Social ProblemsSocial Problems Truancy Poverty Drop Outs Abuse and Neglect Foster Care Divorce Substance Abuse Pregnancy

Culture Risk & Resiliency

TruancyTruancy Truancy is the first sign of trouble; the first indicator that a young person is giving up

and losing his or her way. When young people start skipping school, they are telling their parents, school officials and the community at large that they are in trouble and need our help if they are to keep moving forward in life.

Research data tells us that students who become truant and eventually drop out of school put themselves at a long term disadvantage in becoming productive citizens. High school dropouts, for example, are two and a half times more likely to be on welfare than high school graduates. In 1995, high school dropouts were almost twice as likely to be unemployed as high school graduates. In addition, high school dropouts who are employed earn much lower salaries. Students who become truant and eventually drop out of high school too often set themselves up for a life of struggle.

U.S. Department of Educationin cooperation with the U.S. Department of Justice

Involve parents in all truancy prevention activities Ensure that students face firm sanctions for truancy Create meaningful incentives for parental responsibility Establish ongoing truancy prevention programs in school Involve local law enforcement in truancy reduction efforts

Deterring Truancy Deterring Truancy

Truancy, or unexcused absence from school, has been linked to serious delinquent activity in youth and to significant negative behavior and characteristics in adults.1 As a risk factor for delinquent behavior in youth, truancy has been found to be related to substance abuse, gang activity, and involvement in criminal activities such as burglary, auto theft, and vandalism (Bell, Rosen, and Dynlacht, 1994; Dryfoos, 1990; Garry, 1996; Huizinga, Loeber, and Thornberry, 1995; Rohrman, 1993).

Correlates of Truancy Family factors. These include lack of guidance or parental supervision, domestic

violence, poverty, drug or alcohol abuse in the home, lack of awareness of attendance laws, and differing attitudes toward education.

School factors. These include school climate issues—such as school size and attitudes of teachers, other students, and administrators—and inflexibility in meeting the diverse cultural and learning styles of the students. Schools often have inconsistent procedures in place for dealing with chronic absenteeism and may not have meaningful consequences available for truant youth (e.g., out-of-school suspension).

Economic influences. These include employed students, single-parent homes, high mobility rates, parents who hold multiple jobs, and a lack of affordable transportation and childcare.

Student variables. These include drug and alcohol abuse, lack of understanding of attendance laws, lack of social competence, mental health difficulties, and poor physical health.

High School DropoutsHigh School DropoutsThe nation's dropout problem is most severe in a

few hundred schools in the 35 largest cities in the U.S., where nearly half of schools graduate less than 50% of their freshman class, according to a new study presented at a national conference at the Harvard Graduate School of Education on January 13, 2001. New research also revealed that federally reported data on dropouts is inaccurate and underestimates the dropout problem nationally, particularly among minority students.

Factors to curb dropoutsFactors to curb dropouts Successful Intervention Programs Contain Three

Common Elements Programs that successfully keep students in school share three components: a smaller organizational structure such as self-contained academies within a school; a core curriculum of high standards combined with opportunities for students to recover from failure without risk of retention; and teacher supports such as professional development by department and scheduled common planning time. Researchers James McPartland and Will Jordan (Johns Hopkins University) found that a comprehensive set of specific changes that addressed these three areas could retain most of the current dropouts and help each student succeed at a high-standards program of study while enjoying school.

School and Class Size Impact Rates of Graduation Students' success in school and graduation is positively related to small school and class size, according to research by Jacqueline Ancess and Suzanna Ort Wichterle (National Center for Restructuring Education, Schools, & Teaching). Factors like a performance-based assessment system and the organization of school structure, curriculum, instruction, assessment, and professional development also help students stay in school.

Social and Economic Factors Increase Likelihood of Graduation By analyzing the Census's annual dropout statistics for the past three decades, Robert M. Hauser, Solon J. Simmons, and Devah I. Pager (University of Wisconsin-Madison) found that certain social and economic factors had a continuing positive impact on student graduation. These include higher parent education, two-parent families, home ownership of parents, and living outside central cities. All of the positive factors are less present for blacks and Latinos.

Broad Intervention Programs Fail to Help The majority of the 20 dropout prevention programs administered by the U.S. Department of Education's School Dropout Demonstration Assistance Program (SDDAP), which serves 10,000 students, made little difference in preventing dropping out, according to researcher Mark Dynarski (Mathematica Policy Research Associates). Findings confirm earlier work indicating the difficulty of identifying risk factors that lead to dropout.

Drawing on examples from various sites, Dynarski noted that ongoing, school-based personalized attention from adults may conceivably make more of a difference in stemming dropout rates than broad intervention programs.

Harvard Graduate School of Education

PovertyPoverty

2003 Poverty Guidelines for the 48 Contiguous States and theDistrict of Columbia

Poverty Size of family unit guideline 1.......................................................... $8,980 2.......................................................... 12,120 3.......................................................... 15,260 4.......................................................... 18,400 5.......................................................... 21,540 6.......................................................... 24,680 7.......................................................... 27,820 8.......................................................... 30,960

HomelessnessHomelessness The McKinney-Vento Act is a federal law that makes sure children and youth

who do not have permanent housing can go to school and preschool. It gives children and youth rights to enroll in school, stay in school, get transportation to school, and do well in school. Because it is a federal law, the McKinney-Vento Act overrules state laws and local policies that disagree with it.

Congress passed the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act in response to the growing crisis of homelessness in the United States. Among the many disturbing features of homelessness documented at that time was the presence of large numbers of homeless families with children. Today, families with children represent the fastest growing segment of the homeless population, constituting approximately 40% of people who become homeless (Shinn and Weitzman, 1996). A 1996 survey of 29 U.S. cities found that children accounted for 27% of the homeless population (Waxman and Hinderliter, 1996). These proportions are likely to be higher in rural areas: research indicates that families, single mothers, and children make up the largest group of people who are homeless in rural areas (Vissing, 1996).

Serving the increasing population of homeless children. The number of homeless children and youth in Missouri increased 262% from 1993 to 1996. Sixty-eight percent of Missouri's homeless children are under age 12. At its current funding level, Missouri is not able to help all of its homeless children and youth enroll, attend, and succeed in school.

Homelessness and poverty are inextricably linked. Poor people are frequently unable to pay for housing, food, child care, health care, and education. Difficult choices must be made when limited resources cover only some of these necessities. Often it is housing, which absorbs a high proportion of income, that must be dropped. Being poor means being an illness, an accident, or a paycheck away from living on the streets.

In 2000, 11.3% of the U.S. population, or 31.1 million people, lived in poverty (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2001). While the number of poor people has decreased a bit in recent years, the number of people living in extreme poverty has increased. In 2000, 39% of all people living in poverty had incomes of less than half the poverty level. This statistic remains unchanged from the 1999 level. Forty percent of persons living in poverty are children; in fact, the 2000 poverty rate of 16.2% for children is significantly higher than the poverty rate for any other age group.

Two factors help account for increasing poverty: eroding employment opportunities for large segments of the workforce, and the declining value and availability of public assistance.

Foster CareFoster Care Over 500,000 children in the U.S. currently reside in some form of foster care.

Placements in foster care have dramatically increased over the past 10 years. Despite the increasing numbers, children in foster care and foster parents are mostly "invisible" in communities and often lack many needed supports and resources. In situations of abuse and neglect, children may be removed from their parents' home by a child welfare agency and placed in foster care. Other reasons for foster placement include severe behavioral problems in the child and/or a variety of parental problems, such as abandonment, illness (physical or emotional), incarceration, AIDS, alcohol/substance abuse, and death.

African-American children make up approximately two thirds of the foster care population and remain in care longer. Two out of three children who enter foster care are reunited with their birth parents within two years. A significant number, however, can spend long periods of time in care awaiting adoption or other permanent arrangement.

Grounds for TPR- Missouri & KansasGrounds for TPR- Missouri & Kansas

Abandonment or Extreme Parental DisinterestAbuse/NeglectMental Illness or DeficiencyAlcohol or Drug Induced IncapacityFelony Conviction/IncarcerationFailure of Reasonable EffortsAbuse/Neglect or Loss of Rights of Another ChildSexual AbuseFailure to Maintain ContactFailure to Provide SupportChild Judged in Need of Services/DependentChild's Best InterestChild in care 15 of 22 months (or less)Felony assault of child or siblingMurder/Manslaughter of sibling child

Child Abuse & Neglect- MissouriChild Abuse & Neglect- Missouri "Abuse" means any physical injury, sexual abuse, or

emotional abuse inflicted on a child other than by accidental means by those responsible for the child's care, custody, and control.

"Neglect" means failure to provide, by those responsible for the care, custody, and control of the child, the proper or necessary support, education as required by law, nutrition or medical, surgical, or any other care necessary for the child's well-being.

Child Abuse & Neglect- KansasChild Abuse & Neglect- Kansas"Child in need of care" means a person less than 18 years of age

who: Is without adequate parental care, control or subsistence and the

condition is not due solely to the lack of financial means of the child's parents or other custodian;

Is without the care or control necessary for the child's physical, mental or emotional health;

Has been physically, mentally or emotionally abused or neglected or sexually abused;

Has been placed for care or adoption in violation of law; Has been abandoned or does not have a known living parent; Is not attending school as required by State law; Has been residing in the same residence with a sibling or another

person under 18 years of age, who has been physically, mentally or emotionally abused or neglected, or sexually abused.

"Physical, mental or emotional abuse" means the infliction of physical, mental or emotional injury or the causing of a deterioration of a child and may include, but shall not be limited to maltreatment or exploiting a child to the extent that the child's health or emotional well-being is endangered.

"Sexual abuse" means any act committed with a child as described in the statutes listed below, regardless of the age of the child.

"Neglect" means acts or omissions by a parent, guardian or person responsible for the care of a child resulting in harm to a child or presenting a likelihood of harm and the acts or omissions are not due solely to the lack of financial means of the child's parents or other custodian. Neglect may include but shall not be limited to:

Failure to provide the child with food, clothing or shelter necessary to sustain the life or health of the child;

Failure to provide adequate supervision of a child or to remove a child from a situation which requires judgment or actions beyond the child's level of maturity, physical condition or mental abilities and that results in bodily injury or a likelihood of harm to the child; or

Failure to use resources available to treat a diagnosed medical condition if such treatment will make a child substantially more comfortable, reduce pain and suffering, correct or substantially diminish a crippling condition from worsening. A parent legitimately practicing religious beliefs who does not provide specified medical treatment for a child because of religious beliefs shall not for that reason be considered a negligent parent

Language, Race & GenderLanguage, Race & GenderRace alone or in combination with one or more other races  

 White 216,930,975 77.1Black or African American 36,419,434 12.9American Indian and Alaska Native 4,119,301 1.5Asian 11,898,828 4.2Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander `874,414 0.3Some other race 18,521,486 6.6

  

HISPANIC OR LATINO AND RACETotal population 281,421,906 100.0

Hispanic or Latino (of any race) 35,305,818 12.5Mexican 20,640,711 7.3Puerto Rican 3,406,178 1.2Cuban 1,241,685 0.4Other Hispanic or Latino 10,017,244 3.6

POPULATION 5 YEARS AND OVER BY LANGUAGE SPOKEN AT HOME AND ABILITY TO SPEAK ENGLISH  

Population 5 years and over 579,740 100.0Speak only English 496,982 85.7Speak a language other than English 82,758 14.3 Spanish 16,674 100.0Speak English "very well“ 10,873 65.2Speak English "well“ 3,247 19.5Speak English "not well“ 2,092 12.5Speak English "not at all“ 462 2.8 Other Indo-European languages 2,851 100.0Speak English "very well“ 9,184 71.5Speak English "well“ 2,221 17.3Speak English "not well“ 1,258 9.8Speak English "not at all“ 188 1.5 Asian and Pacific Island languages 22,186 100.0Speak English "very well“ 10,527 47.4Speak English "well“ 7,317 33.0Speak English "not well“ 3,739 16.9Speak English "not at all“ 603 2.7 

 All other languages 31,047 100.0Speak English "very well“ 21,332 68.7Speak English "well“ 7,192 23.2Speak English "not well“ 2,234 7.2Speak English "not at all“ 289 0.9 

  

ABILITY TO SPEAK ENGLISH 

Population 5 years and over 579,740 100.0

Speak a language other than English 82,758 14.3

5 to 17 years 18,541 3.2

18 to 64 years 57,504 9.9

65 years and over 6,713 1.2

Speak English less than "very well“ 30,842 5.3

5 to 17 years 6,126 1.1

18 to 64 years 21,108 3.6

65 years and over 3,608 0.6

The 1990 Census reported 6.3 million children between the ages of 5 and 17 who speak languages other than English (38% increase from last decade).

Nearly half of limited English proficient children live in California, Texas or New York which has significant implications on the educational system.

 

Proposition 187Proposition 187 Proposition 187 prohibits public social services to those

who cannot establish their status as a U.S. citizen, a lawful permanent resident, or an ``alien lawfully admitted for a temporary period of time.''

Proposition 187 also limits attendance at public schools to U.S. citizens and to aliens lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence or otherwise authorized to be here.

It is estimated there are more than more than 2,000,000 illegal aliens in California and more than 400,000 illegal aliens in our schools. The cost to California taxpayers exceeds $4 billion annually, or about $2,000 per illegal alien. That's not surprising considering the fact that it costs about $7,000 for each non-English speaking student in our schools.

Reaffirming that teachers, nurses and social workers need not act as border patrol agents, on November 14, 1998 U.S. District Court Judge Marina Pfaelzer found almost all of Proposition 187 unconstitutional because the law, passed by California voters in 1994, oversteps the boundaries of state authority.

The District Court ruling states that the passage by Congress of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRA) - the so-called "Welfare Reform" of 1996 - precludes the state from establishing laws that are separate and in conflict with federal law on immigration policy and the treatment of immigrants, regardless of their legal status.

As the chief law enforcer of the state, Governor Davis was constitutionally bound to defend the law, even though he had been an outspoken opponent of 187 when it was an initiative. So, in a maneuver designed to avoid having Pfaelzer's ruling overturned by a higher court, Davis entered into a legal "mediation" with 187's opponents. Thus, both sides in this contrived "mediation" process were out to scuttle the law. Not surprisingly, both "sides" in the rigged mediation procedure quickly agreed to kill it.

A June 1999 poll by the Los Angeles Times found that 60 percent of California voters would still vote to bar illegal immigrants from receiving state-funded benefits

Cross-Cultural PracticeCross-Cultural Practice

There is no single American culture; Diversity is to be acknowledged and valued; Members of each cultural group are diverse; and Acculturation is a dynamic process

At-Risk ChildrenAt-Risk Children The disadvantaged preschooler Children from low income areas The migrant child Homeless children Adolescent parents Children with AIDS/HIV Gay & Lesbian Youth Abused & neglect youth Nonattenders Gang violence and delinquent behavior Drug & alcohol users Gifted & Talented youth

ResilienceResilience

The ability to succeed even in very negative environmental circumstances.

Three major areas of protective factors:Caring and supportive relationship-at least onePositive and high expectations, with the belief that success is attainableOpportunities for meaningful participation- education, employment, growth & achievement

Resilience is not a trait that people either have or do not have. It involves behaviors, thoughts, and actions that can be learned and developed in anyone.