New Leaders: Joshua & Deborah Generation Program

The deadline to apply for the New Leaders: Joshua & Deborah Generation program at the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Institute for Child Advocacy Ministry is Monday, May 25. This program affirms the important role that the next generation of religious leaders has to play in the movement for children. In preparing to continue the mission of building the Blessed Community through the vocations of ministry and child advocacy, this experience will allow religious leaders of the Joshua and Deborah Generation to engage in meaningful dialogue and the exchange of ideas with each other and the wiser Moses and Miriam Generation.

Apply today and don’t miss out on this unique opportunity.

Health Care for All Children Now

David Poms, a junior at Davidson College, recently wrote an op-ed for the Davidsonian, Davidson University's campus newspaper. After serving as a servant leader intern for the CDF Freedom Schools^® program in North Carolina and interning with the CDF Freedom Schools program in the National Office, David has continued to work towards improving the lives of all children in America. He is currently starting a chapter of Students Advocating for Youth (SAY) on his college campus, and recently participated in the Young Advocate Leadership Training (YALT^SM) program and the 2009 Cradle to Prison Pipeline^® Summit in California. Below is an exerpt of the column:

"In February, Congress passed and President Obama signed a bill expanding the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) to cover 4 million more children... This is impressive progress, but it is not the comprehensive health reform that we need, nor does it fulfill the promise that President Obama made on the campaign trail of health coverage for every child in America. Now is the time for real reform…6 million children are still left without health coverage under the current system, and millions more are under-insured with coverage that falls short of children's health needs." Read the full op-ed.

Want to learn what you can do to step up and take action at this crucial time in our nation? Watch a short webcast of CDF President Marian Wright Edelman as she explains what can be done to help ensure affordable, comprehensive health coverage to everyone this year—especially children.

YALT Participant and Child Advocate Receives Foster Club 2009 Young Leaders Award

Some of you may remember Lily Eagle Dorman-Colby from this year's Young Advocate Leadership Training (YALT) program at CDF Haley Farm. Lily, a junior at Yale University, was recently awarded the Foster Club’s 2009 Young Leaders Award for her outstanding work as a child advocate. Removed from her biological parent’s home at the age of 12, Lily subsequently lived in five different placements. She emancipated from the foster care system at 18 and has become a dynamic and accomplished leader.

She has served as an intern for the Orphan Foundation of America, participated in AmeriCorps, authored articles in national newsletters, been a member of the California Youth Connection, acted as a mentor and tutor, served in student government at Berkeley and Yale, trained CASA and other child welfare professionals and volunteered with Barack Obama's Presidential campaign. Lily had this to say about her recent child advocacy efforts:

"As a passionate child advocate I organized a group of former foster youth in the Orphan Foundation of America Intern America Program and the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute to put together amendments for Senator Dodd's office to review. Members of our group met with his and Senator Edward Kennedy’s staff on our proposals. These proposals included provisions that would require states to allow every child to have an attorney and provisions that would require states to track foster youth outcomes in the years after emancipation. The bill is yet to be authorized, but we have had continual correspondence from Dodd's office signaling that when it is authorized, it may contain one or more of our amendments."

Congratulations, Lily!

CDF SHOUT^® Chapter at Rice University

Texas has the highest rate of uninsured children in the nation, and about two-thirds of the 1.5 million uninsured children in Texas currently qualify for the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) or Children's Medicaid but are not enrolled. Last Spring, a group of Rice University undergraduates established a CDF SHOUT (Student Health OUTreach) chapter and partnered with CDF-Texas to help reduce the number of uninsured children in the Houston area.

Rice University's CDF SHOUT chapter has had a tremendous impact promoting student interest in health policy and outreach. Over the past year, they have:

• participated in CDF-TX’s ongoing child health coverage drives at supermarkets;
• supported CDF’s Texas Finish Line (TFL) Campaign by distributing campaign sign-on cards around campus and developing a TFL Facebook page to post regular action alerts as well as a CDF SHOUT-Houston Facebook group;
• distributed more than 300 copies of CDF’s recently released In Harm’s Way report to locations across campus;
• advocated on behalf of Houston children before the Texas legislature during Health Coverage Lobby Day;
• collaborated with other student organizations to raise awareness during Health Awareness Week by organizing a screening of the PBS special Critical Condition;
• expanded CDF’s outreach capacity by developing multilingual CHIP/Medicaid flyers in Vietnamese and Spanish; and
• organized a CHIP/Medicaid enrollment drive at a local public library which was covered by the Rice University newspaper.

Learn more about the CDF SHOUT programs or student child advocacy in your state by contacting one of our CDF state offices.