Oregon Newsfeed
Below you will find the latest news stories from around Oregon about Children First and the issues that we are working on.
Looking for child care? Ask questions, observe
Eugene Register Guard
Thu, 20 Nov 2008
What is “the best” child care? The best child care promotes a child’s healthy development in a safe, nurturing environment, where parents are involved and caregivers receive ongoing training and support.
A caregiver with training in child development is the main ingredient in quality child care. To keep the most qualified people in the field, parents should expect a child care provider to be paid …
Welfare and food stamp applications soar in area
Bend Bulletin
Wed, 19 Nov 2008
Need help? Some resources
Looking for the local food pantry and meal sites around Central Oregon? Call NeighborImpact, 541-548-2380, or visit www.neighborimpact.org.
Applying for food stamps or need day care assistance? Call the Department of Human Services: Bend, 541-388-6010; La Pine, 541-536-5380; Madras, 541-475-6131; Prineville, 541-447-3851; Redmond, 541-548-5547; Warm Springs, 541-553-1626…
Task force OKs plan to reform health care
Oregonian
Tue, 18 Nov 2008
Capping a year of discussion, a state task force unanimously
adopted a blueprint Monday to reform Oregon's health
care system and bring "world class health to all
Oregonians" within a decade.
All seven members of the Oregon Health Fund Board approved
the sweeping recommendations after three hours of debate
over tweaks in the 167-page draft. On a few issues, the
board directed staff to "tune up"…
State unemployment rate jumps as industries shed jobs
Portland Local News Daily Community Newspapers
Tue, 18 Nov 2008
Oregon’s unemployment rate continued its “worsening trend” in October when it jumped a full percentage point to 7.3 percent.
With about 134,096 Oregonians out of work, WorkSource Oregon officials have ratcheted up programs to help more people find jobs in the tight economy.
“We’re seeing a lot of desperate folks that are coming in and looking for jobs,” said Bruce Powers, head of the WorkSource Or…
Significant changes coming to Family and Medical Leave Act
Statesman Journal
Tue, 18 Nov 2008
The government is set Monday to unveil a significant shakeup to a federal law that lets more than 77 million eligible employees across the nation take unpaid time off to care for family medical needs.
The new provisions, which follow two years of wrangling, institute first-ever leave for military family members and establish new rules on how employees must notify employers about their need for ti…
CASA of Polk County: Bob Arias
Statesman Journal
Sun, 16 Nov 2008
On Oct. 7, 2008, the president signed into law the newly enacted legislation The Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act. H.R. 6893 was introduced by Rep. Jim McDermott of Seattle.
This historic legislation, which was supported by National CASA and members of Congress, brought together the concept that quality foster care is essential for the growth and development of our ch…
Republican governors show how to succeed
Statesman Journal
Sun, 16 Nov 2008
WASHINGTON — After the celebrations of the success of Barack Obama, Joe Biden and the congressional Democrats, it is time to tip the hat to some other people — with names such as John Hoeven, Jon Huntsman, Jim Douglas and Mitch Daniels.
They are Republicans re-elected Nov. 4 as governors of North Dakota, Utah, Vermont and Indiana.
In a dreadful year for the GOP, when senators and rep…
CASA fundraiser brings in $5,000
Statesman Journal
Sat, 15 Nov 2008
Marion County - CASA of Marion County's first-ever "It's in the Bag" lunch and silent auction raised more than $5,000 for the organization Nov. 1.
One hundred community members attended the event at Illahe Hills Country Club. The money raised will be used to help CASA recruit and train more volunteers for the organization. CASA provides volunteers to advocate for abused and neglected children. T…
Ore. lawmakers brace for big revenue drop
Statesman Journal
Sat, 15 Nov 2008
SALEM, Ore. (AP) -- In the 2007 Legislature, Democrats used their new control over the House and Senate to create the state's first rainy day fund, provide record levels of state aid to schools and establish some of the most generous wind and solar energy incentives in the nation. Democrats further solidified their control of the Legislature in this month's election, but the situation facing l…
Troubling symptoms A new study shows a sharp rise in emergency room visits in Lane County
Eugene Register Guard
Fri, 14 Nov 2008
Visits to emergency rooms in Lane County increased 6.3 percent between 2005 and 2007 — nearly triple the rate of population growth. And the number of visits from patients with alcohol and mental health issues saw double-digit increases during that period, according to a study released Wednesday.
The study was done on behalf of the 100 Percent Access Healthcare Initiative, a project of United Way o…
Baucus wants to overhaul health care in 2009
Daily Astorian
Thu, 13 Nov 2008
The chairman of the Senate Finance Committee intends to push Congress to overhaul the nation's health care system during the first six months of next year.
Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., said "now is the time" for Congress to move on health care. On Wednesday, he made public his own plan for addressing what ails the health care system. It includes several features of President-elect Obama's plan, such …
Roads, of course, but dont forget children
Oregonian
Thu, 13 Nov 2008
O regon's crumbling transportation infrastructure
grabbed the big headlines in Salem this week, but
there's another urgent funding issue that demands
legislative action in January: children's health
insurance.
Gov. Ted Kulongoski had his priorities right Monday when he
proposed more than $1 billion in new road, bridge and rail
construction to help boost the state's economy and
ensure its future…
Study: Number of uninsured kids growing
Coos Bay World
Wed, 12 Nov 2008
PORTLAND — More than a year after voters rejected a tobacco-tax-funded children’s health care plan, a new national report says the number of uninsured Oregon children continue to climb, and that the tough economy may push it higher.Families USA, an affordable health care advocacy group, released a study Tuesday based on new Census data that shows about 107,000 Oregon children are unins…
Child care effort moving forward
Newport News
Wed, 12 Nov 2008
The local group trying to establish the Central Coast Child Development Center at Arcadia School is reaching its goal a little bit at a time.The non-profit Lincoln County Association for Family and Community Education has received a $5,000 grant from Samaritan Pacific Communities Hospital Social Accountability Budget, and the Lincoln County School District has also offered their support by of…
Oregon boasts second-lowest rate for premature births
Oregonian
Wed, 12 Nov 2008
Oregon has the second-lowest rate of premature births in the
nation, according to a "Premature Birth Report
Card" from the March of Dimes.
But that earns Oregon only a C grade from the charity -- the
same grade as Washington, which had the fifth-best rate.
One state got a B grade from the charity focused on
pregnancy and baby health: Vermont, the only state where
fewer than 1 in 10 babies ar…
Oregon children in working families short on coverage
Oregonian
Wed, 12 Nov 2008
One in nine Oregon children lacks health coverage, and most
uninsured children in the state have an employed parent,
Census Bureau figures show.
"These children are in working families," said Ron
Pollack, executive director of Families USA, a national
advocacy group for affordable health care coverage that on
Tuesday released a report based on the new data.
Nearly 88 percent of uninsured Ore…
WA families struggling to pay for childcare
NWCN TV News
Tue, 11 Nov 2008
WA families struggling to pay for childcare
10:40 AM PST on Tuesday, November 11, 2008
By CAM JOHNSON / KING 5 News
SEATTLE - With a sagging economy, many families are finding their incomes unsteady.
And the cost of childcare is steadily rising.
Gretchen O'Byrne is a busy mom with a part-time career and a full-time 2-year-old, Luc…
Grant to create national center for drug abuse prevention
Eugene Register Guard
Mon, 10 Nov 2008
Eugene’s Oregon Social Learning Center recently received two research grants totaling $7.46 million.
The largest, a five-year, $6.46 million Center of Excellence grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, will establish a national Center for Drug Abuse Prevention in the child welfare system.
Read more in Monday’s Register-Guard.…
Ore. panel seeks effort against obesity, diabetes
Statesman Journal
Sun, 09 Nov 2008
SALEM, Ore. (AP) -- State officials are calling on Oregonians to eat better and exercise more, in hopes of curbing a rise in obesity-related diabetes that threatens the health of upcoming generations. A plan outlined Friday calls for a variety of state actions against obesity that, once in place, could cost at least $43 million a year in spending but could save $215 million a year in medical c…
New law helps prosecute child abuse
Coos Bay World
Sat, 08 Nov 2008
They aren’t the kind of pictures you would want to see, but for Karen McClintock, they are invaluable.They capture the images of burns, bruises and a variety of other injuries suffered by children around Coos County.
And for McClintock, an assistant district attorney, the photographs help her prosecute child abuse cases.She won’t say the photos have won her a case, but they c…
Parents pull kids from day care as money tightens
Statesman Journal
Sat, 08 Nov 2008
ROCKFORD, Ill. (AP) -- The nation's economic troubles play out one family at a time at the New Horizons Learning Center in this struggling city two hours northwest of Chicago. Some parents have been laid off and must pull their children out of the day care center until they can find a job. Others' employment hours have been cut, so they reduce their kids' attendance to a few days a week. Finan…
Great children are in need of homes
Klamath Falls - Herald and News
Fri, 07 Nov 2008
Nov. 15 is National Adoption Day, a special event designed to raise awareness of adoption and to celebrate the adoption of thousands of foster care children nationwide. Every year in the United States, more than 125,000 children are waiting in foster care to be adopted. These are great kids. They didn’t choose to be abused or neglected, permanently separa…
Locals open their hearts, homes
Ashland Daily Tidings
Wed, 05 Nov 2008
Adoption is still relatively rare in the United States. Only 2 to 4 percent of families adopt, according to the Adoption History Project at the University of Oregon. But in Ashland, anecdotal evidence suggests the percentage may be substantially higher.
"There are a lot of adoptive families in Ashland. For such a small town it is amazing how many families have adopted here," said Lisa Smith, who…
Waiting for a forever family
Ashland Daily Tidings
Wed, 05 Nov 2008
Children in the foster care system are often out of sight, out of mind. The Heart Gallery of Oregon aims to change that. The Heart Gallery is a traveling exhibit of professional photographs of the state's adoptable children, and is now on display at the Rogue Valley Mall in Medford.
"Most of the children in the photos have been waiting a long time for a family," said Deborah Collins, adoption cer…
Foster families desperately needed
Statesman Journal
Wed, 05 Nov 2008
Marion County's foster home network is strained to bursting: - So many kids are removed from meth-addicted parents that foster homes are overloaded.
- When foster parents take in too many kids, the parents burn out and kids get shuffled to other homes.- When kids get shuffled from home to home, they may act out, making it even harder to find good homes for them.One obvious solution …
