news & updates Weekly Briefings Weekly Briefing: Volume 2, Number 19
| Welcome to The Weekly Briefing, featuring news from Children's Futures, updates about our community partners' activities and links to recent news articles about early childhood health and development. |
| Weekly Briefing: Volume 2, Number 19 |
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May 30, 2008
In This Issue
Impact of Children's Futures2008 Class of Platinum Dad Honorees and Legacy Award Winner Named At a Trenton City Hall press conference yesterday, the 13 members of the 2008 Platinum Dads' class were named along with the newest Legacy of Fatherhood winner. New and past honorees were joined by Trenton City Council President Paul M. Pintella and Platinum Dad event organizers from UIH Family Partners, Children's Futures and the Trenton Housing Authority for the announcement. The Platinum Dads' Award recognizes men from across Mercer County whose lives demonstrate the special attributes that distinguish them as exemplary fathers. This special honor spotlights the important contributions that responsible, involved fathers make both to their children's lives and to their communities. The 2008 award winners were selected by a panel of judges from nominations received from throughout Mercer County. During the press conference, representatives from the 2006 and 2007 awardee classes described their special feelings and sense of obligation to encourage more men to excel at fatherhood. The 2008 class includes, Kenneth Dodson, Rudolph Galiber, Irvin Harmon, Jamaal James, Peter Kasabach, Jean F. Massenat, Jason Mills, Darryl Nicholson, Stanley Reece, Jose Sanchez, Terrance Stokes, Keenan Ward, and Bryan Wyszynski. One of these new 2008 honorees, Rudolph Galiber, described what he termed the "humble audacity" of fatherhood. He noted that good fatherhood is achieved through endurance, listening and spending quality time with children. The "Legacy of Fatherhood" award is presented annually to a gentleman who both embodies all the best qualities of a Platinum Dad and whose life has inspired subsequent generations of men to embrace parenting excellence. The year, the award will be presented posthumously to John S. Watson, Sr., who served six terms in the New Jersey General Assembly and was the first Africa-American elected to the Mercer County Board of Chosen Freeholders. In comments during the news conference, John S. Watson, Jr. noted that while his father not only raised his own biological children, he also, "raised a community". One of the greatest passions of John S. Watson, Sr. was his work to ensure that all children had access to quality educational opportunities. His children continue the family legacy of public service in state government, through participation on nonprofit agency boards and in numerous community projects. This year's Platinum Dads' Awards breakfast ceremony will be held on Saturday, June 7th at the Trenton Marriott Hotel beginning at 10 a.m. The keynote address will be delivered by Mike Quick, former Philadelphia Eagles Pro Bowl standout and current analyst for the Eagles Radio Network. More information is available in the Community Activities section below.
Teen Mom Provides Personal Account of Pregnancy and Parenting As National Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month draws to an end, there are some new and sobering statistics to digest. The Centers for Disease Control recently reported that in 2007, the teen birth rate rose for the first time in 15 years. Nearly 750,000 teens will get pregnant this year. The United States has the highest teen pregnancy rate among developed countries in the world. According to sources, approximately 65 students attending the main campus of Trenton Central High School are currently pregnant or have given birth since the beginning of the school year last September. One of the teens behind these statistics, C.K. is an 18-year-old senior at Trenton Central High School. She wanted to share with Weekly Briefing readers what it's like to go through an unplanned pregnancy as a 17-year-old high school student (see related article about unplanned pregnancies below), how the birth of her daughter earlier this year has changed her life and what she has learned about parenting by attending Children's Futures' East Ward Parent/Child Center programs. C.K. is not the first teen in her family to have a baby. Her younger sister has a two year-old. "I just didn't think it would happen to me. And when I thought I might be pregnant, I was in denial for the first two months," she said. When she finally came to grips with the pregnancy, she sought out the help of a high school health teacher who guided her to a first prenatal appointment at Capital Health System and pointed her to the "Fridays at St. Francis" support group program at Children's Futures' East Ward Parent Child Center. "They and the teenage parenting skills program at the high school taught me a lot about breast feeding, how to care for my baby, CPR and how to keep her from choking," she explained. For about six weeks after her daughter's birth, C.K. was home-schooled. She then enrolled in the high school's parent-linking program which allows her to go to school and have free child care. As a teen mom, she says she has battled depression, sadness that her daughter's 18-year-old father is totally uninvolved with their child and concerns about her daughter's frequent childhood illnesses. On the plus side, in addition to her health teacher and the East Ward Parent/Child Center staff, she has enjoyed continuing support from her mother, her grandmother, and the parents of her daughter's father. And when she brings her daughter to school at the request of her peers, C.K. also takes the time to share some of her personal life lessons with them. "I tell them they need to understand birth control and think twice about bringing a baby into this world. It is not easy. Don't let any guy brainwash you," she said. C.K., who plans to obtain her cosmetology license after graduating high school this June added, "While I'm happy with my baby and I don't regret it...if I could go back...I would do things differently." For more information on the "Fridays at St. Francis" support group program at Children's Futures' East Ward Parent Child Center, please call 609-599-5764.
Survey on Health and Well-Being Improvements Continues Public/Private Ventures (P/PV), a national research organization based in Philadelphia (www.ppv.org), is still conducting an evaluation of the Children's Futures initiative. As part of the evaluation, in March, interviewers from the Center for Survey Research at the University of Virginia began calling Trenton residents who were randomly selected to complete a 25-minute telephone interview, the 2008 Children's Futures Community Survey. This is the second time that Trenton residents will have participated in this interview - 654 residents completed a similar interview in 2002. Trenton residents eligible to complete the interview include parents of children aged 5 years or younger. Those who complete the interview will receive a $10 gift card from Wal-Mart as compensation for their time. The interviews ask residents questions about their background, neighborhood, child care, health, health insurance coverage, family planning, and social services utilization. Interviewers will continue to call residents primarily during the evening hours and on weekends. The evaluation will help Children's Futures identify the ways in which Trenton agencies have met the initiative's goals of improving the health and well-being of Trenton's young children. Links to News ArticlesIt Takes a Strong Man to Be a Dad U.S. Report Faults State's Efforts to Provide Health Care to Kids Childhood Lead Exposure Linked to Criminal Behavior in Adulthood Survey Sheds Light on Unplanned Pregnancies Dating Gang Member Ups Pregnancy Rate Roseola Affects Almost All Children By Age 3 Community ActivitiesMay 2008Saturday, May 31:
June 2008Tuesday, June 3:
Friday, June 6:
Saturday, June 7:
Sunday, June 8:
Saturday, June 14:
Ongoing Community Activities
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For a complete calendar of events, please refer to our calendar page.
About Children's Futures
Established in 2001 with major support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Children's Futures is a nonprofit organization that works city-wide in Trenton, N.J. to improve child health and development outcomes. Through an unprecedented collaboration among public agencies and nonprofit organizations, Children's Futures seeks to strengthen parenting, increase access to primary quality health care and child care systems, and increase social supports for families, so that every child in Trenton enters preschool healthy and ready to learn.
About The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focuses on the pressing health and health care issues facing our country. As the nation's largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to improving the health and health care of all Americans, the Foundation works with a diverse group of organizations and individuals to identify solutions and achieve comprehensive, meaningful and timely change. For more than 35 years, the Foundation has brought experience, commitment, and a rigorous, balanced approach to the problems that affect the health and health care of those it serves. When it comes to helping Americans lead healthier lives and get the care they need, the Foundation expects to make a difference in your lifetime.