten Basic Responsibilities, Richard L. Moyers reminds nonprofit executives of the basics about their positions, basics that can often be pushed to the back burner, or pushed off the stove entirely. To view the traits, click here.

Free Resource Guide for Download: The Best of Nonprofit Online News 2005

Nonprofit Online News has published its fourth annual "Best of" edition for 2005, and is again making it available to the public at no cost, as a downloadable PDF document. The Best of Nonprofit Online News 2005 contains 127 resources organized into 44 categories, such as community-building, communications and PR, software, leadership, evaluation and strategy. The 98-page document is a source of reference material for nonprofit organizations in all sectors. Registering at their website (at no charge) is required to download. Go to: http://gilbert.forms.soceco.org/71930.

Blogs and CRM Managing the New Ways to Speak to Donors

Blogging has dramatically reshaped the way Americans interact with corporations, politicians, the media, and charitable organizations. The constituent relationship management (CRM) paradigm has shifted. The public doesn't want to be "managed." They want control of the dialog, to dictate terms, and choose methods of communication. As fundraisers have made the move to CRM, the target has moved. And, the question for fundraisers has become: Is the mechanism in place to enable your constituents the channel to create a two-way dialogue with your organization? For more information, go to: www.nptimes.com/instantfund/May06/news-050306_1.html.

GRANT OPPORTUNITY: Mentoring Children of Prisoners

The Mentoring Children of Prisoners grant program supports the creation and maintenance of one-on-one mentoring relationships between children of incarcerated parents and caring, supportive adult mentors. Faith-based and community organizations are eligible to apply. Applications are due by June 12, 2006. Up to 55 awards totaling $9,749,788 will be awarded. For more information, click here or contact Victoria Marquez at 866-796-1571 or fysb@dixongroup.com.

Meeting the Service Needs of Children of Prisoners

The Federal Resource Center for Children of Prisoners, a project of the Child Welfare League of America (CWLA), works to provide training and technical assistance to professionals and agencies that provide services to children of incarcerated parents. This includes child welfare agencies, criminal justice professionals, childcare and early childhood education providers, community groups, mentoring programs, teachers and schools, and other programs. The center offers training in the form of 90-minute workshops, half-day and 1-day overviews, 2-day intensive training, and a 2-day training of trainers for mentoring programs. Specialized training is available for mentoring programs, afterschool program providers, early childhood education and childcare providers, and juvenile justice, child welfare, corrections, and community corrections programs and professionals. All trainings are provided onsite. Information on how to book these trainings is available on the CWLA website at: www.cwla.org/programs/incarcerated/cop_training.htm.

Living On the Outside: A Pre-Release Handbook

This Channing-Bete handbook has clear, concise text and interactive exercises that help readers with all the essentials of reentry, including finding a job, staying healthy, finding housing, and reestablishing relationships. To learn more or to place a secure online order for these booklets, visit: http://go.channing-bete.com/wa/promotion?p=1&code=g301f.

High Staff Turnover Associated with Maltreatment Recurrence

While past research has documented the negative impact of high staff turnover in child welfare agencies in terms of such factors as case overload and low morale, a new study from the National Council on Crime & Delinquency shows turnover to be also associated with higher rates of recurrence of child abuse and neglect. For more information, go to: www.cornerstones4kids.org/images/nccd_relationships_306.pdf.

Public Health Forum

June 13^th, SeaTac, Washington

Every five years, the State Board of Health holds public forums around the state as it prepares a report that will guide the activities of state health care agencies. Forums are tentatively scheduled in Kennewick and SeaTac for May 9^th and June 13^th respectively. For more information about the forums, contact the State Board of Health at: http://www.sboh.wa.gov/ or email wsboh@doh.wa.gov or call (360) 236-4110.

Washington State Injury and Violence Prevention Symposium

July 10^th, SeaTac, 12^th Spokane, 13^th Yakima, Washington

The Washington State Injury and Violence Prevention Symposium is a great opportunity to help shape injury and violence prevention statewide. The plan being created and vetted is inclusive of violence, suicide and child maltreatment prevention issues and will have elements related to disparities and cultural issues. Please plan to attend this no cost event. For more information and to register for this event, go to: www.doh.wa.gov/hsqa/emstrauma/injury/.

Medical Home Website Now Available

The Department of Health has created a new Medical Home website that contains tools and resources for primary health care providers, families and others to use in building medical homes for children and adolescents, especially those with special health care needs. For more information and to view the new site, go to: www.medicalhome.org.