Despite a myriad of linguistic and cultural barriers, immigrant parents of children with disabilities in the United States have adopted a variety of advocacy strategies. Drawing upon the frameworks of Community Cultural Wealth and Ecological Systems Theory, this study explores how Korean immigrant mothers of children with disabilities advocate for…

The American School Counselor Association Closing-the-Gap Action Plan template is a tool created to help school counselors identify educational gaps and track interventions. We applied a transcendental, phenomenological qualitative research method to explore school counselors' use of the template to advocate for students. Our findings demonstrate…

School environments offer a particularly difficult setting for fostering youth-adult partnerships because of the sharp power and status distinctions among students, teachers, and administrators. Drawing on interview and observational data examining 13 student-voice initiatives in northern California, this research examines the type of supports…

Professional advocacy organizations are often challenged by the question of their authentic community representation and their ability to balance short-term pragmatism with strategic plans for long-term, systemic change. Coleman Advocates, one of the nation's most effective child advocacy organizations, has taken up this challenge under the…

California is spending over four billion dollars a year to feed, educate, punish, shelter, and care for children. Numerous studies have concluded, however, that these services are frequently uncoordinated, duplicative, wasteful, and ineffective. Yet when corrective actions are proposed, they deal only with fragments of the system. The Assembly…

The booklet is intended to develop advocacy skills in those concerned with the education of gifted and talented children in California. Sample chapters have the following titles: "As an Advocate How Do You Measure Up?""Why Is Advocacy Important?""What Are the Goals of Advocacy in California?""Where and How Does…

This article presents a brief history of the Berkeley Child Study Center from the establishment of the Institute of Child Welfare in 1928. The authors review the center's more than 75 years of continuous service as a laboratory preschool. With its careful attention to staffing and its philosophy of giving priority to children's free activity and…

Describes a training program that can provide volunteer child advocates with effective techniques for organizing, assessing, and gathering data on relevant public policy; educating others; winning public officials to their aims; and evaluating how enacted legislation affects children. (Author/HOD)

Creating coordinated, comprehensive, integrated children's policy requires breaking the mold of political convention. The system of political rewards and incentives must be revamped so that interest groups are encouraged to cooperate rather than compete. California's 1992 Healthy Support Services for Children Act (and accompanying $20 million…

Intended for parents of handicapped children in California, the book contains information on individualized education programing (IEP), parents' rights and responsibilities, and being an advocate. The introduction contains a brief history of special education, a description of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act and the California State…

Intended for parents, the manual presents information on existing legislation pertaining to handicapped children in California, and guidelines for effective child advocacy in order to identify and obtain adequate services. Chapters cover the following topics (sample subtopics in parentheses): diagnostic and evaluative procedures (including a…

This report details California CARES (Compensation and Retention Encourage Stability), an initiative aimed at building a skilled and stable workforce to provide high-quality child care and development services throughout California. The report is presented in three parts. Part 1 describes the statewide effort to provide professional development…

This report discusses changes in markers of the well-being of children in California, focusing on at-risk children in lower income groups. The report considers earnings growth and decline for California's families, public and private resources available, family economics, health, education, and safety. Specific problems are discussed such as a…

Intended to heighten public awareness and provide practical information to professionals, this handbook defines and describes child abuse (including sexual abuse) and its associated signs and injuries. The societal and family environments in which child abuse most typically occurs are described, and the California penal code sections pertaining to…

This study reports on the Little Hoover Commission's investigation of California's mechanisms for caring for abused and neglected children. Fourteen major findings and corresponding recommendations for addressing findings are presented. The report begins with a brief executive summary, introduction, and background information. The first section…