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Listen30 NOVEMBER
UK
The government has announced more than £300 million to help young people from every background enjoy the benefits of music and the arts.
A multimillion pound investment in music and arts education will help hundreds of thousands of young people from all backgrounds enjoy potentially life changing cultural activities, Schools Minister Nick Gibb announced today (18 November 2016).
Over the next 4 years the government will provide £300 million to a network of 121 music education hubs to work with schools, local authorities and community organisations to get more young people taking part in music and arts.
Music hubs help hundreds of thousands of 5- to 18-year-olds each year access activities like playing an instrument, singing in a choir or joining a band. Today’s announcement will allow them to reach even more pupils.
Government investment will also help young people from lower income families access music and arts. The Music and Dance scheme, which provides grants to talented young artists who could not otherwise afford to attend world-class institutions like the Royal Ballet School, will receive an additional £29 million a year until 2018.
School Standards Minister Nick Gibb said:
“Music and the arts can transform lives and introduce young people to a huge range of opportunities – whether that is learning to play a musical instrument, understanding local heritage or attending a world-famous dance school. We’re investing more than £300 million over the next 4 years so that those opportunities are open to all, not just the privileged few.”
The government will work to ensure that the funding particularly benefits children in the 6 recently announced opportunity areas – parts of the country identified as the most challenged when it comes to social mobility – to give those young people access to the best possible music and cultural education.
This will see them building on schemes like one set up by Oldham Music Hub which works with children with a range of special needs. The sessions are geared to the needs of the children and include songs and musical instrument activities to develop social and communication skills.
A further 6 cultural education programmes which cover heritage, dance, art and design, film and museums will share a further £4.1 million a year until 2018. This includes Heritage Schools, a programme run by Historic England, which aims to ensure school children develop an understanding of their local heritage. The scheme will expand into Blackpool next year, another of the opportunity areas.
Alongside this, further funding for a series of other arts and cultural education programmes has been announced, including:
• £500,000 a year until 2018 to In Harmony, an orchestral training
programme for pupils in extremely disadvantaged areas, intended to
develop positive character traits
• £600,000 for other small music
programmes across the country for each year until 2020
• £13.5
million a year until 2018 for the Dance and Drama Awards scheme. This
scheme offers income-assessed support for tuition fees and living costs
for students aged 16 to 23 at a number of high quality private dance and
drama schools
Department for Education
18 November 2016
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/thousands-of-children-to-benefit-from-music-and-arts-investment
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28 NOVEMBER
VIPs inc NZ* advocacy group have welcomed with caution the recommendations announced by the Education and Science Committee, as a result of their enquiry into the support of children in primary and secondary school with dyslexia, dyspraxia and autism spectrum disorder.
Whilst the committee’s recommendations given in the paper sound promising, VIPs inc are very concerned about how these changes will be achieved, given that the August release of the Minister’s cabinet paper on Inclusion and Learning Support indicated that there will be no further increase to the special education budget.
The paper indicates that money may be shifted from the support of older children into early intervention. VIPs question how the needs of children with disabilities and learning difficulties can possibly be met when funding levels are not keeping pace with the rise of diagnoses of these disorders.
Co-founder of VIPs, Glenis Bearsley, says “The vast majority of children with additional needs are currently not given fair and equitable opportunities to achieve their full potential at school. How will this improve if we divert money away from these children? Investment in learning support must increase if our government is to achieve a world class education system that embraces and values the neurodiversity that is growing in our schools.”
Mrs Bearsley believes that cost cutting now is no way to future proof our education system. “Do we want to pay for students to become fully equipped for the future or fall to the bottom of the heap? It's far cheaper to fund education well than pay for neglecting a section of the population’s education and incurring substantial social costs later on in adulthood.”
The findings of the enquiry identify wide-ranging and fundamental key responsibilities that VIPs agree need to be taken on board by the Ministry of Education, such as the Ministry needing to:
VIPs would like to see these proposals become legislative changes in the near future so that the needs of children with disabilities or learning disorders are valued, nurtured and invested in equitably alongside their neurotypical peers.
Furthermore, VIPs endorse the recommendations made in the paper by the minor parties (Greens, NZ First, Labour) which comprehensively sum up the urgent changes that need to be made to the way children with additional education needs are funded and catered for in New Zealand schools, such as:
The recommendations arising from the enquiry reflect the critical messages that VIPs are actively promoting to a wide range of people in the education sector, including the Minister of Education, the Disability Rights Commissioner, the Ministry of Education and the shadow Education and Disability Issues MPs.
The concerns raised in recent weeks by VIPs include a serious lack of teacher training in special educational needs, as well as on-going, compulsory professional developmental for schools in how to cater for these learning differences, and the alarming lack of funding for learning support for children with these disorders.
The select committee received 445 submissions from organisations and individuals including schools, community groups, charities, crown entities, children and adults with dyslexia, dyspraxia and/or ASD. Hearings were held in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, where 194 oral submissions were presented.
*VIPs inc NZ is a parent-led Facebook group with over 1000 members. They advocate for a fairer and more inclusive education system in New Zealand.
22 November 2016
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25 NOVEMBER
SCOTLAND
A new institute, based at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, will help to shape a brighter future for children who face difficult circumstances in Scotland and beyond.
The Institute for Inspiring Children’s Futures (known as ‘Inspiring Children’s Futures’) is a joint venture between the University, CELCIS (the Centre for Excellence for Looked After Children in Scotland) and the Centre for Youth & Criminal Justice. The Institute will be a world-leader, with a collective vision of ensuring that children and young people have what they need to reach their full potential; particularly children who experience adversity.
Plans for the new Institute will be revealed this evening (Wednesday 23 November) by the University’s Principal and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sir Jim McDonald, during the annual Kilbrandon Lecture. In his announcement, he will name the Institute’s new Executive Director as Jennifer Davidson, Executive Director of CELCIS.
Inspiring Children’s Futures will bring together leading academics, policy-makers, and practitioners in this critically important field. Together, the partners will combine their own knowledge and experience with those of children and young people themselves, with the aim of securing a better future for children. This will involve embarking on research projects, running events to encourage best practice, and developing a network of colleagues to share and exchange fresh thinking and ideas.
Protecting children, providing care and support, accessing justice and creating the conditions for children’s wellbeing are global issues. Inspiring Children’s Futures will, therefore be global in reach and will encourage collaboration and networking from colleagues in the UK and internationally. It will draw on a range of partners, including Autism Network Scotland.
Professor Sir Jim McDonald, Principal of the University, said:
“CELCIS and the Centre for Youth & Criminal Justice are well-known for work that brings about positive change for some of the most vulnerable people in society. The new Institute will deliver closer collaboration between the centres and academics across the University, helping us to be more ambitious – and accelerate the pace of change – for young people in Scotland and overseas.
“As co-founders of Scotland’s first Children’s University and a member of the international movement of Age-Friendly universities, we want to ensure that our founding vision of ‘useful learning’ supports the youngest members of society. Today’s announcement underlines Strathclyde’s ongoing commitment to making powerful and lasting changes to the lives of children and young people in the global communities we serve.”
Jennifer Davidson, Executive Director at CELCIS, comments:
“Our drive and ambition, like that of our partners, is to make sure that every child can reach their full potential and have best possible life chances. We strongly believe the new Institute will help make this ambition a reality for many children and young people who have experienced adversity.
“We are based in Scotland, which is a great place to learn, given the unique responses that this small nation has developed in relation to vulnerable children and young people. But what is equally important is that we are global in our reach – we want to partner with colleagues overseas as sharing learning is critically important to us. We are keen to work with the wide range of those who share our vision and who have a valuable contribution to make towards this new partnership.”
Claire Lightowler, Director for the Centre for Youth & Criminal Justice, comments:
“The new Institute is a significant development for both the University of Strathclyde and the sector. The partnership opens up doors for our combined work to spread wider and further and with greater impact.”
23 November 2016
https://www.celcis.org/news/news-pages/new-institute-shape-brighter-future-vulnerable-children/
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23 NOVEMBER
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has drawn strong support from the organization which has been its strongest critic for not repealing Section 43 of the Criminal Code.
In his statement marking National Child Day on Sunday, Nov. 20, Trudeau said in part, “Each child deserves to be raised in an environment that is free of violence, discrimination and exploitation …”
He went on to note that he and his wife Sophie urge all Canadians to speak to children of all ages about their rights. He said that though the UN introduced a Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989, there is still a lot of work to do to because world-wide, millions of children are being denied basic human rights.
Kathy Lynn, chair of Corinne’s Quest, the leading organization formed to push for repeal of s.43, has sent the Prime Minister a letter thanking him for re-stating the government’s commitment to the right of children to benefit from a violence-free up-bringing. The government last year committed to implementing all of the Truth and Reconciliation’s Calls to Action including number six, which calls for repeal of s.43.
This section not only condones violence against children, Lynn said, it also offers legal protections to those who commit the assault. “Violence against children needs to be prohibited by law, not defined by it.
“In the past Canada has had laws on the books which permitted hitting slaves, servants, sailors, apprentices, prisoners, wives, dogs and children,” said Lynn. “Today, children are the only ones left on that list.
“This government has signaled its support in this area on a number of
occasions. It is now time for them to take action,” said Lynn. “Canadian
parents are ready for this change.
“it’s an easy fix. Simply
introduce a bill which repeals section 43. The government did that last
week with Section 159 dealing with with anal intercourse which they
admitted also violated basic civil rights.”
Hitting kids as a means of discipline is not a trivial matter,” said Lynn. “The research is clear; it doesn’t work, and it can cause long-term harm to children, not least of which is teaching them that force and violence are legitimate ways of controlling others.”
She noted that while Canada signed on to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1990, the UN has had to remind Canada several times that we are out of compliance because of s.43. World-wide, there are now 51 countries which have abolished laws which permit assaulting children. Canada is not on that list.
22 November 2016
http://www.corinnesquest.ca/home/issues/
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18 NOVEMBER
AUSTRALIA
The Victorian and Queensland State Governments are calling for leadership from the Turnbull Government to consider a national approach to child and family support.
Victorian Minister for Families and Children Jenny Mikakos and Queensland Minister for Child Safety Shannon Fentiman say Commonwealth reform has been too slow in putting the needs of children and families first.
Ahead of the first meeting of state Community Services Ministers with the Commonwealth in two years, Ms Mikakos and Ms Fentiman joined together to call for the Liberals to show some leadership.
“We want funding for early intervention and prevention trials expanded to build parenting skills,” Ms Mikakos said.
“Tax and Centrelink consequences are standing in the way of professionalised foster care.
“A new Medicare Benefits Schedule Item for a child health check for children in out-of-home care will help these kids have their health needs assessed and met.
“We also want to develop a nationally consistent approach to the over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in out-of-home care, and to increase the connection of Indigenous children in out-of-home care to their families, communities and culture.”
Ms Fentiman said other proposals included extending the eligibility of Family Tax Benefit Part B to foster and kinship carers until the youngest child in their care turns 18.
“Foster Carers should not be required to meet the work, training or study tests to be eligible to receive the parenting payment, and they should be eligible for Centrelink parenting payments until the child reaches the age of 18,” she said.
“We would also like to see the child care rebate extended to cover the full amount of out-of-pocket child care expenses incurred by foster carers.
“Another priority should be driving stronger links and national leadership across the National Framework for Protecting Australia’s Children, and the National Plan to reduce Violence Against Women and their Children.”
11 November 2016
http://www.jennymikakos.com.au/media-releases/commonwealth-action-needed-to-support-children/
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16 NOVEMBER
Key figures in the youth sector have welcomed an announcement by
youth minister Rob Wilson that the government will publish a new
strategy for youth work in the coming months.
Speaking at the
Ambition UK 2016 conference on Tuesday, Wilson said a youth policy
statement intended to cover the period up to 2020, will bring together a
"clear narrative and vision" for how best to help young people.
He told delegates that the government is keen to use the youth sector's "insights and wisdom" to shape the new strategy, the first since 2011's Positive for Youth.
Youth work leaders welcomed the announcement as an opportunity to reinvigorate voluntary and statutory youth services.
Anna Smee, chief executive of UK Youth, said: "The minister's commitment to help every young person throughout their transition to adulthood needs to be at the heart of a new youth strategy. "We are encouraged that he recognises the need to engage young people, equip them with life skills, inspire them to give back, and enable them to gain independence. "We look forward to seeing a ministerial strategy that works for all young people and the youth organisations that support them along their social development journey to help create an exciting, innovative and sustainable sector."
Julie Auger, vice chair of the Institute for Youth Work, said she hopes the new policy statement offers "tangible guidance" to local authorities. "The erosion of youth work is ongoing and movements towards more supportive legislature alongside new youth policy would be a very progressive development," she said.
Paul Miller, chief executive of the National Youth Agency, added: "A youth strategy that sets out the vision behind separate departmental policies and shows continuity between them has been long overdue. Without it young people's policy is simply a handful of disparate opportunities. With it young people's development needs can be better addressed, and policies can be integrated into a more coherent plan that supports their lives."
Wilson also told delegates that with less public money being put into youth services, the sector would need to look at a wider range of options for funding such as trusts, philanthropy and social investment.
Kathryn Morley, chief executive of Onside Youth Zones, said she was encouraged to hear that promoting innovation and collaboration is on the agenda. "OnSide Youth Zones has found tremendous appetite among philanthropists, business and charitable trusts to work in partnership with the public and voluntary sectors," she said. "We have a shared societal responsibility to improve the health, wellbeing and employability of young people, but it requires vision and commitment from all parties to arrive at effective and sustainable solutions."
Wilson also said the government will arrange a ministerial roundtable event on Brexit for youth sector organisations.
Auger said she was "very heartened" that young people will be included in discussions on Brexit. "It's very timely to start this dialogue during National Youth Work Week where the sector is focusing on ‘Fair Chances'; let's ensure all young people are represented as best we can, using the skills that exist in the youth work sector," she added.
By Adam Offord
14 November 2016
http://www.cypnow.co.uk/cyp/news/2002743/youth-sector-leaders-welcome-strategy-pledge
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14 NOVEMBER
Scottish ministers have banned police from stopping
and searching children for alcohol without legal cause after they found
little evidence to support its use.
To the irritation of some
rank and file officers, Michael Matheson, the Scottish justice
secretary, said the government would instead focus on introducing a new
statutory code of practice to cover searches of adults next year.
“We know stop and search can be a valuable tool on combating crime,
but it is important that we get the balance right between protecting the
public and the rights of individuals,” Matheson said.
Scottish
police will still have the legal power to require an underage child to
hand over alcohol if they can see it on them but, after this new bar on
non-statutory searches, would need to arrest them if they refuse to hand
it over.
The decision follows lengthy reviews into the once heavy
use of non-statutory stop and searches in Scotland including children
younger than 10, which became particularly widespread in Strathclyde
under the then chief constable Sir Stephen House.
Unlike in
England and Wales, where the practice is heavily regulated, Scottish
police were repeatedly using common law powers for “consensual” searches
of children without oversight and legal cause. At its peak, Scotland’s
overall stop and search rate was four times higher than in England and
Wales.
A study by academic researcher Kath Murray, with the
Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research, found under-14s were
searched 26,000 times in 2010 without the specific statutory power to do
so. That included 500 searches of children under-10s. In Strathclyde,
there were more recorded searches of 16-year-olds than the number of
people that age living in the force area, at a rate of 1,406 searches
per 1,000 people.
The police and the then justice secretary,
Kenny MacAskill, insisted that non-statutory stop and searches were an
essential weapon in the wider strategy of combating underage drinking
and antisocial behaviour. Few children objected and many adults
supported it, they said.
In 2015, the UN human rights committee
said the practice was “allegedly unlawful and disproportionate” and
should be scrapped. But an expert panel set up by Scottish ministers to
review all stop and search policies could not agree on whether to do so
or not, leading to the latest review.
However, the Scottish
government’s review found that after stricter oversight was introduced
in the summer of 2015, there were still few successful discoveries of
alcohol on children.
Of 1,629 consensual searches of children,
only 158 – or less than one search in 10 – found alcohol. For searches
involving adults aged 18 or over, the figure reached 16.3%. There were
far more cases – 2,551 in total – where children voluntarily handed over
alcohol without being searched.
Matheson said the question of
non-statutory search powers of children would be revisited 12 months
after a new code of conduct comes into force next year, to see if there
was clear evidence the power was needed.
Murray said this was a
measured and welcome decision by ministers. “Any increase in the powers
of the police should be evidence based, and as the Scottish government
and Police Scotland have acknowledged, there is currently insufficient
evidence to support such a move.”
By Severin Carrell
4
November 2016
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/nov/04/scottish-ministers-ban-police-stop-searching-children-alcohol
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11 NOVEMBER
A council has announced plans to invest £4m to cut social worker caseloads in order to save money in the long-term by reducing the number of children taken into care.
Walsall Council said it has to save £5.8m from its children's services department spending over the next three years.
Part of the plan is to pump £4m into creating a "threshold guarantee" to ensure a maximum of 15 cases per social worker, or 12 cases per newly qualified social worker.
The council's aim is to reduce the number of looked-after children by 100, from the current level of 639. The move would save an estimated £2.63m over the next three years.
"The proposed reduction in social workers' caseloads would enable them to work more intensively with children who are looked after to support maintaining them safely at home and promoting placement stability when they are looked after," the council's draft budget for 2017/18 states.
"These proposals will be delivered by robust project management and oversight and will ensure that children are supported to remain at home or returned home from care only when it is safe to do so, and 'in house' placements are maximised."
The council also plans to cut funding for youth services by £798,373 over the three-year period.
Savings would be generated by integrating youth work activities and provision currently provided by the council's targeted youth work team into the 0 to 19 family support team and ending all commissioned targeted youth work over two years.
Meanwhile, £208,216 would be saved in 2017/18 from the children's centre service through "management efficiencies" by bringing together 0 to 19 family support services and cutting funding for schools to deliver stay and play groups.
Cuts will also be made to the transport budget for children with special educational needs and disabilities.
"It is well documented that the government has set all councils the tough challenge to reduce spending by 2020, and Walsall Council is no exception," the council said.
"It's only through taking bold and sometimes uncomfortable steps to reduce costs that we are able to keep vulnerable people safe, have the ability to invest in our environment and continue to create the jobs and attract enterprise opportunities that bring future prosperity to the borough.
"We want to give residents and service users the opportunity to have their say, so we are starting a conversation to explain our plans."
A consultation on the proposals runs until 9 December.
10 November 2016
http://www.cypnow.co.uk/cyp/news/2002729/council-invests-gbp4m-to-cut-social-work-caseloads
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9 NOVEMBER
Victoria has been named a leading state in Australia for addressing the over-representation of Aboriginal children in out-of-home care in a national report released today.
The Family Matters report measured trends to turn the tide on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child safety and removal. It is a collaboration between SNAICC National Voice for Our Children, the University of Melbourne, the Centre for Evidence and Implementation and Save the Children Australia.
It found Victoria is a leading state in all areas, having made significant strides to improve the safety and well-being of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and reduce their over-representation in out-of-home care.
Importantly, the report highlights a system that requires urgent focus, and a growing need for the Commonwealth, states and territories to agree on a national strategy for change.
Minister for Families and Children Jenny Mikakos and Minister for Aboriginal Affairs Natalie Hutchins today signed a statement of intent for a national campaign to ensure Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children grow up safe and cared for.
This statement aligns with the Government’s significant efforts to improve the safety and wellbeing of Aboriginal children and young people in, or at risk of entering, out-of-home care.
The Government will provide a $32.3 million investment into a new intensive early childhood support service.
Earlier this year, the Government’s ambitious $168 million Roadmap for Reform was introduced to shift the children and family services system from crisis response to prevention and early intervention.
It includes major investments in support services for vulnerable families, extra child protection workers, culturally sensitive support for Aboriginal children, and more foster and kinship carers, including Aboriginal carers.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Families and Children Jenny Mikakos
“This report confirms the Andrews Labor Government is taking important steps, but more work needs to be done.”
“We support a national strategy to fix the unacceptable over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in out-of-home care and I call on the Commonwealth to support the states in this effort.”
Quote attributable to Minister for Aboriginal Affairs Natalie Hutchins
“Maintaining children’s connection to culture is absolutely essential for Aboriginal children and young people, and we know more must be done to help every individual.”
9 November 2016
http://www.premier.vic.gov.au/victoria-leading-the-way-in-reforming-out-of-home-care/
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7 NOVEMBER
NEW ZEALAND
Justice Minister Amy Adams and Social Development Minister Anne Tolley say that a comprehensive information sharing framework is to be created to keep vulnerable children and young people safe from harm, as part of the radical overhaul of care and protection.
The framework, a recommendation of the independent expert panel which reviewed the care system, will provide clarity and legal protection for agencies and professionals to share information if they have concerns about the immediate or long-term safety of a child or young person. It will also require them to share information if asked by other agencies, including the new Ministry for Vulnerable Children, Oranga Tamariki, if a child’s safety is at risk, unless there is a compelling reason not to do so.
This will support the Ministry to be proactive and take early, preventative action rather than simply respond to a crisis once a child has been harmed.
“The vulnerable children’s framework goes hand in hand with the proposed family violence information sharing provisions, which will have similar safeguards around the use of data and legal protection for agencies and professionals. The two regimes will work together to help identify and protect those who are most vulnerable in our society,” says Ms Adams.
“Feedback on our extensive family violence reforms was that safety must be the primary consideration. We don’t want people with concerns about vulnerable children worrying more about falling foul of privacy rules than preventing harm and abuse.”
“The safety and wellbeing of children must always come first, if we are serious about a new and truly child-centred operating model for care and protection,” says Mrs Tolley. “Too often in the case of a child’s death or abuse we find that a lot of people held little bits of information which, if shared, could have prevented a tragedy.
Currently, many professionals and agencies default to not sharing information because of legal risks, or work in silos. They need to be given the confidence to come forward so that the new Ministry can see the whole picture of a child’s life, better assess the risks and take action to keep the child safe.”
The vulnerable children’s information framework will:
• move away from a passive regime where agencies have a discretion to exchange information, to a proactive regime where information should be exchanged unless there are compelling reasons not to
• remove the uncertainty, and any consequential liabilities, facing professionals over the information they can exchange through an extension of the immunity for good faith disclosure already provided in law
• set a clear expectation that any agency or person with responsibilities for the welfare and safety of children and young people can use and share personal information about a child or young person
• expand the powers of the Ministry for Vulnerable Children, Oranga Tamariki, to compulsorily acquire information when performing statutory investigations or responses to reports of concern
• use a broad definition of the ‘child welfare and protection sector’ (the sector) for the purpose of information sharing that includes departments, Crown entities, district health boards, school boards, early learning services, government funded NGOs, health practitioners, carers, and children’s workers.
The start date for the framework is dependent on enabling legislation being passed in Parliament, and a Bill is scheduled to be introduced by the end of the year. This will also contain a principle that states a child or young person must be informed if their personal information is to be disclosed, and that their views will be taken into account.
The cost of implementing and operating the framework is being worked through as part of the Budget process. This includes training and guidance for agencies and professionals to embed the new ways of sharing information.
The relevant Cabinet paper can be found at:
http://www.msd.govt.nz/about-msd-and-our-work/work-programmes/investing-in-children/new-childrens-agency-established.html
3 November 2016
Press Release: New Zealand Government
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1611/S00065/information-sharing-framework-to-protect-children.htm
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4 NOVEMBER
On Saturday, only days before election results come in, Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign will focus on foster care.
During an online town hall organized by a foster-youth led initiative called Foster Youth for Hillary, potential Second Lady Anne Holton will field questions from foster youth across the country.
“I think it is very clear that the system needs improvement,” said Sixto Cancel, one of the co-founders of Foster Youth for Hillary. “This is an opportunity to reinvent the way we deliver foster care services.”
Cancel said that Holton, wife of Vice Presidential Candidate Tim Kaine, was the perfect choice for the event. Cancel, a former foster youth himself, added that he anticipates that Holton will be a key driver of foster care reform in the White House should the Clinton campaign prevail on Tuesday.
“Anne really guides with her core belief that young people should have all the opportunities to thrive in their future,” Cancel said.
Holton is no stranger to the issues foster youth face, a fact that has made her a popular figure in child welfare circles.
Holton is a lawyer, judge and former Virginia Secretary of Education who has worked on numerous projects involving child welfare reform.
While Holton was Virginia’s First Lady from 2006 to 2010, she led a major reform of Virginia’s foster care system to connect more children with permanent families. She later became a consultant on foster care reform across the country as part of the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Child Welfare Strategy Group. Holton has also served as the program director for Great Expectations, a project of the Virginia Foundation for Community College Education that helps youth in the foster care system gain access to higher education.
The online town hall will be moderated by Cancel and Foster Youth for Hillary Co-Founder Lexie Gruber, also an alumn of the foster care system.
“This is the first time in our nation’s history that a presidential campaign is hosting a town hall on foster care issues led by former foster youth themselves,” Gruber said in an email. “I think that speaks volumes about Hillary Clinton’s devotion to this cause.”
By Daniel Heimpel
2 November 2016
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2 NOVEMBER
UK
Children as young as five should be taught about the dangers of sexual abuse and parents should be given help to spot the warning signs, a new report has recommended.
Labour frontbencher Sarah Champion said child abuse was “our nation's dirty little secret” as she launched an action plan, following work with leading charities and experts.
The plan called for the Government to make age-appropriate “resilience and relationships education” compulsory from Key Stage 1, covering children from five to seven, and demanded an overhaul of the way pupils are taught about the internet in order to make youngsters more aware of the online dangers.
The Dare2Care report also calls for a public health campaign about the spotting the signs of abuse and training on abuse for all frontline professionals working with children.
Shadow women and equalities minister Miss Champion said society was “more comfortable to turn a blind eye” than to consider what might be happening to youngsters. The internet had made it easier for paedophiles to target children and also led to cyber-bullying, sexting and grooming, she warned.
In the foreword to the report Miss Champion also claimed that young people are “much more tolerant of relationship violence than previous generations were”, blaming the influence of online pornography and the lack of compulsory education.
“It is natural for children to be curious about sex, but without good statutory education, children do their own research through online pornography. Children are regarding porn as a lesson in how to have sex, without the context or the understanding to view it as a fantasy, promoted by an industry that normalises violence against women and girls.“
The report highlighted previous research indicating that more than 57,000 children have been identified as needing protection from abuse in the UK and suggesting that one in 20 youngsters will experience child sexual abuse.
Barnardo's chief executive Javed Khan said: “All children are at risk of sexual abuse, whether they're on the internet, in the playground, or in their own bedroom. Much, much more must be done to prevent this vile crime. Compulsory lessons on sex education and healthy relationships from an early age are essential to help children understand consent and respect.“
Matthew Reed, chief executive of The Children's Society, said: “Internet access opens up a whole new world of opportunities for children and young people's education and development, but it has many risks as well as benefits.
“In the worst cases it can present a serious threat to their safety. Some young people we work with tell us that contacts they meet online have gone on to exploit them for sex and coerced them to share inappropriate sexual images.
“The internet also provides access to pornography which is reshaping young people's views of what constitutes a safe and healthy relationship. This too can put them at risk of abuse or exploitation, not only from online predators, but also from classmates and other young people their own age.
“This important report highlights the urgent need for age appropriate sex and relationship education in every school. Classes should be compulsory and cover both online and offline relationships to combat grooming, exploitation and violence. Given that many victims of sexual offences are aged 16 and 17 it's vital that older teenagers in further education are able to learn about how to stay safe from sexual abuse as well.”
1 November 2016
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